gauge cab files

[highpockets]

I have gone back to my FS 2004 for a bit and wondering what I do with the cab.zip files in the gauges folder that comes with some aircraft.

[dhazelgrove]

I have gone back to my FS 2004 for a bit and wondering what I do with the cab.zip files in the gauges folder that comes with some aircraft.

You can either move them to the main gauges folder - if they're shared (to save space) - or you can simply leave them in the individual aircraft panel folder.
Personally, I move them.

Dave

[Milton Shupe]

I usually leave them with the original aircraft in its panel folder so if I dump the aircraft, the gauges go with it.

[highpockets]

So I unzip into whichever I choose?

[EMatheson]

no need to unzip them - just add them unmodified to the main gauges folder or to the panel folder of the aircraft for which they are required.

[dhazelgrove]

no need to unzip them - just add them unmodified to the main gauges folder or to the panel folder of the aircraft for which they are required.

Don't unzip them - or they won't work.

Dave

[Dev One]

You can unzip them, but they need to be in a folder the same name as the .cab files within the panel folder. In fact in FSX I unzip them because I find the aircraft loads a bit faster! This really only works if they are .xml files and their associated .bmp files. Never tried it with .gau files!
Keith

[highpockets]

OK guys, thanks much! :applause:

[Tom Clayton]

FS can use either folders or cab files to store gauges. Even some .gau files are containers. The easy way to tell if something is a container is by reading the panel.cfg file. Here are the first three lines from the stock 747:

gauge00=Boeing747-400!Nav-GPS Switch, 212, 98
gauge01=Boeing747-400!Nav Display Switch, 264, 98
gauge02=Boeing747-400!Primary Flight Display Switch, 158, 98

The portion in red is the container The exclamation point functions like a back-slash in a folder path. If you decide to decompress a cab file, be certain that you use something other than Windows Explorer. Some cab's contain subfolders that Explorer will not retain, which will cause the gauges to not work. You may also get a duplicate file error during the extraction process.