Touch Portal App

[virgo47]

On 9/22/2024 at 4:56 PM, xoomigo said:

Will await your final set of controls for the inverted function.

Hi @xoomigo. I've played with the patched COINS and UH-1H much more recently - and also nearly finished my page for it. As typical for me, it's much more crowded. The teaser is here:

Here is the suggested inverted counters:

ADF_GAIN|adf_gain|ADF Gain|6|3200|=ictr(65535)|100
INT_VOL|int_vol|Intercom Volume|6|3200|=ictr(65535)|100
UHF_VOL|uhf_vol|UHF Volume Control|6|3200|=ictr(65535)|100
VHFFM_VOL|vhffm_vol|VHF FM Volume Control|6|3200|=ictr(65535)|100
THROTTLE|throttle|Throttle Axis|6|3200|=ictr(65535)|100
THROTTLE2|throttle2|Copilot Throttle Axis|6|3200|=ictr(65535)|100
# And also one default switch position:
UHF_SQUELCH_SW|uhf_squelch_sw|UHF Squelch Switch|4|0|OffOn|ON

I went through many other ctr options, e.g. ADF_TUNE or ALT_ADJ_PLT, but all these sliders only increase the value, whether I slide up or down. The result in the cockpit always goes up, so the rest of the Huey ctr is mostly useless in TouchPortal - at least with sliders.

But I also found some problems. Previously, in TP 3.x, I modeled ENG RPM and similar stuff with coloured values - this was based on "greater than" check. When I add vanilla IF into Touch Portal, I can use any of the following operators:

But when I select the value from COINS, it only allows this:

Is this TP 4.x related bug, or is there some other change (I noticed these are pct, not sure if they were always, or it was int before - really don't know if that would even help).

This obviously breaks the panel - although, strangely, it works for old buttons - somehow they preserve the right condition, even though they don't offer it anymore.

Lastly, I made some naive experiments. I've noticed in the readme that there is a support for some calculations, even since 2022-10: "Added transform character "*" and "/" in "int" value ..." So I tried this (in CommonData.pp

ALT_MSL_FT|alt_msl_m|Altitude MSL (m)|0|0|=int(65535)*(0.3048)|0

The idea is - take ALT_MSL_FT from BIOS - this one now appears on two lines, one fo them original - the other my calculation. I can even find the value in the plugin, so I put it into the panel "display" near the top left corner. But it only shows 0. It does not calculate. Is it possible to do it this way? This would be great as I could remove "event" I used for L-39 panel to get the metric altitude instead of ft.

I'm attaching the panel (including all the values) if you want to try it.

dcs-uh1h-page-wip.tpz2

Edited October 3, 2024 by virgo47

[xoomigo]

On 10/4/2024 at 6:21 AM, virgo47 said:

Hi @xoomigo. I've played with the patched COINS and UH-1H much more recently - and also nearly finished my page for it. As typical for me, it's much more crowded. The teaser is here:

 

Nice!

I had gotten the TP "Multiple Devices Upgrade" license a few months ago - and got my Apache left and right panels displayed simultaneously on 2 tablets. Suggest you do the same if you are running out of space with one tablet.

On 10/4/2024 at 6:21 AM, virgo47 said:

Here is the suggested inverted counters:

ADF_GAIN|adf_gain|ADF Gain|6|3200|=ictr(65535)|100
INT_VOL|int_vol|Intercom Volume|6|3200|=ictr(65535)|100
UHF_VOL|uhf_vol|UHF Volume Control|6|3200|=ictr(65535)|100
VHFFM_VOL|vhffm_vol|VHF FM Volume Control|6|3200|=ictr(65535)|100
THROTTLE|throttle|Throttle Axis|6|3200|=ictr(65535)|100
THROTTLE2|throttle2|Copilot Throttle Axis|6|3200|=ictr(65535)|100
# And also one default switch position:
UHF_SQUELCH_SW|uhf_squelch_sw|UHF Squelch Switch|4|0|OffOn|ON

I went through many other ctr options, e.g. ADF_TUNE or ALT_ADJ_PLT, but all these sliders only increase the value, whether I slide up or down. The result in the cockpit always goes up, so the rest of the Huey ctr is mostly useless in TouchPortal - at least with sliders.

Thanks, will add inverters for the counters. It is an odd behavior for ADF_TUNE and ALT_ADJ_PLT sliders. I will check them out.

[xoomigo]

On 10/4/2024 at 6:21 AM, virgo47 said:

But I also found some problems. Previously, in TP 3.x, I modeled ENG RPM and similar stuff with coloured values - this was based on "greater than" check. When I add vanilla IF into Touch Portal, I can use any of the following operators:

But when I select the value from COINS, it only allows this:

Is this TP 4.x related bug, or is there some other change (I noticed these are pct, not sure if they were always, or it was int before - really don't know if that would even help).

