Little Navconnect User Manual · 2019. 12. 11. · Little Navconnect User Manual Little Navconnect is a small free open source application that acts as an agent connecting Little

LittleNavconnectUserManualLittleNavconnectisasmallfreeopensourceapplicationthatactsasanagentconnectingLittleNavmapwithaflightsimulatorlikeFSX,Prepar3DandX-Plane.

Donotusethisprogramforrealworldnavigation.

Forversions2.4.LastupdateonDec11,2019.

Moreaboutmyprojectsatwww.littlenavmap.org[https://www.littlenavmap.org].SupportforumatAVSIM[https://www.avsim.com/forums/forum/780-little-navmap-little-navconnect-little-logbook-support-forum/].ThesourcesofthismanualareavailabeonGithub[https://github.com/albar965/littlenavconnect-manual].

ThismanualwascreatedusingSphinx[https://www.sphinx-doc.org/]andtheReadtheDocsSphinxTheme[https://sphinx-rtd-theme.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html].PDFandMOBIformatsconvertedusingCalibre[https://calibre-ebook.com/]

TableofContents

1.Acknowledgments2.Donations3.Installation

3.1.General3.2.Updating3.3.Windows3.4.macOS3.5.Linux3.6.X-Plane

4.Usage4.1.FlyingComputer4.2.RemoteComputer

5.MenuandOptions5.1.File->Quit5.2.Tools->FSXorPrepar3D/X-Plane5.3.Tools->ResetMessages5.4.Tools->Toolbar5.5.Tools->Options5.6.HelpMenu->Contents(Online)5.7.HelpMenu->Contents(Offline,PDF)5.8.HelpMenu->AboutLittleNavconnect

5.9.HelpMenu->AboutQt6.Appendix

6.1.HowtoreportaBug6.2.Files

7.License

1.AcknowledgmentsAbigthank-youforallpeoplesupportingme,sendingmetheirlogfiles,screenshots,ideasforimprovements,friendlymessages,donationsandmore.

AhugeThankyou!toPaulWattsforhissupport,fortesting,tips,linkstoincredibletoolsandforallhisworkonthemanual.

Averyspecialthank-youtoRobertoS.fromSwitzerlandforhisvaluableinputandalsohelpingwithhiscapabilitytofindthemostobscurebugs.

TheFrenchtranslationoftheprogramwasdonebyPatrickJUNGaliasPatbest.Thankyou!

Thankstoallbetatestersfortheireffort,patienceandideas:Barry,Brian,Gérard,John,RemiandSam.

AnotherbigDanke!toMarcfromGermanyforallhisgreatideasandendlessbugreports.

Thankstoallintheforumswhopatientlysupportedmeandgaveinvaluablefeedbackduringthepublicbeta:

AVSIM[https://www.avsim.com],SimOuthouse[http://www.sim-outhouse.com],FSDeveloper.com[https://www.fsdeveloper.com].

NoQtapplicationframework[https://www.qt.io]andIcouldnotevendrawasimplebutton.

2.DonationsDonatetoshowyourappreciationifyoulikemyprograms.

SpendenSie,umIhreWertschätzungzuzeigen,wennIhnenmeineProgrammegefallen.

[https://albar965.github.io/donate.html]

3.InstallationHighlightedtextisusedtodenotewindow,menu,button,fileordirectorynames.

3.1.General

LittleNavconnectactsasanagentthatconnectsLittleNavmap[https://albar965.github.io/littlenavmap.html]runningonaremotecomputerwithaflightsimulator.ThissavesthecomplexityofsettinguparemoteSimConnectlinkandalsoallowsusingLittleNavmaptoconnectremotelytotheLittleXpconnectX-Planeplugin.

LittleNavmapcanconnecttotheflightsimulatordirectlywhenrunningonthesamecomputerastheflightsimulatorthereforetheLittleNavconnectagentisonlyneededforconnectingtoaremotecomputer.

