FS Recorder for FSX Version 2.

1
Copyright © 2004-2011 Matthias Neusinger

Disclaimer & License

This software is provided "as is" and without any warranties. Installation and usage of
this software is completely at your own risk! In no event shall the author be liable for
any problems or damages caused directly or indirectly by installing or using this
software.

This software is freeware. It may be freely distributed as long as no money is charged for it,
and none of the included files is removed or modified. Personal usage is free. Using this
software for any commercial purpose is not allowed without written permission of the author!

Introduction

FS Recorder is an add-on module for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which can record flights,
save them to files and play them back similar to the FS instant replay and flight video
recorder, but with a lot more features. It is currently available for FS2004 and FSX. This
version is only compatible with FSX!

FS Recorder does NOT record video files (like e. g. .avi), it records flight data (aircraft
position, speed, etc.). Therefore the recordings can only be played inside FS, and it is also
not possible to convert the recorded files into video files.

FS Recorder also includes additional camera features based on the FS2004 view modes
Virtual Cockpit, Tower and Spot Plane. FS Recorder cameras include features like multiple
cameras of each type, manual and automatic panning, automatic zoom, etc. For details see the
Camera Features chapter.

If you have problems installing or using FS Recorder, refer to the Support chapter at the end
of this document. To suggest improvements or discuss about FS Recorder visit the forums at
www.fs-recorder.net.
Version 2 Release Notes

Make sure that FS Recorder 1.x is uninstalled before using FS Recorder 2! Having both
versions installed may result in problems. If you used the automatic installer for version 1.x,
the version 2 installer will automatically uninstall the old version.

The .frc file format was completely redesigned for FS Recorder 2 for smaller file size and
better extensibility. It is not compatible with the format used by FS Recorder 1.x. To play
back recordings made with version 1.x the files have to be converted to the new format. When
you select a version 1.x .frc file for playback in version 2, you will be asked if you want to
convert the file to the new format (a backup of the old version will be saved if you accept the
conversion).

It is currently not possible to load VC/Tower/Spot camera files saved with FS Recorder 1.x,
as the file format has changed. A tool for converting the version 1.x files to the new format
might become available soon.

Version 2.1 Release Notes

In case you want to downgrade from version 2.1 to version 2.0, uninstall version 2.1 first
and then make sure to install at least version 2.01 to avoid problems!
Installation

Automatic installation (recommended)

First extract all files in the zip archive to a directory of you choice! Then start the included
Windows Installer file Setup.msi and follow the instructions. FSX has to be installed on your
system, otherwise installation will fail.
The module, documentation and tools will be installed into the directory you select in the
installation wizard. The installer will automatically add the required Launch.Addon entry to
your FSX dll.xml file (only for the current user!).

Manual installation
If you have installed FS Recorder 1.x for FSX on your system, remove it before
installing FS Recorder 2!
Create a directory and extract the file FSRecorder_FSX.dll into it. Then open the file dll.xml,
which is located in Documents and Settings\[USER]\Application Data\Microsoft\FSX and add
the following entry before </SimBase.Document>:

<Launch.Addon>
<Name>FS Recorder</Name>
<Disabled>False</Disabled>
<ManualLoad>False</ManualLoad>
<Path>[PATH]\FSRecorder_FSX.dll</Path>
</Launch.Addon>

where you have to replace [PATH] with the path, where FSRecorder_FSX.dll is located.

Uninstalling

If you used the automatic installer for installation, select the Uninstall shortcut under Start >
Programs > FS Recorder for FSX. Or you open the Windows control panel and select
Software, find FS Recorder for FSX in the list and select Remove.

If you did a manual installation, remove the entry, which you added to the dll.xml file. You
may then also delete the directory where you installed the DLL.
Using FS Recorder

If the installation was successful, you will find a new menu entry FS Recorder in your FS
main menu bar:

The features of FS Recorder are used by the items in this menu, customizable keyboard
shortcuts and the playback control window.

Recorded Files

When you record a flight with FS Recorder, the data is saved in a binary format with the file
extension .frc. A .frc file can contain multiple tracks, where each track belongs to one aircraft.
FS Recorder uses the first track for the user aircraft and, if AI traffic is recorded, an additional
track for every AI aircraft. Every track contains a time-code for synchronization of the
individual tracks.

With the included FS Recorder Converter tool it is possible to convert .frc-files to text files
and vice versa. For details see the FS Recorder Converter manual.
Recording a Flight

To start recording select Record from the FS Recorder menu or press the key combination
assigned to Record in the Keyboard Controls dialog.
If the option Show Recording Settings is enabled in the Settings dialog, the Recording
Settings dialog will be shown and you can select the recording interval, recorded data and
some other options.
If Enter Filename before Recording is selected in the Settings dialog, you will have to enter a
filename for the recording now.
Recording starts now and is indicated by a red display with the recorded time in the lower
right corner if the Recording option is checked under Display in the Settings dialog.

To stop recording select Stop Recording from the FS Recorder menu or press the key
assigned to Stop Recording/Playback in the Keyboard Controls dialog (default: ESC). When
recording is stopped and Enter Filename after Recording is selected in the Settings dialog,
you have to enter a filename for the recording now. If you press the Cancel button in the save
file dialog, you will be asked if you want to continue recording. Choosing No discards all
recorded data, Yes continues recording until you select Stop Recording again.
If Automatic Filename (no Dialogs) is selected in the Settings dialog, the recording will
automatically be saved in the Flight Simulator Files folder (where FS stores your saved
flights). The file will be named FSRecorder_ followed by the current system date and time.

