DCS Waypoint Editor

[Bones1775]

is anyone currently having issues capturing from the F10 map. keep getting a "no matching pattern" message

 

[Lasko]

On 9/22/2022 at 1:00 PM, Bones1775 said:

keep getting a "no matching pattern" message

There will be an entry in the log something like this that shows what OCR found:

2022-10-10 07:10:00,570:gui: DEBUG - Raw captured text: 24°27°11"N 56°01 '05"E, 1624 ft
2022-10-10 07:10:00,573:gui: DEBUG - Text found 24°27°11"N 56°01 '05"E, 1624 FT but did not match any known pattern.

Here it put an extra space in the longitude between 01 and '05, so it could not parse the text.  If it persists, change to a different coordinate format (LAlt-Y) and use DD-MM-SS.ss or MGRS.  Another option is to install DCSTheWay and use the Capture F10/F11 View instead.

[Lasko]

On 9/9/2022 at 10:43 AM, Brainfreeze said:

Anyone using this mod with the M2000?  does it work?

Think it is not entering coord in the right format

I think it probably is wrong.  I updated the M2000C key sequences using Chuck's Guide.  The attached file has the new keypresses for two waypoints.  I don't have M2000 installed to test.  If you can try that key sequence to see if it works, I can include it in the next update.

mirage_wp.txt

[Lasko]

New version released today.  Ka-50 was added, M2000C entry was fixed, and some other minor updates.

v1.2.3
Feature Changes:

• Ka-50 Black Shark support added. Up to 6 waypoint (WP) and up to 9 target (TG) points can be entered.
• Region select changed to a pull-down list. On startup, all JSON files in the ./data directory are read and added to the preset location list. Files that contain a "region" -> "name" value will be added to the region selection list. Selecting a region name will load only those waypoints. Selecting the blank region name will reload all JSON files.
• Added a filter button to the profile list.

Bug Fixes:

• Updated M2000C key sequences, coordinates now support 3 digit decimal minutes.
• Waypoints over the aircraft limit were not being skipped correctly.
• F18 MSN is reset to PP1 after entering multiple targets.
• Selecting a MSN waypoint from the profile waypoint list displays the correct station number.

[Lasko]

A minor update was just made available:

v1.2.4
Feature Changes:

• When capturing F18 MSN points, the next station is selected automatically in order 8-2-7-3

Bug Fixes:

• Currently selected Aircraft Type is retained when starting a new profile

[Lasko]

A new update is available now. This version reworks the OCR routines to eliminate most errors, and allows capturing coordinates from a selected map object.

v1.2.5
Feature Changes:

• OCR capture will now capture the coordinates of a selected object/vehicle from the details box in the lower left F10 map. If no object is selected the cursor coordinates are captured from the top left as previously.

Bug Fixes:

• Updated the OCR routines to resize the captured text x3 and convert to grayscale before sending the file to Tesseract. In testing, this has greatly reduced the number of character errors and "No matching pattern" errors.

[Lasko]

I've done some more work on the 1.3.0 beta release, and the second iteration is available.  This has LUA commands for all aircraft, not all of which have been tested.  If anyone can confirm the untested types as working or not, that would be appreciated.  

v1.3.0-b2 Pre-release
Feature Changes:

• Added an option to send aircraft commands through TheWay.lua instead of DCS-BIOS, selectable in the "Settings" window. Waypoint entry for most aircraft is much faster, but also dependent on your DCS frame rate. Aircraft commands for A-10C, AH-64D, F/A-18C and Ka-50 have been tested. Commands for other aircraft were created based on various sources and need testing.
• Known Bugs:
  • F/A-18C Mission Point Entry: OS button press does not always register and a latitude or longitude entry is missed. Sequence and timings have been adjusted to correct this, but not 100% successfully. Entry using DCS-BIOS is unaffected.
• DCS-BIOS version update to 0.7.46.

Bug Fixes:

• A-10C: Set the AAP Page dial to OTHER as the first action.
• F-14A/B: Added CLEAR keypress before starting coordinate entries.
• F-14A/B: Changed keypress 3 (SPD) to 4 (ALT) before entering the waypoint altitude.
• BUG: Settings window can be hidden behind other windows

[Willie Nelson]

I'm finding it difficult to find up to date info on whether or not this is currently able to pick up F10 waypoints for the pre planned JDAM/JSOW pre planned targetting in VR with the F18?

Assuming it's not capable, any ideas?

[Lasko]

Anything using OCR will not work in VR since it will not find the fields to capture.  Using Capture F10/F11 View should work assuming you can place an F10 object in whatever it considers to be the center of the screen.  F11 view should also work if you are viewing from the location of a target.

[Willie Nelson]

Thanks, entering PB and standard waypoint Lat and Long's is a PIA.

[Habu_69]

I have not used this handy little utility in awhile, but now with latest OB I can not get Capture to Profile to work. Tested 1.2.5 and 1.3 beta. I get audible error Ba-dump, which is guess is failure to capture coordinates. F10/F11 capture works, but I can not get the screen center dot to appear. Latest Java JRE is installed. When I run The Way itself, the dot does appear. Send to Hornet is working normally.