This obviously breaks the panel - although, strangely, it works for old buttons - somehow they preserve the right condition, even though they don't offer it anymore.

I did not make any conscious change to the Engine RPM control here. I will need to check this.

On 10/4/2024 at 6:21 AM, virgo47 said:

Lastly, I made some naive experiments. I've noticed in the readme that there is a support for some calculations, even since 2022-10: "Added transform character "*" and "/" in "int" value ..." So I tried this (in CommonData.pp

ALT_MSL_FT|alt_msl_m|Altitude MSL (m)|0|0|=int(65535)*(0.3048)|0

The idea is - take ALT_MSL_FT from BIOS - this one now appears on two lines, one fo them original - the other my calculation. I can even find the value in the plugin, so I put it into the panel "display" near the top left corner. But it only shows 0. It does not calculate. Is it possible to do it this way? This would be great as I could remove "event" I used for L-39 panel to get the metric altitude instead of ft.

I will need to review the code involved here. Will get back to you.

[virgo47]

10 hours ago, xoomigo said:

I did not make any conscious change to the Engine RPM control here. I will need to check this.

I asked about it on TP discord, and it seems to be type-related. But I don't know what data types TP recognizes internally. Somehow it worked previously, but now the RPM (and other gauges information) is not considered "worthy" of additional comparison operators. Reiner's answer suggests that it is likely a plugin issue.

Edited October 7, 2024 by virgo47

[xoomigo]

On 10/7/2024 at 8:34 PM, virgo47 said:

I asked about it on TP discord, and it seems to be type-related. But I don't know what data types TP recognizes internally. Somehow it worked previously, but now the RPM (and other gauges information) is not considered "worthy" of additional comparison operators. Reiner's answer suggests that it is likely a plugin issue.

 

Okay, I managed to look into this particular issue. The previous configuration was a workaround to address the limitation of the earlier TP versions which only had the basic equal to functions - which I had forgotten about until now.

Please test attached plugin setup and confirm whether it's fixed. Thanks!

DCS-COINS_Setup.zip

[virgo47]

2 hours ago, xoomigo said:

Please test attached plugin setup and confirm whether it's fixed. Thanks!

Works great, I can now select all the operations! Thanks for the fix.

Edited October 12, 2024 by virgo47

[xoomigo]

On 10/4/2024 at 6:21 AM, virgo47 said:

Lastly, I made some naive experiments. I've noticed in the readme that there is a support for some calculations, even since 2022-10: "Added transform character "*" and "/" in "int" value ..." So I tried this (in CommonData.pp

ALT_MSL_FT|alt_msl_m|Altitude MSL (m)|0|0|=int(65535)*(0.3048)|0

The idea is - take ALT_MSL_FT from BIOS - this one now appears on two lines, one fo them original - the other my calculation. I can even find the value in the plugin, so I put it into the panel "display" near the top left corner. But it only shows 0. It does not calculate. Is it possible to do it this way? This would be great as I could remove "event" I used for L-39 panel to get the metric altitude instead of ft.

Hi @virgo47. I think the attached DCS-COINS.exe should fix it. The code earlier did not expect multiplication with a floating number.

Try and let me know if it works. I will keep the ALT_MSL_FT as-is in CommonData.pp as altitude is commonly in feet.

DCS-COINS.zip

[virgo47]

1 hour ago, xoomigo said:

Hi @virgo47. I think the attached DCS-COINS.exe should fix it. The code earlier did not expect multiplication with a floating number.

Try and let me know if it works. I will keep the ALT_MSL_FT as-is in CommonData.pp as altitude is commonly in feet.

Hi @xoomigo, my original idea was to have both in that PP file like this:

ALT_MSL_FT|alt_msl_ft|Altitude MSL (ft)|0|0|=int(65535)|0
ALT_MSL_FT|alt_msl_m|Altitude MSL (m)|0|0|=int(65535)*(0.3048)|0

The reason is I also didn't want to have just meters, I wanted both.

It didn't work for meters - the value appeared in the plugin and I could place it somewhere or print it, but it stayed 0. Before your latest patch the rest of the values worked fine (heading, speed, feet altitude). After the patch it doesn't work if I have this partially "duplicate" line - all values are returned as 0/unchanged, although the verbose debug shows the games sends them in.

That said - I believe we can ignore this issue because the latest TP 4.3 released recently added https://www.touch-portal.com/docs/index.php#advanced-calculations and this got me thinking... and eventually I realized I can do this (even in previous TP, silly me) with something like this:

This makes it pretty easy, there is no need for TP event that needs to be imported separately, it all nicely clicks together and works fine.

So, sorry for bothering you with this, I guess it's not important and it can be done in TP just fine.

