Hangar Manager Version 3.6
Author: Mark Schilberg
For use with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002, 2000 & 98
Platforms: Win95/98/ME/XP/NT/2K
Support Website: http://www3.sympatico.ca/hangarmanager
Support email: hangarmanager@sympatico.ca
(Shareware - see the website for registration/order info)
Contents ...
4. Customizing Categories and Moving Packages Around
Notes about FS2002 Information Option
Limitations for Unregistered Shareware
1.
Quick Start
After you've specified the Staging, Hangar and MSFS directories to Hangar Manager, you can add a package (any combination of a single aircraft, panel or sound configuration) to the "Hangar" (your collection) by selecting the
"To STAGING" button, then the "Options" menu bar item and
then either the "Process ZIP File Into Staging" or "Import package
from MSFS" options (there are also toolbar buttons to these options for
quick access).
This will place the package into the Staging area. Note that if the package contains an aircraft with multiple configurations, you'll have to select which one you want. (You can repeat the process if necessary if you'd like some of the other configurations).
Have a look to see if everything is in order. Select the category that the package will belong to. When ready, select the "Copy package to Hangar" option from the menu bar.
Once the package is in the Hangar you can, among other things, quickly and cleanly copy it to and remove it from Microsoft Flight Simulator. If you'd like to go to the Hangar now, press the "To HANGAR" button.
2. Introduction
Hangar Manager is a complete solution for taking care of your aircraft, panels and sounds. It automatically unzips and recognizes packages you download from the internet or import from those already installed in MSFS. It allows you to categorize (customizable) your collection, to easily recognize and select packages by images, to keep the MSFS aircraft directory free of aircraft you don't currently want to fly, to keep the MSFS gauge directory clean, and to keep your collection compressed so that it takes up less hard drive or CD rom space.
NOTE: I will use the word "package" to mean a set of files which are included in an aircraft and/or panel and/or sound configuration. When I mention "aircraft" I mean the set of components that are composed of the flight model, aircraft model and texturing of the aircraft model.
NOTE: I use the word "directory" to also mean "folder". Newer computer users who have initially been introduced to MS Windows probably won't know what a directory is since it is a word from the MS DOS days (and other current OS's).
4. Customizing Categories and Moving
Packages Around
Just to let you know early on about the basics of how Hangar Manager works, the directory structure in the "Hangar" directory is Windows Explorer friendly. This means that you can add, remove and rename category directories with Windows Explorer whenever you'd like. Just make sure you restart Hangar Manager when you make a change.
You can also transfer packages from one category directory to another by simply "dragging" it from one directory (folder) to another, even when the package is installed in MSFS.
NOTE: Don't rename the package
folders themselves within Windows Explorer. You can rename packages within Hangar Manager.
5. Locations
When you start Hangar Manager for the first time it will ask for three directories ...
The "Staging" directory
This is a directory (that should initially be empty) where you initially place (extract, import or copy) the files for a SINGLE aircraft and/or panel and/or sound
configuration so that they can be analyzed by Hangar Manager and presented to
you in a meaningful way. Note that if multiple configurations of the
aircraft are found, you'll have to select which one you want. (You can
repeat the process if necessary if you'd like some of the other configurations).
If the directory doesn't yet exist, type it in (i.e. c:\staging). Hangar Manager will ask you if you'd like to create it.
Consider the Staging directory as Hangar Manager's work directory.
More on the use of the Staging directory ...
Hangar Manager was designed to analyze the contents of the Staging directory and to recognize all files there, regardless if they are in subdirectories or not. Don't be concerned about the directory structure in the Staging directory or contained within the zip file you're unzipping or even reading the installation instructions for the aircraft, panel or sound configuration (unless you encounter a problem). All Hangar Manager "sees" and recognizes are the files themselves. It will also notify you if it finds a duplicate filename situation that it cannot deal with itself.
