Top Sky Plugin For Euro Scope Developer Guide

User Manual:

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TopSky plugin for EuroScope

- version 2.2.1 -

Developer Guide

Table of Contents

1 EuroScope setup ............................................................................................................................. 3

1.1 General Settings ................................................................................................................................ 3

1.1.1 Display options .......................................................................................................................... 3

1.1.2 TAG display options ................................................................................................................... 3

1.1.3 Miscellaneous options ............................................................................................................... 3

1.2 Display settings dialog ....................................................................................................................... 3

1.3 Symbology dialog ............................................................................................................................... 4

1.3.1 Colors ......................................................................................................................................... 4

1.3.2 Symbols ...................................................................................................................................... 4

1.4 Plug-ins Dialog ................................................................................................................................... 4

1.5 Conflict Alert Settings Dialog ............................................................................................................. 4

1.5.1 STCA Lower altitude .................................................................................................................. 4

1.5.2 STCA Higher level ....................................................................................................................... 4

1.5.3 MTCA options ............................................................................................................................ 4

1.6 Plugin data files and internal settings ............................................................................................... 5

1.7 TAG editor .......................................................................................................................................... 6

1.7.1 General ...................................................................................................................................... 6

1.7.2 Tagging levels............................................................................................................................. 6

1.7.3 Filtering ...................................................................................................................................... 6

2 External data files ........................................................................................................................... 7

2.1 TopSkyAirspace.txt ............................................................................................................................ 8

2.2 TopSkyAreas.txt ............................................................................................................................... 10

2.3 TopSkyAreasManualAct.txt ............................................................................................................. 15

2.4 TopSkyCPDLC.txt .............................................................................................................................. 16

2.5 TopSkyCallsigns.txt & TopSkyCallsignsLocal.txt............................................................................... 19

2.6 TopSkyMaps.txt & TopSkyMapsLocal.txt ........................................................................................ 20

2.7 TopSkyMSAW.txt ............................................................................................................................. 28

2.8 TopSkyRadars.txt ............................................................................................................................. 30

2.9 TopSkySettings.txt & TopSkySettingsLocal.txt ................................................................................ 32

2.10 TopSkySSRcodes.txt ......................................................................................................................... 33

2.11 TopSkySTCA.txt ................................................................................................................................ 41

2.12 TopSkySymbols.txt ........................................................................................................................... 44

2.13 TopSkyViews.txt .............................................................................................................................. 46

1 EuroScope setup

This chapter is meant as a guide for users who either didn’t get the plugin as a part of a package including

all the settings files, or who want to create their own setup.

To load the plugin and setup EuroScope to make the most out of it, use the following settings in the

EuroScope settings dialogs. Settings not mentioned shouldn’t make any difference. Remember to save the

settings when exiting ES. Use of the plugin file must be saved to each profile file separately for it to be

loaded automatically.

1.1 General Settings

1.1.1 Display options

- Show route when accepting Off

- Lock show route when accepting Off

- Rotate radar target symbol Off

- Rotate flight plan track symbol Off

- Show CLAM warnings On

- Show RAM warnings On

The plugin uses its own route display and the default plugin track labels don’t offer any way of hiding the ES

route display so the first two should be selected off. If both settings are left “on” and the track labels are

not modified, the radar screen will soon be filled with aircraft routes with no way to remove them. The

CLAM and RAM warning settings also affect the plugin. If they are selected off, the plugin can’t show the

warnings either.

1.1.2 TAG display options

- Allow correlated aircraft tag untagged On

- Allow concerned aircraft tag untagged Off

- Allow assumed aircraft tag untagged Off

- Show detailed over untagged On

These settings are needed to display the correct type of track label for each aircraft.

1.1.3 Miscellaneous options

- Keep scratch pad content after direct On

The plugin stores the manual alerts in the scratch pad. If this setting is selected off and a direct clearance is

given, any manual alerts are removed as a result.

1.2 Display settings dialog

- Number of history dots 0

- Do not display aircraft below 0 feet

- Do not display aircraft above 0 feet

- Show leader lines Off

The plugin draws its own custom history dots and leader lines so the ES default ones must be selected off.

Similarly, the plugin has its own altitude filtering settings, so the ES filters should be off.

1.3 Symbology dialog

1.3.1 Colors

Whether to use the transparency settings is up to the user, and their colors should be set as desired. The

plugin colors determine the track label color but the EuroScope defined color is used to draw the leader

line between the position symbol and the label. The “Colors” chapter in the localization part of the manual

shows some colors having a corresponding ES color. In those cases the plugin and ES colors should be set to

the same value.

“Other/normal menu item” and “Other/disabled menu item” should be different colors to be able to see

disabled menu items in the setup menus.

“Sector/active sector background” and “Sector/inactive sector background” should be chosen so that all

plugin colors can be seen. Medium grey colors work well with the default plugin colors but anything can be

used as long as the plugin colors are taken into account and changed accordingly.

1.3.2 Symbols

The “Aircraft primary radar only”, “Aircraft flight plan track”, “Aircraft coasting”, “History dot” and all

entries beginning with “Aircraft corr.” or “Aircraft uncorr.” are drawn by the plugin and should be set to

“MOVETO 0 0” only. All other symbols are drawn by ES and should be set as desired.

1.4 Plug-ins Dialog

Load the plugin file (TopSky.dll). After loading it, highlight its name (“TopSky plugin”) in the list and move

“Standard ES radar screen” from the “Forbidden to draw on types” box to the “Allowed to draw on types”

box.

1.5 Conflict Alert Settings Dialog

The plugin has its own STCA and MTCD systems and doesn’t use the ES default ones. Selecting the below

settings will disable the warnings from the ES default systems.

1.5.1 STCA Lower altitude

- Show lower altitude STCA Off

1.5.2 STCA Higher level

- Show higher level STCA Off

1.5.3 MTCA options

- Warn if vertical separation is less 0 feet

- Warn if horizontal separation is less 0 nm

1.6 Plugin data files and internal settings

The plugin comes with some pre-defined setups, but it is possible to adjust hundreds of different settings

using the settings files. This makes it possible to update the existing setups and to create completely new

ones. Even though the ranges of acceptable values have been limited to prevent major problems, care

should be taken when adjusting any settings as the results can be unexpected.

When creating a new setup, only the TopSkyCallsigns.txt and TopSkyCallsignsLocal.txt data files can be

used from an old setup, as they contain only general callsign data that can be used anywhere. All the other

data files contain information specific to the original setup, and should not be used.

Some setup-specific plugin settings are listed below. At least these settings should be looked at when

creating a new setup, but many of the others are important too. However, never change a setting without

understanding what it does.

Setup_COOPANS Define which of the two plugin types to activate (A or B)

Airspace_C_Flag Define the list of clearance flag airports

Airspace_C_No_Flag

Airspace_P_Flag Define the list of P-RNAV airports (plugin type B only)

Airspace_P_No_Flag

Airspace_ASSR_Type Define the transponder code ranges

Airspace_ASSR_StartCode

Airspace_ASSR_EndCode

Airspace_No_DUPE_Codes Define the transponder codes that do not produce a DUPE alert

Airspace_SIGMET_Areas Define airspace information for the SIGMET/NOTAM functions

Airspace_NOTAM_Add

Airspace_NOTAM_Remove

1.7 TAG editor

To make the plugin work as it’s supposed to, there are some rules that need to be followed when creating

the tag families:

1.7.1 General

- For every correlated and flight plan track tag type:

o The untagged and tagged tags must contain the “Dummy item – not detailed tag” item

o The detailed tag must contain the “Dummy item – detailed tag” item

- Tag items marked “(0-1)” are only displayed when the track is unconcerned or notified, items with

“(2+)” when the track is in any other state. Other items are shown in all states.

- A couple of the indicator items have an “(inactive)” version as well. Both can be used in the same

tag, as only one of them will be shown (the inactive version can then be used to toggle the indicator

back to active state if required).

1.7.2 Tagging levels

- When a tag item has an “(unselected track)” variant, it should be used in the untagged and tagged

tagging levels, and the normal variant in the detailed tagging level. For tag items without specific

variants, the normal variant can be used in all tagging levels.

- Items beginning with “ET” should be used in the detailed tagging level (they are only displayed in

the extended label which is a sublevel of the detailed tagging level in the plugin, displayed by the

“Open extended tag” function). Items with “(not ET)” will not be shown in the extended label.

Other items are displayed in both the normal detailed tag and the extended label.

1.7.3 Filtering

- Items beginning with “List” should be used only in flight lists, other items only in tags (“List” items

are not hidden when a label is subject to filtering, the other ones are)

- Tags should be constructed only from TopSky plugin items. If this is not possible, the plugin’s label

filtering functionalities may not work as they can only toggle the visibility of its own tag items.

2 External data files

This chapter gives guidance on developing the external data files used by the plugin for various features.