ForX-PlaneyouneedtheLittleXpconnectplugin.

LittleNavconnectforWindowsisa32-bitapplicationandwastestedwithWindows7,Windows8,Windows10(32-bitand64-bit).

ThemacOSandLinuxversionsareboth64-bitandweretestedwithmacOSSierraandUbuntuLinux.

Note

LittleNavconnectisbundledwiththeLittleNavmapdownload.

3.2.Updating

DeleteallinstalledfilesofapreviousLittleNavconnectversionbeforeinstallinganewversion.AllfilesfromthepreviousZIPcanbedeletedsincesettingsarestoredinseparatedirectories.Inanycasedonotmergetheinstallationdirectories.

Thereisnoneedtodeletetheoldsettingsdirectory.Theprogramiswritteninawaythatitcanalwaysworkwitholdsettingfiles.

3.3.Windows

Installationinvolvesthesimplecopyingoffilesthereforeaninstallerorsetupprogramisnotrequired.

Donotextractthearchiveintothefolderc:\ProgramFiles\orc:\ProgramFiles(x86)\sinceyouwillneedadministrativeprivilegesinsomeWindowsversions.SinceWindowskeepscontrolofthesefoldersotherproblemsmightoccurlikereplacedordeletedfiles.

ExtracttheZiparchiveintoafolderlikec:\OwnPrograms\LittleNavconnect.Thenstarttheprogrambydouble-clickinglittlenavconnect.exe.

IrecommendtoinstalltheVisualC++RuntimeInstaller(All-In-One)v56[https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/visual_c_runtime_installer.html]packagefromMajorGeeks.CombutonlyifyougeterrorswhenstartingLittleNavconnect.

3.3.1.OtherSimulatorsthanFSXSP2

ThisprogramwascompiledusingplainFSXSP2(noAcceleration)SimConnectversion10.0.61259.0.

YoumighthavetoinstallanolderversionofSimConnectifyouusePrepar3DorFSXSteamEdition.IfnotsureaboutthissimplytryLittleNavconnectout.Ifitfailswithanerrormessagefollowtheinstructionsbelow:

Prepar3D:InthesamedirectoryasPrepar3D.exeisaredist\Interfacedirectory(normallyC:\ProgramFiles(x86)\LockheedMartin\Prepar3Dv3\redist\Interface).TherearemultiplelegacyversionsofSimConnectavailable.YouhavetoinstallFSX-SP2-XPACK.msiforLittleNavconnect.

FSXSteamEdition:TheinstallationaddsthefolderC:\ProgramFiles(x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\FSX\SDK\CoreUtilitiesKit\SimConnectSDK\LegacyInterfaces

whereyoucanfindthelegacySimConnectinterfaces.

3.4.macOS

ExtracttheZIPfileandcopytheLittleNavconnectapptoApplicationsoranyotherfolder.

3.5.Linux

Extractthetararchivetoanyplaceandruntheexecutablelittlenavconnectfiletostarttheprogramfromaterminal:

./littlenavconnect

Mostfilemanagerswillstarttheprogramifdouble-clicked.

3.6.X-Plane

LittleNavconnectcanonlyconnecttoX-PlaneusingtheLittleXpconnectX-Planepluginwhichhastobeinstalledtoo.

TheLittleXpconnectpluginisincludedintheLittleNavmaparchivebutcanalsobedownloadedseparately.SeetheincludedREADME.txtintheLittleXpconnectfolderforinstallationinstructions.

Thepluginis64-bitonlyandisavailableforWindows,macOSandLinux.

4.UsageYouwillreceiveanerrormessageiftheprotocolofLittleNavmap,LittleNavconnectorLittleXpconnectdoesnotmatch.MakesuretousethelatestversionsofallprogramsorusetheonesincludedintheLittleNavmapdownloadarchive.