The "Hangar" directory
This is where the aircraft/panel/sound components are stored when they're accepted from the Staging directory. Think of this as your collection directory. When you first run Hangar Manager the Hangar directory you select should be empty. If the directory you select contains one or more directories, those directory names will become the categories for your packages and no new categories (directories) will be created for you. If you'd like to point to an existing "Hangar" directory created with Hangar Manager, go right ahead.
The Microsoft Flight Simulator directory
This has to be set to directory where Microsoft Flight Simulator is installed, i.e.
C:\FS2002. (I'll refer to this directory sometimes as the MSFS directory).
Once you correctly tell HM where the Staging, Hangar and MSFS directories are, you're able to use HM.
Here are all your options once you're in ...
6. Viewing Package Components
The main window in HM is where the components of your
package are displayed. It shows you the Images, Aircraft, Panel, Gauge, Model, Texture,
Sound, Documentation, Miscellaneous and Unrecognized files. You can double
click on these files you open them in their associated application or delete
them (if necessary) by selecting them and pressing the Delete key.
There is a separate image window which shows you images of the package (if the author was good enough to include them). It can be displayed by selecting an image from the main windows "Images" tab or by checking the "Show package images" option under "Tools". In the image window, you can select the next and previous image if there are more than one, and the first image to be shown for the package. Hovering over an image will show you the image filename. You can also select the images by clicking on them in the main window and you can also delete them there if necessary. This window will stay around until you hit the "Hide" option ... even after you restart HM. To scale the image, drag the the left or right side of the image window horizontally. Then click on the image. The image window will then automatically scale itself vertically giving you the correct proportion. After you resize the image window, all subsequent images will be proportioned correctly.
The Miscellaneous "page" shows you files that don't belong to any of the other categories but were still recognized and will be installed when you install a package. So far, files that will show up in this area will be files with extension .fx , .dll and .dat. The .fx files will be installed in the MSFS Effects folder, the .dll's will be installed in the Modules folder and the .dat's will be installed in the root MSFS folder.
The Unrecognized "page" shows you files that
Hangar Manager does not recognize as
files associated with an aircraft, panel or sound configuration. The author might have included some other kind of file(s) in his distribution (i.e. weather, situations, editing files, backups etc) that HM doesn't deal with, other than
putting them into
the Unrecognized Files directory. (I personally don't like having weather and situations installed when I install an aircraft). You can manually install these files if needed.
NOTE: If you see a valid file in the Unrecognized files page that should be in one of the other categories, I'd like to know about it. Just email me the link to where I can download the aircraft and/or panel and/or sound configuration containing the offending file(s) and the name of the file(s) that are out of place.
7. Options on the Menu Bar
File/Locations
This will let you change the directory locations you've specified.
File/Location Profiles
You can add up to ten different location "profiles" so that you can change locations quicker. Once you add a profile, you can select it by hitting the "Profiles" button on the Locations dialog.
File/Exit
Self explanatory.
Tools/List All Packages in Hangar
Lists all packages in the "Hangar". Packages installed in MSFS will have brackets around them (i.e.<xxx>). You can also use this list as an alternate way to select packages.
Tools/List Packages Installed in MSFS
Lists all packages in the "Hangar" that are currently installed in MSFS. You can also use this list to quickly access
the package you need.
Tools/List Packages with no Images
Lists all packages in the "Hangar" that currently do not have any images
associated with them. What it actually looks for is an "images" directory
under the package directory since images will be placed in this directory by
HM.
Tools/Photo Gallery for Packages in Category
Shows up to sixteen images of the packages in the current category. Images can be clicked to see the next image if there is more than one. Images can also be double clicked to select it in the Hangar. Hovering your mouse over an image shows the package name.
Tools/Photo Gallery for All Packages
Same as above but this options shows images for all Packages.
Tools/List Unused Gauges in MSFS Gauges Directory
This option looks at each gauge file (.gau) in the MSFS "gauges" directory and searches
through the MSFS aircraft directory to see if it is actually used in any of the panels. The procedure used in this option is also used each time you uninstall a package from MSFS to see if the gauges that were initially installed with the package are still being used. If the gauge file is still being used, that particular file would not be uninstalled.