[xoomigo]

7 hours ago, virgo47 said:

Hi @xoomigo, my original idea was to have both in that PP file like this:

ALT_MSL_FT|alt_msl_ft|Altitude MSL (ft)|0|0|=int(65535)|0
ALT_MSL_FT|alt_msl_m|Altitude MSL (m)|0|0|=int(65535)*(0.3048)|0

The reason is I also didn't want to have just meters, I wanted both.

It didn't work for meters - the value appeared in the plugin and I could place it somewhere or print it, but it stayed 0. Before your latest patch the rest of the values worked fine (heading, speed, feet altitude). After the patch it doesn't work if I have this partially "duplicate" line - all values are returned as 0/unchanged, although the verbose debug shows the games sends them in.

@virgo47, no worries.

Actually, the reason why the multiplication function did not work in your case is due to the fact that the first parameter is unique. The system expects to find only one value. Therefore, the second and subsequent occurences of the value (in this case, ALT_MSL_FT) will be ignored. If you remark off the top line (with inclusion of a '#' anywhere in the line), you should get the computed value in meters.

Yes, there are many new TP features to explore...

Cheers!

[xoomigo]

Latest DCS-COINS patches (thanks to the above invaluable feedback and testing by virgo47) have been consolidated and updated to the official download link.

• 2024-10-16: Patches to enable full range of TP comparison options for a certain data type, and parameter multiplication function with a decimal number.

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3319022/

Edited October 16, 2024 by xoomigo

[virgo47]

20 hours ago, xoomigo said:

Latest DCS-COINS patches (thanks to the above invaluable feedback and testing by virgo47) have been consolidated and updated to the official download link.

• 2024-10-16: Patches to enable full range of TP comparison options for a certain data type, and parameter multiplication function with a decimal number.

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3319022/

 

Thanks for the release, it looks good here. In UH-1H there is just one inverted knob that should not be, but just fix it in your sources for now, no need to re-release - this is the correct form:

VHFCOMM_VOL|vhfcomm_vol|VHF Volume Control (step size less than 8192 may not work)|6|8192|=ctr(65535)|0

If I find anything else, I'll let you know.

[Kyle_Katarn]

@xoomigo it's recommended update TP to the newest version or stay in the previous one for matters of compatibility with DCS-COINS?

Thanks for your work

[xoomigo]

14 hours ago, virgo47 said:

Thanks for the release, it looks good here. In UH-1H there is just one inverted knob that should not be, but just fix it in your sources for now, no need to re-release - this is the correct form:

VHFCOMM_VOL|vhfcomm_vol|VHF Volume Control (step size less than 8192 may not work)|6|8192|=ctr(65535)|0

If I find anything else, I'll let you know.

Noted. Thanks.

3 hours ago, Kyle_Katarn said:

@xoomigo it's recommended update TP to the newest version or stay in the previous one for matters of compatibility with DCS-COINS?

Thanks for your work

Yes, it's advisable to invest effort and time with the newest DCS-COINS, DCS-BIOS and Touch Portal (current) versions for future-proofing. There were major functional changes in both TP and Skunkworks's DCS-BIOS. With the latter, it also means support for new aircraft (eg. F-4E, Mirage-F1BE, OH-58D and UH-60L), and updates for existing ones.

Edited October 18, 2024 by xoomigo

[Kyle_Katarn]

Hi @xoomigo, if you have done some ah-64d pages maybe you could help me.

I'm trying to use the FCR scan actions (Z, N, D, M), but no one is working.

Are you using it in your Pages?

The valúes to set are 0, 1 and 2, being 1 the center of the "axis" and 0  and 2 the ends. So you need to set an action to 0, a timer and later an action to 1 to return to the center, but no action is performed. Using dcs-bios bort, the actions works fine

Edited November 5, 2024 by Kyle_Katarn

[xoomigo]

On 11/5/2024 at 3:12 PM, Kyle_Katarn said:

Hi @xoomigo, if you have done some ah-64d pages maybe you could help me.

I'm trying to use the FCR scan actions (Z, N, D, M), but no one is working.

Are you using it in your Pages?

The valúes to set are 0, 1 and 2, being 1 the center of the "axis" and 0  and 2 the ends. So you need to set an action to 0, a timer and later an action to 1 to return to the center, but no action is performed. Using dcs-bios bort, the actions works fine

Hi @Kyle_Katarn. I have never really tested them. I will need to check when I can and get back to you. Sorry for the late reply.

[xoomigo]

On 11/20/2024 at 8:06 AM, xoomigo said:

Hi @Kyle_Katarn. I have never really tested them. I will need to check when I can and get back to you. Sorry for the late reply.

@Kyle_Katarn, have you figured the issue out?

I tested on my side and there's no issue with any of the actions concerned. My sample test for the Z action as below:

 

[Kyle_Katarn]

On 11/24/2024 at 3:13 PM, xoomigo said:

@Kyle_Katarn, have you figured the issue out?

