Stream Deck Profile for DCS F18

Regarding Licens, these Icons are ment to be used with Legato Stream Deck, being used
to control the DCS F18, and you are hereby granted the rights to use these graphic-files
with the Stream Deck (SD), and you are granted the rights to change the raster-files
(288x288 PNG), in case you want to tweak them for your personal use. You are however
not allowed to redistribute these files, or use them for other purpose. I've spend a lot of
hours (evenings/nights) to produce these files (some of them went through many
revisions), but for me it was a "labor of love", and I wanted to have these myself. These
files are available for free, but if you want to show your apreciation in form of a Donation,
who am I to argue agains that :-)

Its naturally optional, but if you feel like Donating: [Link]

Installation
To use the files bundled with this manual, you can choose to make your own SD profile
from scratch, using the single graphic-files. Once extracted these files are grouped into
(hopefully) logical-named sub-folderes. If you want to use my SD profile as it is, you first
open the Stream Deck softare. Here you click the small cogwheel, which opens Settings,
and you navigate to the "Profiles" tab-sheet. In the lower part of this form you will see a
small arrow pointing down. Pressing this arrow will open a menu, from where you simply
choose the item called "Import" and then you pick the file bundled with this file-set called
"DCS [Link]":

I leave it to you to deside if you want to set this as your prefered profile, or you want to
have it automatically selected when you start DCS or perhaps you have a default/master
profile from where you pick this profile.

Out of the box many of the DCS F-18 actions are not setup with a default keyboard-
combination, and since the SD cannot yet send joystick button-presses each button in the
SD profile will send a keyboard-combination that you will need to setup in DCS as well.
When I made this profile I started by deleting many of the default key-combinations in
DCS that I did not need (e.g. I have rudder pedals, so I did not need X and Y for the
rudders, nor did I need the keyboard-combination for wheel-brakes). In the procrees I
removed a few keystrokes I did not think I needed, only having to manually add them
again, so a few of the actions have been set up with alternative (other) keyboard-
combinations as I in the mean-time had assigned their default keyboard-combination to
some other action.

I have included my "[Link]" file (taken from: "C:\Users\[UserName]\Saved

Please remark all keyboard commands were recorded on a Danish keyboard, so I don't
know how well they change into a non-Danish keyboard.

Background
Not less than 2 weeks ago I had never heard about the Legato Stream Deck (SD). I saw
somebody mention it on the DCS facebook page, Googled it, found a few YouTubes, and
went to the store to pick up one the next day :-) Legao have a website-tool where you
can build you own button-icons, but being a graphics-nerd (just a hobby, work as
software-developer), it was not "good enough" for me, so I turned to my trusty vector-
graphics companion in form of InkScape and got cracking at producing button-graphics
(288x288 pixel PNG's). In the first stage many of the buttons had generic-looking knobs
and switches, and you had to read the label to know what the button would do. Some of
the icons, stil use those generic buttons/knobs, but as time have progressed I have
revisited many of the files I had made, and changed them into new icons, as it is more
easy looking at an icon (graphics), than reading text. Most of the icons are only available
in a single version, but for a few there are more than one, so you can choose whichever
you prefer.

Personally I fly with a Warthog Throttle/Stick-combo along with the Thrustmaster MFD's
and CH Products rudder pedals. Further more I use the paddle-switch on the joystick as a
shift button, so I theory I could have 2 actions bound to each of the buttons/switches on
both the throttle and stick. So you will find some graphic files that are not in use by the
SD profile. E.g. I made some MFD-buttons labeled with either "LDDI", "RDDI" or "AMPCD".
They are simply labeled with a number-sign ("#"), as I was too "lazy" to produce all 20
(60 graphic-files in total) - feel free to make them yourself if you need them :-) Likewise I
also made graphics for some of the functions I have mapped for my HOTAS, e.g. Radar
elevation up/down, and other actions. So if you use a setup with fewer buttons than the
Warthog Throttle/Stick, you can assign these actions to your SD-profile (my SD-profile
already include many actions you would normally assign to stick/throttle e.g.: gear,
flaps ... perhaps: battery, engine crank and so on).