You may optionally delete the gauges listed by selecting them (use CTRL or SHIFT
to select multiple files if needed) and selecting the "Delete" button.
Tools/Automatic Unused Gauge Removal
When you remove a package from MSFS using the "Remove package from MSFS" option,
the gauges in the package are removed from MSFS if they're currently not being
used by any other panel. If you don't want this to happen for whatever
reason, you can uncheck this option. Note that if you want to speed up the
package removal from MSFS option and don't mind leaving gauges installed, turn
off the Automatic Unused Gauge Removal option. You could always run the
unused gauge scanner at a later date.
Tools/Compress all packages
Compresses all files with .bmp (bitmap) and .gau (gauge) for all the packages in the Hangar. These files can take up a lot of space and are highly
compressible.
Tools/Decompress all packages
Opposite of "Compress all packages".
Tools/Uninstall all packages from MSFS
Use this tool to uninstall all the packages in the current Hangar which are currently installed in MSFS.
Tools/Run Flight Simulator
This runs Flight Simulator and shuts down Hangar Manager.
Options
The items under the "Options" menu item are package options that change depending if you're in the Hangar or the Staging areas. See and explanation of these options in the "Staging Options" and "Hangar Options" sections below.
Data
The items under the "Data" menu are for assigning information to a package whether it be located in the Hangar or Staging areas. These options include Notes, Images and FS2002 Information.
8. General Options
The general options are contained in the main Hangar Manager screen. They
are as follows ...
Package Name
Every package needs a unique name no matter what category it's in. HM will initially check for an aircraft name in the aircraft.cfg file, if one exists, and populate the Package Name with it automatically. This name can be overridden. HM will check the hangar and MSFS directories for name duplication and alert you if one exists.
NOTE: While you're in the "Hangar" area, packages installed in MSFS will have their names enclosed in brackets like this ... <Package Name>
Package Category
When you start up HM, a set of categories will be created for you. These categories are simply a set of directories under the Hangar directory and aid in organizing your packages into groups so that you can easily find what you're looking for. These directories can be renamed, removed or added to via Windows Explorer in order to create your own set of categories, even while the directories contain packages, installed in MSFS or not. (You'll have to restart HM in order to see category changes). Note that these category directories will not automatically be created if the Hangar directory contains one or more directories when you start HM.
To STAGING/To HANGAR
This option toggles between the two areas.
Refresh
This option will display the latest contents of the Staging directory or the latest contents of the currently selected package in the Hangar directory. This option is especially useful while you're using the Staging area because it changes frequently while you're unzipping components of an aircraft and/or panel and/or sound configuration to that directory.
Explore
This option will open the currently selected area (directory) in Windows Explorer if you would like to see more information on files.
WARNING: This option should only be used as an informational tool only or if you're familiar with the way Hangar Manager operates. For example, if you modify files in the Hangar directory while they are installed in MSFS, you might run into problems when you try to uninstall the package from
MSFS.
Intro Package
Use this option to make the currently displayed package the package to be
displayed every time you start Hangar Manager.
HANGAR and STAGING label
You can click on this label at any time to hide the components of the package
since you might not always want to see this information.
9. Staging Options
Copy package to Hangar
This will copy the package components as shown in Staging and copy them to the "Hangar" directory. Note that you should select the category that you'd like the package to belong to while you're in the Staging area.
Process ZIP file into Staging
Select this option to unzip a package (i.e. aircraft, panel etc. downloaded from
the internet for example) into the Staging directory. If the
aircraft/panel comes in more that one ZIP file, repeat if necessary.
Note: Since Hangar Manager wasn't
designed to organize aircraft with multiple configurations, if you try to
import an aircraft with multiple configurations, you'll be prompted which
configuration you want. You can then repeat this process for all wanted
configurations.