Playing back a recorded Flight

To play back a flight recorded with FS Recorder select Play from the FS Recorder menu or
press the key combination assigned to Play in the Keyboard Controls dialog. A standard file
selection dialog opens where you select the recording you want to play and press the Open
button to start playback. If the Playback option is checked under Display in the Settings
dialog, a green playback display appears in lower right corner showing the elapsed and total
playback time.
If the Show Playback Control Window option is enabled in the Settings dialog (disabled by
default), the playback control window will automatically be shown:

This window can be shown/hidden any time using the Control Window item in the FS
Recorder menu or the keyboard shortcut assigned to Toggle Playback Control Window in the
Keyboard Controls dialog. You can move this window to any position you like, FS Recorder
will remember that position when it's shown the next time.
The playback control window may cause a drop of frame rate on your system if FS is
running in full-screen mode (possibly also in windowed mode). If you experience bad
frame rates during playback, try to turn off the playback control window.
Slider

The slider shows the current playback position. The loop start and end points are shown as
ticks if they are set. The slider can be moved by clicking or dragging it with the mouse to
search within the recording.

Step/Search Buttons

You can step or search forward or backward through the recording using the following
buttons or keys:

Button Default key Function

Home Previous chapter
Page Up Step/search backwards 3
Up Arrow Step/search backwards 2
Left Arrow Step/search backwards 1
Right Arrow Step/search forward 1
Down Arrow Step/search forward 2
Page Down Step/search forward 3
End Next chapter

The three step/search modes and speeds can be set in the Settings dialog.
Using the previous/next chapter buttons/keys you can jump to the previous/next chapter point,
or to the beginning/end of the recorded flight if there is no chapter point before/after the
current playback position. For information about chapter points see the Markers section.

Loop Playback

You can loop the playback of a part of the recording using the following buttons or keys:

Button Default key Function

Numeric / Set loop start point
Delete Toggle loop on/off
Numeric * Set loop end point and start loop

Turning on looping without setting start and end points before will loop the full recording.
The start and end points of the loop are shown as ticks on the slider.
Changing Playback Speed

You can change the playback speed using the following buttons or keys:

Button Default key Function

Numeric - Decrease speed
Insert Reset speed to 100%
Numeric + Increase speed

The available playback speeds can be configured in the settings dialog.

Stopping Playback

To stop playback select Stop Playback from the FS Recorder menu or press the key assigned
to Stop Recording/Playback in the Keyboard Controls dialog (default: ESC). The last second
of the recording will always be played before playback stops. At the end of the recording
playback will automatically stop, and FS will pause if Pause after Playback is turned on in
the Settings dialog.

If you want to stop playback without jumping to the end of the recording to continue the flight
manually from the current position, press the key assigned to Stop playback at current
Position in the Keyboard Controls dialog (default: Shift+ESC). As not all data is recorded
by FS Recorder this does not always work as expected and can result in a (plane) crash
if the aircraft is not set up correctly at the moment where you abort playback!

Play as Traffic

The Play as Traffic feature allows you to play back one or multiple flights you recorded with
FS Recorder as (AI) traffic. To use it select Play as Traffic from the FS Recorder menu and
choose a recorded flight in the file selection dialog (it is possible to select more than one file
here, for details see Playback of multiple Recordings).
AI aircraft will be created and follow the recorded flight path(s). The aircraft type(s) will be
the same as used for recording the flight. If no aircraft with that title is installed (because you
uninstalled it or the recording was made on another system), the respective track cannot be
played. In that case you should use the Advanced Play feature to change the aircraft used for
playback.
If the Playback option is checked under Display in the Settings dialog, a blue playback
display appears in the lower right corner, together with the elapsed and total playback time.
During traffic playback you can continue flying with your aircraft, and you can even record a
new flight (see Combined use of Recording and Playback).
Advanced Playback

Selecting Advanced Play from the FS Recorder menu or pressing the keyboard shortcut
assigned in the Keyboard Controls dialog opens the advanced playback dialog:

Here you can customize playback in many ways: You can select multiple files for playback
(also from different directories), enable/disable individual tracks, change aircraft models,
select a track for the user aircraft, adjust delays, etc.

Files, Tracks and Markers

The tree-view control displays all files you have added for playback, and for each file all the
tracks and markers it contains. Every file, track and marker has a check-box by which it can
be enabled/disabled for playback. If a track is selected to be played back with the user aircraft,
it is displayed in bold font, all other enabled tracks are played back as AI traffic.
Below the tree-view additional information about the currently selected file/track/marker is
displayed.

If a track is selected, then after the track number “(Original User Recording)” is displayed if
the track was recorded with FS Recorder 2.x, with the user aircraft, and if no modifications
were made to the recorded data. This might be useful for virtual airlines using FS Recorder
for check-rides to verify that the recorded data was not modified afterward (e. g. using the
FRC Converter). The recorded user aircraft data is protected by a hash code, so if any
modification is made to the data, “(Original User Recording)” will not be displayed.

Add File

Use this button to add one or multiple files for playback. The selected files are displayed with
their respective tracks in the tree-view.

Remove file

Clicking this button removes the currently selected file from the list.

Insert Copy

Inserts a copy of the currently selected track. Usually inserting a copy only makes sense if you
use a delay or position offset for it (see below).

