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Refreshing FsX KML list in FsX KML

M

maxter

Messages
12
Country
australia
Hi all,

Firstly let me please say a big Thank You to MatthewS for producing such a great utility. It has gone a long way to making FSX a great sim that it deserves to be except for it's missing landclass data.

OK, I have created a file structure in Google, whereby I seperate poly's and polylines and further by Tag types...

When I go into GE and create a new poly (say for a townsite), it is usually nested in something like WA_Scenery\WA_Towns\WA_Towns_Small_Non_Grid...

My problem is this, when I create a new poly, I save it in GE, but when I go the FsX KML, I can't see it until I reload the highest parent KML and if I do so, upon loading all the child KML files loose their tags/attributes.

Is there some other way I can refresh the list before a build without removing the KML and then reloading the KML?

FYI, these are some of my installaition attributes...

FSX Folder...
D:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X

Terrain SDK...
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Environment Kit\Terrain SDK

BGL Compiler SDK...
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Environment Kit\BGL Compiler SDK

Output Folder...
D:\Program Files\FSX_KML\FSX_KML Output

With thanks,

Chris Porter
 
I'm really green at this and not sure if I understand your problem.

All my files are in one parent directory. If I build something new in GE I save it as a KLM file.

If FSX KLM is still running then I hit the reload button and all the changes are made in FSX KLM.
If it is not running it will load up the new KLM file with the changes.

Where I ran into problems was going from FSX KLM to GE after making changes in FSX KLM.

A couple of times I changed some elevations and GE did not load them back and I had to do it over again.

What I do now is make the changes in FSX KLM, go to GE, delete the main directory, then load up the parent directory in GE into Temporary Directories, then save the parent directory into my places.

Now GE will retain all the information and when you save the KLM again all the infor goes with it and FSX KLM will load everything.

As I said I probably am not grasping the problem, but using this system I have not been losing any information.
 
Thanks for that Mac...

My problem is that I also hit the reload button, but when it reloads with the new KML's, none of the associated tags are reloaded. I only attribute the tags in FsX KML, so when I reload, they are not there. As suggested in another thread I only create the tags in the parent file/directory and all the children appear to take up the parents tag attribute, but when I reload, no tags???

I must have done something wrong in the initial setup if you have been able to bring across all the tags when you reload...

Anyway, thanks for your help, I shall plod along and see if there is something I have done incorrectly.

Cheers,
 
Have attached a couple of pics. They are the first part of my directory, which is much longer but used the same format.

Hopefully you might see something different that might help.

Mac
 

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maxter said:
Hi all,

...

My problem is this, when I create a new poly, I save it in GE, but when I go the FsX KML, I can't see it until I reload the highest parent KML and if I do so, upon loading all the child KML files loose their tags/attributes.

Is there some other way I can refresh the list before a build without removing the KML and then reloading the KML?

...

With thanks,

Chris Porter
Click to expand...

Hi Chris,

Parent and child kmls ???

Blimey, for my project I only had one kml file.

It was called Falklands.kml.

Inside at the 'top level' it had ~ 4 'exclusion zones' used to exclude the basic scenery that was present ( shorelines, roads, rivers, etc )
Then, also at the top level, it was 'flooded' by ocean ie Tag Hydro_Polygons_Generic_Ocean_Perennial.

(At this point you can check that you have effectively removed the existing scenery - cause you are going to replace it...)

Then after that lot was working, I created a folder called Polygon holes with the tag Tag - PolygonHole...

You'll never guess... this folder contained the 'holes' in the oceans

After that there was another folder called Roads with the tag Roads_Dirt_2_Lanes_Undivided_Median (This folder contained polylines which were - erm - roads)

Then another folder called rivers with the tag Stream_Lines_Perennial (This folder contained polylines which were - erm - rivers)

You get the picture ?

A single kml file...

Containing a hierarchy of folders tagged to be what I needed...

The hierarchy is simply used to allow the system to know the 'ocean' (or indeed land polygon) into which the polyhole does it's 'cookie cutter' cut.

Hope that makes sense?!?!?!

I have been 'doing' WebSphere Portal all week ;-)


Cheers,

B
 
Hi B,

Thanks for the advice... The question I have is... Are the entities within the sub folders KML files? If not, then what are they? Maybe my definitions of parent and child were a bit off, but that is how I am viewing them.

Other than that, I have a very much similar setup as you and Mac do. I still have the problem though of upon a reload, having all of my tags disappearing and having to recreate them at the "parent" level each reload.

Thanks again for your help and advice.

Chris
 
Hi Chris,

Try this as a test...

In GE make a new project.

I find it best do do this the following way.

1) Create a rectangular polygon (this is the basis of my 'exclusion zones').
Give it a name, eg exclusion zone 1.
You should now see it listed and checked in the lefthand side of GE, underneath My Places.

2) Immediately save this as your project.
Right click and choose save as... 'my Project' (mine was the place name - Falklands). Make sure that the file type is kml, not kmz.

3) Now that your project has been created, right click on 'exclusion zone 1' and choose 'delete' - a MUCH better name would be remove, but hey ho...
You may also want to either 'deselect' the exclusion zone, or play with the transparency of it (Properties - Style/Color tab)

4) Load your project file - File - Open... find your project file, and open it...
This is your single kml file, and it produces your single scenery file.

5) At this point you have a single polygon - no tags...

6) Right click on the 'exclusion zone' and choose Add Folder... Call it Roads.

7) You need to drag the exclusion zone to be above the roads.

8) Now right click on the roads folder, and add a path.

9) Save your work - right click 'MyProject.kml' and choose Save As... to overwrite your kml file.

Shut down GE, and dont move your project ;-)


NOW open the kml file in fsx-kml

You will notice a couple of things.