4.1.FlyingComputer

InstallLittleNavconnectontheflyingcomputer.Startitandtakenoteofthemessagethatisprintedintheloggingwindow.Youonlyneedthecoloredvalues.YoucanusetheIPaddressorthehostname.

TheprogramwillautomaticallyconnecttotheflightsimulatorusingSimConnect,iffound.YoucanchangetheconnectiontoX-PlaneanditwillconnectautomaticallytotheLittleXpconnectpluginifX-Planeisrunning.Ifnosimulatorwasfounditwillretryin10secondintervals.

LittleNavconnectcanprintmultipleIPaddressesorhostnamesdependingonyournetworkconfiguration.ThiscanhappenifyouhaveEthernetpluggedinandareconnectedusingwirelessLANtoo,forexample.Youhavetotryalladdressesifyouareunsurewhichonetouse.

LittleNavconnectisrunningandwaitingforaflightsimulator.TheFSXorPrepar3DandX-PlanebuttonsarenotshownonmacOSandLinuxorifSimConnectisnotavailable.

ChangetheportintheOptionsdialogifyouseeanerrormessagelikeshownbelow:

[2016-07-2716:45:35]Unabletostarttheserver:Theboundaddressisalreadyinuse.

4.2.RemoteComputer

Alsocalledclientornetworkedcomputer.

1. StartLittleNavmapontheclientcomputer.2. OpentheconnectiondialoginLittleNavmapbyselectingMainMenu->Tools->

FlightSimulatorConnection.

ConnectdialogwithcorrectvaluestoaccesstheLittleNavconnectshownabove.

1. SelectConnecttoaremoteFlightSimulator.2. AddthevalueforhostnameortheIPaddressprintedbyLittleNavconnect.3. Checkthevaluefortheport.51968isthedefaultvalueanddoesnotneedtobe

changedusually.4. ClickConnect.ThedialogwillcloseandLittleNavmapwilltrytoestablisha

connectioninthebackgroundwhichcantakesometime,dependingonyournetwork.YouraircraftwillshowuponthemapandontheSimulatorAircraftdockwindowonceaflightissetupandloadedonthesimulator.YouwillseethemessageConnected.Waitingforupdate.intheSimulatorAircraftdockwindowifnoflightisloadedyet(i.e.thesimulatorstillshowstheopeningscreen).

Note

Notethatitsometimescantakeawhileuntilanerrorisshownifyouusedthewrongvaluesforhostnameorport.

5.MenuandOptions

5.1. File->Quit

Exitstheapplication.Willaskforconfirmationiftherearestillclientsconnected.

5.2.Tools->FSXorPrepar3D/X-Plane

Choosesthesimulatorconnection.Thesefunctionsarealsoavailableonthetoolbar.

5.3.Tools->ResetMessages

Thiswillre-enablealldialogsthatweredisabledbyclickingDonotshowthisdialogagainorsimilarmessages.

5.4.Tools->Toolbar

Showsorhidesthetoolbar.

5.5. Tools->Options

OpenstheOptionsdialogwhichhasthefollowingsettings:

UpdateTimeInterval:Allowedrangeis50millisecondsupto1second.LittleNavconnectfetchesdatafromFlightSimulatorandsendsittoallclients(i.e.LittleNavmap)usingthistimeinterval.Increasethisvalueifyougetawarningmessagelikeshownbelow:

[2016-07-2716:45:35]Droppedmorethan50packages.Reason:Missingreply.Increase

updatetimeinterval.

DroppedpackagescanalsoappeariftheLittleNavmapcannotrespondbecauseadialogisopen.

NetworkPort:Thiscannormallybeleftatdefault.ChangethisvalueonlyifanotherapplicationoccupiesthisportandyougetanerrormessagelikeshownbelowwhenstartingLittleNavconnect:

[2016-07-2716:45:35]Unabletostarttheserver:Theboundaddressisalreadyin

use.

