Scan Button mentioned in manual

[allatpen]

I have the latest version but I cannot find the page that mentions a "Scan" button on page 11 of the manual.

Allan

 

[scruffyduck]

Can you give me a bit more context please. Is this the pdf manual - you say you cant find the page but then refer to page 11.

 

[allatpen]

Sorry, my mistake. Yes, the PDF manual entitled Tutorial 1. Installing and configuring Airport Design Editor V 1.20. When I mentioned the page I meant the "databases scan page" within ADE. Then when I mentioned Page 11 I was referring to the PDF manual.

Allan

 

[scruffyduck]

1.20 is extremely old. I am not even sure I have that tutorial. Perhaps you can point me to where you found it

 

[allatpen]

Hi Jon. No can do. Haven't a clue where I got it. However, I'm having a bad hair day. It wasn't page 11 at all, it's Page 8. I've attached a scanned file, here. Maybe it'll make it clearer.

I'm never sure that these work so please bear with me.

Allan

 

[scruffyduck]

This is the New User Wizard for the very old version 1.20. It is no longer required or used and is therefore not part of the current New User Wizard. I suggest you download the 1.65 manual if you don't already have it and use Help > Online Help (F1) from the main menu

 

[allatpen]

Thanks, Jon.

I was using it because I already had the whole Tutorial printed out.

Could you answer a quickie for me, Jon? I've asked it elsewhere but not had a response. When we compile and save the projects it creates 4 files. Which of the 4 files should be copied to the addon scenery individual airport folder?

And thank you, again, for your help.

Allan

 

[allatpen]

Found V1.65 manual. It's brilliant. But I won't be printing it any time, soon. lol. 309 pages!!!! I'll work on line.

Much appreciated.

Allan

 

[scruffyduck]

ScruffyDuck: Login

 

[allatpen]

Got it.

 

[allatpen]

Jon, that link to "What bgl files can ADE create" didn't answer my question. In addition, something else very odd had started happening, something I've never had over the many years I've used ADE in it's many iterations.

I removed these files from my addon scenery/scenery/LEIB/scenery folder:

LEIB_ADEX_XXX_CVX.bgl
LEIB_ADEX_XXX_GP.bgl
LEIB_ADEX_XXX.bgl

And replaced them with these ADE created files, compiled and saved, today

LEIB-ADEX-AE.ad4
LEIB_ADEX_AE.bgl
LEIB_ADEX_AE

And this was the result

This has never happened before until today, when it also happened with an ADE edited LEMH airport whilt it DIDN't happen yesterday with an edited LEPA airport.

I haven't got a clue how to sort this problem out.

Allan

 

[allatpen]

Here's another screen shot:

 

[scruffyduck]

If I read it correctly you removed the _CVX file which contains flattens related to the airport and terrain

 

[scruffyduck]

Could you answer a quickie for me, Jon? I've asked it elsewhere but not had a response. When we compile and save the projects it creates 4 files. Which of the 4 files should be copied to the addon scenery individual airport folder?

Which four files are you referring to? The files created depends on what is in the project.

 

[allatpen]

Oh. Yes, I did. Working on the false assumption that all exiting files should be removed. But I haven't dumped them, saved to another folder.

Thank you. I'll take a look, now.

 

[allatpen]

Sorry, inserting the CVX file didn't solve the problem.

The 4 files I was referring to, above are:

LEIB-ADEX_AE.ad4
LEIB_ADEX_AE.bgl
LEIB_ADEX_AE
LEIB_ADEX_AE.ad4.bak


And now, just to make matters worse, for some strange reason, when I try to open projects within ADE 0nly the ADEX_AE.ad4 files are listed, whereas previously all files generated by ADE were listed.

This list of only ad4 files is showing when I try to open with CTRL+0, but when I look in the Projects folder Airport Design Editor 178/FSX/Projects, I get 20 files for the 5 airports.


I really don't understand what's happening. There's something I'm not getting. I used ADE extensively about 10 years ago, comprehensively editing around 25/30 airports, including LHR, LGW, Manchester, Birmingham, Miami, Orlando, Schiphol, Zurich, Geneva, etc., etc. Certainly not minor airports with just a few amendments but hours and hours of work and had absolutely no problems with ADE at all. All my airports were as close to reality as they could be, given the limitations of FSX. And this included making it so that, for example, by and large, smaller aircraft didn't occupy large parking stands. Plus many other improvements.

So has something changed with successive iterations of ADE that is different from those of 10 years ago?

Help save my sanity.

Allan

 

[scruffyduck]

Help save my sanity

I will try but it does come down to understanding how ADE works.

