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ALT + Z Command

gray eagle

SOH-CM-2025
SHIFT + Z Command

I noticed that when I press the SHIFT + Z command that the red lettering in upper left corner appears overly saturated i.e. blurry.
Is there a remedy to correct the blurries so that it appears clear and crisp?

View attachment 7898
 
I noticed that when I press the ALT + Z command that the red lettering in upper left corner appears overly saturated i.e. blurry.
Is there a remedy to correct the blurries so that it appears clear and crisp?

View attachment 7898
I think it's the shadow effect that gives it that appearance. I was never able to find a way to get rid of the drop shadow.
 
I think it's the shadow effect that gives it that appearance. I was never able to find a way to get rid of the drop shadow.

Actually, It's Shift + Z command (Cycle Coordinates/Frame Rate)

But now that you mention it, I do notice the shadow effect. That is what makes it look blurry to me.
 
Yes you can tweak it. Look for [Textinfo.n] sections in FSX.cfg. You can set color and background such as, e.g.,

[TextInfo.1]
TextColor.1=255,255,255
BackGroundColor.1=0,0,0,255

Courtesy Rick Federmann and his "Textinfo" gauge doc.
 
Yes you can tweak it. Look for [Textinfo.n] sections in FSX.cfg. You can set color and background such as, e.g.,

[TextInfo.1]
TextColor.1=255,255,255
BackGroundColor.1=0,0,0,255

Courtesy Rick Federmann and his "Textinfo" gauge doc.
So removing the second line (BackgroundColor.1=) will do it. . .or is that line essential to the text showing up in the sim?
 
No, change the background colour to 0,0,0,0. (=transparent)

The Info*******TextColor entry changes the text colour and this
can be anything you choose.
Each entry is an RGB code and there is a chart here http://www.web-source.net/216_color_chart.htm
which will show you the code for your chosen colour.

I have my text a pleasant light cream colour with these entries.

[DISPLAY]
InfoUpperRightTextColor=255,255,204
InfoUpperRightBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0
InfoLowerLeftTextColor=255,255,204
InfoLowerLeftBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0
InfoLowerRightTextColor=255,255,204
InfoLowerRightBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0

also these two lines must be added to the end of each [TextInfo.xx]
entry.

TextColor.1=255,255,204
BackGroundColor.1=0,0,0,0

Source: my own research and testing:untroubled:

Having said all that, sometimes the blurring is caused by Sweet FX, AA or FXAA settings.
 
So removing the second line (BackgroundColor.1=) will do it. . .or is that line essential to the text showing up in the sim?


You have to put in a transparent color for the background per instruction I read.


Source FSX TextInfo Gauge 3.0 And XML Tutorial
[SIZE=-1]By Rick Federmann[/SIZE]
Link:


http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/fslib.php?searchid=24194086

Configuring Shift-Z: The Variables
Altitude GForce WindSpeed Latitude
AltitudeAgl FuelPercentage WindDirection LatitudeDec
Heading FuelRemainingGallons VideoDevice LatitudeHex
HeadingHex FuelRemainingPounds FrameRate Longitude
HeadingTrue VerticalSpeed AverageFrameRate LongitudeDec
Airspeed AngleOfAttack LockedFrameRate LongitudeHex
TrueAirspeed WindDirectionAndSpeed
Configuring Shift-Z: Font Color
You can specify the colors for the text and the background of the Shift-Z display by including
these parameters within a [TextInfo] section:
TextColor.1=255,255,255
BackGroundColor.1=0,0,0,128
Here is how they are parsed:
TextInfo RGB Color Alpha Channel
Item Section Numbers Color Number
TextColor .1 255,255,255 n/a
BackGroundColor .1 0,0,0 128
The alpha channel color number defines the transparency of the background. Any number
between 0-255 can be used.
0 Transparent background
128 Semi-transparent background
255 Opaque (solid) background
Here is an example of coloring Shift-Z:
And here are the settings that defined the colors:
[TextInfo.1]
AirSpeed=2,1
TrueAirspeed=2,2
TextColor.2=255,255,255 // white text
BackGroundColor.2=0,0,0,128 // black semi-transparent background
Heading=3,1
Latitude=3,2 // no color settings; uses the same color
Longitude=3,3 // settings as the previous line
Altitude=4,1
AltitudeAgl=4,2
VerticalSpeed=4,3
TextColor.4=255,0,0 // red text
BackGroundColor.4=255,255,0,255 // yellow opaque background
WindDirectionAndSpeed=5,1
TextColor.5=0,255,0 // green text
BackGroundColor.5=128,128,128,0 // gray transparent background; can use any color
// for the background because it is transparent
// so the background color will not be seen
 