Even though the plugin does its best to check the data for errors, some errors may get through and cause

all kinds of issues, possibly leading to ES crashing, so it’s important to be careful to provide correctly formed

data when creating the files. Errors found in the data files by the plugin can be seen in the “Plugin Status”

submenu. It is found in the “Status” or “STS” menu depending on the plugin version.

To reload a data file, left-click on the “Reload” button. Some of the data can also be visually checked for

correctness by left-clicking the “View” button. The areas will then be shown on the radar screen.

2.1 TopSkyAirspace.txt

The file contains the QNH value to transition level tables for the QNH/TL Window and any custom runway

approach lines (i.e. starting point not on the runway threshold and/or approach course not aligned with the

runway centerline) and lists of custom level menu values.

For the QNH/TL tables, the file is read one line at a time and the first matching line will be used. The

following example shows a possible setup:

// Made up lines… Comment

QNHTL:XBZZ:80 QNHTL

QNHTL:XB,XC:80,978,75,996,70 QNHTL

For the runway approach lines, any lines defined here will override the corresponding lines automatically

created from the sector file data. The following line shows an example:

APPLINE:EFHK:15:153.4:HEL AppLine

For the custom level lists, the file is read one line at a time and the first matching line will be used. The

following example shows a possible setup:

LEVELS:EETN:22,25,32,35,50 LEVELS

LEVELS:*:15,20,30 LEVELS

QNHTL

QNHTL:ICAOlist:TL

QNHTL:ICAOlist:TL1,QNH1,TL2,QNH2, … ,TLn,QNHn,TLn+1

Defines a variable transition level based on the QNH value for the specified airports.

- ICAOlist List of airport ICAO designators, separated by commas (“,”). Either complete

designators or one to three first letters of the designator.

- TLn Transition level value (text string, will be displayed exactly as written)

- QNHn QNH value (integer value, see also below)

The first definition sets a fixed transition level, while the second one creates a table of transition levels

based on QNH values.

The QNH value must be in the same format as in the METAR. If the METAR reports the QNH in hPa (Qxxxx),

the values in the list must be in hPa as well. If the METAR reports the QNH in inHg (Axxxx), the values in the

list must be in inHg*100.

The TL/QNH list must contain one or more pairs of TL and QNH values followed by a TL value in the end.

The transition level is found in the following way: the actual QNH value found in the METAR is compared

against the values in the list, from left to right. If the actual QNH is less than the list value, the

corresponding TL value (the one before the QNH value) is used. If not, the next QNH value in the list is

checked and so on. If the actual QNH value is equal to or greater than all the values in the list, the TL value

after the last QNH value in the list (TLn+1) is used.

AppLine

APPLINE:AirportCode:Runway:AppCourseT:PointName

APPLINE:AirportCode:Runway:AppCourseT:Lat:Lon

Defines a runway approach line with a specified approach course and end point (either as a point name or

coordinates). By default approach lines are created for all runways in the active sector file with the

approach courses set on the extended runway center lines and ending at the runway thresholds. If a

runway needs some other approach line instead, it can be defined here. Any runway approach line defined

here will override the plugin created default one for the same runway.

- AirportCode The airport ICAO code

- Runway The runway identifier

- AppCourseT The approach track (degrees true, decimal value)

- PointName Fix, VOR, NDB, airport code or runway (must be found in the active sector file)

- Lat Endpoint Latitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lon Endpoint Longitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

Note: the syntax to define a runway threshold as a PointName is the 4-letter ICAO airport designator

followed by a forward slash and the runway identifier.

Levels

LEVELS:AirportCode:LevelList

Defines a custom level list to be used in all plugin level menus (AFL, CFL and RFL). The list here overrides the

default list values up to the highest value in the custom list, whichafter the default list takes over. The

airport code is compared against the login callsign, and if a matching list is found, it will be used. In case a

matching list is not found, the code then compares the lists against the aircraft’s departure airport until

more than 1/3 of the way to the destination, and then against the destination airport.

- AirportCode The airport ICAO code. “*” matches any airport, other wildcards are not

supported

- LevelList Comma-separated list of levels (in 100’s of feet, range 1-999)

2.2 TopSkyAreas.txt

This file contains the areas for the APW and SAP functionality as well as the MTCD and STCA inhibit areas.

The following example area is used to show the syntax (optional lines in grey color).

CATEGORYDEF:D:7:0:5:0:0:0 CategoryDef

// EF D101 Isosaari Comment

AREA:T:EFD101 Name

CATEGORY:D Category

ACTIVE:NOTAM:EFIN:EF D101 Active

ACTIVE:NOTAM:EFIN:EFD101 Active

LABEL:N059.55.08.817:E025.07.08.496:D101 Label

LIMITS:0:390 Limits

N059.56.20.000 E025.16.53.000 Coordinate

N059.54.15.000 E025.15.06.000 Coordinate

N059.53.27.000 E024.59.49.000 Coordinate

N059.56.36.000 E025.10.10.000 Coordinate

CategoryDef

CATEGORYDEF:Name:ActBorderColor:ActFillColor:ActFillPattern:PreBorderColor:PreFillColor:PreFillPattern

CATEGORYDEF:Name:ActBorderColor:ActFillColor:ActFillPattern:PreBorderColor:PreFillColor:PreFillPattern:LabelNa

me:LabelMapText:LabelUserText:LabelLevels:LabelTimes

This line defines the display colors for an area category. The default border color is Active Map for unfilled

and Active RD Map for filled areas. The default fill color is Active RD Infill Map, and the fill percentage that

was used in previous plugin versions is 50. If the label settings are left out, the default settings are used.

- Name Name for the category (text string)

- ActBorderColor Active area border color

 0 use default color

 1-20 custom color (Active Map Type X)

- ActFillColor Active area fill color (values as in ActBorderColor)

 0 use default color

 1-20 custom color (Active Map Type X)

- ActFillPattern Active area fill pattern

 0 no fill

 5, 10, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 75, 80, 90, 100 percentage to fill

- PreBorderColor Pre-active area border color (values as in ActBorderColor)

- PreFillColor Pre-active area fill color (values as in ActFillColor)

- PreFillPattern Pre-active area fill pattern (values as in ActFillPattern)

- LabelName Show area name in area label (1=yes, 0=no)

- LabelMapText Show map text in area label (1=yes, 0=no)

- LabelUserText Show user text in area label (1=yes, 0=no)

- LabelLevels Show area level limits in area label (1=yes, 0=no)

- LabelTimes Show area activation times in area label (1=yes, 0=no)

Name

AREA:AreaType:AreaName

The first line for each area definition must be a name line. Type S areas will appear in the Safety Nets Status

Window, type M areas in the MTCD Status Window and the other types are in the TSA Areas window.

- AreaType Area type (one or more of the following):

 T (TSA area)

 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 (TSA area)

 1F, 2F, 3F, 4F or 5F (TSA area)

 M (MTCD inhibit area)

 S (STCA inhibit area)

- AreaName Area name to identify it in the areas window (text string)

TSA area types 1F-5F are filled, 1-5 are not (the number defines the area border color). For area type T the

colors and filling are defined in a Category line. If a category line is not defined for a type T area, the area is

not filled and a default border color is used. For compatibility with earlier plugin versions, area types D and

R are also supported (they are TSA areas that are filled)

Area type T and the category definitions are meant to be used with plugin type A and area types 1-5 and

1F-5F with plugin type B , but their use is not restricted by the code.

Category

CATEGORY:Name

The category line is optional. It defines the display colors for type T areas.

- Name Category name (must have been defined earlier in the file)

Label

LABEL:Lat:Lon:LabelText

The label line is optional. It displays the area name and/or altitude limits on the radar display.

- Lat Latitude for the label (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lon Longitude for the label (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- LabelText The label text (text string)

Active

ACTIVE:1

ACTIVE:SchedStartDate:SchedEndDate:SchedWeekdays:StartTime:EndTime[:Lower:Upper:UserText]

ACTIVE:NOTAM:Icao:Text

ACTIVE:RWY:ARR:ArrRwyList:DEP:DepRwyList

The active line is optional. If there is no active line, the area will not be automatically activated. An area can

contain more than one active line; the plugin will check all of them to set the activation status.

The first option will activate the area automatically without any time limits when the plugin is loaded. Note

that this option cannot be used together with other ACTIVE lines as it would override any other schedule.

The second option can be used to set activation schedules.

- SchedStartDate First day to activate the area

 month and day in the format MMDD (for recurring periods every year)

 year, month and day in the format YYMMDD (for a single period)

- SchedEndDate Last day to activate the area, formats as above

- SchedWeekdays Days of the week to activate the area

 list of numbers representing the days to activate the area, for example

“145” means the area will activate on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays

 “0” (zero) to activate the area continuously from StartTime on

SchedStartDate to EndTime on SchedEndDate

- StartTime Time to activate the area (UTC time in the format HHMM)

- EndTime Time to deactivate the area (UTC time in the format HHMM)

- Lower Lower limit for the area (feet, 0-99900)

- Upper Upper limit for the area (feet, 0-99900)

- UserText Displayed user text string

Note: SchedEndDate and SchedWeekdays only limit the activation of the area. If the activation time extends

past midnight, the area stays active until EndTime on the following day. Lower, Upper and UserText

are optional fields. If any of them are specified, all the preceding fields must be included as well (i.e. if

UserText is specified, both Lower and Upper must also be).