Set User Aircraft

This button selects the currently selected track for playback with the user aircraft. The user
aircraft track is displayed in the tree-view in bold font. Pressing this button while the current
user aircraft track is selected in the tree-view clears the user aircraft track selection.

Save As

With this button you can save the current selection of tracks with all options into a new .frc
file. You can use this feature to combine several recorded files into a single one, or to make
certain modifications to recorded files (change aircraft, remove tracks, etc.).

Play

Pressing the play button starts playback of all currently selected tracks with the options you
have set.

Position Offset

These options allow to shift the aircraft position for the selected track. The options under
Rotate Offset with Aircraft determine if the offset vector is rotated with the aircraft in 3D
space, i.e. if the aircraft is shifted along the world coordinate axes or aircraft axes.
Delay

You can delay the playback of a track/file by a number of seconds (only positive values are
allowed) using this option. This can be used to adjust the synchronization of independently
recorded tracks, or together with the Insert Copy feature to play multiple copies of the same
flight with different delays.

Extend Track

Without selecting this option, if multiple tracks with different durations are played back
together, the respective aircraft is only displayed while track data is available. If you enable
the Extend Track option, the aircraft will be displayed for the full playback time (at it's
initial/final position before/after the track begins/ends).

Aircraft

For every track the aircraft model and tail number used for playback can be changed here.

Data

Here a list of recorded data is displayed for the currently selected track. Using the check-
boxes you can select, which of the recorded variables should be used for playback.

If you open the advanced playback dialog while playback is running, it will display the
currently playing files and tracks with their current options. You can then make changes and
press the Play button to continue playback at the current position.
Instant Replay

If instant replay is enabled in the Settings dialog, you can always replay the last time of your
flight, even if you didn't start recording before. To replay a certain time of your flight select
Instant Replay from the FS Recorder menu. The following dialog opens:

Enter the number of seconds you want to replay and press the OK button to start replay. If the
Playback option is turned on under Display in the Settings dialog, a green replay display
appears in the lower right corner showing the number of seconds remaining. During replay the
same features as described in Playing back a recorded Flight are available.

Using the Save button in the replay dialog you can save the entered number of seconds to a
.frc file for later playback.

The maximum available replay time depends on the maximum temp file size set in the
Settings dialog and on the replay settings. Note: When going back to the maximum available
replay time and replay of AI traffic is enabled, some AI aircraft might be missing during the
first minutes of replay (as the data might already be overwritten).

All replay data is cleared when you load a flight, change the user aircraft, record a flight, play
back a saved recording, or change settings in the settings dialog.

Combined use of Recording and Playback

While you are playing back one or multiple recordings as (AI) traffic using the Play as
Traffic feature, it is possible to record a new flight. You can first start recording and then start
traffic playback using the Play as Traffic or Advanced Play features; or you can first start
traffic playback and then start recording.
If you stop recording before traffic playback ends, playback will continue. If playback ends
before you stop recording, recording will continue until you stop it. During recording + traffic
playback no playback controls are available.

This feature is especially useful for creating formation flights:

• First you record a flight A.
• Then you play back flight A as traffic, fly along with it, and at the same time record it
as flight B.
• Then play back flights A and B together while recording flight C, etc.
• Finally, to play the complete formation, play back all the recorded files together, or
combine them into a single .frc file using the Advanced Play feature.
Note: If you select the Record Playing Traffic option in the Recording Settings, the currently
playing tracks will be recorded again into the new recording. However, this is not
recommended for recording formations as it will give less accurate results (as data is first
recorded, then interpolated for played back, then recorded again, etc.). Instead it is
recommended to leave this option disabled and record each flight to a separate file, and finally
play all files together or merge them into a single file using the Advanced Play feature.

Playback of multiple Recordings

When you use the Play as Traffic or Advanced Play features, you can select multiple files for
simultaneous playback (in the file selection dialog hold Shift or Ctrl to select multiple files).
This will result in all selected flights being played back simultaneously. This is useful if you
recorded a flight while playing back another one as traffic, see Combined use of Recording
and Playback. It is also possible to select Play as Traffic again while playback is already
running and add additional files for simultaneous playback.

About Synchronization

Each recorded track contains a time-code. If you record a flight while no playback is running,
the time-code will start at zero. If you play back multiple such recordings together, they will
all start at the same time.
However, if you record a flight while traffic playback is running, the playback time-code will
be used for the recorded track(s). That way it is possible to play back both flights together
afterward without losing synchronization.
Here is an example for better understanding: You record a flight A. Afterward you record
another flight B independent of A. Then you start playback of flight A as traffic, and after ten
seconds start recording of flight C. This will result in time-codes of A and B starting at zero,
while the time-code of C starts at ten seconds. If you play back all three flights together as
traffic, playback of A and B will start immediately, while C will start ten seconds later.
Settings

To access the settings dialog select Settings from the FS Recorder menu:

The following options can be set in that dialog:

Instant Replay - Enable replay

This option has to be checked if you want to use the instant replay feature. If it is checked, FS
Recorder will always record replay data, except while recording or playback is running.

Instant Replay – Settings

Pressing the Settings button shows a dialog in which you can define replay settings (recording
intervals, recorded data, recording of AI traffic, etc.). This dialog is identical to the Recording
Settings dialog, except that some options are not available.
Instant Replay – Max. Temp File Size
Recorded replay data is written to temporary files in the selected Temp Files Directory (see
below). This setting defines the maximum amount of space occupied by the replay temp files.
When the size of the temp files reaches this limit, the oldest replay data is overwritten. The
maximum available replay time depends on this limit and on the replay settings (and on the
density of AI traffic, if replay of AI traffic is enabled).