No, change the background colour to 0,0,0,0. (=transparent)

The Info*******TextColor entry changes the text colour and this
can be anything you choose.
Each entry is an RGB code and there is a chart here http://www.web-source.net/216_color_chart.htm
which will show you the code for your chosen colour.

I have my text a pleasant light cream colour with these entries.

[DISPLAY]
InfoUpperRightTextColor=255,255,204
InfoUpperRightBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0
InfoLowerLeftTextColor=255,255,204
InfoLowerLeftBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0
InfoLowerRightTextColor=255,255,204
InfoLowerRightBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0

also these two lines must be added to the end of each [TextInfo.xx]
entry.

TextColor.1=255,255,204
BackGroundColor.1=0,0,0,0

Source: my own research and testing:untroubled:

Having said all that, sometimes the blurring is caused by Sweet FX, AA or FXAA settings.

Good info expecially on those color settings.

I did some experimenting and came up with this color setup

View attachment 7918
 
That happens when you force anti-aliasing using the graphics card driver. If you only use the built in FSX anti-aliasing, it should appear crisp.
 
Yes you can tweak it. Look for [Textinfo.n] sections in FSX.cfg. You can set color and background such as, e.g.,

[TextInfo.1]
TextColor.1=255,255,255
BackGroundColor.1=0,0,0,255

Courtesy Rick Federmann and his "Textinfo" gauge doc.

Thanks for the info.:adoration:
 
That happens when you force anti-aliasing using the graphics card driver. If you only use the built in FSX anti-aliasing, it should appear crisp.

It should but for me, it didn't. Thanks anyway. It's that shadow effect of a red on red that makes the text a little blurry for me.
 
No, change the background colour to 0,0,0,0. (=transparent)

The Info*******TextColor entry changes the text colour and this
can be anything you choose.
Each entry is an RGB code and there is a chart here http://www.web-source.net/216_color_chart.htm
which will show you the code for your chosen colour.

I have my text a pleasant light cream colour with these entries.

[DISPLAY]
InfoUpperRightTextColor=255,255,204
InfoUpperRightBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0
InfoLowerLeftTextColor=255,255,204
InfoLowerLeftBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0
InfoLowerRightTextColor=255,255,204
InfoLowerRightBackGroundColor=0,0,0,0

also these two lines must be added to the end of each [TextInfo.xx]
entry.

TextColor.1=255,255,204
BackGroundColor.1=0,0,0,0

Source: my own research and testing:untroubled:

Having said all that, sometimes the blurring is caused by Sweet FX, AA or FXAA settings.



I noticed that some of the colors have 3 values and some have four
i.e TextColor.1=255,255,204 <<<< 3 values here
BackGroundColor.1=0,0,0,0 <<<< 4 values here ; what is the purpose of the fourth zero?

EDIT:
I noticed a trend here. Only the Back ground colors have four numeric values while the text colors have just three.


Double Edit: I think that fourth numeric entry in the BackGroundColor line = Alpha Channel Color Number.
Still strange to me that there are only 3 values needed for the TextColor and four for the other line.
 
Final Text color

I redid the lettering colors for the Shift + Z as the red and yellow looks a little too loud. I was just using example in instructions I read.
But now I have something that is easier on my eyes and goes with the blue sky that is behind the lettering. I made a transparent background.
At least this is it for now, I can always change it if I want to go with something else.

View attachment 8024
 
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