The third option activates the area based on NOTAM information. The plugin searches for NOTAMs for the

given ICAO code that contain the given text (and the text “ ACT”). If those are found, the plugin attempts to

set the activation schedule based on the other contents of the NOTAM.

- Icao ICAO location indicator that publishes activation NOTAMs for the area

- Text Text to search for in the NOTAM

The fourth option activates the area based on active runways. If all the specified runways are active, the

area is activated. If even one of them is not, the area will be deactivated. The runway identifiers must be in

the format “<4-letter ICAO code><runwayID>”, for example “EFHK15”.

- ArrRwyList Comma-separated list of runways. Enter “*” to allow any runway.

- DepRwyList Comma-separated list of runways. Enter “*” to allow any runway.

Bound

BOUND:C:Lat:Lon:Radius

The bound line is optional but highly recommended for areas that are circle-shaped. It increases the

accuracy of the calculation while at the same time reducing the amount of calculations required, giving

both an accuracy and a performance gain to the plugin.

The bound line should only be used for areas that are circles. The “Lat” and “Lon” coordinates (decimal

degrees or sector file format) define the center point and the “Radius” (nautical miles, decimal number) the

radius of the circle. The information is used to check if the aircraft is inside the area, but also the coordinate

lines are still needed as they are used to draw the area on the screen (the coordinates will not be used for

any calculations so make sure you only use this line for circular areas!).

Limits

LIMITS:Altmin:Altmax

The limits line is optional. It defines the default vertical limits of the area (in hundreds of feet). They can be

changed as required in the area windows. When an area without default vertical limits is activated, its limits

will be set to 0 and 999 (from 0ft to FL999). Those are also the minimum and maximum allowed values.

NoAPW

NOAPW

The optional NoAPW line inhibits APW warnings for the area.

APW_Buffer_Lat

APW_BUFFER_LAT:BufferU:BufferLI:BufferLV

The optional APW_Buffer_Lat line can be used to override the default lateral buffers applied to the area for

APW processing. The first value is used above the setting value “APW_Buffer_Lat_SepLevel”, the others at

or below it.

- BufferU High level buffer (nautical miles, decimal value, range 0.0-999.0)

- BufferLI Low level buffer for IFR flights (nautical miles, decimal value, range 0.0-999.0)

- BufferLV Low level buffer for VFR flights (nautical miles, decimal value, range 0.0-999.0)

APW_Buffer_Vert

APW_BUFFER_VERT:BufferU:BufferLI:BufferLV

The optional APW_Buffer_Vert line can be used to override the default vertical buffers applied to the area

for APW processing. The first value is used above the minimum RVSM level, the others at or below it.

- BufferU High level buffer (feet, integer value, range 0-9999)

- BufferLI Low level buffer for IFR flights (feet, integer value, range 0-9999)

- BufferLV Low level buffer for VFR flights (feet, integer value, range 0-9999)

NoSAP

NOSAP

The optional NoSAP line inhibits SAP warnings for the area.

SAP_Buffer_Lat

SAP_BUFFER_LAT:BufferU:BufferLI:BufferLV

The optional SAP_Buffer_Lat line can be used to override the default lateral buffers applied to the area for

SAP processing. The first value is used above the setting value “SAP_Buffer_Lat_SepLevel”, the others at or

below it.

- BufferU High level buffer (nautical miles, decimal value, range 0.0-999.0)

- BufferLI Low level buffer for IFR flights (nautical miles, decimal value, range 0.0-999.0)

- BufferLV Low level buffer for VFR flights (nautical miles, decimal value, range 0.0-999.0)

SAP_Buffer_Vert

SAP_BUFFER_VERT:BufferU:BufferLI:BufferLV

The optional SAP_Buffer_Vert line can be used to override the default vertical buffers applied to the area

for SAP processing. The first value is used above the minimum RVSM level, the others at or below it.

- BufferU High level buffer (feet, integer value, range 0-9999)

- BufferLI Low level buffer for IFR flights (feet, integer value, range 0-9999)

- BufferLV Low level buffer for VFR flights (feet, integer value, range 0-9999)

NoMSAW

NOMSAW

The optional NoMSAW line inhibits MSAW warnings inside the area.

Coordinate

Lat Lon

Each area definition must have at least three coordinate lines (three points being the minimum required to

create a closed area, a triangle). There is practically no upper limit for the number of coordinate points, but

as the required calculations increase proportionally to the number of points, it’s best to keep the areas

simple. The latitude and longitude values must be either in decimal degrees or in the sector file format and

there must be one or more spaces between them. There may also be one or more spaces in the beginning

of the line before the latitude value so it should be relatively easy to create areas from the REGIONS part of

a sector file.

2.3 TopSkyAreasManualAct.txt

This file can be used to temporarily clear all defined activation rules and/or add new ones to the areas

defined in the TopSkyAreas.txt file. If the file is present, the plugin will display a message box to the user as

a reminder about the non-standard configuration.

To clear all existing rules, use the following syntax:

CLEAR_ALL

AreaName:CLEAR

- AreaName Area name as specified in TopSkyAreas.txt

“CLEAR_ALL” clears all rules from all areas, whereas the second option allows to clear rules for single areas.

Note that if you are adding new rules as well, they must be defined after this line, otherwise they’ll get

wiped out as well. The “CLEAR_ALL” keyword should therefore generally be the first line in the file when it’s

used, and the “AreaName:CLEAR” the first line that references the area in question.

To set the area to manual activation mode, use the following syntax:

MANUAL_ALL

AreaName:MANUAL

- AreaName Area name as specified in TopSkyAreas.txt

“MANUAL_ALL” sets all areas to manual mode but retains all defined activation schedules, whereas the

second option allows setting the mode for single areas. If any activation rules are added after these lines,

the areas will revert back to automatic mode. Therefore the “MANUAL_ALL” keyword should generally be

the last line in the file if it’s used, and “AreaName:MANUAL” the last line that references the area in

question.

When going through the file, if an area is set to manual mode and its last defined activation period is a

single period (i.e. SchedWeekdays is “0”), the area is set to activate according to that period.

To add new rules, all the “ACTIVE” line types from TopSkyAreas.txt can be used. The only difference in the

syntax is that in the place of the “ACTIVE” keyword, the area name must be used:

AreaName:1

AreaName:SchedStartDate:SchedEndDate:SchedWeekdays:StartTime:EndTime[:Lower:Upper:UserText]

AreaName:NOTAM:Icao:Text

AreaName:RWY:ARR:ArrRwyList:DEP:DepRwyList

- AreaName Area name as specified in TopSkyAreas.txt

- Other fields See TopSkyAreas.txt “ACTIVE” line types

2.4 TopSkyCPDLC.txt

This file contains data for the CPDLC system. It defines the departure clearance format(s) and pre-defined

CPDLC free text items that are available and connects controller position IDs to CPDLC logins.

Departure clearance format definition

DCL:EFHK:SID:<adep2> PDC <number> . . . . . CLD <hour><min> <year2><month2><day> <adep2> PDC

<number> <callsign> <endheader>CLRD TO <ades> OFF <drwy> VIA <sid> DCT <npt> SQUAWK <assr>

Type:Adep:Subtype:Text

- Type One of the following:

 DCL DCL type message (other than US)

 DCL_US DCL type message used in USA

 PDC PDC type message

- Adep Comma-separated list of departure airport ICAO codes

(or “*” to match any airport)

- Subtype One of the following:

 AHDG match when aircraft has an assigned heading

 SID match when aircraft has a SID

 AHDG+SID match when the aircraft has both

 * always match

- Text The clearance message that is sent

Note that if both “AHDG” and “AHDG+SID” formats are defined for an airport with automatically assigned

SIDs, the “AHDG” format will only be used when a SID isn’t automatically assigned (an automatically

assigned SID cannot be removed without changing the flight plan to prevent the automatic assignment).

As an airport typically provides either DCL or PDC (or PDC and DCL_US) type clearances, both DCL and PDC

types should not be defined here for any airport. They are requested using the same message format, and if

both clearance types are defined, the plugin won’t know which one to send. Having both PDC and DCL_US

for one airport is OK as they are requested with different messages.

The first definition line that matches both the Adep and Subtype will be used. The Text can contain some

data fields that are automatically filled by the plugin. Some are highlighted in Project A330 DCDU, one of

the choices for CPDLC software for pilots:

Data fields that are not highlighted:

- <year4> current UTC year

- <year2> last two digits of the current UTC year

- <month3> current UTC month (three characters: “JAN”, “FEB”, etc.)

