connect prob

[rf360m]

Russell,

Could not connect untill your last simconnect.xml. This one also did not get rid of my Add-onns menu. I can now connect of FSX. Thanks

Great!

-Russell

 

[Alvega]

I have done some more testing and have come up with a new simconnect.xml file. Please test with this and let me know if it works for you. Remember to make sure the IP address and port match in the simconnect.xml file and in FSX Planner.

I tested this one from both local and remote computers and with ASX running and had no problems.

-Russell

Works now, Russel. Good job, thank you! Waiting for the open FSX bgl feature now.

 

[marcgeerts]

Hi Russel
Still no good here.Connecting isn't the prob, that works fine but for some reason the moment that simconnect.xml file is in the FSX folder it blocks my addons and joystick from working. only way to solve is to remove xml from FSX folder.And I checked using java 1.6.0.0+1
Hope still one finds a solution cause FSXPlanner is a gr8 prog; wouldn't like to not be abele to use it.

Regards...Marc

 

[Alvega]

Hi Russel
Still no good here.Connecting isn't the prob, that works fine but for some reason the moment that simconnect.xml file is in the FSX folder it blocks my addons and joystick from working. only way to solve is to remove xml from FSX folder.And I checked using java 1.6.0.0+1
Hope still one finds a solution cause FSXPlanner is a gr8 prog; wouldn't like to not be abele to use it.

Regards...Marc

I had that same problem with the addons but the latest simconnect.xml fixed the problem. Did you install it?

 

[marcgeerts]

Hi,
Yes I did.Planner itself works but without connection to FSX.The moment I put the xml file in the FSX folder like stated in readme all stuffs up, addons joystick,fsuipc.Very strande, don't know what's causing this.

Regards ...Marc

 

[Pete Dowson]

I have done some more testing and have come up with a new simconnect.xml file. Please test with this and let me know if it works for you. Remember to make sure the IP address and port match in the simconnect.xml file and in FSX Planner.

I tested this one from both local and remote computers and with ASX running and had no problems.

You have solved it, but I don't understand why you have made it so complicated. You do not need a port nor a CFG file for the local connection at all, all that only applies to the remote (global) connection. You simply need one local connection listed, with no port, and one global connection, with a port. Without the local SimConnect.cfg file your calls to SimConnect will use the default local method.

It would also be far better if you set the local protocol to "Auto", as this allows the local connection to use the most efficient method available in the current version of SimConnect -- expect this to become more important in future, as SimConnect efficiency is improved.

For the majority of users running your program on the same PC as FSX you don't need an XML or CFG file at all.

Regards

Pete

 

[José]

Hi, Pete Dowson

For the majority of users running your program on the same PC as FSX you don't need an XML or CFG file at all.
Regards
Pete

Could explain it better? The way FSX Planner is programed presently allows connecting with FSX without the XML file we are using now? I did not make a test, yet.

Also, could FSX Planner connect with FSX through FSUIPC?

Which method, if both possible, would be more efficient, SimConnect or FSUIPC?

Thanks,

José Lôbo

 

[hcornea]

I did a bit more looking around and it seems that you don't have to have an ip address and port number for a local connection. So perhaps this is what is causing the conflict.

I will look into this more, and then if that turns out to be true, add another connection option for local connections. Hopefully this will fix the problem.

-Russell

I too run LevelD 767, Instant Scenery, and a number of addons.

LevelD uses FSUIPC to connect to FSX - not sure if this is part of the problem.

 

[Pete Dowson]

Could explain it better? The way FSX Planner is programed presently allows connecting with FSX without the XML file we are using now? I did not make a test, yet.

I don't understand why anyone is using SimConnect.xml and SimConnect.cfg files for local FSX connection. There is nothing in the SimConnect system which demands this -- those files are most certainly only needed if you are connecting Clients across a Network, and in that case the SimConnect.xml file goes on the FSX PC, to tell SimConnect to support the "global" method, and the CFG file goes on the Networked PC -- normally in the "My Documents" folder so that the same connection can be used by all Clients on that PC.

The only "gotcha" at present is that if you create a SimConnect.xml file on the FSX PC, it must contain both the "global" section, and a "local" section, as otherwise SimConnect does not support local EXEs or DLLs. This is a silly error by MS and will hopefully be corrected -- the term "global" actually means "remote", not "global" which is daft.

The FSUIPC4 installer checks for a SimConnect.xml file, and if it finds one it checks that it contains a local section, otherwise it adds one. But having one with a non-standard Port number will defeat it -- that port number would only be used by SimConnect clients providing access to a matching CFG file, and for that the CFG file has to be in the "My Documents" folder.