[Lasko]

Final version 1.3.0 is now available with send via TheWay.lua and a few bug fixes.  The latest DCS-BIOS version is now 0.7.47.

v1.3.0
Feature Changes:

• Added an option to send aircraft commands through TheWay.lua instead of DCS-BIOS, selectable in the "Settings" window. Waypoint entry for most aircraft is much faster, but also dependent on your DCS frame rate. Aircraft commands for A-10C, AH-64D, F/A-18C, F-16C and Ka-50 have been tested. Commands for other aircraft were created based on various sources and need testing.
• Known Bugs:
  • F/A-18C Mission Point Entry: OS button press does not always register and a latitude or longitude entry is missed. Sequence and timings have been adjusted to correct this, but not 100% reliable. Entry using DCS-BIOS is unaffected.
• DCS-BIOS version update to 0.7.47.

Bug Fixes:

• A-10C: Set the AAP Page dial to OTHER as the first action.
• F-14A/B: Added CLEAR keypress before starting coordinate entries.
• F-14A/B: Changed keypress 3 (SPD) to 4 (ALT) before entering the waypoint altitude.
• F-16C: Enter elevation when it is zero.
• BUG: Settings window can be hidden behind other windows

[Habu_69]

Anyone who has not tried this great little utility should definitely do so. Especially helpful in multiplayer environment. BZ to Lasko.

Edited February 8, 2023 by Habu_69

[SPAS79]

So, I've done a thing. Found a way to use this excellent app in VR.

 

[Hotdognz]

I'm tying this for the first time and I can get the ctrl+shft+u to set the start capture mode,  but the ctrl+t to capture the waypoint does nothing not even a beep, what am i doing wrong.

Cheers

[Habu_69]

1 hour ago, Hotdognz said:

I'm tying this for the first time and I can get the ctrl+shft+u to set the start capture mode,  but the ctrl+t to capture the waypoint does nothing not even a beep, what am i doing wrong.

Cheers

I struggled with this issue also. Lasko helped me resolve. My issue was my custom Windows and DCS scaling settings, for my QHD monitor, that WP Editor could not handle. I fixed by changing the Windows scaling for DCS (see attached image) and changing the Scale GUI setting in DCS\Controls to 1. Hope this helps.

 

 

[Lasko]

8 hours ago, Hotdognz said:

I'm tying this for the first time and I can get the ctrl+shft+u to set the start capture mode,  but the ctrl+t to capture the waypoint does nothing not even a beep, what am i doing wrong.

Check the log.txt file to see if it records a status when you hit ctrl+t.  If it's not playing a success/fail sound or recording anything, you may have a conflict with ctrl-t bound to something else.  I've also seen ctrl-t also can stop working if DCS is restarted, and restarting waypoint editor will fix that.  Also check that your setting for ctrl+t is entered correctly.  There is no code checking for misspelling, extra characters, etc.

[Lasko]

9 hours ago, SPAS79 said:

So, I've done a thing. Found a way to use this excellent app in VR.

Great walkthrough, I like the idea of using scratchpad to display the center point.  For 2D the "Display Target" option puts a purple circle on the center of the display.  Can you toggle that on/off in VR, or does it need a VR option to launch with display turned on automatically?

[SPAS79]

9 minutes ago, Lasko said:

Great walkthrough, I like the idea of using scratchpad to display the center point.  For 2D the "Display Target" option puts a purple circle on the center of the display.  Can you toggle that on/off in VR, or does it need a VR option to launch with display turned on automatically?

If you mean scratchpad, there's nothing special to setup for the dot to appear on the map.nYou just invoke with its key combo (CTRL+SHIFT+X) I can't remember if i went through with it but i thought of creating an issue on your git to point at scratchpad s method.

Edited April 12, 2023 by SPAS79

[Lasko]

No, I mean the File menu "Run Target Jar" that launches a java app to display the screen center dot.  This was originally part of "The Way" and doesn't have a native counterpart in Python, hence the separate application.

[Habu_69]

Interesting that the VR method using DCS Scratchpad does not require cycling the F10 map coordinate mode to precise Lat/long.

[Lasko]

It does not, and not limited to VR.  The capture F10/F11 pulls the coordinates directly from DCS without relying on the screen display in any way.

[SPAS79]

10 hours ago, Lasko said:

No, I mean the File menu "Run Target Jar" that launches a java app to display the screen center dot.  This was originally part of "The Way" and doesn't have a native counterpart in Python, hence the separate application.

Ah right. No i didn't even try that as I wasn't sure about which version of jre i have installed vs what the requirements are, if any.

[Hotdognz]

On 4/13/2023 at 4:42 AM, Lasko said:

Check the log.txt file to see if it records a status when you hit ctrl+t.  If it's not playing a success/fail sound or recording anything, you may have a conflict with ctrl-t bound to something else.  I've also seen ctrl-t also can stop working if DCS is restarted, and restarting waypoint editor will fix that.  Also check that your setting for ctrl+t is entered correctly.  There is no code checking for misspelling, extra characters, etc.

Thanks for replying, I got the Capture F10/F11 View and Capture Coordinates working (no idea how) and get the beep the last part that's eluding me is Send to Aircraft no matter what keys I assigned for it, and also remove any corresponding key in DCS, I can alt tab and press the Send to Aircraft button and it works.

[Habu_69]

Since TheWay utility was updated to V2 on Apr 16, DCS WPE TheWay coordinate capture method no longer works. Problem is within the new TheWay.lua script, that has many changes, that goes in Saved Games folder. DCS WPE still functions as intended with the older TheWay.lua script.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Habu_69