For a start .ad4 files are the project files. They do not compile neither do they go in the sim since it does not understand them. If you are opening a project then you need to open the .ad4 file. If you are opening a bgl file then all sorts of things go missing. The only time it is reasonable to open a bgl file is if that is the only thing you have (say from a third party addon). In those circumstances you immediately save the project as an ADE project file (.ad4) immediately after loading the bgl and work from that in future

• LEIB-ADEX_AE.ad4 > is the project file which (as stated above) is the only file you should load and save in ADE
• LEIB_ADEX_AE.bgl > is the airport bgl file created when you compile the project file. This is file to be placed in the sim.
• LEIB_ADEX_AE > I have no idea what this is since ADE does not create or maintain files without extensions.
• LEIB_ADEX_AE.ad4.bak > This is the project backup file and is a .ad4 type

The only files that should be transferred to the sim are those with .bgl extensions.

I am guessing that you named your project the same as the original? If so chances are ADE is removing the CVX file.

I suspect that after the time you have been away from ADE its worth reviewing the help since the information above is in there are I recall.

 

[raymk]

I removed these files from my addon scenery/scenery/LEIB/scenery folder:

LEIB_ADEX_XXX_CVX.bgl
LEIB_ADEX_XXX_GP.bgl
LEIB_ADEX_XXX.bgl

Allan, where did these 3 files come from?

The "LEIB_ADEX_XXX.bgl" will be the main airport design file. If you require to modify anything, this is the file to open in ADE using 'Open from bgl' and then immediately SAVE to an .AD4 file. You then open this .AD4 file to make any edits. When you have done this, you SAVE it and compile this to a new .bgl file. To make further edits you MUST only open the .AD4 file.
The file "LEIB_ADEX_XXX_CVX.bgl" is usually a file containing a 'flatten' object but it could include other objects such as roads, etc. You will not be able to do any editing of these objects. Normally you would keep this file to use with your newly edited and compiled airport design file.
The "LEIB_ADEX_XXX_GP.bgl" is possibly a file containing 'ground polygons'. You may be able to IMPORT this into your newly created .AD4 file and see if anything comes in.

After making your changes, you would replace the airport file with your newly compiled file, having already renamed the original to ._bgl, leaving the _CVX.bgl and (possibly) _GP.bgl files as they are.

This is the basic method of editing if you do not have the original .AD4 file.

 

[scruffyduck]

The file "LEIB_ADEX_XXX_CVX.bgl" is usually a file containing a 'flatten' object but it could include other objects such as roads, etc. You will not be able to do any editing of these objects. Normally you would keep this file to use with your newly edited and compiled airport design file.
The "LEIB_ADEX_XXX_GP.bgl" is possibly a file containing 'ground polygons'. You may be able to IMPORT this into your newly created .AD4 file and see if anything comes in.

Neither the CVX nor GP bgl files can be loaded back into ADE. This is why it is essential to work with the .ad4. Note also that ADE is likely to delete existing CVX and GP bgl files if you don't change the name of the project from the original. Basically if ADE does not find any Terrain Polys (CVX) or Ground Polys (GP) in the ADE project file then it assumes you deleted any already in the bgl files and removes those bgl files. It does it by project name so if the name to the ADE project differs from the name of the original source then the CVX and GP files should be left in place.

The problems with CVX and GP bgl files will only arise if the base (source) for the project is someone else's work or addon. Some developers do ship the .ad4 project file with a release so others can edit it fully but that is rare and will not happen if the source is payware

 

[=rk=]

Help save my sanity.

As someone that has used ADE consistently during your 10 year hiatus, I'm very impressed that you could jump right, in like it was riding a bicycle! Perhaps, you could give Jon the credit he's due, for making extremely complex computations, seem as simple as riding a bike. Build a R/L EHAM, Cointrin and LSZH, walk away for ten years and then _try_ to go right back to work in that same capacity, impossible! I couldn't even get my old pizza cook position back from ten years ago, if I tried, but I am a mere mortal.

What I see and no offense, because I'd do the exact same thing, are detail errors, arbitrarily deleting files, using deprecated instructionals, I am not sure the perspective, because this is where our exploration paths diverge, did you expect time to stand still in the development world?

Meanwhile, Jon patiently sorts through each error, because to him, baby steps through every possible issue, is just as important for all his users, as is improving the software he already has and integrating it into the brand new simulator and for this, we're grateful. Hopefully, you will continue to help him document the process of how to resume editing airports with ADE, after an extended absence.

In the interests of sanity, I hope this perspective helps. A little humility can go a long way, after all, we are in the presence of the master.