When my FIP gauges are having major updates, say from version R3 to R4, they will be installed onto a new folder ending with the new version in their names, e.g. A36_Bonanza_R4. This is to prevent mixing the new files with the old files, and to avoid the possibility of overwriting user-customized files, just in case.
For those who are running the Saitek/Logitech Drivers, the gauge installer will create corresponding links for the update automatically.
But for those who are using SPAD.neXt, they will have to reinstall the gauges to the SPAD.neXt system again as the folder location has changed. This is quite troublesome especially when one has configured the buttons and knobs on the FIP extensively.
Following is what I do and it is relatively simple and efficient.
Step 1
Run the installer coming with the gauge package to store the updates to the new location first.
Step 2
Go to the Profiles directory under SPAD.neXt and select the gauge file (e.g. A36_Bonanza.xml) to be updated and make a copy of it (e.g. A36_Bonanza_R3.xml.bak)
Step 3
Open the gauge file and search for “Gauge Filename”
Step 4
Correct the file location and filename in the entry to the new version accordingly, for example, from
to
“file://c:\program files (x86)\logitech\fsx plugin\fsx_times_gauges\a36_bonanza_r4\A36_VOR2_R4E.xml”
Repeat Step 3 and Step 4 until all “Gauge Filename” entries are matching the new version.
Actually, most of the time, the editing process could just mean some “searches and replaces” for the version numbers (e.g. from R3 to R4).
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When the correction is done, save the gauge file and run the simulator, SPAD.neXt will load the new version with all previously saved button and knob configurations.
If there are additional gauges included in the update, add them to SPAD.neXt as usual.
FSX TIMES 