I’m going to start what I think is an important topic that I could not find in this forum. If I missed something then forgive me. I recently explored the Key Commands (for the keyboard) as I have two 116 key P.I. Engineering keypads that I started using years ago. This gives me a total of 228 possible key bindings (I call key bindings the link between a simulator function and a key on the keypad). These keypads come in really handy when you use not only the standard flight simulators but also combat flight simulators where they use a ton of key commands for controlling weapons, navigation, defense systems, communications…you get the idea. The reason I started using the keypads with MSFS 2020 was due to the issue of the mouse constantly going dead and not being able to recover from the loss of using the mouse to interact with the cockpit. I could still maintain control over some cockpit avionics by using keyboard commands because they still work when the mouse is dead, hence maybe finish a flight where otherwise I would crash and burn. To date, you cannot restart midflight in MSFS 2020 because no AUTOSAVE feature exists. Just a side note, Pete Dowson famed for the FSUIPC utility is working to bring it to MSFS 2020. The feature in it that allows you to setup an AUTOSAVE is not yet fully operational (as of my last investigation) but it was a life saver in the past with older sims when you experienced a CTD (crash-to-desktop) or any other glitch because you could restart your flight just a few short minutes from the glitch. This is another topic but it would be great if a permanent AUTOSAVE feature was built into MSFS 2020 to recover a flight for whatever reason. It’s a real bummer to have a long flight come to an unrecoverable end.
Unfortunately, while trying to solve that issue, I ran into new issues using the key commands. If anyone else is running into this then this thread might be a good start to identifying inop or missing key commands. All I’m trying to do here is make a thread where missing (Wishlist it) or inop (key commands not working as expected) can be listed in one place by the community. Regardless, any specific inop key should be sent in to the Zendesk to be examined if found.
To start with, one important key command I found missing altogether (compared to past flight sims) was a key command for switching the navigational signal sent to the autopilot. The NAV/GPS switch. This switch determines which navigational source is sent to the autopilot. By default, most avionics start out with the VOR receivers driving the autopilot. Maybe this should now be changed to support the GPS or FMS by default instead of the VORs (basically reverse this so the GPS or FMS drive the autopilot from the start of a flight). As of this post the only way, I have found to switch this function is in the 3D cockpit using the mouse BUT if the mouse stops working…so you see the issue of not having a NAV/GPS key command. My first hope is to see the NAV/GPS (or FMS) key command restored. This key command is quite a necessity as explained.
Also, I found many other key commands not working as expected or at all. For instance, in the past I have reported key commands for views that were improperly assigned. What I mean by this is if the key command was used for a specific view it showed an incorrect view (a specific case found was an external view of 45 degrees to the left was interchanged with another angle in the external view). I’ll try and retread the key commands I have found not working as expected here. If anyone else uses a particular key command and finds it out-of-whack maybe you could list it here as a note to the community. I would include at least three things if adding to this post, whether the key command is missing or not working as expected, the exact title of the key command, and a brief description of what it should do. Key commands also have a great importance in home cockpit builds because of the hardware that interfaces a multitude of switches in the cockpit. Without them this hardware is useless. Regards!
I was flying a flight to test many of the keys I had configured and as an example I found a key command that when assigned keys (not assigned by default) and used it activates another function (it’s coded incorrectly in MSFS 2020 like the view command I described in my first post). Here’s what happens:
I assigned keys to the Set Autobrake HI, MED, and LO functions so I could bind them to specific keys on my keypad and use them when flying the A320.
Set Autobrake HI (I entered a key command of SHF + ALT + J)
Set Autobrake MED (I entered a key command of SHF + ALT + K)
Set Autobrake LO (I entered a key command of SHF + ALT + L)
When I linked these to labeled buttons on my keypad and used them I found the Autobrake MED and LO are reversed in MSFS 2020. For example, when I pressed the key for Set Autobrake MED it lights up the Autobrake LO in the A320. If I pressed the Autobrake LO button it would light up the Autobrake MED in the A320. The keys on the keypad are properly binded to the key commands as configured in the flight simulator so something in MSFS 2020 is cross coded. The Autobrake HI worked properly.