- <month2> current UTC month (two digits)

- <day> current UTC day (two digits)

- <hour> hours of the current UTC time (two digits)

- <min> minutes of the current UTC time (two digits)

- <sec> seconds of the current UTC time (two digits)

- <wday3> current UTC weekday (three characters: “MON”, “TUE”, etc.)

- <number> running number of sent PDCs (three digits)

- <adep2> departure airport ICAO code

Data fields that are highlighted in DCL and DCL_US clearances:

- <callsign> callsign of the aircraft

- <adep> departure airport ICAO code

- <ades> destination airport ICAO code

- <drwy> departure runway identifier

- <ahdg> assigned heading (three digits)

- <ahdg/trk> assigned heading (“HDG xxx”) or track (“TRACK xxx”)

- <sid> SID identifier

- <npt> next route point

- <sid+npt> SID identifier, a blank space and the next route point

- <freq> controller primary frequency

- <nfreq> “NEXT FREQ ” + next frequency

- <rfreq> “REPORT READY ON ” + next frequency

- <dfreq> “DEPARTURE FREQ ” + departure frequency

- <cfl> cleared altitude/FL

- <rfl> requested altitude/FL

- <copx> exit coordination point

- <assr> assigned transponder code (four digits)

- <eobt> estimated off-blocks time (four digits)

- <aobt> actual off-blocks time (four digits)

- <aobtMDI> same as <aobt>, except displays “MDI” if equal to estimated off-blocks time

- <startup> either “START-UP APPROVED” or “REPORT READY ON ” + next frequency

- <qnh> “QNH ” + the QNH value (3-4 digits), nothing printed if unavailable

- <qnh4> same as <qnh> but always with four digits

- <qnhQ> “Q” + the QNH value (four digits), nothing printed if unavailable

- <rmk> remarks text

One special field exists. The entire message is always sent to the aircraft, but if the Text contains the field

“<endheader>”, only the part after it will be shown in the plugin’s CPDLC message windows.

Highlighted items should have some text between them to work correctly unless the second item contains

static text before the actual highlighted value. In cases where no text is desired between items, the

underscore character “_” works well and shows as a blank space in the current pilot clients. Creating the

clearance formats usually requires some testing to get them right.

CPDLC free text definition

FREETEXT:ReplyType:Text

- ReplyType The reply expected from the aircraft. One of the following:

 WU “WILCO” or “UNABLE”

 AN “AFFIRM” or “NEGATIVE”

 R “ROGER”

 NE no reply expected

- Text The message text that is sent

CPDLC login definition

- Login The CPDLC login to match with the controller ID

- RadioCall The RTF callsign used by the controller

- ControllerID The controller ID to match with the CPDLC login

As there is no way to match a controller to a CPDLC login automatically, this list is used. It follows that it’s

very important to use only agreed CPDLC logins for the CPDLC connection handovers to work properly.

2.5 TopSkyCallsigns.txt & TopSkyCallsignsLocal.txt

These files contain the radiotelephony callsigns to be displayed in the track labels. By default, if an identifier

is found in both files, the information in the “TopSkyCallsigns.txt” file is used. The following example line

shows the syntax:

AAB Abelag Aviation ABG Callsign definition

The format of the files is the same as in the “ICAO_Airlines.txt” file provided with EuroScope. Only one

callsign must be defined per line.

Callsign definition

ThreeLetterID<tab>OperatorName<tab>Callsign

- ThreeLetterID Three-letter designator in the flightplan

- OperatorName Name of the operator (not used, but must contain something)

- Callsign Radiotelephony callsign

2.6 TopSkyMaps.txt & TopSkyMapsLocal.txt

These files contain the definitions for the maps in the Maps Window. The difference is that the maps in the

“Local” file are automatically assigned to a folder named “LMAPS” and any map folder names in that file are

disregarded. The following example area is used to show the syntax (optional lines in grey color):

COLORDEF:Approach:255:255:255 Color definition

SYMBOLDEF:Fix1 Symbol definition

MOVETO:-4:3 Moveto

LINETO:0:-4 Lineto

LINETO:4:3 Lineto

LINETO:-4:3 Lineto

// EFKU VOR app rwy 15 Comment

MAP:EFKU VOR 15 Name

FOLDER:IAP Folder

COLOR:Approach Color

LINE:N063.01.03.067:E027.47.04.942:N063.11.03.016:E027.39.18.377 Line

LINE:N063.01.22.882:E027.49.09.775:N063.00.43.220:E027.45.00.157 Line

LINE:N063.06.39.890:E027.45.04.332:N063.06.00.228:E027.40.53.958 Line

STYLE:Dot:1 Line style

LINE:N063.01.03.067:E027.47.04.942:N062.58.47.170:E027.48.49.840 Line

LINE:N062.58.47.170:E027.48.49.840:N062.54.47.000:E027.53.04.000 Line

SYMBOL:Fix1:N063.06.19.000:E027.43.04.000:ROVSU:20:-10 Symbol + label

SYMBOL:Fix1:N062.54.47.000:E027.53.04.000:VEKEM:20:-10 Symbol + label

The mandatory items for each map are a name, a folder it belongs to in the Maps Window, and a color with

which to draw the items.

Color definition

COLORDEF:ColorName:R:G:B

Every color used in the maps (with some exceptions listed in the COLOR line specification) must be defined

using one of these lines.

- ColorName Color name to be used in the Color lines (text string)

- R Color’s red component value (0-255)

- G Color’s green component value (0-255)

- B Color’s blue component value (0-255)

Symbol definition

SYMBOLDEF:SymbolName

The first line for each symbol definition must be a name line.

- SymbolName Symbol name to use for this symbol in the Symbol lines (text string)

The symbol itself can consist of various elements, drawn by the following lines. The X and Y coordinates are

relative to the symbol centerpoint, with the X axis having increasing values to the right and the Y axis

having increasing values to the down direction. The commands are the same as in the EuroScope

Symbology dialog with the exception of the possibility to draw elliptical arcs and the “:” separating the

values here so the ES dialog can be used in most cases to test the results.

MOVETO:X:Y

Sets the starting point for the next LINETO command

- X Number of pixels from the symbol centerpoint in the left(-)-right(+) direction

- Y Number of pixels from the symbol centerpoint in the up(-)-down(+) direction

LINETO:X:Y

Draws a straight line from the previous position

- X Number of pixels from the symbol centerpoint in the left(-)-right(+) direction

- Y Number of pixels from the symbol centerpoint in the up(-)-down(+) direction

SETPIXEL:X:Y

Paints the selected pixel

- X Number of pixels from the symbol centerpoint in the left(-)-right(+) direction

- Y Number of pixels from the symbol centerpoint in the up(-)-down(+) direction

ARC:X:Y:Radius:StartAngle:EndAngle

ARC:X:Y:RadiusX:RadiusY:StartAngle:EndAngle

Draws a part of a circle

- X Centerpoint offset from the symbol centerpoint in the left(-)-right(+) direction

- Y Centerpoint offset from the symbol centerpoint in the up(-)-down(+) direction

- Radius Arc radius in pixels (to make a circular arc)

- RadiusX Arc radius in relation to the X axis in pixels (to make an elliptical arc)

- RadiusY Arc radius in relation to the Y axis in pixels (to make an elliptical arc)

- StartAngle Arc starting angle (integer degrees, 0 degrees is at positive X-axis, increasing

counterclockwise)

- EndAngle Arc ending angle (integer degrees, 0 degrees is at positive X-axis, increasing

counterclockwise)

FILLARC:X:Y:Radius:StartAngle:EndAngle

FILLARC:X:Y:RadiusX:RadiusY:StartAngle:EndAngle

Otherwise the same as ARC above but the result is filled

POLYGON:X1:Y1: X2:Y2:…: Xn:Yn

Draws a filled polygon with n vertices

Name

MAP:MapName

The first line for each map definition must be a name line. This will identify the map in the Maps Window.

- MapName Map name to identify it in the Maps window (text string)

Folder

FOLDER:FolderName

Every map must belong to a folder. There is practically no limit to how many maps a single folder can

contain. The following folder names get special treatment: “ARTCC HIGH”, “ARTCC”, “ARTCC LOW”, “GEO”,

“SID”, “STAR” and “FREE TEXT”. Maps assigned to those folders will not be shown in the Maps Window.

Instead, if sector file items with the same names are found in the active sector file (i.e. a SID named ABC1A

exists in the sector file and a map named “ABC1A” in folder “SID”), the map is assigned as additional data

for that sector file item and activated/deactivated together with it.

- FolderName Folder name to identify it in the Maps window (text string)

Note: the folder name may not start with an empty space character, and may not contain the backslash

(“\”) character.

Zoom

ZOOM:ZoomLevel

A whole map or parts of it can be hidden based on the current zoom level. When the radar screen is

zoomed out so that there are less than the specified number of pixels per nautical mile, the lines of the

map definition after this line are not read. There can be more than one zoom line in one map to hide parts

of the map at different zoom levels.