Fast-Forward/Rewind - Step/Search 1/2/3

Here you can configure the modes and step sizes/speeds for the different step/search
buttons/keys described under Playing back a recorded Flight. If you select the Step mode, the
playback position will step by the entered number of seconds each time you press the
appropriate button/key, while in the Search mode playback speed will be increased by the
entered factor while you keep the button/key pressed.

AI Traffic – Play Recorded Traffic

If this option is enabled, all recorded tracks are played back by the Play and Play as Traffic
features, otherwise only the first track (the user aircraft track) is played. This setting has no
influence on the Advanced Play feature.

AI Traffic - Disable FS Traffic during Playback

If this option is enabled, the FS generated AI traffic will be turned off during playback.

AI Traffic – Max. rec/played Aircraft

This setting limits the number of simultaneously recorded/played back AI aircraft. A value of
zero means no limit.

Display - Recording
If this option is checked, RECORDING is displayed in the lower right corner during
recording, together with the number of recorded seconds.

Display - Playback
If this option is checked, PLAYBACK, TRAFFIC PLAYBACK or REPLAY will be displayed
during playback/replay in the lower right corner, together with the playback time.

Temp Files Directory

FS Recorder creates temporary files during recording and if instant replay is enabled. Here
you can define the directory where those files are created. By default this is set to the
directory where the DLL module is located. Make sure the directory is writable and there
is enough space left on the drive!

Autoplay
The autoplay feature allows you to automatically start playback of a flight recorded with FS
Recorder when a certain saved flight situation (.FLT file) is loaded. The Enable Autoplay
check-box allows to completely en/disable autoplay. The settings button opens the following
dialog to configure flights for autoplay:
Use the Add and Remove buttons to select the flight (.FLT) files for which autoplay should be
triggered.
With the browse button (…) you can change the recording (.frc file) to play for the currently
selected flight. To play the recording as AI traffic enable the as Traffic option.

Cameras – Disable Camera Features

Checking this option disables the Camera Features of FS Recorder. Changing this setting
requires a restart of FS to take effect.

Playback – Unpause on Playback

If this option is enabled, FS Recorder will automatically unpause FS when playback is started.

Playback - Pause after Playback

If this option is enabled, FS Recorder will automatically pause FS when playback ends.

Playback - Restore Situation before Playback

If this option is enabled, FS Recorder will save the flight situation before playback starts, and
restore it after playback ends.

Playback - Set Simrate to Playback Speed

If this option is enabled, FS Recorder sets the simulation rate to the same factor as the
playback speed. When you change the playback speed, this option has the advantage that
flaps, gear, AI traffic, etc. will move with the correct speed.

Playback - Set Simrate on Search

If enabled, the simulation rate will also be increased during searching.
Playback - Limit Simrate to 4x
If the simulation rate is set to more than 4x, FS generated AI traffic disappears (not the traffic
played back by FS Recorder). To prevent frequent disappearing and reloading of FS AI traffic
(if it is enabled during playback) when searching or changing playback speed and Set Simrate
with Playback Speed is enabled, this option limits the adjustment of the simulation rate to a
maximum of 4x.

Playback - Enable Playback Controls

This option enables/disables all playback controls (searching, speed changes, loop, etc.),
including those in the playback control window.

Playback - Enable Playback Controls for Traffic Playback

This option enables/disables all playback controls (searching, speed changes, loop, etc.)
during playback as traffic.

Playback - Show Playback Control Window

If this option is enabled, the Playback Control Window will be shown automatically when
playback is started.

Playback - Show Data Window

If this option is enabled, the Data Window will be shown automatically when playback is
started.

The playback control and data windows may cause a drop of frame rate on your system
if FS is running in full-screen mode (possibly also in windowed mode). If you experience
bad frame rates during playback, try to turn off both windows.

Playback – Load User Aircraft

If this option is enabled, FS Recorder will automatically load the correct user aircraft when
playback is started.

Playback – Playback Speeds

Here you can define the selectable playback speed factors. Enter a sequence of values in
ascending order separated by semicolons. Valid values are in the range from 0.03 to 100,
negative numbers are allowed for reverse playback, the value 1 has to be in the sequence.

Dialogs – Show Playback Settings

If this option is enabled, FS Recorder will always show the Playback Settings dialog when
playback is started. Use the Set button to open the playback settings dialog now.

Dialogs – Show Recording Settings

If this option is enabled, FS Recorder will always show the Recording Settings dialog when
recording is started. Use the Set button to open the recording settings dialog now.

Dialogs – Enter Filename

Here you can select, if you want to enter the filename for the recorded flight before or after
recording, or if an automatic filename should be used.

All settings are saved to the file FSRecorder.ini in the installation folder of FS Recorder. It is
not recommended to edit this file! If you delete the file, FS Recorder will use default settings
and create a new file when you change the settings.
Recording Settings

In the recording settings dialog you define parameters for the recording of flights:

Recording Intervals
Here you select the intervals in which data is recorded for the user aircraft and AI traffic. The
shorter the interval the more accurate playback will be, but the larger the recorded file will
become. Note: Recording dense AI traffic with short intervals may result in very large
files!

