EFB version 2.0 status

[bgpearce01]

23 minutes ago, boogie said:

No, sorry, that was not what I meant.  What I was asking for is if you can make the window stay on top. I use a triple screen setup with the sim view stretched over all screens and with v1 whenever I click somewhere in the EFB and switch back to the sim the EFB window disappears until I get it back with the key command.

I seem to remember that you once said regarding that issue with v1 that it is not possible but if I look for example at the landing rate tool by ProjectFly there is a working option to make it stay on top!?

Yes please if you can make the EFB stay persistently on the screen that would be fantastic!

 

Also, read all of the new manuals just waiting for the v2 files ?

[aivlasoft]

If the simulator runs in full screen mode (no borders, no window title), it is technically not possible to run a .NET application "on top of the non-Windows simulator". If the simulator runs in windowed mode, then a solution is possible by setting an attribute of the EFB window to "top most". But this has another disadvantage: If such an attribute is set, then this window is really 'on top' of ALL other windows and any other windows behind might be difficult to see, move or even to interact with. That's why this option is not available.

[boogie]

13 minutes ago, aivlasoft said:

If the simulator runs in full screen mode (no borders, no window title), it is technically not possible to run a .NET application "on top of the non-Windows simulator". If the simulator runs in windowed mode, then a solution is possible by setting an attribute of the EFB window to "top most". But this has another disadvantage: If such an attribute is set, then this window is really 'on top' of ALL other windows and any other windows behind might be difficult to see, move or even to interact with. That's why this option is not available.

Too sad but I'll live with it...thx for your quick response!

[RayProudfoot]

8 hours ago, boogie said:

No, sorry, that was not what I meant.  What I was asking for is if you can make the window stay on top. I use a triple screen setup with the sim view stretched over all screens and with v1 whenever I click somewhere in the EFB and switch back to the sim the EFB window disappears until I get it back with the key command.

I seem to remember that you once said regarding that issue with v1 that it is not possible but if I look for example at the landing rate tool by ProjectFly there is a working option to make it stay on top!?

One possible solution is a 2nd networked PC running the client on a modest display. I run v2 on an i5 PC with resolution of 2560*1440 using around half the screen area. The other half runs LittleNavMap, Radar Contact and a LUA program showing key P3D info.

[boogie]

9 hours ago, RayProudfoot said:

One possible solution is a 2nd networked PC running the client on a modest display. I run v2 on an i5 PC with resolution of 2560*1440 using around half the screen area. The other half runs LittleNavMap, Radar Contact and a LUA program showing key P3D info.

Yes I will see I ordered a new notebook today maybe I'll use the old one as the EFB monitor or I'll use it just the way I did with v1 as long as there is the possibility to bring it to front/back by using a shortcut. Reading the manual I could see the shortcut section in the server module is gone but there is one in the client so I hope there is still a shortcut for it.

[nax228]

Great news! Havent been around for some time due to... nevermind, but am very pleased to read about a possible Q3 release. Keep it up

[aivlasoft]

5 hours ago, boogie said:

Reading the manual I could see the shortcut section in the server module is gone but there is one in the client so I hope there is still a shortcut for it.

The shortcuts that you refer to are for the Client functions only. That means that the shortcuts only work when the Client is the Windows application which has the focus on your computer.

[aivlasoft]

1 hour ago, nax228 said:

but am very pleased to read about a possible Q3 release

Planned release date is   1 July 2018.

[boogie]

5 minutes ago, aivlasoft said:

The shortcuts that you refer to are for the Client functions only. That means that the shortcuts only work when the Client is the Windows application which has the focus on your computer.

In Version there were some shortcut definitions in the data provider settings which are very important for me to bring the display unit to front or send it to the back.

Do you mean I can't do that anymore in v2?

 

Regards,

Klaus

 

[aivlasoft]

These shortcuts are recognized by FSX which then sends a command to the DataProvider. The entire functionality is very limited because 1) FSX must be the application which has the focus, and 2) it only works if the DisplayUnit is displaying a chart or the flight log.