Furthermore, having a protocol other than "Auto" specified, for the Local connection, restricts the choices that SimConnect can make, and this isn't good either as better ways than TCP/IP are likely in the future.

I don't understand Why anyone thought they needed these files for a local connection in the first place. Nothing in the SimConnect documentation that I have found leads anyone to this conclusion as far as I can see. There are many programs as well as DLLs using Simconnect quite happily without either file.

Also, could FSX Planner connect with FSX through FSUIPC?

Yes, if it was programmed to do so. But why bother to re-program it now? If it only works with FSX and future versions of FS it would be best to use SimConnect directly. FSUIPC4 uses SimConnect 100% Its purpose is to provide backward compatibility, which presumable isn't needed for an "FSX" planner.

Which method, if both possible, would be more efficient, SimConnect or FSUIPC?

Since FSUIPC4 uses SimConnect for everything, it is obviously a little less efficient as it is an extra layer. As I say, it is for compatibility with FS9 back to FS98, which you don't need.

Regards

Pete

 

[Pete Dowson]

LevelD uses FSUIPC to connect to FSX - not sure if this is part of the problem.

LevelD for FSX doesn't use FSUIPC to connect to FSX as far as I know. If it does it isn't for anything important. It has its own connection to SimConnect, in its DLL (Lvld.DLL), which it also installs in the FSUIPC-created "Modules" folder. That DLL is quite a heavy user of SimConnect in its own right.

Pete

 

[José]

H, Pete

Thank you very much for your well detailed explanation.

Kinds regards,

José

 

[rf360m]

Wow - a lot of good posts above.

FSX Planner uses a java library to connect to FSX, and not the simconnect dll. I tested it without the simconnect.xml file and was never able to get it to connect. By inserting the xml file I was able to get it to connect locally, remotely and with add-ons.

I don't have the add-ons like leveld, etc, so can't test with those. It may be that the settings I have specified in the simconnect.xml file are casuing issues with those add-ons. Perhaps they need a specific port available?

As for using the Auto settings, that may be a good idea. I'll test with that a bit next week.

Overall, I don't think it's that complicated. Place the xml file in the folder and you should be good to go. Unfortunately there are issues occuring now, but hopefully they will be fixed in the near future.

Standard port numbers are something else which is interesting. I haven't been able to find what the standard port number is anywhere. Is this mentioned in the level d documentation perhaps?

-Russell

 

[Pete Dowson]

FSX Planner uses a java library to connect to FSX, and not the simconnect dll.

So it talks direct to FSX's server? Wow! I don't know how anyone figured that out. But of course for local connections it does complicate things rather a lot. In the next version of Simconnect there will be faster/more efficent local connections between the SimConnect.DLL and the Server in FSX, so using TCP/IP directly in this way will not be an ideal solution then at all.

I tested it without the simconnect.xml file and was never able to get it to connect.

No, you'd need the XML file to tell the FSX server the Port you are using, as well as the protocol -- the only way to do it without an XML file would presumably be to specify the same protocol and port used by default, but I don't know how you'd find out that. However, I should imagine that whoever worked out how to talk direct, bypassing the DLL facilities, would know.

I don't have the add-ons like leveld, etc, so can't test with those. It may be that the settings I have specified in the simconnect.xml file are casuing issues with those add-ons. Perhaps they need a specific port available?

Well you can download and install FSUIPC4 easily enough, and that uses SimConnect locally as much if not more than the level D DLL, and you don't need to buy it to see the Add-Ons menu it should produce.

The local port needs to be left to default really. I'm wondering if the existence of two "local" entries in the SimConnect.xml file does some damage and confuses things. You'd really only expect there to be one local connection.

Standard port numbers are something else which is interesting. I haven't been able to find what the standard port number is anywhere. Is this mentioned in the level d documentation perhaps?

No, it won't be mentioned in any add-on documentation because no add-ons, using the Simconnect.DLL as documented, needs to know a port number for local connection. Neither the Port number nor the IP address (nor the Protocol) need specifying. In fact no one really uses a SimConnect.xml or cfg file for any add-on EXCEPT when connecting from a Networked PC. This is what is so confusing about the way FSXplanner is implemented. I really don't know how you have bypassed the whole of the published and documented SimConnect interface. If you've managed that, how is it you cannot manage to solve the defalut local access method (port etc)?

Regards

Pete

 

[José]

Hi, Pete

So it talks direct to FSX's server? Wow! I don't know how anyone figured that out.
Regards
Pete

I understand you can only talk about your tool, but the connection used by FSX Planner thoughout SimConnect.XML is stopping FSUIPC4 working in my computer and I need the two connetions (FSUIPC and SimConnetct) working at the same time. Is it possible?

