In-Game Scratchpad Mod Available - Works Great In VR!

[imacken]

Nice one! Thanks!

[Recluse]

THANK YOU!!!!! Appreciate the quick fix!

[Colmillo]

Thanks!!

[Recluse]

So I downloaded the latest EXTENSIONS version, and I tried both:

-copying the Keypad.lua from the EXTENSIONS/DISABLED folder up to the EXTENSIONS Folder.

- Also tried copying the QWERTYKEYBOARD.LUA above into Extensions.

When I invoke Scratchpad, I don't see either Keypad/Keyboard (one at a time)

What am I doing wrong?

[imacken]

Have you copied ALL the files in the new version and then put the qwertykeyboard.lua file into extensions folder?

Works OK for me.

[Recluse]

Yep..well everything from SCRIPTS. I didn't copy LICENSE or README:

The other scratchpad functions work fine, just the keyboard/keypad not showing up.

 

Also tried Speed of Heats Qwertykeyboard.lua. Still nothing.

 

nullnull

 

 

Edited October 29, 2022 by Recluse

[Lange_666]

Same here, no keyboard anymore

Used to work fine, i'm on a new install (new PC), installed latest version of the scratchpad and added the keyboard but it will not show up.
And without keyboard, the scratchpad is pointless in VR.

Must say that the other extensions (clear, sitrep etc...) don't work either when moved out of the disabled directory so i guess they need to be copied into another location... although i tried about every location already.

[Recluse]

Just now, Lange_666 said:

Same here, no keyboard anymore

Used to work fine, i'm on a new install (new PC), installed latest version of the scratchpad and added the keyboard but it will not show up.
And without keyboard, the scratchpad is pointless in VR.

Must say that the other extensions (clear, sitrep etc...) don't work either when moved out of the disabled directory so i guess they need to be copied into another location... although i tried about every location already.

I wouldn't say it is pointless in VR. It works GREAT in VR to pull off coordinates directly from the map. (Broke in 2.8 but fixed now). This satisfies 99% of the use I make of it in VR.

 

- Pull coords off of F10, go to cockpit and transcribe to WP's or Targets.

- The other 1%, for jotting down other information, or coordinates provided by JTACS or other Players is a PLUS, and if I can have it, I want it   but I wouldn't say it is Pointless without it.

 

Apparently  9 lines are now in the Kneeboard (I haven't tried this out yet) so that is one more thing that we can do without the keyboard, but I am perplexed as to why it works for some and not me, or should I say US @Lange_666

[imacken]

Don't understand what is going on. Why is it so different for different people?

For me, both the (extension version) of Scratchpad and ScratchpadPlus work perfectly with the qwertykeypad on monitor/TIR.  Scratchpad works perfectly in VR, but ScratchpadPlus doesn't come up at all.

Weird.

[Recluse]

i have been trying on monitor only, but I just tested in VR. Same. Scratchpad with extensions works but no keyboard comes up.

What do you mean by ScratchPadPlus? The latest non-extensions version?  That worked fine for me in 2d but I didn't try in VR.

Never mind!! I found the link to ScratchpadPLUS.. Trying it now.

 

ScratchPadPlus comes up for me in VR. (no keyboard, though) @imackenDo you know that the default hotkey for PLUS is CTRL+SHIFT+w rather than x for the OG scratchpad? Maybe that is why it doesn't come up for you/

 

EDIT: In VR, for ScratchPadPLUS, I cannot click the INSERT button in VR from the Cockpit view, but I can in the F10 Map. Going to try it in the F/A-18 in monitor view. It would be great to automatically create waypoints!! : IT WORKS!!!!

EDIT 2:  I manage to click the INSERT button in the Cockpit. Had to click around a bit to get the white dot instead of the green mouse cursor, similar to what happens occasionally with the kneeboard.

From the README, WP's are populated in the F/A-18 starting with WP 2, but this means also that if you set your HSI to a later WP (say 1-4 are used and you set to WP5) it will still populate 2 WP's ahead.  So if you start at the unused 5, your new WP will be 7. If you insert MULTIPLE WP's it seems like it still skips one, and populates every other one, but I need to mess with it some more.

Edited October 29, 2022 by Recluse

[Lange_666]

Weird that it doesn't work anymore (keyboard showing that is or any of the other extensions). Scratchpad itself works, also pulling coördinates from the F-10 map works. I just miss the keyboard. This is on a 2-weeks old install, no mods.
On my previous DCS install (which lasted several years), scratchpad worked and when i installed the keyboard, it also worked from the first time. So it baffles me a bit why it doesn't do now.

[Lange_666]

Went through the entire topic again.
Mmm, looks like the older versions worked without the extensions, the keyboard was build into scratchpad-hook.lua (if i'm correct).
I can get this version to work, with a keyboard that works but in that version the F-10 coördinates thingy doesn't work.
If i switch to the latest version, the F-10 stuff works just fine, but no keyboard, nor anything of the stuff in the Extensions dir works.
This might be due to the fact that the Extensions dir sits in the wrong place or that i put the files that are in the Disabled dir into the wrong place to make it all work, but then i tried all places i could think off... no joy on any of the extensions.

Can someone for who this entire extension thing works (including keyboard) post a few saved games directory screenshots so i can compare?
 

[Recluse]

My recollection and understanding is similar to yours.  The Keyboard was somehow incompatible with pulling the coordinates automatically from the F10 map, so it went away in favor of that feature, and lately returned with the extensions Work in Progress.  I still have one of the old versions WITH the keyboard (don't know if it works with 2.8 or not) which I would occasionally trot out for VR note taking. Would be great to have the best of both worlds.