I tested on my side and there's no issue with any of the actions concerned. My sample test for the Z action as below:

 

Hi there mate, dont worry for the delay.
I just got what I was doing worng 
The FCR Scan Size is only available for the CPG in DCS-COINS and I was working only with the Pilot controls.

I think I can fix it on my side, but would be lovely if you do it for the next release.

[xoomigo]

On 12/1/2024 at 4:08 AM, Kyle_Katarn said:

Hi there mate, dont worry for the delay.
I just got what I was doing worng 
The FCR Scan Size is only available for the CPG in DCS-COINS and I was working only with the Pilot controls.

I think I can fix it on my side, but would be lovely if you do it for the next release.

Okay. I am unclear about the issue and which part of the plugin that requires fixing. If you are referring to DCS-BIOS, that's beyond my scope and pay grade.

[virgo47]

Hello, Touch Portal and DCS-COINS friends! After some delay, I finally finished (the first version of) my UH-1H Dashboard:

You can get it here: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342493/

The "source" files are also available in this repo: https://github.com/virgo47/dcs-files/tree/main/touch-portal-panels

This is a single-page dashboard offering a log of functionality, virtually complete overhead console controls, most important weapon/flares stuff, radios, engine controls, and some gauges as number indicators.

[xoomigo]

21 hours ago, virgo47 said:

Hello, Touch Portal and DCS-COINS friends! After some delay, I finally finished (the first version of) my UH-1H Dashboard:

You can get it here: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342493/

The "source" files are also available in this repo: https://github.com/virgo47/dcs-files/tree/main/touch-portal-panels

This is a single-page dashboard offering a log of functionality, virtually complete overhead console controls, most important weapon/flares stuff, radios, engine controls, and some gauges as number indicators.

Wow, awesome work!

I like your button images - will probably 'steal' some of them for my use.

Edited December 10, 2024 by xoomigo

[virgo47]

4 hours ago, xoomigo said:

Wow, awesome work!

I like your button images - will probably 'steal' some of them for my use.

No prob, if you missed some color/position combinations, just let me know. It's easy for me to add more, I just didn't create it all, only as needed.

[Kyle_Katarn]

On 12/4/2024 at 1:05 AM, xoomigo said:

Okay. I am unclear about the issue and which part of the plugin that requires fixing. If you are referring to DCS-BIOS, that's beyond my scope and pay grade.

I mean that the FCR scan size controls for the Pilot were not present in the Apache enumeration file of DCS-COINS.

I have created the missing entries using the CPG as template and it's working now

[Kyle_Katarn]

On 12/9/2024 at 9:14 AM, virgo47 said:

Hello, Touch Portal and DCS-COINS friends! After some delay, I finally finished (the first version of) my UH-1H Dashboard:

You can get it here: https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3342493/

The "source" files are also available in this repo: https://github.com/virgo47/dcs-files/tree/main/touch-portal-panels

This is a single-page dashboard offering a log of functionality, virtually complete overhead console controls, most important weapon/flares stuff, radios, engine controls, and some gauges as number indicators.

The "reset buttons to cold" button is very interesting.

What is it doing? Is just setting each button id to a specific plugin value or is something more fancy?

I need this button in my life

[virgo47]

12 minutes ago, Kyle_Katarn said:

The "reset buttons to cold" button is very interesting.

What is it doing? Is just setting each button id to a specific plugin value or is something more fancy?

I need this button in my life

It is described on the linked User file page:
The panel default values are prepared for the cold setup, use the auxiliary RESET button in the top row to switch the panel switches to the "hot" setup. This does not change anything in DCS, only the Touch Portal button states.

The thing is that when you enter the cockpit, not all values are sent to the DCS-BIOS->COINS->TouchPortal, so some of the buttons are stale. This RESET button simply flips between typical hot and cold touch portal presets - not for all buttons, only the typical ones (e.g. generator, battery, etc.).

Most typical usage is to tap it once when you enter a hot/airborne aircraft - which is Reset Buttons to HOT.

Edited December 15, 2024 by virgo47

[Kyle_Katarn]

On 12/15/2024 at 9:19 AM, virgo47 said:

It is described on the linked User file page:
The panel default values are prepared for the cold setup, use the auxiliary RESET button in the top row to switch the panel switches to the "hot" setup. This does not change anything in DCS, only the Touch Portal button states.

The thing is that when you enter the cockpit, not all values are sent to the DCS-BIOS->COINS->TouchPortal, so some of the buttons are stale. This RESET button simply flips between typical hot and cold touch portal presets - not for all buttons, only the typical ones (e.g. generator, battery, etc.).

Most typical usage is to tap it once when you enter a hot/airborne aircraft - which is Reset Buttons to HOT.

Cool I guess something similar, I'll download it to check it and apply to my pages, thanks