Options – Record AI Traffic

Enable this option if you want to record FS generated AI traffic and multi-player traffic.

Options – Record Playing Traffic

If you record a flight while playback as traffic is running and this option is enabled, the
played back traffic is also recorded (using the AI traffic recording interval). Otherwise the
played back traffic is not recorded.

Options – Save Flight File

If this option is enabled, the flight situation is saved when recording starts (as .FLT flight file,
like with normal FS flight saving). The saved flight gets the same name as the recorded flight
and is stored in the same directory.
Options – Auto Stop
This option allows to automatically stop recording a defined time after recording was started,
after touchdown, or after engine shutdown.

Recorded Data
Here you can select what aircraft data should be recorded for the user aircraft and AI traffic.
For details about the options see the Recorded Data section.

Playback Settings

In the playback settings dialog you define options for the playback of recorded flights:

Options – Load saved Flight (if available)

If this option is enabled and a flight situation file (.FLT file) with the same name as the
recorded flight (.frc file) you select for playback is available in the same directory, it will be
loaded before playback starts. See also the Save Flight File option under Recording Settings.
This option is not available for playback as traffic.

Options – Load Markers

Enable this option to load and activate all markers saved with the flight(s) you select for
playback. For details about markers see the Markers section.

Data used for Playback

Here you can define which recorded aircraft data should be used for playback. For details
about the options see the Recorded Data section.
Changing the User Aircraft Track

During playback (not playback as traffic) you can change the track for the user aircraft using
the keyboard shortcuts assigned to Previous/Next User Aircraft Track in the Keyboard
Controls dialog.
Alternatively you can open the Advanced Playback dialog and select a different track for the
user aircraft there.

Markers

Markers can be set both during recording and playback to mark certain positions of a flight.
Every marker can be used as chapter point to which you can jump during playback, and to
trigger an action when it is reached during playback.

Setting Markers
During recording or playback of a flight you can set a marker by selecting Set Marker from
the FS Recorder menu, or by using the keyboard shortcut assigned to Set Marker in the
Keyboard Controls dialog. The Add Marker dialog will appear in which you can configure the
marker (see below).
If you set markers during recording of a flight, they are automatically added to the recorded
.frc file.
When setting markers during playback of one or more flights, you can either discard or save
the added markers after playback. If you select to save the new markers, they will be saved to
a new .frc file which will only contain the makers (no flight data), and therefore get the
extension .markers.frc. You can later use this file to play it back together with the other
flight(s) for which you have set the markers, or use the Advanced Playback dialog to combine
it with that flight(s) into a single .frc file.

Marker Options
When you set a marker, the following dialog appears in which you can configure the marker:

Every marker can trigger one of three actions when it's position is reached during playback:
Display of a text message, playback of a sound (wave file), and pausing FS.

If you select no action, the marker simply becomes a chapter point to which you can jump
during playback. You can enter a comment of your choice to describe the marker.
If you select Play Sound as action, you have to select a wave file (.wav) which will be played
back by FS Recorder when the marker's timestamp is reached on playback. Additionally you
can select if the wave file should be played only when an inside (cockpit) or outside view is
active, or always.

Selecting Display Text as action will show a text message on top of the FS window (similar to
the FS ATIS display) when the marker is reached during playback. You have to enter the text
to display and the number of seconds for which the message should be shown. Optionally you
can select to scroll the text across the screen. Leaving the text field empty or setting the
display time to zero will clear any currently displayed message.

If you select Pause as action, FS will be paused when the marker is reached on playback. You
can optionally enter a comment to describe the marker.

Playback with Markers

The Load Markers option in the Playback Settings determines if saved markers are loaded for
playback. When using Advanced Playback you can en/disable every marker individually. To
jump to a marker set as chapter point see Playing back a recorded Flight.

Recorded Data

The following aircraft data is always recorded and set during playback by FS Recorder:

- Aircraft latitude, longitude and altitude

- Aircraft pitch, bank and heading
- Aircraft X, Y, and Z velocities
- Aircraft on ground flag

In the Recording Settings dialog and Playback Settings dialog you can define which of the
following aircraft data should be recorded and set during playback:

- Flight Controls: Elevators, ailerons, rudder

- Flaps: Flaps handle
- Spoilers: Spoilers handle
- Gear: Landing gear lever
- Throttles: Throttle levers
- Propellers: Propeller levers
- Mixtures: Mixture levers
- Engines On/Off
- Lights: Aircraft lights
- Parking Brake
- Smoke System
- NAV Radios: Nav1/2 frequency and OBS, ADF frequency
- COM Radios: Com1/2 frequency, transponder
- Airspeeds: IAS, TAS, Mach
- Concorde Nose Visor
- Main Exit: Aircraft main exit
- Tailhook
- Wing Fold
The following data can optionally be recorded, but will not be set during playback. It is
however displayed in the Data Window:

- Ambient Wind
- Autopilot On/Off: Autopilot master switch

Data Window

During playback the data window can be turned on/off by selecting the Data Window item in
the FS Recorder menu, or by the keyboard shortcut assigned to Toggle Data Window in the
Keyboard Controls dialog. The data window displays most of the recorded and some derived
variables for the user aircraft during playback and can be useful for flight analysis.
Camera Features

FS Recorder includes additional camera features which give you more freedom for watching
your recorded flights. The camera features are based on the FS2004 view modes Virtual
cockpit (VC), Tower and Spot Plane.
In FSX these three FS Recorder camera types are realized using three custom FSX cameras:

You have to switch to one of these custom cameras to use FS Recorder cameras. When using
FS Recorder for the first time, there is one camera of each type, initialized with default values.
You should modify the default cameras to reasonable settings before using them.