Extra graphics
Among the graphic-files you will also find graphics that are not used by the SD profile.
This is partly because I made some of the graphics for you guys who might have other
hardward than me, and partly its because I sometimes made the graphics before checking
if you could actually map a keyboard-combination (e.g. I never located any action in DCS
to map for the ECM knob or the radar alt warning setting). I hope more actions will be
mapped up for the F18 (e.g. why do we only have actions to toggle the launchbar
up/down, in stead of also having an action to set it to up, and another to set it to down? -
many other actions both include: "On", "Off" and "On/Off").

SD lets you use both single hotkey-buttons and switch hotkey-buttons (buttons with
toggle-function that CAN send 2 different key-combination and switch between displaying
two diffent graphic-icons). Plese remark the "CAN" in capitals, as there are cases where
the SD-button in both cases will send the same keyboard-combination, as the "switch"
(toggle) -feature is used only to toggle between 2 different graphic-icons. It is however
important to realise that there is no 2-way comunication between DCS and SD. E.g.
considder the 5 hardpoints-buttons for selecting the hardpoints for selected jettison. As in
the aircraft, these 5 buttons are not "lit" (don't show the green-triangle) until you press
them. When you press the button on the SD, the button on the SD should light up, as it
should do in the cockpit (at least if you do a firm press, so both the SD and DCS will
registrate it). Lets say you select the Center hard-point (e.g. to drop an empty center-
tank) by pressing the "CTR" button on the SD. For some reason you deside to not drop it
anyway, so you click the "CTR" button in the cockpit using the mouse. SD can't know you
clicked the "CTR" button in the F18 cockpit, so even though the button is no longer lit
(don't contain the green triangle) in the cockpit, it remains lit on the SD. To resolve the
issue you have to click the button in the cockpit (using the mouse) once more.

My mindset
The graphics all make sense to me, but I realize it might not make sense to all of you. If
you disagree, this zip contains all graphic-files, so feel free to change/swap the graphics
as you please. Anyhow let me introduce you to my mindset. Some of the buttons using my
generic up/down switch both contains a White- and a Green label (both in bold). The text
in Green is supposed to indicate the current "value" (with the limitations mentioned
previously) where the text in White indicate the "value" you are about to select - if
pressing this button. To clearify, I later decided to add an arrow to all these buttons, and
the arrow indicate the direction the switch will be moved when pressed. In case of
switches with 3 positions (e.g. the Dispenser-switch) the middle position is NOT indicated
with an arrow, in stead the middle value is highlighted with white text in bold (e.g. the
middle position of the Dispenser switch shows "On" in White bold). Some buttons will
contain an arrow that both points up and -down at the same time. E.g. both the Canopy-
and the Lauchbar-buttons shows this up/down button. This is done to indicate that the
button will simply toggle the action (e.g. if the canopy is open, pressing this button will
close the canopy, and if the canopy is closed, the button will open it).

Regarding many of the (in the cockpit) rotary knobs, I have simply made 2 graphic-files
where a label (either above- or inside the knob) shows which action the button is
connected to, and the graphics will either show an arrow pointing CW or CCW
(clockwise/counter-Clockwise). In many cases (e.g. the light-knobs) these 2 knobs are
placed above each other, so the top-one rotate CW, and the bottom-one CCW (the knobs
will rotate in the cockpit, not on the SD). In other cases they are placed left/right to each
other, where the left-most rotate CCW, and the right-most CW. For some of the other
knobs (e.g. the Radar/INS-knobs) I have made one graphics file for each position the
knob can be placed in (e.g. for the Radar-knob: OFF, STBY, OPR, PULL EMG). So to set
the radar to OPR-mode you simply press the OPR-button (once), whereas to turn up/down
the lights you need to press-and-hold the CW- or CCW-button until the lights are as you
want it. Naturally you can press either CW/CWW-button multiple times, but the knob in
the cockpit will only rotate while the button is being pressed.

