FS2004 Text wider than expected

[lmhariano]

I'm trying to do some kind of "Flight Engineer report", in which I'd like to show some preflight parameters such as ZFW, total fuel, etc. This is what I've currently got:

<Gauge Name="Wilco A318 reference" Version="1.0">
    <Update Frequency="1"/>
    <Element>
        <Position X="0" Y="0"/>
        <Image Name="Bkg.bmp" Bright="Yes" ImageSizes="210,149">
        </Image>
    </Element>
    <Element>
        <Position X="10" Y="10"/>
        <Text X="98" Y="9" Length="14" Font="Courier New" Color="black" Bright="Yes" Adjust="Left" VerticalAdjust="Center">
            <String>%ZFW (kg/lb) = %</String>
            </Text>
    </Element>
    <Element>
        <Position X="108" Y="10"/>
        <Text X="35" Y="9" Length="5" Font="Courier New" Color="black" Bright="Yes" Adjust="Left" VerticalAdjust="Center">
            <String>%((A:TOTAL WEIGHT, kilogram) (A:FUEL TOTAL QUANTITY WEIGHT, kilogram) -)%!5d!</String>
            </Text>
    </Element>
    <Element>
        <Position X="143" Y="10"/>
        <Text X="7" Y="9" Length="1" Font="Courier New" Color="black" Bright="Yes" Adjust="Left" VerticalAdjust="Center">
            <String>%/%</String>
            </Text>
    </Element>
    <Element>
        <Position X="150" Y="10"/>
        <Text X="42" Y="9" Length="6" Font="Courier New" Color="black" Bright="Yes" Adjust="Left" VerticalAdjust="Center">
            <String>%((A:TOTAL WEIGHT, pound) (A:FUEL TOTAL QUANTITY WEIGHT, pound) -)%!5d!</String>
            </Text>
    </Element>
</Gauge>

This is what I expect:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5o08d4dygr3urtn/Expected.png

But this is what I get:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fs2gkjc1a7i4233/Obtained.png

What could I be doing wrong? The bitmap is 210 x 149.

 

[rpmc]

Why don't you try <FormattedText> rather than <Text>.

Here's an example. Note that BackgroundColor is inserted. You might want to include that at first so you can see how large the text field appears (determined by X="31" Y="7"), and then remove it once you're satisfied.

<Element Name="READBACK Radar Alt">
  <Position X="110" Y="468"/>
    <FormattedText X="31" Y="7" Font="courier new" FontSize="8" LineSpacing="8" Color="white" BackgroundColor="gray" Bright="Yes">
      <String>%((A:RADIO HEIGHT, feet))%!6d!%'</String>
    </FormattedText>
</Element>

As well, you can combine all of your text into one <Element> - no need for four.

Bob

 

[lmhariano]

Thank you, Bob. Looks like it works, however, as soon as I remove the BackgroundColor statement, there is no text anymore displayed, so I had to leave BackgroundColor="white". Another thing I noticed is that I have to specify a 50% higher fontsize in order to get what I want.

As well, you can combine all of your text into one <Element> - no need for four.

I guess the way you suggest should be more efficient, but how can I concatenate strings in XML?

 

[rpmc]

I presume the trouble you have seeing the text is because you chose "black" as color. That's actually #000000, which is clear. For black, use something like #101010 instead. See below.

When editing your text, momentarily delete the "e" , that is, BackgroundColor="whit", so you can see the background clearly, adjust size as needed, and then put the "e" back, BackgroundColor="white".

To be honest, in FS9, you don't need BackgroundColor. On the other hand, it is very helpful in FSX to mitigate text antialiasing that occurs in that sim.

For one element only, try something like this.

<Element>
  <Position X="10" Y="10"/>
  <FormattedText X="98" Y="9" Font="courier new" FontSize="8" Color="#101010" BackgroundColor="white" Bright="Yes">
     <String>%ZFW (kg/lb) = %((A:TOTAL WEIGHT, kilogram) (A:FUEL TOTAL QUANTITY WEIGHT, kilogram) -)%!5d!%/%((A:TOTAL WEIGHT, pound) (A:FUEL TOTAL QUANTITY WEIGHT, pound) -)%!5d!</String>
  </FormattedText>
</Element>

You can always use <Text> if desired, but you will need to play around with Length, X, and Y to get it right. Generally, FormattedText is quite a bit easier to work with.

Bob

 

[lmhariano]

Thanks a lot. I changed color to #010101 and now it works. Also, the code is easier to read and to write when combining all into a simple element. Thank you very much.