Managing Cameras

Creating, deleting, switching, loading and saving cameras is done in the same way for VC,
tower and spot cameras. Therefore this is described for all three view modes in a common
chapter.
Creating new Cameras

To use the FS Recorder camera features, you first have to create a new camera for the
respective view mode. To do this select VC/Tower/Spot Cameras>New from the FS Recorder
menu, or change to the respective view mode and press the key combination assigned to New
Camera in the Keyboard Controls dialog (default: Ctrl+V). This will create and select a copy
of the currently active camera.

Deleting Cameras

To delete the currently active camera select VC/Tower/Spot Cameras>Delete from the FS
Recorder menu, or change to the respective view mode and press the key combination
assigned to Delete Camera in the Keyboard Controls dialog (default: Shift+Ctrl+V).
For each view mode there has to be at least one camera, therefore the last camera of a view
mode cannot be deleted.

Switching between Cameras

To select a different camera select it from the list in the VC/Tower/Spot Cameras sub-menu.
The first entry in the list is always “FS Default VC View”, “FS Default Tower View” or “FS
Default Spot View” respectively, which selects the default FS view for the respective view
mode.
You can also use the key combinations assigned to Next Camera and Previous Camera in the
Keyboard Controls dialog (default: V and Shift+V) to cycle through all cameras of the
respective view mode.
When changing to a different camera, it’s title will be shown on top of the window for three
seconds if the Display Title/Aircraft on Change option is enabled in the Camera Settings
dialog.

Changing the Target Aircraft

To select a different target aircraft for the current camera use the key combinations assigned
to Watch previous/next Aircraft in the Keyboard Controls dialog (default: Ctrl+W and
Shift+Ctrl+W).

Loading Cameras

To load a set of saved VC/tower/spot cameras from a file select VC/Tower/Spot

Cameras>Load from the FS Recorder menu and choose a file in the file selection dialog. All
current cameras of the respective view mode will be deleted!

Saving Cameras

To save the current set of VC/tower/spot cameras to a file select VC/Tower/Spot

Cameras>Save from the FS Recorder menu and enter a filename in the file selection dialog.
Manual and automatic Panning

Some camera types (e.g. tower cameras) allow you to switch between manual and automatic
panning. In manual panning mode you can control the view direction by using the standard FS
panning controls. In automatic panning mode the camera always tracks the target aircraft.
To switch between manual and automatic panning edit the camera settings or use the
keyboard shortcut assigned to Auto/Manual Panning in the Keyboard Controls dialog.

Mouse Panning and Zoom

With FS Recorder cameras you can use the mouse to change the view direction and zoom
factor. You do that by holding down the key assigned to Mouse Camera Control in the
Keyboard Controls dialog (by default the space bar) and at the same time moving the mouse
to pan around or turning the mouse wheel to zoom in/out.

VC Cameras

Editing VC Cameras

To edit the properties of the current VC camera select VC Cameras>Edit from the FS
Recorder menu to open the following dialog:

Title
The title entered in this field identifies the camera in the VC Cameras sub-menu and will be
displayed for three seconds when switching to this camera.
Position
The position of the viewpoint relative to the aircraft reference point. The units can be
switched between meters and feet using the button to the right.

Panning
Here you can enter the panning speed in degrees per second.

Zoom – Zoom Factor

The current zoom factor of the camera.

Zoom – Min/max. Zoom

The minimum and maximum zoom factors allowed for the camera.

Zoom - Smooth Zoom

With this option you can enable smoothing of zoom changes. The value you enter here is the
number of seconds it takes for the zoom factor to change by a factor of two.

View Controls

The following FS controls and FS Recorder key shortcuts can be used to adjust the active VC
camera (FS controls are assigned in the FS controls assignment dialog, FS Recorder shortcuts
in the Keyboard Controls dialog):

FS Control Function
Move eyepoint Adjust camera position
up/down/left/right/forward/back
Look forward/forward right/right/back Set view direction
right/back/back left/left/forward
left/up/down/forward up/forward right
up/right up/back right up/back up/back left
up/left up/forward left up/up
Pan up/up right/right/down right/down/down Pan view direction (deactivates automatic
left/left/up left/tilt left/tilt right/pan panning)
Eyepoint reset Reset camera position to pilot position
Pan reset Reset view direction

FS Recorder Shortcut Function

Watch previous/next aircraft (default: Watch the previous/next aircraft (activates
Ctrl+W/Shift+Ctrl+W) automatic panning)
Tower Cameras

Editing Tower Cameras

To edit the properties of the current tower camera select Tower Cameras>Edit from the FS
Recorder menu to open the following dialog:

Title
The title entered in this field identifies the camera in the Tower Cameras menu and will be
displayed for three seconds when switching to this camera.

Position – Latitude/Longitude
Here you can change the position of the tower camera by entering the latitude and longitude.
With the button to the right you can switch the format between degrees, degrees/minutes and
degrees/minutes/seconds.
Position – Altitude
The altitude of the tower camera. With the button to the right you can switch units between
feet and meters. You can enter a value of zero to set it to the minimum height above the
ground.

Position – Max. Dist.

