XML Gauge Maps

Overview

The following table of variables can be used within the XML Gauge system to create colored 2D maps, such as those that appear in GPS or radar systems. Refer to the Creating XML Gauges document for more details on creating XML gauges.

Note that the variables that are new to the Flight Simulator X: Acceleration Expansion Pack, are shown in red.

2D Map Drawing

The 2D map is rendered in the following order. The order cannot be changed, but whether each layer is rendered or not, the colors used, and a number of other features of the map, can be changed through the setting of the various variables.

Background
Terrain
Geo-political
Grid lines
Range rings
Airports
VOR
NDB
ILS
Intersections
Airspace
Flight plan
Approach data
Vehicles
Airways
Racepoints

The compass rose is a separate object in the gauge system, but is drawn on top of the radar screen.

XML Map Variables

Most of the following variables can only be used by the map gauge itself. Three can be read by other gauges: TagPosition, SelectedVehicle and MapLoading. The first two, TagPosition and SelectedVehicle, can also be set by other gauges.

Variable	Units	Description
Priority	Bool	Set to True to draw the map as a priority.
Zoom	Float	Range of 80 to 500000 pixels per meter. Default is 5 x 1852 (1852 is meters per nautical mile).
PanVertical	Float	Distance to pan vertically in pixels. Negative will pan up.
PanHorizontal	Float	Distance to pan right in pixels. Negative will pan left.
PanReset	Bool	Set to True to return to the original position prior to any panning.
MapLoading	Bool	Set to True if the map is currently being loaded.
Latitude	Float	The latitude that is to be the center point of the map (usually the user aircraft, though could for example be an airport tower).
Longitude	Float	The longitude of the center point of the map.
Heading	Float	The heading (usually of the user aircraft).
TrackUp	Bool	Set to True if the map should be drawn with the track of the aircraft facing up. False gives North facing up.
CenterX	Float	The X position of the aircraft (usually the user aircraft, but could for example be an airport tower) on the map, in pixels. This is often the actual center of the map, but can be used so that more of the map shows what is in front of the aircraft, and less behind it.
CenterY	Float	The Y position of the aircraft on the map, in pixels.
UpdateAlways	Bool	Set to True if the map should be updated every frame. Set to False if the map is only to be updated when positions have changed enough.
SelectedVehicle	Int	The ID of the selected vehicle. Refer to the ITrafficInfo custom variables described in the Creating XML Gauges document for more details.
TagPosition	Int	One of: 0 = UPPERRIGHT 1 = RIGHT 2 = LOWER_RIGHT 3 = BOTTOM 4 = LOWER_LEFT 5 = LEFT 6 = UPPER_LEFT 7 = TOP
BackgroundColor	Int	RGB value
IceColor	Int	RGB value
WaterColor	Int	RGB value
Elevation0Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation1000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation2000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation3000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation4000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation5000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation6000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation7000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation8000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation9000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation10000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation11000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation12000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation13000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation14000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation15000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation16000Color	Int	RGB value
Elevation17000Color	Int	RGB value
TerrainShadow	Bool	Set to True if terrain shadows are to be rendered
LayerTerrain	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
LayerBorders	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
LayerGridLines	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
LayerAirports	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
LayerVORs	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
LayerILSs	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
LayerNDBs	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
LayerIntersections	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
LayerAirspaces	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
LayerApproach	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
LayerFlightPlan	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
LayerVehicles	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
LayerAirways	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
LayerRangeRings	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
LayerRacePoints	Bool	Set to True if this layer is to be rendered
DetailLayerTerrain	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = Water only 3 = In color
DetailLayerBorders	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = Geopol boundary
DetailLayerGridLines	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
DetailLayerAirports	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = Dot 2 = Circle 3 = Circle runways 4 = Block runways 5 = Runways
DetailLayerVORs	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = Dot 2 = Symbol
DetailLayerILSs	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = ILS
DetailLayerNDBs	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
DetailLayerIntersections	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = Waypoint dot 2 = Waypoint symbol
DetailLayerAirspaces	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
DetailLayerApproach	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = Approach 2 = Missed 3 = Arrow Head
DetailLayerFlightPlan	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = Solid line 2 = Dashed line
DetailLayerVehicles	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = ATC symbol 2 = TCAS symbol 3 = Realistic symbol
DetailLayerAirways	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = Thin lines 2 = Thick lines
DetailLayerRangeRings	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
DetailLayerRacePoints	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
TextDetailLayerTerrain	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
TextDetailLayerBorders	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
TextDetailLayerGridLines	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
TextDetailLayerAirports	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = ICAO 2 = Name 3 = Name and elevation 4 = Name, elevation and frequencies 5 = Runways
TextDetailLayerVORs	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = ID 2 = ID frequency 3 = ID Morse
TextDetailLayerILSs	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = ID 2 = ID frequency 3 = ID Morse
TextDetailLayerNDBs	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = ID 2 = ID frequency 3 = ID Morse
TextDetailLayerIntersections	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = Waypoint ID
TextDetailLayerAirspaces	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
TextDetailLayerApproach	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
TextDetailLayerFlightPlan	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
TextDetailLayerVehicles	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 1 = Realistic 2 = Detailed
TextDetailLayerAirways	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
TextDetailLayerRangeRings	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
TextDetailLayerRacePoints	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
ObjectDetailLayerTerrain	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
ObjectDetailLayerBorders	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 0x1 = Coastline 0x2 = Boundary
ObjectDetailLayerGridLines	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
ObjectDetailLayerAirports	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 0x1 = Towered 0x2 = Not towered 0x4 = Hard 0x8 = Soft 0x10 = Water 0x20 = Heli 0x40 = Private
ObjectDetailLayerVORs	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 0x1 = VOR 0x2 = VOT
ObjectDetailLayerILSs	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 0x1 = Cone 0x2 = Line
ObjectDetailLayerNDBs	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
ObjectDetailLayerIntersections	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
ObjectDetailLayerAirspaces	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
ObjectDetailLayerApproach	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
ObjectDetailLayerFlightPlan	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 0x1 = Enroute 0x2 = Approach 0x4 = Missed approach 0x8 = Waypoints
ObjectDetailLayerVehicles	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 0x1 = Track line 0x2 = Ground vehicles 0x4 = Airborne vehicles 0x8 = Racing vehicles
ObjectDetailLayerAirways	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing 0x1 = Victor 0x2 = Jet
ObjectDetailLayerRangeRings	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
ObjectDetailLayerRacePoints	Int	-1 = Default 0 = Draw nothing
ColorLayerTerrain	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerBorders	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerGridLines	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerAirportsTowered	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerAirportsUntowered	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerVORs	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerILSs	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerNDBs	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerIntersectionsEnroute	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerIntersectionsTerminal	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerAirspaces	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerApproach	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerFlightPlan	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerVehicles	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerVehiclesSelected	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerAirwaysVictor	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerAirwaysJet	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerRangeRings	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerRacePointsGate	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerRacePointsPylon	Int	RGB value
ColorLayerRacePointsVolume	Int	RGB value
TextColorLayerTerrain	Int	RGB value
TextColorLayerBorders	Int	RGB value
TextColorLayerGridLines	Int	RGB value
TextColorLayerAirports	Int	RGB value
TextColorLayerVORs	Int	RGB value
TextColorLayerILSs	Int	RGB value
TextColorLayerNDBs	Int	RGB value
TextColorLayerIntersections	Int	RGB value
TextColorLayerAirspaces	Int	RGB value
TextColorLayerApproach	Int	RGB value
TextColorLayerFlightPlan	Int	RGB value
TextColorLayerVehicles	Int	RGB value
TextColorLayerAirways	Int	RGB value
TextColorLayerRacePoints	Int	RGB value
FlightPlanLineWidth	Float	Width in pixels.
ActiveColorLayerFlightPlan	Int	RGB value
PastColorLayerFlightPlan	Int	RGB value
LayerApproachAirport	String	ICAO of approach airport.
LayerApproachApproach	Int	Index into list of available approaches.
LayerApproachTransition	Int	Index into list of available transitions.
LayerApproachLeg	Int	Index into list of available legs.
LayerApproachLineWidth	Int	Line width in pixels.
LayerApproachLineColor	Int	RGB value
LayerApproachLineActiveColor	Int	RGB value