- ZoomLevel Radar screen zoom level (pixels per nautical mile, decimal value)

Note: when there is more than one zoom line in a map, their order is important (for example "ZOOM:5" has

to be before "ZOOM:10" to have any effect as with zoom below 10 pix/nm the "ZOOM:5" line will

never be read if it's after the "ZOOM:10" line...)

Active

ACTIVE:1

ACTIVE:SchedStartDate:SchedEndDate:SchedWeekdays:StartTime:EndTime

ACTIVE:NOTAM:Icao:Text

ACTIVE:RWY:ARR:ArrRwyList:DEP:DepRwyList

The active line is optional. If there is no active line, the map will not be automatically activated. A map can

contain more than one active line; the plugin will check all of them to set the activation status. The map will

be placed in the “AUTO” folder, a folder name cannot be specified for automatically activating maps.

The first option will activate the map automatically without any time limits when the plugin is loaded. Note

that this option cannot be used together with other ACTIVE lines as it would override any other schedule.

The second option can be used to set activation schedules.

- SchedStartDate First day to activate the map

 month and day in the format MMDD (for recurring periods every year)

 year, month and day in the format YYMMDD (for a single period)

- SchedEndDate Last day to activate the map, formats as above

- SchedWeekdays Days of the week to activate the map

 list of numbers representing the days to activate the map, for example

“145” means the map will activate on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays

 “0” (zero) to activate the map continuously from StartTime on

SchedStartDate to EndTime on SchedEndDate

- StartTime Time to activate the map (UTC time in the format HHMM)

- EndTime Time to deactivate the map (UTC time in the format HHMM)

Note: SchedEndDate and SchedWeekdays only limit the activation of the map. If the activation time extends

past midnight, the map stays active until EndTime on the following day.

The third option activates the map based on NOTAM information. The plugin searches for NOTAMs for the

given ICAO code that contain the given text (and the text “ ACT”). If those are found, the plugin attempts to

set the activation schedule based on the other contents of the NOTAM.

- Icao ICAO location indicator that publishes activation NOTAMs for the map

- Text Text to search for in the NOTAM

The fourth option activates the map based on active runways. If all the specified runways are active, the

map is activated. If even one of them is not, the map will be deactivated. The runway identifiers must be in

the format “<4-letter ICAO code><runwayID>”, for example “EFHK15”.

- ArrRwyList Comma-separated list of runways. Enter “*” to allow any runway.

- DepRwyList Comma-separated list of runways. Enter “*” to allow any runway.

Color

COLOR:ColorName

COLOR:ColorName:FillColorName

Every map must have at least one color line. It sets the color to be used to draw the subsequent drawings.

Each line, symbol, etc. within a map can be drawn with a different color simply by including a new color line

when a color change is required. If the FillColorName is not specified, it is set to the same color as

ColorName. All used color names (with some exceptions listed below) must be defined in the file using a

COLORDEF line.

- ColorName Color to be used for drawing lines and texts

- FillColorName Color to be used for filling the FILLARC and POLYGON objects

Some plugin colors can be used as map colors without having to define them in a COLORDEF line (however

if the color is defined in a COLORDEF line, that definition will override the plugin color definition). The

available color names are:

- Active_Map

- Active_Map_Type_1 … Active_Map_Type_20

- Active_RD_Infill_Map

- Active_RD_Map

- Active_Sector

- Active_Text_Map

- Inactive_Sector

- Map_1 … Map_4

- Map_Border

- Map_Hotspot

- Map_Info

- Map_Land

- Map_Symbol

- Preactive_Map

- Preactive_Text_Map

- Predisplay_Map

- Rwy_App_Line_Inuse

- Rwy_App_Line_Not_Inuse

Style

STYLE:StyleName

STYLE:StyleName:Width

The style line defines the line type for any subsequent LINE items within this map. It is not mandatory, a

Solid type line with width 1 pixel will be drawn by default. As with the COLOR line, a single map may contain

any required number of STYLE lines to draw different line styles within the same map. The width is only

necessary for Solid type lines (it has no effect on the other types). If a width is not defined, a 1 pixel width is

drawn by default.

- StyleName Style to be used (Solid, Dash, Dot, DashDot or DashDotDot)

- Width Width of line (pixels)

Line

LINE:Lat1:Lon1:Lat2:Lon2

LINE:StartPointName:EndPointName

Draws a line from one point to another. Uses the previously defined line style (or solid line with 1 pixel

width if no style defined).

- Lat1 Latitude of starting point (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lon1 Longitude of starting point (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lat2 Latitude of end point (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lon2 Longitude of end point (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- StartPointName Fix, VOR, NDB ,airport code or runway (must be found in the active sector file)

- EndPointName Fix, VOR, NDB, airport code or runway (must be found in the active sector file)

Note: the syntax to define a runway threshold as a StartPointName or an EndPointName is the 4-letter ICAO

airport designator followed by a forward slash and the runway identifier.

FontSize

FONTSIZE:Type:Size

FONTSIZE:0

Each new map starts out with the default font size. It can be modified using the FontSize line. All texts after

the line in that map use the new size. “FONTSIZE:0” sets the size back to the default value.

- Type Type of change

 “=” sets a new size

 “-” reduces the size from the default by the given amount

 “+” increases the size from the default by the given amount

 “*” multiplies the size of the default by the given amount

- Size New font size (1-99)

The resulting font size is limited to values between 1 and 99.

FontStyle

FONTSTYLE:Weight,Italic,Underline,Strikethrough

FONTSTYLE:0

Each new map starts out with the default font style. It can be modified using the FontStyle line. All texts

after the line in that map use the new style. “FONTSTYLE:0” sets the style back to the default settings.

- Weight Font weight (0-1000)

 some example values are 0=default weight, 400=normal, 700=bold

- Italic Italic (1=yes, 0=no)

- Underline Underline (1=yes, 0=no)

- Strikethrough Strikethrough (1=yes, 0=no)

Symbol

SYMBOL:SymbolName:Lat:Lon

SYMBOL:SymbolName:Lat:Lon:Label:OffsetX:OffsetY

SYMBOL:SymbolName:PointName

SYMBOL:SymbolName:PointName:Label:OffsetX:OffsetY

Draws a predefined symbol on the screen. Optionally, can display a text label with the label’s centerpoint

offset a given number of pixels from the symbol centerpoint.

- SymbolName Name of symbol

- Lat Latitude of symbol centerpoint (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lon Longitude of symbol centerpoint (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- PointName Fix, VOR, NDB, airport code or runway (must be found in the active sector file)

- Label Text label (text string)

- OffsetX Number of pixels to offset the label centerpoint in the left(-)-right(+) direction

- OffsetY Number of pixels to offset the label centerpoint in the up(-)-down(+) direction

Note: the syntax to define a runway threshold as a PointName is the 4-letter ICAO airport designator

followed by a forward slash and the runway identifier.

Text

TEXT:Lat:Lon:Label

TEXT:Lat:Lon:Label:OffsetX:OffsetY

TEXT:PointName:Label

TEXT:PointName:Label:OffsetX:OffsetY

Draws a text label on the screen. Optionally, the label’s centerpoint can be offset a given number of pixels

from the given position.

- Lat Latitude of label centerpoint (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lon Longitude of label centerpoint (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- PointName Fix, VOR, NDB, airport code or runway (must be found in the active sector file)

- Label Text label (text string)

- OffsetX Number of pixels to offset the label centerpoint in the left(-)-right(+) direction

- OffsetY Number of pixels to offset the label centerpoint in the up(-)-down(+) direction

Note: the syntax to define a runway threshold as a PointName is the 4-letter ICAO airport designator

followed by a forward slash and the runway identifier.

2.7 TopSkyMSAW.txt

The file is read one line at a time and the first line that contains the aircraft position returns the minimum

safe altitude, so put specific small area lines at the top and large general areas to the end of the file. Be

careful to always use the correct syntax to achieve any results and use the point (.) as the decimal

separator. For backward compatibility, also the comma (,) is accepted to separate the fields. Only define

one area per line. There are five types of area definitions that are accepted:

Lat/Lon box area

A:Latmin:Latmax:Lonmin:Lonmax:MSA

An area bounded by the minimum and maximum latitude and longitude values

- Latmin Minimum Latitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Latmax Maximum Latitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lonmin Minimum Longitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lonmax Maximum Longitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- MSA Minimum Safe Altitude within the area (feet, integer value)

Circle

C:Lat:Lon:R:MSA

A circle of radius r with center point at (Lat,Lon)

- Lat Circle center point latitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lon Circle center point longitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- R Radius of circle (nautical miles, decimal value)

- MSA Minimum Safe Altitude within the circle (feet, integer value)

Lat/Lon box area list

L:Latmin:Lonmin:ΔLat:ΔLon:N:MSA1:MSA2:…:MSAn

A series of latitude-longitude bounded boxes. The boxes are in an east-west direction, with the first box

being the westernmost.

