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2017.1.2 Where is the preferences.xml file ?

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2017.1.2 Where is the preferences.xml file ?

Postby mhab » Mon Mar 06, 2017 11:46 pm

Hello

I just installed FG 2017.1.2 and I cannot find preferences.xml file anymore ?
It's also gone from SourceForge after 2016.4 branch

Wiki doesn't mention it was replaced or removed in 2017
Also the change list of 2017.1 doesn't mention anything related.

What's the problem here ?

Mike-DE
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Re: 2017.1.2 Where is the preferences.xml file ?

Postby Alant » Tue Mar 07, 2017 12:08 am

Now renamed defaults.xml.

This is because the file should not normally need to be be changed by users, only by the system designers (the developers)

What do you need to change?

Don´t blame me , I´m only the messenger.

Alan
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Re: 2017.1.2 Where is the preferences.xml file ?

Postby mhab » Tue Mar 07, 2017 12:17 am

Hello Alant

Thanks for the fast and helpful reply.
I do lots of changes as I'm not too happy about several FG presets.
I will look into, how to split my changes off into my private preferences.xml

Mike-DE
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Re: 2017.1.2 Where is the preferences.xml file ?

Postby mhab » Tue Mar 07, 2017 1:09 am

Hello again

Well reality seems to beat concept, sad to say.

I was not able with several tests to overdefine the following setting of defaults.xml
Code: Select all
<sim>
    <menubar>
      <visibility type="bool">true</visibility>
      <autovisibility>
        <enabled type="bool">false</enabled>
      </autovisibility>
    </menubar>
</sim>


I wanted to change this to
Code: Select all
<sim>
    <menubar>
      <visibility type="bool" userarchive="y">false</visibility>
      <autovisibility>
        <enabled type="bool" userarchive="y">true</enabled>
      </autovisibility>
    </menubar>
</sim>

In my own specially configured mhab-preferences.xml file

And it didn't work, although I can see on the console it was reading my mhab-preferences.xml file.
No error message about anything being wrong and no effect of the setting.

EDIT:
Code: Select all
aircraft = ec130b4
found aircraft in dir: C:/Users/michael/Documents/FlightGear_adapted/Aircraft/ec130
Found language resource for: en
Reading localized strings for 'en' from Path "C:/FlightGear_2017_1_2/data/Translations/en/sys.xml"
Reading localized strings for 'en' from Path "C:/FlightGear_2017_1_2/data/Translations/en/atc.xml"
        option:download-dir = C:/Flightgear_Downloads
        option:enable-terrasync =
        option:enable-real-weather-fetch =
        option:enable-rembrandt =
        option:enable-fullscreen =
        option:aircraft-dir = C:/Users/michael/Documents/FlightGear_adapted/Aircraft/ec130
        option:aircraft = ec130b4
        option:timeofday = noon
        option:config = C:\FlightGear_2017_1_2\data\mhab-preferences.xml
        option:language = en


I think I will go back to editing defaults.xml
Mike-DE
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Re: 2017.1.2 Where is the preferences.xml file ?

Postby capitulator » Tue Oct 10, 2017 1:01 pm

ok, i do realize this is somewhat off-topic.
but may i ask, what the benefit of the all-too-familiar, willy-nilly, renaming of config files
in the open source community is?
it is sooooooo, frustrating to read a well-formatted wiki page, trying to teach you how to use your software,
only to find out out its obsolete and has not been replaced by something useful (the wiki page, i mean).

is there any way to start a conversation between you, the allmighty developers and us, the humble users on this topic?
regards
Klaus (with a bloody forhead from banging my head against this particular wall)
PS: last line, in the current defaults.xml file: <!-- end of preferences.xml -->
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Re: 2017.1.2 Where is the preferences.xml file ?

Postby rominet » Mon Feb 12, 2018 5:54 pm

I believe the intention was to avoid sending the message: “feel free to modify this file as you want, these are your preferences”. It's always painful for everyone when files in FGData are modified by users (painful for users when they upgrade and painful for developers when handling bug reports). The new name defaults.xml suggests that the right way is not to modify this file, rather to apply your own overlay(s) on top of it, for instance with --config=/path/to/a/PropertyList/file.

The comment at the end of the file has been updated in 'next', thanks for your report.

(note that I didn't do the renaming either, just giving you what I think was the main reason)
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Re: 2017.1.2 Where is the preferences.xml file ?

Postby wkitty42 » Mon Feb 12, 2018 6:01 pm

i agree with you, rom... that is the most stated reason that i recall...

we (TINW) should probably also take a peek at the user manual and see what needs to be changed in it with regard to placing files into the FG install and data directories... i don't even know where to find it in a repo build of FG...
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"Why not?" said Gurder.
"Dunno. It's frightened of heights, I guess."
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