[RogueRunner]

Not working for me, even with the new version. Window comes up with C + S + x but cannot import coordinates from the F10 map.

Do I need to leave the old scratchpad directory and the scratchpad-hook file in scripts or delete those? \\When I delete the 'old' files the windows doesn not even come up for me

EDIT: seems to hotkey changed at some point, mine was still CTRL + SHT + x but it's now 'w'. Works perfectly thank you!

Edited October 30, 2022 by RogueRunner

[imacken]

10 hours ago, Lange_666 said:

Can someone for who this entire extension thing works (including keyboard) post a few saved games directory screenshots so i can compare?
 

FWIW, here are my folder screenshots for a fully working Scratchpad both on monitor and VR.

[Lange_666]

- Removed everything concerning Scratchpad i had installed.
- Fresh download of latest Scratchpad
- Fresh download of latest Scratchpadplus
- Compared both with previous download, they are the same.
- Installed it again, folders just look like your now (except in Hooks folder i also have DCS-SRS and TacView in there (previously also)), enabled keyboard and sitrep
- Scratchpad works but no keyboard, no sitrep..(and no clear button either when i add that). , just the main scratchpad with a working F-10 map thing.
- Stuff that works works both in 2D and VR.
 

Could Windows version have anything to do with it? I'm on Win 10 Pro, latest version.

 

[imacken]

Sorry to ask the obvious question, but you are using the extensions download version?  Are your file dates, times, size the same as mine?

[Recluse]

Same here.. Originally I removed everything except the Extension version, but after seeing @imackenhad BOTH Scratchpad and ScratchpadPlus installed, I went back and did that.

Still no joy on Extensions. Both applications work fine for pulling coords and ScratchPadPlus has the PLUS additions, but NO KEYBOARD/KEYPAD when put in the Extensions folder. I also have a few other files in HOOKS for other mods, but I also tried it after clearing them all out and leaving only Scratchpad related HOOKS.

Also on latest Windows 10 Pro. In fact I got a Windows update last night.

Odd!

My file Dates/sizes match. Time is a bit off but that could be Time zones, or maybe reflecting when they were copied into the folder. Downloaded both the Extensions version and the PLUS from the links in this thread.

 

Edited October 30, 2022 by Recluse

[imacken]

Very strange. Hopefully, someone will come up with an answer soon as to why it's not working for you guys.

[Recluse]

6 hours ago, RogueRunner said:

Not working for me, even with the new version. Window comes up with C + S + x but cannot import coordinates from the F10 map.

Do I need to leave the old scratchpad directory and the scratchpad-hook file in scripts or delete those? \\When I delete the 'old' files the windows doesn not even come up for me

EDIT: seems to hotkey changed at some point, mine was still CTRL + SHT + x but it's now 'w'. Works perfectly thank you!

 

So the Hotkey changed in ScratchPadPLUS but the latest ScratchPad is still C+S+x. You can change it to whatever you want with a simple lua edit:

Scratchpad-hook.lua, or ScratchPadPlus.lua (Note I changed mine to just Shift+x below)

Quote

log("Configuration not found, creating defaults...")
            config = {
                hotkey = "Shift+x",
                windowPosition = {x = 200, y = 200},
                windowSize = {w = 350, h = 150},
                fontSize = 14

You can find this block easily by just searching for hotkey or shift.

[Lange_666]

2 hours ago, imacken said:

Are your file dates, times, size the same as mine?

Dates and times don't matter, they show the install date, not the file date.

But...

I have 20 KB as size for the scratchpad-hook.lua instead of your 28 KB (scratchpadplus.lua is the same). That is weird because mine is from the latest version, freshly downloaded 3 hours ago.

Also, i'm curious about the size of your CrosshairWindow.dlg and ScratchpadWindow.dlg because i have 3 versions (2 older and the the new one) and they all differ in size.
Currently CrosshairWindow.dlg is 2 KB and ScratchpadWindow.dlg 8 KB (version 0.61) but those in Scratchpadplus are 2 and 9 respectively.

[imacken]

3 hours ago, Lange_666 said:

Dates and times don't matter, they show the install date, not the file date.

Not sure that's true, but let's not worry about that.

I temporarily renamed my Scripts folder and just installed the files from the latest extension version of Scratchpad. All working fine here - keypad, clear, sitrep and F10 L/L coords. So, I really have no idea.

[imacken]

5 hours ago, Recluse said:

So the Hotkey changed in ScratchPadPLUS but the latest ScratchPad is still C+S+x. You can change it to whatever you want with a simple lua edit:

Scratchpad-hook.lua, or ScratchPadPlus.lua (Note I changed mine to just Shift+x below)

You can find this block easily by just searching for hotkey or shift.

I've just noticed this. I don't make my hotkey changes to that file, I use the file C:\Users\xxx\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta\Config\Scratchpad.config.lua.

I'm wondering if that makes a difference.

[Recluse]

2 hours ago, imacken said:

I've just noticed this. I don't make my hotkey changes to that file, I use the file C:\Users\xxx\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta\Config\Scratchpad.config.lua.

I'm wondering if that makes a difference.

Huh.. i never knew that existed!!

Don't think it makes a difference, though as the first time I installed it, I didn't change the Hotkey and the Keyboard still didn't come up for me.

 

[imacken]

It is difficult to know why there are these fundamental differences. For me, that file overrides anything that is in the one you guys use.