 

EFB v1 was developed for FSX only and therefore many features were hard-coded. EFB v2 is no longer restricted to just one simulator and therefore this feature is no longer supported.

If you are running EFB v2 along with a simulator on the same computer (simulator in windowed mode), then you can use the "ALT+TAB" Windows shortcut to switch between the simulator and EFB Client. So this should not be an issue.

[Bob]

Firstly congratulations on releasing EFB v2 after so many years of hard work,

 

A question - how easy is EFB v2 DisplayUnit to use on a touchscreen device such as a Surface Pro? Also when are you releasing the changelog?

[boogie]

36 minutes ago, aivlasoft said:

These shortcuts are recognized by FSX which then sends a command to the DataProvider. The entire functionality is very limited because 1) FSX must be the application which has the focus, and 2) it only works if the DisplayUnit is displaying a chart or the flight log.

 

EFB v1 was developed for FSX only and therefore many features were hard-coded. EFB v2 is no longer restricted to just one simulator and therefore this feature is no longer supported.

If you are running EFB v2 along with a simulator on the same computer (simulator in windowed mode), then you can use the "ALT+TAB" Windows shortcut to switch between the simulator and EFB Client. So this should not be an issue.

Thank you for your quick answer although it's a bit of a shock for me...let me explain why:

Usually I have the DisplayUnit on my left monitor open the whole flight like an advanced moving map. If I'm on final for example I want to see the vertical profile permanently during the approach to check if I'm on path. Another example is the checklist...I would have to switch via Alt-Tab after every step because when I click the switch in the VC the window with the checklist will disappear. This totally kills the immersion for me. And apart from that I don't understand your given simulator argument as it worked well in full screen with P3D v3 and v4.

 

With the situation you described v2 will only work for me if I use my old notebook (10 year old dual-core) or if I buy a fourth monitor.

So it seems as long as I don't decide to buy another monitor I will have to stick with v1 which is very much disappointing for me as I was looking forward to the new version but hitting ALT-TAB a hundred times during a flight would be a step back for me.

 

Regards,

Klaus

[boogie]

That's what it looks like for me normally during approach (sometimes the whole flight)

[aivlasoft]

2 hours ago, Bob said:

how easy is EFB v2 DisplayUnit to use on a touchscreen device such as a Surface Pro?

This is difficult to answer, because everyone feels different.

 

Quote

Also when are you releasing the changelog?

There is no changelog, EFB v2 has been developed from scratch.

 

[lonewulf47]

2 minutes ago, aivlasoft said:

There is no changelog, EFB v2 has been developed from scratch.

 

... but you might want to download the Manuals, available here: https://forum.aivlasoft.com/files/ to have a closer look to all features.

[Jlund]

"There is no changelog, EFB v2 has been developed from scratch."

 

Does that mean that there's no update discount if we already own Version 1?

 

Jlund

[Timonier]

9 minutes ago, Jlund said:

"There is no changelog, EFB v2 has been developed from scratch."

 

Does that mean that there's no update discount if we already own Version 1?

 

Jlund

Have you read this all post ??

Urs speaks about 20% discount for people with version 1 !!!

[Dane]

15 hours ago, aivlasoft said:

Planned release date is   1 July 2018.

Congratulations Urs - it has been a long time coming but I can see, from the great EFB2 Manual that you have released, the reason why - what a lot of planning, designing and coding - looking forward to July 1 (only a week away - wow)

 

One question - Do you feel that on this release it will be bug free, at least for the most part?

[Bob]

17 hours ago, aivlasoft said:

This is difficult to answer, because everyone feels different.

 

 

With the popularity of the Surface Pro it would be wise to do some touchscreen optimisation in future versions as an EFB application sorta lends itself to be a touchscreen application due to the nature of getting information quickly.  .NET I believe supports many touch gestures and optimisations so you shouldn't have much trouble there.

 

17 hours ago, aivlasoft said:

There is no changelog, EFB v2 has been developed from scratch.

 

Okay so what are the advantages then over v1? A few bullet points addressing this on the main website wouldn't go amiss. Spending hours trawling through a manual as suggested here trying to find obscure information is not that ideal really. I tried a v1 trial and didn't like the very complex and unintuitive setup so I bought EFASS NG but since the developer behind that has died in a car accident I am looking to v2 of the EFB program to replace it..