XML Compass Rose Variables

Variable	Units	Description
Heading	Float	The heading of the compass.
CenterX	Float	The X position of the center of the compass on the map.
CenterY	Float	The Y position of the center of the compass on the map.
Radius	Float	Radius of the compass in pixels.
Color	Int	RGB value of the compass lines and text.
BackgroundColor	Int	RGB value. The default, if no color is set, is transparent (so an underlying map will be visible).
LineWidth	Float	Compass line width in pixels.
Font	String	The font to use for the compass labels. If no font is specified "Arial" is the default.
FontSize	Float	Font size for compass labels.
BigFontSize	Float	See LabelAllTicks.
FullCircle	Bool	Set to True to ensure compass rose is a full circle. False indicates that an arc will be rendered.
LabelAllTicks	Bool	Set to True to ensure a label on every tick mark (every 10 degrees). False indicates that labels should be every 30 degrees, and the main four compass points are marked with letters ("N","S","E","W") rendered in the BigFontSize.
Force3Digits	Bool	Set to True to force three digits per compass label (see the example image below).

Example Map

The view an example map, navigate to the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X\Gauges\radar.cab folder, right click the radarscreen.xml file, and extract it. Refer to the following notes when examining the code:

The Script entry of the Update object is simply initialization code. Cut and paste scripts into the Infix tool to convert them to infix notation to make them much easier to understand. The Infix tool is in the Panels and Gauges SDK folder.
The use of a small set of macros makes the coding simpler, and provides a single line to change if the radar screen's width or height are to change.
The Name parameter of one of the CustomDraw objects is "fs9gps:1:map". The ":1" is unnecessary if the panel in which the map is to appear has only one map. Otherwise use ":1", ":2" and so on to distinguish the different maps.
The Name parameter of one of the CustomDraw objects is "fs9gps:rose".
The id parameters can be any text that helps identify the object. It is the Name parameter that must match the variable names in the table above.

To view the radar screen in the simulation take the role of a Tower Controller in a multi-player session. The image below shows the radar screen. Note the Radar Settings gauge has communicated to the radar screen, through the use of local variables, that a compass rose should be shown, along with airports, VORs, and terrain. The blue line is a national boundary.

XML Gauge Maps

Overview

See Also

Table of Contents