FetchAIormultiplayeraircraftandFetchAIormultiplayerships:Disables

fetchingofAIvehiclesandthetransferacrossthenetwork.ThiscanbeusefulforperformancereasonsifyouuselargeamountsofAIbutdonotwanttoseeitinLittleNavmap.NotethatshipAIisnotavailableonX-Plane.

HidehostnameandIPinlogwindow:CheckthisoptiontodisableprintingofhostnameandIPaddressonstartup.ThiscanbeusefulforstreamingsessionswhereLittleNavconnectwindowisvisibletoothers.

LittleNavconnectOptionsDialogwithdefaultsettings.

5.6. HelpMenu->Contents(Online)

Showstheonlinehelpinyourdefaultwebbrowser.

5.7. HelpMenu->Contents(Offline,PDF)

ShowstheofflinehelpPDFdocumentinyourdefaultPDFviewer.

5.8. HelpMenu->AboutLittleNavconnect

ShowsversionandrevisionnumberforLittleNavconnect,alsocontainslinkstotheconfigurationfile,logfileandtheauthor’se-mailaddresses.

5.9. HelpMenu->AboutQt

InformationabouttheQtapplicationframework[https://www.qt.io]thatisusedbyLittleNavconnect.

6.Appendix

6.1.HowtoreportaBug

IfsomethinggoeswrongsendmeLittleNavconnect’slogfileandconfigurationfilewhichbothcanbelocatedintheaboutdialog.Mye-mailaddressisshownintheaboutdialogofLittleNavconnectaswell.PleasecompressthelogfileinaZIParchive.

Pleaseaddallstepsthatarenecessarytoreproducetheerror.

Ifyou’reconcernedaboutprivacywhensendinglogfiles:Thelogfileswillcontainallpaths(likeyourDocumentsdirectory)whichwillalsoincludeyourusernameasapartofthepath.Theymightalsocontainyourcomputer’snameIPaddressinyournetwork.

Innocasefilenamesfromanythingelsethanflightsimulatorsceneryorconfigurationfilesareincluded.Nonamesorcontentofpersonalfilesisincludedinthelogfiles.

I’dsuggesttoremovethisinformationifyou’reconcernedaboutit.

Istronglyrecommendtosendthelogfilesusingaprivateforummessageorbyemailandnotattachthemtoforumpostswheretheyarepubliclyvisible.

6.2.Files

6.2.1.Windows

LogfilesofLittleNavconnectforWindows7/8/10aretypicallystoredinthedirectory:

C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\Temp

Theprogramkeepsthreelogfilesandrotatestheseoneachstartup.Soyoucanfinduptothreelogs:

abarthel-little_navconnect.log,abarthel-little_navconnect.log.1andabarthel-little_navconnect.log.2.

AllconfigurationfilesofmyprogramsforWindows7/8/10aretypicallystoredinthedirectory:

C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\ABarthel

Thereisoneconfigurationfileforthisprogram:

little_navconnect.ini:INIstyleconfigurationfile.Textfile.

6.2.2.macOSandLinux

Theconfigurationfilesarestoredin$HOME/.config/ABarthelonmacOSandLinux.Logfilesarestoredin/tmponLinuxandin/var/foldersonmacOS.

7.LicenseThisprogramisfreesoftware:youcanredistributeitand/ormodifyitunderthetermsoftheGNUGeneralPublicLicenseaspublishedbytheFreeSoftwareFoundation,eitherversion3oftheLicense,or(atyouroption)anylaterversion.

Thisprogramisdistributedinthehopethatitwillbeuseful,butWITHOUTANYWARRANTY;withouteventheimpliedwarrantyofMERCHANTABILITYorFITNESSFORAPARTICULARPURPOSE.SeetheGNUGeneralPublicLicenseformoredetails.

YoushouldhavereceivedacopyoftheGNUGeneralPublicLicensealongwiththisprogram.Ifnot,seehttp://www.gnu.org/licenses[http://www.gnu.org/licenses/].

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