- Latmin Latitude of the south edge of the boxes (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lonmin Longitude of the west edge of first box (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- ΔLat Latitude size of one box (decimal degrees)

- ΔLon Longitude size of one box (decimal degrees)

- N Number of boxes

- MSA1-MSAn Minimum Safe Altitudes of the boxes (feet, integer values, must be n values)

Polygon

P:N:Lat1:Lon1:Lat2:Lon2:…:Latn:Lonn:MSA

A polygon with n vertices at given latitude-longitude points

- N Number of vertices

- Lat1 Latitude of vertex 1 (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lon1 Longitude of vertex 1 (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lat2 Latitude of vertex 2 (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lon2 Longitude of vertex 2 (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Latn Latitude of vertex n (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lonn Longitude of vertex n (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- MSA Minimum Safe Altitude within the polygon (feet, integer value)

Sector

S:Lat:Lon:TRdl1:TRdl2:Rmin:Rmax:MSA

An area defined as being between two true bearings from a point (Lat,Lon) - clockwise direction from Rdl1

to Rdl2 - and between distances Rmin and Rmax from the point

- Lat Point latitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lon Point longitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- TRdl1 Bearing 1 (degrees true, decimal value)

- TRdl2 Bearing 2 (degrees true, decimal value)

- Rmin Minimum distance from point (nautical miles, decimal value)

- Rmax Maximum distance from point (nautical miles, decimal value)

- MSA Minimum Safe Altitude within the sector (feet, integer value)

2.8 TopSkyRadars.txt

The file contains the primary radar station definitions to be used for displaying raw video radar data. The

following example shows the syntax (optional lines in grey color):

// Helsinki PSR Comment

RADAR:Helsinki Radar

POSITIONS:EFHF:EFHK:EFES Positions

LOCATION:N060.18.56.400:E024.57.54.400 Location

ALTITUDE:335 Altitude

BEAMWIDTH:1.4 Beamwidth

PULSEWIDTH:1.0 Pulsewidth

MAXANGLE:50 Maxangle

RANGE:0.0:60.0 Range

Radar

RADAR:RadarName

Each radar definition must start with a Radar line that defines the radar station name.

- RadarName Radar station name (text string)

Positions

POSITIONS:Pos1:Pos2:…

Defines the list of controller positions that use the radar station. Only one radar station can be active so the

first station in the file that contains a match will be used. The logic compares the positions against the login

callsign from the beginning of the string (“EF” will be a match for either “EFES_CTR” or “EFHK_TWR” but

not for “SAEF_APP”)

- Posx Position login callsign (text string, full callsign or first x letters)

Location

LOCATION:Lat:Lon

The location of the radar antenna.

- Lat Latitude value (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lon Longitude value (decimal degrees or sector file format)

Altitude

ALTITUDE:Alt

The radar antenna altitude above mean sea level. If not specified, a value of 0 is used.

- Alt The antenna altitude (feet AMSL, integer value)

Beamwidth

BEAMWIDTH:Beamwidth

Specifies the beamwidth of the radar in degrees. If not specified, a value of 1.5 will be used. The value

affects how wide the radar targets will be (twice the beamwidth value).

- Beamwidth The beamwidth of the radar (degrees, decimal value)

Pulsewidth

PULSEWIDTH:Pulsewidth

Specifies the pulsewidth of the radar in microseconds. If not specified, a value of 1.0 will be used. The value

affects how deep the radar targets will be (approx. 0.08nm/microsecond).

- Pulsewidth The pulsewidth of the radar (microseconds, decimal value)

Maxangle

MAXANGLE:MaxAngle

Defines the maximum elevation angle of the radar measured from horizontal level. If not specified, a value

of 90 will be used (i.e. coverage all the way up to vertical)

- MaxAngle The maximum vertical angle of the radar (degrees, integer value)

Range

RANGE:MinRange:MaxRange

Defines the minimum and maximum detection ranges of the radar station. If not specified, a minimum

value of 0 and a maximum value of 999999 will be used.

- MinRange The minimum detection range of the radar (nautical miles, decimal value)

- MaxRange The maximum detection range of the radar (nautical miles, decimal value)

Ceiling

CEILING:Ceiling

Defines the maximum detection altitude of the radar. If not specified, a value of 999999 will be used.

- Ceiling The maximum detection altitude of the radar (feet AMSL, integer value)

2.9 TopSkySettings.txt & TopSkySettingsLocal.txt

These two files allow changing the plugin settings. The difference between them is that the settings in the

first file are loaded every time, while the settings in the “Local” file are only loaded on user request (by

performing a “Sign In”).

The available settings, their default values and acceptable ranges are described in an Excel spreadsheet

provided together with this file.

The settings in the files can be either general or login callsign specific. General settings have to be located

at the beginning of the file before any login callsign specific ones. Login callsign specific ones are defined by

creating sections starting with a line that contains a text string in square brackets above them.

The login callsign specific settings are checked by comparing the text string against the login callsign. If the

brackets is found which after the check is done again. If not, all the settings in that section are skipped.

Example TopSkySettings.txt file:

Setting1=0

Setting2=123

[_CTR] New section start

Setting2=100

Setting3=0

[EFES_] New section start

Setting2=200

[ESSA_TWR] New section start

Setting2=300

Setting4=0

The plugin reads the file as follows: first “Setting1” is set to “0” and “Setting2” to “123” regardless of the

“Setting2” will be changed to “100” and “Setting3” is set to “0”. The second section (“EFES_”) is also a

match, so “Setting2” is changed once again, this time to “200”. The last section (“ESSA_TWR”) is not a

match so the settings there won’t be applied. So, any one setting can appear in the file more than once,

and be set more than once depending on how the file is laid out. As the file is always read in the order it is

written, the more specific sections should be at the bottom (like in the example, any _CTR callsign will get a

different “Setting2” value than the other callsigns, but if it happens to be EFES_CTR or EFES_<anything

here>_CTR, the value is different from the other _CTR callsigns).

When the plugin detects that the login callsign has changed, the settings files are automatically reloaded

(the “Local” file only if a “Sign In” has been done).

2.10 TopSkySSRcodes.txt

The file contains the SSR code range and area definitions to be used when assigning transponder codes via

the plugin. The following example shows the syntax (optional lines in grey color):

AREA:EF1 Area

RADIUS:15.0 Radius

N060.00.00.000 E025.00.00.000 Coordinate

// domestic secondary Comment

RANGE:3201:3277 Range

ADES:EF ADES

PROTECTION:EF1 Protection

SECONDARY Secondary

IFR IFR

The plugin’s SSR code assignment system checks the flightplan, finds out which code ranges are available

for that flightplan, checks for codes already in use, and then assigns one of the available codes.

Transponder codes ending with “00” are not assigned.

The example area above designates the code range 3201-3277 available for IFR traffic with destinations

starting with “EF” and not entering the area “EF1”. In addition, the range is defined to be a secondary one,

to be used only if there are no available codes found in other ranges.

Mode S global

MODE_S_GLOBAL

If this line appears anywhere in the file, it indicates that the identity of mode S capable aircraft will be

maintained using mode S information everywhere. See also “Mode S” line to limit the availability to

specified area(s).

Group

GROUP:Name:Item1:Item2:Item3:…

The Group line is used to create text aliases to represent a number of text strings. It can be used in line

types where lists of items are entered. The syntax to refer to a group is “GROUP_<groupname>”. For

example defining “GROUP:G1:A:B:C” and then later in the file “GROUP_G1” in some line has the same

effect as having “A:B:C” in that line.

- Name Name for the group

- Itemx Text strings

Area

AREA:AreaName

Each area definition must start with an Area line that defines the area name. The area must be defined in

the file before it is referred to in a code range definition. The area names are case sensitive.

- AreaName Area name to use in the code assignment rules (text string)

Radius

RADIUS:Radius

If the area is a circle, it can be defined as a center point and a distance from it. In this case the area

definition needs the radius line and one coordinate line (see below). All other area shapes need to be

defined as polygons using three or more coordinate lines, and then the radius line shall not be used.

- Radius Area radius (nautical miles, decimal value)

Mode S

MODE_S

This line indicates that inside this area the identity of mode S capable aircraft will be maintained using

mode S information. The mode S conspicuity code (1000) can be assigned by the plugin when the entire

planned route is within these areas.

Coordinate

Lat Lon

Each area definition must have either at least three coordinate lines (three points being the minimum

required to create a closed area, a triangle), or one coordinate line and a radius line (see above). There is

practically no upper limit for the number of coordinate points, but as the required calculations increase

proportionally to the number of points, it’s best to keep the areas simple. The latitude and longitude values

must be either in decimal degrees or in the sector file format and there must be one or more spaces

between them. There may also be one or more spaces in the beginning of the line before the latitude value.