I cannot say if this is a general problem or only with me. What do you
suggest to get both connections working?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

José

 

[Pete Dowson]

I understand you can only talk about your tool

No, I can talk about Simconnect as well. After all FSUIPC4 uses Simconnect 100% I have been working with SimConnect since well before it was released.

... but the connection used by FSX Planner thoughout SimConnect.XML is stopping FSUIPC4 working in my computer

Delete the SimConnect.cfg file. Use the SimConnect.xml file from the latest FSXplanner package -- place it in the same folder as the FSX.CFG file, do NOT just leave it in the FSXplanner folder.

and I need the two connetions (FSUIPC and SimConnetct) working at the same time. Is it possible?

Of course. FSUIPC4 uses SimConnect. If it was not possible there would be no FSUIPC for FSX!

I have done some research on the Port being used, by default, by SimConnect for its default local connection. It seems to choose one at random, usually in the 1000-4000 range. There are tools to tell you what ports are open at any time (and who by). Then you can delete the Simconnect.xml file too. Just run FSX, find out what port is being used, run FSXplanner, and enter the Port in its connection status window. That works. The tool I used is "OpenPort":

http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/...orking_Tools/Open_Ports_Scanner_Download.html

which is a freeware one. When you run it you will get several ports opened by FSX.EXE. If you have my wideFS enabled there will be the default WideFS ones (8002 and 9002), but there will be one for local address 127.0.0.1 and remote address 0.0.0.0. The local port number is the one you need.

Regards

Pete

 

[José]

Hi, Pete

Thanks a lot for you attention.

I will try to find out the port and to eliminate the need for the SimConnect.xml file.

I downloaded the tool you refered.

If not discovered, I will follow the others directions you pointed out.

Later, I will post what else I find.

Thanks,

Regards,

José

 

[José]

No solution...

Hi, Pete

I did some experiments with Simconnect and FSUIPC4 and those are my conclusions, for my system:

1. If Simconnect.xml is to be loaded FSUIPC4.DLL will not.

2. If Simconnect.xml is not loaded, FSUIPC.DLL will, but FSX Planner can not connect to FSX, even if I named a port (I used Open Ports Scanner 1.2 to find out which port FSX uses when Simconnect is loaded);

For the time being, I will continue using FSUIPC4 to connect FSX to AFCAD and SBuilderX, and waiting Russell adopt a better way to connect via FSUIPC4, the way most tools use.

Thanks,

José

 

[Bell_209]

For some reason whenever I put any simconnect.xml file in the FSX folder I get the following message: "Cannot initialise simconnect Error HRESULT E_FAIL has been returned from a sim component". Any ideas as to the cause?

 

[Pete Dowson]

1. If Simconnect.xml is to be loaded FSUIPC4.DLL will not.

If FSUIPC4 will not then neither will any other SimConnect client programs.

2. If Simconnect.xml is not loaded, FSUIPC.DLL will, but FSX Planner can not connect to FSX, even if I named a port (I used Open Ports Scanner 1.2 to find out which port FSX uses when Simconnect is loaded);

Hmm. That is rather strange. are you sure you got the correct Port number -- there are local and remote ones, and more than one entry for FSX.EXE too.

The problem is that I am using a new (Beta) version of SimConnect, and it does work fine with that. I am not in a position to test it properly with the current SP1 version of SimConnect.

For the time being, I will continue using FSUIPC4 to connect FSX to AFCAD and SBuilderX, and waiting Russell adopt a better way to connect via FSUIPC4, the way most tools use.

No, I think the future is with SimConnect. After the next FSX update I think you will be okay. The best Russell could do at present is to try to locate the default local port automatically.

Regards

Pete

 

[José]

Hi, Pete

I would like to hear Russell opinion, but he is on a break time.

If FSUIPC4 will not then neither will any other SimConnect client programs.

When FSUIPC4 is loaded, Open Port Scanner do not find any port used by FSX.

Hmm. That is rather strange. are you sure you got the correct Port number -- there are local and remote ones, and more than one entry for FSX.EXE too.

Although the port's number are at random, I took note of its number, to use in FSX Planner connection.

 Open Port Scanner's report:
Protocol,PID,Process Name,Local Address,Local Port,Remote Address,Remote Port,Connection State
TCP,1888,fsx.exe,127.0.0.1,48447,0.0.0.0,12506,LISTEN
TCP,1888,fsx.exe,127.0.0.1,4654,0.0.0.0,2048,LISTEN

No, I think the future is with SimConnect. After the next FSX update I think you will be okay. The best Russell could do at present is to try to locate the default local port automatically. Regards. Pete

Well, I can agree, but that could take a long time to happen.

Thanks, Pete.

Regards,

José