Author Topic: GSX Pushback HTML Window Opened In Flight  (Read 2237 times)

downscc

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GSX Pushback HTML Window Opened In Flight
« on: January 13, 2021, 06:27:21 pm »
In P3Dv5.1:  While enroute at FL400 I accidentally hit Ctrl+F12 when I wanted Ctrl+F11 for Active Sky information.  Surprisingly, the last HTML window used was by GSX pushback at departure.  The pushback was normal and concluded with a have a nice flight.  Nothing would remove the Pushback HTML window.  I tried selecting a GSX menu but got the unable above 240/10000 message as is normal.  I restarted couatl, I disabled/enabled GSX, I used Ctrl+Shift+F12 when below 10,000.  Nada.  That window remained opened until I quit P3D.
 

virtuali

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Re: GSX Pushback HTML Window Opened In Flight
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2021, 10:57:40 am »
That's a known bug of the sim, sometimes the Simconnect Html menu is "stuck" to the last setting, and it takes a simulator restart before it resets again. It's some issue with the P3D Html menu, because it's not fixed by restarting Couatl and, during such restart, GSX has no memory of what you were doing before.

downscc

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Re: GSX Pushback HTML Window Opened In Flight
« Reply #2 on: January 15, 2021, 09:31:57 pm »
That's a known bug of the sim, sometimes the Simconnect Html menu is "stuck" to the last setting, and it takes a simulator restart before it resets again. It's some issue with the P3D Html menu, because it's not fixed by restarting Couatl and, during such restart, GSX has no memory of what you were doing before.

Thanks, I suspected as much.  I have not seen it in the LM P3D beta forum, where we are both members.  Do you know in fact is is reported?  Do you have any insight into what might create the HTML menu hang in P3D?  I know the stuck menu appeared when I clicked in flight on Ctrl F12 instead of getting the text banner that tells user GSX is unavailable above 250/10000, which I why I started the inquiry with you.

virtuali

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Re: GSX Pushback HTML Window Opened In Flight
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2021, 11:27:00 am »
Thanks, I suspected as much.  I have not seen it in the LM P3D beta forum, where we are both members.

There are already two threads ( one which is several pages long, that has been followed by a lot of people ) on the LM Public forum: I assume they must have been noticed it by now:

https://www.prepar3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6312&t=140586

Another one here, with another problem of the Html menu not responding to keys, with reproduction steps using JUST the default ATC window:

https://www.prepar3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6312&t=140267

Since this is clearly affecting a standard functionality too, I expect this being looked at.

Quote
Do you have any insight into what might create the HTML menu hang in P3D?

As explained so many times about the various menu issues that *affect* GSX because of bugs in the sim ( with Scaleform it crashed randomly so, it's possible that reverting to Scaleform might prevent it to be stuck, but you'll go back to random VCRUNTIME crashes ), creating a menu with Simconnect is extremely simple, meaning:

- It's difficult for us to "screw up"

- We don't have any control over it if something doesn't work.

It IS a black box to us: we just sent a command with a Title and a list of entries, and we wait for a reply from the sim, which calls our code back with a result that indicates what the user chose. We don't control the keyboard, we don't control the mouse, we don't even know if the user used the keyboard or the mouse. We don't control the Simconnect window placement and we don't control the size. It IS a complete black box to us.

When you choose "Restart Couatl", it is a complete restart, and nothing is "saved" from the previous session, which means, if the menu is still "stuck" in some previous state after Couatl restarted, it's nothing that has anything to do with GSX, since nowhere in GSX we try to save a state from a previous session so, there's simply no chance this logic could have some kind of flaw, since there's no logic to do this in the first place. If the menu gets "unstuck" by restarting P3D ( but not by restarting Couatl ), that's a clear indication that, whatever thing is stuck, it's happening entirely inside the simulator so, it's yet another case of an issue of the menu that people keeps reporting here, which in fact a P3D bug.

However, "thanks" to the existence of MSFS 2020, in which Simconnect is slowly completing, but is still missing things like, for example, the famous Simconnect menu, in order to port GSX to MSFS 2020, we have been working on a complete replacement for that menu, one that we'll have complete control over it, and we are planning to offer it as an OPTION ( in the settings ) for the P3D version too because, right now, it seems the alternatives in P3D are between the bugged Html version and the potentially crashing and on the verge of being phased out Scaleform.

Our custom menu will use wxWidgets, which is the same method we use for all the other GSX user interface elements, like the airport customization page or the airplane configuration page so, at least, if there are issues with it, we CAN fix them.

This won't be a permanent solution ( MSFS will have its own native Simconnect menu sooner or later ), and won't be enabled by default, since it has some shortcomings, with the biggest one being lack of support for VR, so we'll add it as an option in the setting, with a choice between the default Simconnect menu, and the custom GSX UI.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2021, 11:29:32 am by virtuali »

downscc

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Re: GSX Pushback HTML Window Opened In Flight
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2021, 06:03:33 pm »
Thank you very much.  I like the idea of using wxWidgets... if for no other reason than you have control of your content.