Range

RANGE:StartCode:EndCode

This line is the only mandatory line for a code range definition and must always be the first line in a

definition. It starts the definition by specifying the range of codes in it.

- StartCode The first code in the range (4 octal digits, 0001-7777)

- EndCode The last code in the range (4 octal digits, 0001-7777)

Adhoc

ADHOC

This line causes the codes in this range to be assigned only to flightplans where the departure, destination

or both are empty.

Mandatory

MANDATORY

This line causes the codes in this range to be mandatory for all matching flights. Possible other matching,

but non-mandatory code ranges will be considered only if there are no assignable codes found in the

mandatory ranges.

Secondary

SECONDARY

This line defines the range to be a secondary one, to be used only when the other ranges do not have any

assignable codes left.

IFR

This line causes the codes in this range to be assigned only to IFR flightplans.

VFR

This line causes the codes in this range to be assigned only to VFR flightplans.

GAT

This line causes the codes in this range to be assigned only to GAT (general air traffic) flightplans. By default

a flightplan is categorized as GAT when “RMK/OAT” is not found in the remarks section.

OAT

This line causes the codes in this range to be assigned only to OAT (operational air traffic) flightplans. By

default a flightplan is categorized as OAT when “RMK/OAT” is found in the remarks section.

Direction

DIRECTION:TTrk1:TTrk2

This line limits the code assignment to flights having a track between the two specified true tracks

(clockwise direction from Trk1 to Trk2). If VIA and/or NOTVIA lines are also present in the code range, the

track to be checked is the outbound track from the specified point(s). If not, the tracks are checked against

the aircraft’s planned track from its present position.

- TTrk1 Start angle for the track range (degrees true, decimal value)

- TTrk2 End angle for the track range (degrees true, decimal value)

ADEP

ADEP:ICAOcode:ICAOcode:ICAOcode:…

This line limits the code assignment to flights departing from one of the defined airports. The whole ICAO

airport code is not needed; the match can also be done on the first one or more letters, e.g. entering “EF”

will match all airports with ICAO designators beginning with “EF”. The ADEP line can contain one or more

airport codes and one code range definition can also have more than one ADEP line if necessary.

- ICAOcode Airport ICAO code (complete or partial)

NotADEP

NOTADEP:ICAOcode:ICAOcode:ICAOcode:…

This line limits the code assignment to flights not departing from any of the defined airports.Otherwise the

format and limitations are the same as in the ADEP line.

- ICAOcode Airport ICAO code (complete or partial)

ADES

ADES:ICAOcode:ICAOcode:ICAOcode:…

This line limits the code assignment to flights arriving at one of the defined airports.Otherwise the format

and limitations are the same as in the ADEP line.

- ICAOcode Airport ICAO code (complete or partial)

NotADES

NOTADES:ICAOcode:ICAOcode:ICAOcode:…

This line limits the code assignment to flights not arriving at any of the defined airports.Otherwise the

format and limitations are the same as in the ADEP line.

- ICAOcode Airport ICAO code (complete or partial)

Local

LOCAL:ICAOcode:ICAOcode:ICAOcode:…

This line limits the code assignment to local flights (ADEP=ADES) from one of the defined airports. The

whole ICAO airport code is not needed; the match can also be done on the first one or more letters, e.g.

entering “EF” will match all airports with ICAO designators beginning with “EF”. The LOCAL line can contain

one or more airport codes and one code range definition can also have more than one LOCAL line if

necessary. The LOCAL line cannot be used together with ADEP or ADES lines.

- ICAOcode Airport ICAO code (complete or partial)

Via

VIA:Point:Point:Point:…

This line limits the code assignment to flights routing via at least one of the defined points. The point can be

anywhere along the flightplan. One or more points can be defined in one VIA line and one code range

definition can contain more than one VIA line if necessary.

- Point Point name (Fix, VOR, NDB or airport)

NotVia

NOTVIA:Point:Point:Point:…

This line limits the code assignment to flights not routing via any of the defined points. Otherwise the

format and limitations are the same as in the VIA line.

- Point Point name (Fix, VOR, NDB or airport)

AreaVia

AREAVIA:AreaName:AreaName:AreaName:…

This line limits the code assignment to flights routing via at least one of the defined areas. The area(s) must

have been defined earlier in the data file. One or more areas can be defined in one AREAVIA line and one

code range definition can contain more than one AREAVIA line if necessary.

- AreaName Area name (text string)

Protection

PROTECTION:AreaName:AreaName:AreaName:…

This line limits the code assignment to flights not routing via any of the defined areas. Otherwise the format

and limitations are the same as in the AREAVIA line.

- AreaName Area name (text string)

AdepArea

ADEPAREA:AreaName:AreaName:AreaName:…

This line limits the code assignment to departing from one of the defined areas. The area(s) must have been

defined earlier in the data file. One or more areas can be defined in one ADEPAREA line and one code range

definition can contain more than one ADEPAREA line if necessary.

- AreaName Area name (text string)

NotAdepArea

NOTADEPAREA:AreaName:AreaName:AreaName:…

This line limits the code assignment to flights not departing from any of the defined areas. Otherwise the

format and limitations are the same as in the ADEPAREA line.

- AreaName Area name (text string)

AdesArea

ADESAREA:AreaName:AreaName:AreaName:…

This line limits the code assignment to flights arriving in one of the defined areas. The area(s) must have

been defined earlier in the data file. One or more areas can be defined in one ADESAREA line and one code

range definition can contain more than one ADESAREA line if necessary.

- AreaName Area name (text string)

NotAdesArea

NOTADESAREA:AreaName:AreaName:AreaName:…

This line limits the code assignment to flights not arriving in any of the defined areas. Otherwise the format

and limitations are the same as in the ADESAREA line.

- AreaName Area name (text string)

Unit

UNIT:LoginCallsign:LoginCallsign:LoginCallsign:…

This line limits the code assignment based on your network login callsign. The whole callsign is not needed;

the match can also be done on the first one or more letters, e.g. entering “EFES” will match callsigns

beginning with “EFES”. The UNIT line can contain one or more callsigns and one code range definition can

also have more than one UNIT line if necessary.

- LoginCallsign Current login callsign (complete or partial)

NotUnit

NOTUNIT:LoginCallsign:LoginCallsign:LoginCallsign:…

This line limits the code assignment to network login callsigns other than the specified ones. Otherwise the

format and limitations are the same as in the UNIT line.

- LoginCallsign Current login callsign (complete or partial)

Callsign

CALLSIGN:Callsign:Callsign:Callsign:…

This line limits the code assignment based on the aircraft’s callsign. The whole callsign is not needed; the

match can also be done on the first one or more letters, e.g. entering “FIN” will match callsigns beginning

with “FIN”. The CALLSIGN line can contain one or more callsigns and one code range definition can also

have more than one CALLSIGN line if necessary.

- Callsign Aircraft callsign (complete or partial)

NotCallsign

NOTCALLSIGN:Callsign:Callsign:Callsign:…

This line limits the code assignment to aircraft callsigns other than the specified ones. Otherwise the format

and limitations are the same as in the CALLSIGN line.

- Callsign Aircraft callsign (complete or partial)

Remarks

REMARKS:Text:Text:Text:…

This line limits the code assignment based on the flightplan remarks. When all the specified text strings are

found in the remarks section, the line is a match. The REMARKS line can contain one or more text strings

and one code range definition can also have more than one REMARKS line if necessary (in this case it is

enough that one of the lines is a match for the code range to be used).

- Text Text string to look for in the flightplan remarks

NotRemarks

NOTREMARKS:Text:Text:Text:…

Same as above but limits the code assignment to flightplans whose remarks section contains none of the

specified text strings. When more than one NOTREMARKS line is used in a code range, the range is not used

when even one of the lines is a match.

- Text Text string to look for in the flightplan remarks

2.11 TopSkySTCA.txt

The file contains the definitions for final approach areas where smaller (usually 2.5nm) separation can be

used, as well as STCA exclusion areas needed for parallel approaches and departures. The following

example is used to show the syntax (optional lines in grey color):

FINALAPP:EFHK:04L FinalApp

// EFHK 04’s Comment

SOIR:EFHK:04L:04R SOIR

NOZ1:N060.18.37.790:E024.54.30.240 NOZ 1

NOZ1:N060.19.21.880:E024.53.08.680 NOZ 1

NOZ1:N060.12.36.560:E024.38.23.030 NOZ 1

NOZ1:N060.11.52.460:E024.39.44.310 NOZ 1

NOZ2:N060.18.49.470:E024.55.54.640 NOZ 2

NOZ2:N060.18.05.350:E024.57.16.110 NOZ 2

NOZ2:N060.11.20.250:E024.42.29.640 NOZ 2

NOZ2:N060.12.04.370:E024.41.08.450 NOZ 2

FinalApp

FINALAPP:AirportICAO:RwyID:Range:XTE:Lat:Lon:CourseT

This line creates a final approach area where smaller separation values for STCA are used.