Layout
The "front page" of my DS profile contains 14 folder-buttons and a single profile-switch
button located in the upper/left corner. This button takes me to another DS profile, from
where I can switch to other profiles (one for each DCS-module I own, but so far I have
only made a DS-profile for the F18). Each of the 14 folder-buttons open a folder which
again contains a new "page" with 15 buttons where the upper/left icon is dedicated to
return to the previous "page". In most cases each of the 14 knobs from the "front page"
opens a folder with icons (without sub-folders). The only exceptions are the button for
UFC (Up Front Controler) which contains a single a single subfolder with additional keys,
and the button in the lower/left coner which opens a folder, containing multiple sub-
folders (e.g. Communication, Views, Kneeboard, and Simulation). Regarding the graphics
for the folder-buttons I have tried to include "enough" icons to show what the folder
contains, but I leave it for you to decide if you think I did a good- or piss-poor job :-)

Most of the action-buttons are only included on a single "page", but a few are dublicated.
E.g. choosing the Engine-page you find a button to rotate the Bleed-air knob (CW).
However this button is also included on the dedicated anti-ice/bleed-air page. The reason
to also include this knob on the Engine-page is simply becase the engine page is ment to
be used during engine-start and part of the start-procedure (after having done the Fire-
A/B test, and started the right-engine) is to cycle the bleed-air knob.

On the next page you find an overview of the "menu-pages". I have tried to group actions
that relate to each other on the same pages, and I hope the icons are clear to tell what
they do (otherwise read the text in the SD-profile). On the Dials-page there is an empty
column, which I had planed to populate with buttons for setting radar altitude warning
(there is a rotary-knob in the right side of the cockpit for setting this). However I could
not find the actions in DCS (though I did make the graphics, before realizing this).
Likewise on the ECM-page there is a row of non-functioning buttons for the ECM rotary-
knob (you can rotate the knob in the cockpit, but it has no function, hence this is probably
the reason there are no actions in DCS). On the Jettison-page I added a "Fire"-button,
which opens a menu, however this menu is empty. You leave it to you to decide if you
want to remove this Fire-button, populate the page, or leave it as it is. On the View-page
there are a few buttons for which I did not grab the screenshot, so these simply uses the
generic SD buttons with text. On the kneeboard page, if you use kneeboards, and if you
have many pages, it can be handy to Mark some short-cuts (using MkSc), and the "JpSc"
buttons lets you jump to these marked pages. On the kneeboard page you might find it
odd there are buttons to jump to short-cut: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8 (why 8 not 6?). I suggest
you mark the 5 most important pages first, so you can jump directly to these using one of
the first 5 "JpSc" buttons. Using "JpSc 8" in stead of "JpSc 6" it's relative easy jumping to
either of the last 4 pages - e.g. choosing page 9 you first press "JpSc 8" and then "NxSc"
(Next Short-Cut). Likewise going to short-cut 6, you first jump to short-cut 5 ("JpSc5") and
then jump to the next short-cut ("NxSc"). Using -8 in stead of -6 you only have to press
"NxSc" 2 times goint to -10 from -8 (in stead of having to press it 4 times, to go from -6 to
-10). Most of the buttons on the Comm-Command page are not hooked up as I run with
Voice Attack/VAICOM, but feel free to add commands yourself (not sure if it can work with
LWin or not ?).
Overview of "Pages" and how they are connected:
UFC-Actions

UFC-Numeric UFC-Radio/Hud Fuel/MFD Engine start

Gear, Flaps, Hook ... EIFI/HDG/CRS/Cat... ECM Dials/Park-brake Batt, Test, [Link]

DCS (Modules)-Profile

Sub-menu Jettison Radar/INS Anti-ICE/Bleed [Link]

Comm F-Keys Views Kneeboard Simulation Timers

Comm Commands

Pelle Liljendal