Import package from MSFS
This brings up a list of aircraft that you currently have installed in MSFS which are not in the current Hangar. From the list, you choose which package to import into the Staging area. This process first copies the files into the staging area and then scans the MSFS gauge directory for gauges which the package uses and copies them to the Staging area as well.
You can then copy the package to the Hangar but remember not to change the
automatically assigned package name, since this name has to match that in MSFS
for you to use the "Remove package from MSFS" option.
Note: You can use this option on all stock MSFS aircraft but it is recommended
that you leave stock aircraft installed since many add-on aircraft/panels use
components (like gauges) from them. They may also be used as AI planes in
FS2002. Also, if a plane is used in a situation and you remove that plane,
you'll get an error when you try to load the situation.
Note: Since Hangar Manager wasn't designed to organize aircraft with multiple configurations, if you try to import an aircraft with multiple configurations, you'll be prompted which configuration you want. You can then repeat this process for all wanted configurations.
Remove all from Staging
This will remove all components from Staging. If Staging contains files, you'll see words to that effect in the title bar. It is important that the Staging area (directory) is clear before files for a new package are put into it.
Remove panel from Staging
This will just remove the panel components from Staging and leave everything else intact, if for some reason you need to do this. For example, if you want to replace the panel for the aircraft with another and do not want to use an alias (see below) you would use this option to clear out the original panel before dropping the new panel files into the Staging directory.
Remove sound from Staging
This will just remove the sound configuration (sound.cfg and .wav files which are used in the sound.cfg) from Staging and leave everything else intact, if for some reason you need to do this. For example, if you want to replace the sound configuration for the aircraft with another and do not want to use an alias (see below) you would use this option to clear out the original sound configuration before dropping the new sound config into the Staging directory.
Remove aircraft from Staging
Same idea as removing the panel or sound configuration from Staging but in this case you will just be removing the aircraft components themselves leaving everything else in tact.
10. Hangar Options
Copy package to MSFS
This will take the currently selected package and copy it to Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Remove package from MSFS
This will remove the currently selected package from Microsoft Flight Simulator. This is a "smart" removal process where each gauge that was initially installed with the package will be checked to see if it is still being used by another panel currently installed in MSFS and will not be removed if so.
Remove package from Hangar
This will remove the currently selected package from the Hangar. You will be prompted to remove it from MSFS first as well, if installed in MSFS.
Rename Package/Aircraft
You can use this option to rename the package or the Aircraft name as it appears in MSFS.
NOTES about aliases (and the following options):
If you have a panel or sound configuration in one package that you'd like to use
in other packages, this can easily be done with the following alias
options. Using aliases avoids panel and sound file duplication that can
lead to more storage space being used by your collection among other
things. You can only use the "Create panel alias" and
"Create sound alias" options on packages with original panels and
sounds.
Create panel alias
To use the "Create panel alias" option, just select a package containing the desired
original panel that you'd like to use in another aircraft and select the "Create panel alias" option.
Paste panel alias
Once you've selected the "Create panel alias" option, you can easily
"paste" the panel into any aircraft in the Hangar by selecting this
option. It creates a new panel.cfg file for the aircraft. If a panel.cfg file already exists
it will be renamed to oldpanel.cfg so that you can easily restore it with the "Restore old panel" option. Note that if an oldpanel.cfg file exists for aircraft selected for subsequent usage of the "Paste panel alias" option, oldpanel.cfg will not be changed and the current panel.cfg file will be overwritten.
Restore old panel
This will restore the original panel of an aircraft that was replaced using the "Paste panel alias" option. HM will simply overwrite the panel.cfg file in the package with the oldpanel.cfg file if
it exists.
Create sound alias
To use the "Create sound alias" option, just select a package containing the desired
original sound configuration that you would like to use in another aircraft and select the "Create sound alias" option.
Paste sound alias
Once you've selected the "Create sound alias" option, you can easily
"paste" the sound configuration into any aircraft in the Hangar by
selecting this option. It creates a new sound.cfg file for the
aircraft. If a sound.cfg file already exists it will be renamed to
oldsound.cfg so that you can easily restore it with the "Restore old sound" option. Note that if an
oldsound.cfg file exists for aircraft selected for subsequent usage of the "Paste
sound alias" option, oldsound.cfg will not be changed and the current sound.cfg file will be overwritten.