The exclusion zone shows up in red, as does your path...

So Select what you want as a tag for the exclusion zone eg Exclude___Everything

And the trick here for the roads, is put the tag onto the folder, NOT the path itself... eg Roads_Dirt_2_Lanes_Undivided_Median...

Once your folder has been given a tag, the path itself goes from red to black - no errors...

Click Save...

Go back to GE, and open your project.

Bingo, all the attributes you added in fsx-kml are there to see.

Hope that long winded explanation nails it for you.

B
 
On my system if I click "Open in GE" from within FSX KML then GE runs but the KML appears under the "Temporary Places" folder and not "My Places" folder.

So I just edit and save the one in "Temporary Places" and don't bother about the one in "My Places".

This might be where the confusion is?
 
Hi Chris,

been away for a while, so missed this - and re-read it too :o ...


maxter said:
Hi B,

Thanks for the advice... The question I have is... Are the entities within the sub folders KML files? If not, then what are they? Maybe my definitions of parent and child were a bit off, but that is how I am viewing them.

Other than that, I have a very much similar setup as you and Mac do. I still have the problem though of upon a reload, having all of my tags disappearing and having to recreate them at the "parent" level each reload.

Thanks again for your help and advice.

Chris
Click to expand...

Hi Chris,

The stuff within the folders are simply the 'shapes' (polygons) and 'lines' (polylines) that you have traced out. I think I have figured out what you're doing - you've done saves all down the tree !!! Betcha.

When you do the save of your project, like I showed earlier, you only choose to save the 'top level' of your project, everything that 'hangs off it', all the subfolders and even the individual shapes and lines all get saved within that one single kml file.

NOW!

You CAN choose to right click on any old bit of your project - but generally you wouldn't/mustn't/don't need to do that. That will only confuse the matter, and THAT might be where your system begins to loose track of things.
Especially if you load a bunch of things into fsxkml do a bunch of saves in the 'kiddies' reload the 'adults' in GE

I tried for a test, to take my roads folder that should exist inside my Falklands project, and chose to do a save as... on it.

At this point I had two seperate definitions of my roads - the original, inside Falklands.kml, and a second copy inside Roads.kml.

I think that this is where you may have been departing from what 'we' do.

Just the one 'project' is required and when you open it in GE, it will have the extension kml on it. Inside this is where you rightclick just to add sub-folders, shapes and lines...

If you were sharing a project with a chum, you 'might' do the kind of thing you did, and right click on the 'Roads' folder, and email that to Bert for him to just trace out lines... He does his stuff, and sends you back the roads.kml. You then add that back into the 'master project' for compilation into scenery.

When you load your kml file (just the one mind ;-) ) into fsxkml, you can mess with the definitions all you please (good way to test the look of different tags), then save the kml. When you go back to GE - and re-open that kml file - all your chosen tag values will be there.

If you have a bunch of stuff floating around in seperate 'sub kmls' I suggest that you just spend a few minutes dragging and dropping them all into your top level project kml file, saving it, 'deleting' all your projects from GE, and then choosing open, to just pick your one nice big project kml file.

MatthewS said:
On my system if I click "Open in GE" from within FSX KML then GE runs but the KML appears under the "Temporary Places" folder and not "My Places" folder.

So I just edit and save the one in "Temporary Places" and don't bother about the one in "My Places".

This might be where the confusion is?
Click to expand...

Hi Matthew,

I think we do similar things...

I tend to open GE, then choose File - Open to pick my kml file (eg Falklands.kml).

When it gets opened up, it appears inside the Temporary Places folder as Falklands.kml.

I do a bunch of work on my project, then right click on Falklands.kml to save it. GE asks if I want to overwrite the existing file - let me think now, I've only spent another 3 hours tracing coastlines - oh, go on then, lets save !!!

Then when I quit GE, I get the message:

"You have unsaved items in your Temporary Places folder, yadda yadda yadda...."

I choose NOT to save to My Places, and that way next time I use GE, I can load whatever project I want...

Personally speaking, I find the right-click menu options of 'delete' and 'delete contents' to be badly worded, and have been known to make a second copy of a project 'just in case'.


Chris,

I hope these pointers help you out...

B
 
B

" I think I have figured out what you're doing - you've done saves all down the tree !!! Betcha."

Yup, thats exactly what I did... Darn, do I now delete all the KML's and recreate them, else how do I get these to go back to an "unsaved state"???

I noticed that you mention...

"If you have a bunch of stuff floating around in seperate 'sub kmls' I suggest that you just spend a few minutes dragging and dropping them all into your top level project kml file, saving it, 'deleting' all your projects from GE, and then choosing open, to just pick your one nice big project kml file.
"

If I do this, does that mean that I now have to tag every individual KML? Previously I just tagged the subfolder and the KML within picked up the attributes of the folder...

Thanks again to you and MatthewS for your advice... It is a great help to a new unskilled dumbass like myself, but hey, i'm trying, very trying at that :D

Cheers,

Chris
 
Nup !

No individual re-tagging required - just the folder...

Chances are that you retagged a 'child' kml file 'set', so just drag'n'drop those puppies into a folder that you define and tag in the 'parent' kml file. (Once you've dragged the shapes lines subfolders etc etc there, you can blow away your unnecessary 'child' kml file).

Remember, you will only need to put the tag onto the folder - all the shapes (which are untagged) inside the folder will automagically pick up the tag attribute you specify for the folder.

I often find myself 'tweaking' an individual shape's attribute by specifying a tag for it - even though the folder it 'belongs to' has been tagged with something else. That is a 'quick and dirty' way to override the tag that the folder itself specifies.

B

(Think the beers are on you ;-) )
 
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