- AirportICAO The airport’s ICAO code

- RwyID The runway identifier

- Range Maximum range from the approach end point (decimal value, range 0.0-99.0)

- XTE Maximum cross-track error from the approach course (decimal value, range 0.0-99.0)

- Lat Approach end point latitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lon Approach end point longitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- CourseT Approach course (degrees true, decimal value)

Only the ICAO code and RwyID are mandatory to be defined, so for example “FINALAPP:EFHK:04L” creates

an approach area for that runway with default values. The default values for the other items are:

- Range 10.0 nm

- XTE 0.5 nm

- Lat, Lon Runway threshold coordinates from the active sector file

- CourseT Runway true bearing calculated from the threshold coordinates

Note that if one or more of the optional values needs to be changed, the line must include all the values up

to the last changed value.

An STCA alert between two aircraft will be inhibited when all of the following are true:

- Both aircraft are planned to land on the runway in question

- Both aircraft are inside the same approach area

- Both aircraft have ground tracks within 10 degrees of the approach course

- The aircraft closer to the runway is not wake turbulence category HEAVY or SUPER, or a B757

- The aircraft further from the runway is in the same or higher wake turbulence category

SOIR

SOIR:AirportICAO:RwyID1:RwyID2:Range:WidthIn:WidthOut

This line starts the definition.

- AirportICAO The airport’s ICAO code

- RwyID1 Identifier of the runway on the left side in the direction of flight

- RwyID2 Identifier of the runway on the right side in the direction of flight

- Range Length of the NOZ (nm, decimal value, range 0.0-99.0)

- WidthIn Width of the NOZ toward the other runway (nm, decimal value, range 0.0-99.0)

- WidthOut Width of the NOZ away from the other runway (nm, decimal value, range 0.0-99.0)

Only the ICAO code and runway identifiers are mandatory to be defined. The default values for the other

items are:

- Range 10.0 nm

- WidthIn / WidthOut 0.3 nm

Note that if one or more of the optional values needs to be changed, the line must include all the values up

to the last changed value. A custom polygon can also be defined as the NOZ, see the NOZ1 and NOZ2 lines.

For arrivals, when one aircraft is within one NOZ and another within the other, and both aircraft have

ground tracks within 10 degrees of the approach tracks for their runways, an STCA warning between those

aircraft will be inhibited. For departures, the conditions are the same except that the 10 degree track error

limit is only valid toward the other runway. Both runways also need to be set as active for arrival (for an

arrival setup) or departure (for a departure setup) in the EuroScope runway setup. Both arrival and

departure setups can be active simultaneously.

If the airport has more than two runways where simultaneous approaches are performed, each possible

pair must be defined separately. For example if an airport can do simultaneous approaches on any

combination of runways 01L, 01C and 01R, three definitions are required (one for 01L/01C, one for

01L/01R and one for 01C/01R).

Departure

DEPARTURE

This optional line defines the setup as a departure setup. If not present, the setup is an arrival setup.

Approach course 1 and 2

CRS1:CourseT

CRS2:CourseT

This optional line is used to define the approach course if it is different from the runway bearing. For it to

have any effect, the setup must be an arrival setup and the NOZ for the corresponding runway must also be

defined manually (see below).

- CourseT The approach course for the runway (degrees true, decimal value)

NOZ 1 and 2

NOZ1:Lat:Lon

NOZ2:Lat:Lon

These optional lines are used to define vertices for custom polygons to override the default NOZ areas for

the runways.

- Lat Point latitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lon Point longitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

2.12 TopSkySymbols.txt

This file makes it possible to change the default symbols drawn by the plugin. The following example

symbol shows the syntax:

// distance marker Comment

SYMBOL:MARKER Type

ELLIPSE:0:0:2 Definition

Symbol definition

SYMBOL:SymbolType

The first line for each symbol definition must be a type line.

- SymbolType Symbol type (one of the following):

 AIRPORT Airport symbol

 MARKER Runway approach line distance marker symbol

 RPSH History dot symbol

 RPSC Coasting track symbol

 RPS1 Radar position symbol for PSR tracks

 RPS2 Radar position symbol for SSR(A) tracks

(Uncontrolled SSR and SSR+PSR tracks in COOPANS version)

 RPS2I Radar position symbol for SSR(A) tracks with ident

(Uncontrolled SSR and SSR+PSR tracks in COOPANS version)

 RPS3 Radar position symbol for PSR+SSR(A) tracks

(Controlled SSR and SSR+PSR tracks in COOPANS version)

 RPS3I Radar position symbol for PSR+SSR(A) tracks with ident

(Controlled SSR and SSR+PSR tracks in COOPANS version)

The following are not used in the COOPANS version of the plugin:

 RPS4 Radar position symbol for SSR(S) tracks

 RPS4I Radar position symbol for SSR(S) tracks with ident

 RPS5 Radar position symbol for PSR+SSR(A) tracks

 RPS5I Radar position symbol for PSR+SSR(A) tracks with ident

 RPS6 Radar position symbol for SSR(A+S) tracks

 RPS6I Radar position symbol for SSR(A+S) tracks with ident

 RPS7 Radar position symbol for PSR+SSR(A+S) tracks

 RPS7I Radar position symbol for PSR+SSR(A+S) tracks with ident

The symbol itself can consist of various elements, drawn by the following lines. The X and Y coordinates are

relative to the symbol centerpoint, with the X axis having increasing values to the right and the Y axis

having increasing values to the down direction. The commands are the same as in the EuroScope

Symbology dialog with the exception of the possibility to draw elliptical arcs and the “:” separating the

values here so the ES dialog can be used in most cases to test the results.

MOVETO:X:Y

Sets the starting point for the next LINETO command

- X Number of pixels from the symbol centerpoint in the left(-)-right(+) direction

- Y Number of pixels from the symbol centerpoint in the up(-)-down(+) direction

LINETO:X:Y

Draws a straight line from the previous position

- X Number of pixels from the symbol centerpoint in the left(-)-right(+) direction

- Y Number of pixels from the symbol centerpoint in the up(-)-down(+) direction

SETPIXEL:X:Y

Paints the selected pixel

- X Number of pixels from the symbol centerpoint in the left(-)-right(+) direction

- Y Number of pixels from the symbol centerpoint in the up(-)-down(+) direction

ARC:X:Y:Radius:StartAngle:EndAngle

ARC:X:Y:RadiusX:RadiusY:StartAngle:EndAngle

Draws a part of a circle or ellipse

- X Centerpoint offset from the symbol centerpoint in the left(-)-right(+) direction

- Y Centerpoint offset from the symbol centerpoint in the up(-)-down(+) direction

- Radius Arc radius in pixels (to make a circular arc)

- RadiusX Arc radius in relation to the X axis in pixels (to make an elliptical arc)

- RadiusY Arc radius in relation to the Y axis in pixels (to make an elliptical arc)

- StartAngle Arc starting angle (integer degrees, 0 degrees is at positive X-axis, increasing

counterclockwise)

- EndAngle Arc ending angle (integer degrees, 0 degrees is at positive X-axis, increasing

counterclockwise)

FILLARC:X:Y:Radius:StartAngle:EndAngle

FILLARC:X:Y:RadiusX:RadiusY:StartAngle:EndAngle

Otherwise the same as ARC, but the result is filled

ELLIPSE:X:Y:Radius

ELLIPSE:X:Y:RadiusX:RadiusY

Otherwise the same as FILLARC, but always draws a complete circle or ellipse

POLYGON:X1:Y1: X2:Y2:…: Xn:Yn

Draws a filled polygon with n vertices

2.13 TopSkyViews.txt

The file contains the definitions for the items in the View Window. Two types of definitions are allowed,

enter only one definition per line:

Lat/Lon box

VIEW:ViewName:Latmin:Lonmin:Latmax:Lonmax

An area bounded by the minimum and maximum latitude and longitude values. The resulting screen area

covers at least the required coordinates, possibly more depending on the screen shape.

- ViewName A name to identify the view in the View Window

- Latmin Minimum Latitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lonmin Minimum Longitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Latmax Maximum Latitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lonmax Maximum Longitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

Centerpoint and range

VIEW:ViewName:Lat:Lon:Range

VIEW:ViewName:PointName:Range

An area defined by a range from a centerpoint. The resulting screen area will be centered on the required

centerpoint and will show at least the required distance to every direction from the centerpoint.

- ViewName A name to identify the view in the View Window

- Lat Centerpoint Latitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- Lon Centerpoint Longitude (decimal degrees or sector file format)

- PointName Fix, VOR, NDB, airport code or runway (must be found in the active sector file)

- Range The displayed range (nautical miles, decimal value)

Note: the syntax to define a runway threshold as a PointName is the 4-letter ICAO airport designator

followed by a forward slash and the runway identifier.

Top Sky Plugin For Euro Scope Developer Guide

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