Restore old sound
This will restore the original sound configuration of an aircraft that was replaced using the "Paste sound alias" option. HM will simply overwrite the sound.cfg file in the package with the oldsound.cfg file if one
exists.
Check aliases to package
You can find out what other packages in the current Hangar reference the
current package by panel or sound alias with this option.
Check gauges for package
To use this option the package must be installed in MSFS. This is the same check that is performed after a package that has an original panel is installed in MSFS. It checks that all the gauges in the panel are installed in the MSFS gauges directory. (This option was put in since, for example, if you import some of the stock MSFS aircraft like the Concorde, and then remove it from MSFS, if the gauges that the Concorde uses were not currently being used by any other installed package, then they would also be uninstalled. Since some add-on panels use the gauges in the Concorde package they would now be missing if you went and tried to install one of these add-ons.)
Copy package to Staging
This will take the currently selected package and copy it to the Staging directory. This is the option you'd use if,
for example, you want to rework the aircraft/panel/sounds.
Compress package
Compresses all files with .bmp (bitmap) and .gau (gauge) for the current package. These files can take up
A LOT of space and are highly
compressible.
Decompress package
Opposite of "Compress package".
Notes About FS2002 Information Option
In the FS2002 Information dialog there are dropdown lists for Manufacturer, Airline, Type and Model. The information for these lists are stored in the Hangar Manager directory in the files ATC_Types.txt, ATC_Airlines.txt and ATC_Models.txt. You can modify these files yourself but make sure to back up your changes since they'll be overwritten on subsequent installs of Hangar Manager.
Note that if ATC knows how to "say" the entries in the ATC boxes (Airline, Type and Model), it will, when referring to you. Otherwise they'll be ignored and only your callsign or flight number will be used.
I initially took the "disk is cheap" stand on this issue and didn't include compression in Hangar Manager until version 2.3. I included compression because I found that bitmap (bmp) and gauge (gau) files take up a pathetically large amount of space. I then found that bmp files could be 97% compressed (!) and gauge files upwards of 70%. Wav files also take up a good amount of space but I found that they weren't very
compressible at all.
Bottom line is you can expect to compress your packages upwards of 75% and your collection should take up less than half the amount of space it used to. This also helps people who are trying to fit their entire collection on a CD rom.
Package compression is only enabled in the "Hangar" area and optional per package (added two toolbar buttons for this). You can find "Compress all packages" and "Decompress all packages" options under the Tools menu.
When copying packages to MSFS or Staging, compressed files are automatically detected and decompressed into the destination directory.
Please note that while bmp and gau files are compressed they will not function as their extension specifies. Instead they are in a compressed state. The compression format is a "zip" format and is compatible with programs like Winzip but you should never have to unzip any of them manually.
Some people have asked me if Hangar Manager works with CFS2. Though CFS2 isn't officially supported, some people have reported that it works quite well since the CFS2 and FS2000 aircraft container system are very similar if not the same. CFS2 aircraft can be a little more complicated, requiring certain scenery files to be installed etc. Because of this, I recommend that for CFS2 aircraft, its better to install them first into CFS2 and then use Hangar Manager's "Import aircraft from MSFS into Staging" option instead of the "Process ZIP file into Staging" option. This way any files that need to be installed that aren't recognized by HM will be installed. You can then use Hangar Manager's options such as package removal and HM will just leave the unrecognized files where they are in CFS2.
Limitations For Unregistered Shareware
Here are the limitations for Hangar Manager if it is not registered. If you find Hangar Manager useful, please register it. If you register, you'll never have to register any future versions.
- There will be a seven second evaluation reminder at the start of the program.
- The "Copy package to Hangar" option in the Staging area will be disabled if there are ten or more packages already in the Hangar.