The maximum distance the camera can be away from the watched aircraft. If the watched
aircraft is more than this distance away from the camera position, the camera starts to follow
the aircraft. If no target aircraft is selected, this value has no effect. With the button to the
right you can switch units between kilometers, nautical miles and statute miles.

Position – Set to FS Tower

Pressing this button sets the camera position to the nearest FS tower position.

Position – Set to Aircraft

Pressing this button sets the camera position to the current user aircraft position.

Panning – Manual Panning

The manual panning mode allows the user to control the view direction of the camera using
the standard FS panning controls.

Panning – Panning Speed

Here you enter the panning speed for manual panning in degrees per second.

Panning – Automatic Panning

In automatic panning mode the camera is always directed toward the target aircraft (like in the
default FS tower view).

Panning – Focus Point X/Y/Z:

Here you can change the point of the aircraft to which the camera is directed in automatic
panning mode. The setting is relative to the aircraft reference point.

Zoom – Zoom Factor

The current zoom factor of the camera.

Zoom – Min/max. Zoom

The minimum and maximum zoom factors allowed for the camera.

Zoom – Smooth Zoom

With this option you can enable smoothing of zoom changes. The value you enter here is the
number of seconds it takes for the zoom factor to change by a factor of two.

View Controls

The following FS controls and FS Recorder key shortcuts can be used to adjust the active
tower camera (FS controls are assigned in the FS controls assignment dialog, FS Recorder
shortcuts in the Keyboard Controls dialog):
FS control Function
Move eyepoint Move camera/focus point by step size 1
up/down/left/right/forward/back
Look forward/forward right/right/back Move camera by step size 2
right/back/back left/left/forward left/up/down
Look forward up/forward right up/right Move camera by step size 3
up/back right up/back up/back left up/left
up/forward left up
Pan up/up right/right/down right/down/down Pan view direction (manual panning)/move
left/left/up left/tilt left/tilt right/pan focus point (automatic panning, if enabled)
Eyepoint reset Set camera to nearest FS tower position
Pan reset Set automatic panning to user aircraft

FS Recorder Shortcut Function

Autozoom (default: Ctrl+Z) Turn autozoom on/off
Auto/manual Panning Switch between automatic and manual
panning
Mouse Camera Control Zoom in/out, pan view direction (manual
panning)/move focus point (automatic
panning, if enabled)
Watch previous/next aircraft (default: Watch the previous/next aircraft (activates
Ctrl+W/Shift+Ctrl+W) automatic panning)
Spot Cameras

Editing Spot Cameras

To edit the properties of the current spot camera select Spot Cameras>Edit from the FS
Recorder menu to open the following dialog:

Title
The title entered in this field identifies the camera in the Spot Cameras sub-menu and will be
displayed for three seconds when switching to this camera.

Mode
There are five modes for spot cameras: Fixed to Aircraft, Follow (fixed Direction), Follow
(fixed Heading), Fly By and Free.
In the Fixed to Aircraft mode the camera is fixed to the aircraft and will move and turn with
aircraft position, pitch, bank and heading. View direction is controlled by the user, position
offset is set along aircraft axes. This mode can be used e.g. for wing views.

In the two Follow modes the camera follows the aircraft in the defined distance and direction
and is always directed toward the aircraft focus point. Direction is set relative to the aircraft in
the fixed Direction mode (i. e. the camera turns with aircraft heading), and relative to world
axes in fixed Heading mode. Position offset is set as direction, up/down angle and distance.

In the Fly By mode the camera is positioned at a certain distance and direction in front of the
aircraft; it keeps it's position until the aircraft has passed the camera and the set distance is
exceeded, at which point the camera is repositioned, etc. The camera is always directed
toward the aircraft focus point. Initial position is set as direction, up/down angle and distance.

In the Free mode the user can control camera speed and direction, similarly as the aircraft is
controlled in the FS slew mode.

Position
In the Fixed to Aircraft mode you enter the camera position relative to the aircraft center
along the aircraft axes (front/back, up/down, left/right). With the button to the right you can
change units between meters and feet.

In the Follow and Fly By modes you set the camera position relative to the aircraft by
direction, up/down angle and distance. Direction is set in degrees; in fixed Direction and Fly
By modes 0° corresponds to in front of the aircraft; in fixed Heading mode 0° corresponds to
North. Up/down is set in degrees. Distance units can be switched between meters and feet.
In Fly By mode direction is limited to ±80°, as the camera has to be positioned in front of the
aircraft.

Position – Max. Distance

This setting is only available in the Free mode. It defines the maximum distance the camera
can be away from the watched aircraft. If no aircraft is watched, this setting has no effect.
With the button to the right you can switch units between kilometers, nautical miles and
statute miles.

Position – Smooth Position

With this option you can enable smoothing of camera position changes. This setting is not
available in the Fixed to Aircraft and Fly By modes. The value you enter here is a time
constant, valid values range from 0.1 to 10 seconds.

Panning – Manual/Automatic Panning

This setting is only available in the Free mode. In manual panning mode you can set the view
direction using the panning controls, while in automatic panning mode the camera is always
directed toward the aircraft.

Panning – Panning Speed

Here you enter the panning speed for manual panning in degrees per second.

Panning – Focus Point X/Y/Z:

Here you can change the point of the aircraft to which the camera is directed in the Follow
and Fly By modes. The setting is relative to the aircraft reference point.
Zoom – Zoom Factor
The current zoom factor of the camera.