[lonewulf47]

25 minutes ago, Bob said:

...

Okay so what are the advantages then over v1? A few bullet points addressing this on the main website wouldn't go amiss. Spending hours trawling through a manual as suggested here trying to find obscure information is not that ideal really. I tried a v1 trial and didn't like the very complex and unintuitive setup so I bought EFASS NG but since the developer behind that has died in a car accident I am looking to v2 of the EFB program to replace it..

We do not do comparisons of any nature to competitive products. You will have a full 30-day trial period with the new V2 without any functional limitation. So, it's not about speaking of advantages or personal sensitivities. Just try and find out ?.

[f.skywalker]

Hello Urs

I find a 20% discount a bit too little for users who want to switch from version 1 to 2.
Is this price already confirmed.
I think that's too expensive for switching from 1 to 2.
I love this program but a better price for existing customers would be better.

Frank

 

 

[aivlasoft]

11 hours ago, Dane said:

One question - Do you feel that on this release it will be bug free, at least for the most part?

Of course it will not be free of bugs, what a question. Even FMC software from the "big ones" is not free of bugs ...

Although we did a lot of effort to find and fix bugs, software these days will never be free of bugs. That's a fact.

[Bob]

2 hours ago, lonewulf47 said:

We do not do comparisons of any nature to competitive products. You will have a full 30-day trial period with the new V2 without any functional limitation. So, it's not about speaking of advantages or personal sensitivities. Just try and find out ?.

 

Go back and re-read my post carefully please. NEVER did I suggest that Aivlasoft make a comparison with EFASS NG or any other Flight SImulation companion app, I just gave the developer the respect of giving a little backstory to why I am making this suggestion. 

 

Prospective customers shouldn't need to trawl through pages and pages of the manual to find out what the advantages of v2 over v1, nor should they have to install v1 and v2 trials side by side and carefully analyse what is and what isn't in each version of the program. Ultimately "EFB v2 has been developed from scratch" is meaningless without some detail. Companies release iterative products that are developed from scratch all the time but still manage to give you a good overview as to why the product is better than the previous iteration. I would be more forgiving if this wasn't a paid upgrade but since it is some sort of information on why it's better would be more respectful to your existing customers. 

 

I will ignore your aggressive personal attack on me also...

 

 

[Dane]

1 hour ago, aivlasoft said:

Of course it will not be free of bugs, what a question. Even FMC software from the "big ones" is not free of bugs ...

Although we did a lot of effort to find and fix bugs, software these days will never be free of bugs. That's a fact.

I know - I know - it is a doubt question.

I know from v1 that v2 will be amazing as your work is impecable.

[lonewulf47]

2 hours ago, Bob said:

 

Go back and re-read my post carefully please. NEVER did I suggest that Aivlasoft make a comparison with EFASS NG or any other Flight SImulation companion app, I just gave the developer the respect of giving a little backstory to why I am making this suggestion. 

 

Prospective customers shouldn't need to trawl through pages and pages of the manual to find out what the advantages of v2 over v1, nor should they have to install v1 and v2 trials side by side and carefully analyse what is and what isn't in each version of the program. Ultimately "EFB v2 has been developed from scratch" is meaningless without some detail. Companies release iterative products that are developed from scratch all the time but still manage to give you a good overview as to why the product is better than the previous iteration. I would be more forgiving if this wasn't a paid upgrade but since it is some sort of information on why it's better would be more respectful to your existing customers. 

 

I will ignore your aggressive personal attack on me also...

 

Bob,

 

I fully understand your point, however, I'm afraid that you don't understand mine. This is a private forum of the Developer AivlaSoft and for that reason we do not comment on any competitive products or developers here. Furthermore we do expect the same from our customers. This is not a strict rule, but just a matter of decency. There are many public forums where comparisons of any kind can be published. This is the only point that I made in my statement. Which part of this should contain the elements of personal offence will most probably remain one of the (few) unresolved mysteries in my life...?