Zoom – Min/max. Zoom

The minimum and maximum zoom factors allowed for the camera.

Zoom – Smooth Zoom

With this option you can enable smoothing of zoom changes. The value you enter here is the
number of seconds it takes for the zoom factor to change by a factor of two.

View Controls

The following FS controls and FS Recorder key shortcuts can be used to adjust the active spot
camera (FS controls are assigned in the FS controls assignment dialog, FS Recorder shortcuts
in the Keyboard Controls dialog):

FS Control Function
Camera Mode Fixed to Aircraft Follow, Fly By Free
Move eyepoint Adjust camera Move focus point Change camera
up/down/left/right/forward/ position speed by step size 1
back
Look forward/forward Set view direction Set camera Change camera
right/right/back direction speed by step size 2
right/back/back
left/left/forward
left/up/down
Look forward up/forward Set view direction Set camera Change camera
right up/right up/back right direction speed by step size 3
up/back up/back left up/left
up/forward left up
Pan up/up right/right/down Pan view direction Adjust camera Pan direction
right/down/down left/left/up direction
left/tilt left/tilt right/pan
Eyepoint reset Reset position Reset focus point Reset camera
behind aircraft

FS Recorder Shortcut Function

Autozoom (default: Ctrl+Z) Turn autozoom on/off (Fly By/Free mode)
Auto/manual Panning Switch between automatic and manual
panning (Free mode)
Mouse Camera Control Zoom in/out, pan view direction
Watch previous/next aircraft (default: Watch the previous/next aircraft
Ctrl+W/Shift+Ctrl+W)
Camera Settings

To open the Camera Settings dialog select Camera Settings from the FS Recorder menu:

VC Controls – Move Eyepoint

Here you can change the step size by which VC camera position is moved when using the
Move Eyepoint controls.

Tower Controls – Move Eyepoint

Here you can change the step size by which the tower camera position/focus point is moved
when using the Move Eyepoint controls. The button allows you to select if the Move Eyepoint
controls change the camera position or the focus point position.

Tower Controls – Look <Direction>

Here you can change the step size by which the tower camera position is moved when using
the Look forward/left/back/... controls.

Tower Controls – Look <Direction> Up

Here you can change the step size by which the tower camera position is moved when using
the Look forward up/left up/back up/... controls.
Tower Controls – Panning during Autopan moves Focus Point
If this option is enabled you can use the panning controls to move the focus point in automatic
panning mode. Note that it depends on the viewing direction along which of the three aircraft
axes the focus point is moved.

Spot Controls – Move Eyepoint

Here you can change the step size by which the focus point for spot cameras is moved when
using the Move Eyepoint controls.

Spot Controls – Free Mode

Here you can change the step size by which the speed of free cameras is changed when using
the Move Eyepoint, Look forward/left/back/... and Look forward up/left up/back up/...
controls.

Miscellaneous – Display Title/Aircraft on Change

If this option is enabled, the title of the camera will be shown on top of the window for three
seconds, when switching to a different camera, and the aircraft title and registration are shown
when changing the watched aircraft.

Miscellaneous – Pause Position/Zoom Smoothing

If this option is enabled, the smoothed position/zoom transition (for cameras having it
enabled) is paused, if FS is paused.
Keyboard Controls

To customize the keyboard shortcuts to control FS Recorder select Keyboard Controls from
the FS Recorder menu. The following dialog will appear:

If you select a command from the list, the currently assigned key combination will be shown
in the hotkey field above. To change it just press the key combination you want to assign (the
focus has to be on the hotkey field!)
By pressing the Reset to Default button you can reset the default key combination for the
selected command.

Known problems and limitations

- The playback control window can cause a drop in frame rate, at least when running
FS in full-screen mode. Try to turn off the playback control window if you
experience bad frame rates during playback.
- For certain add-on aircraft using custom programmed systems recording/playback
of certain variables may not work correctly.
- The Play as Traffic feature does not work with helicopters and certain add-on
aircraft, because FS does not support them as AI traffic.
- If during playback the smoke system is used on multiple instances of the same
aircraft (same model and variation), the smoke will stay on forever on some of these
aircraft. This is a problem of FS and the only workaround is to use a different
variation for each aircraft.
Support

If you have problems installing or using FS Recorder, please follow the steps below to get
support:

• First check the Frequently Asked Questions on the FS Recorder website and this
manual for a solution to your problem.
• Search the FS Recorder forums for a solution, a lot of problems were already
discussed there.
• If you did not find a solution, post your problem in the support forum. Include as
much information as possible, esp. your FS version and FS Recorder version! If you
don't want to register a forum account or your account was not yet activated, you can
still make a guest posting (which has to be approved as well, but I get immediate email
notification about it).
• Only contact me by email if you have a good reason not to use the support forum!
Posting in the forum helps other users having the same problem, and it saves me the
time to answer the same question again. Also you might get help by other users if I
cannot help you.

Do not ask me for support if you don't own an original copy of FSX! I will not help fixing
problems with FS Recorder caused by pirated copies of FS!

Contact

To get support please do not use email, but follow the instructions above!
If you want to contact me directly for other reasons, send an email to [email protected]
or use the contact form on the FS Recorder website.

Donations

If you would like to support the development of FS Recorder, you can make a donation via
PayPal directly using this link, or go to the PayPal website and use [email protected]
as recipient’s email.

I hope you enjoy my product.

Matthias Neusinger