Hope this provides a good example of what I’m finding in the key commands for the keyboard. Regards.
Here is another key command found not to work as expected. When flying in various default aircraft I have found that if you use the Master Avionics switch in the 3D cockpit everything works fine but if you try to actually use the key command (the default keyboard command = PGUP) for Toggle Avionics Master the key command is inop. Can anyone else confirm this?
Another important key command inop concerning the flaps. Its the INC Flap key command, by default assigned to the F7 key. If you change the flaps settings with the mouse inside the 3D cockpit the flaps work fine but if you use the assigned keyboard command F7 is inop. For instance, with the flaps fully retracted if you press F7 the flaps would not extend (in increments). I have tried this in the B747 and the flaps would not extend in increments. But if you tap F8 the flaps will fully extend. Then if you press F6 you can get the flaps to retract to one of the other settings. If you were to then tap F7 again the flaps will not increment (extend). Can anyone else confirm this issue?
The avionics master is fixed and it was my mistake. When reviewing this key command I found out when I used the search function for avionics it had found a toggle for avionics master but it was under the autopilot category which I did not catch, hence it did not operate the cockpit avionics switch. I found a key command under the instruments category to “set” the avionics master on (another allows it to be turned off) which was the proper key command. Sure wish it was a toggle switch but not a biggy.
There are some cockpit camera keyboard controls that don’t work as they should. If I create a custom camera (for example for the forward view) and save it (Ctrl + Alt + (0 to 9)), it’s my understanding that I can activate that forward view with one single key stroke (Alt + 1). But that’s not the case. I have to press two times for getting my saved view. First I get another view (default view). In my opinion that’s not “loading”, but “toggling” the camera. I didn’t find another key command that allows me to establish my custom camera with one single stroke. During a flight that’s rather annoying.
Today I was playing around with the flaps again and found out some new things. I was curious as to why my toggle switch on one of my peripherals worked when increasing (INC) the flap settings instead of when I’m trying to use the F7 key on the keyboard (either directly or linked to a keypad button). I found that when programming my toggle switch I’m not using the F7 key but rather a key command function labeled Increase Flaps (not F7). The coding for this function works, whatever that coding is behind the curtain but if I reach up to press the F7 key on the keyboard the F7 key is inop. I also found out that if I play around with the flaps extend and retract to much (such as pressing them successively that the flaps will stop responding correctly. In other words my flaps would get locked into the fully extended position and I couldn’t retract them. It required me leaving and restarting the sim for them to start responding correctly again. Is anyone else having this issue?
Here is something else I’ve been running into. When I’m using the aircraft checklist and it requires a switch to be set, I have found once again if I’m using my peripherals to set the switches instead of the mouse (via the 3D cockpit switches) the checklist won’t recognize the action. For instance, I was preparing the CJ4 for a flight. When I reached a point in the checklist to set the Avionics switch to ON I pressed my button on my keypad (linked to a key command) to set the Avionics switch ON, when the switch moved to the ON position the checklist did not progress until I used the mouse to switch the Avionics switch OFF and back ON. Then the checklist recognized the action and moved to the next item.
This thread made an interesting read NCHawk5018. I’m very new to Flight Sims but learning slowly. I don’t like using the mouse to change things in the cockpit and have a separate keyboard with keys labelled to show their re-assignments. I’m struggling to find functions to operate the GPS/NAV system so if you have any ideas, it’d be great to hear them. Thanks
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Unfortunately, there aren’t to many options here unless Asobo codes them in. The old flightsims like FSX and P3D had numerous key commands for GPS functions. Many of these disappeared in MSFS 2020. I’ll admit that many of these I never used in the years gone bye-bye but there were always those few special key commands that came in handy, it just depended on the hardware setup you had and your preferences for cockpit commands. I always used the NAV/GPS switch that swaps the source to the autopilot. That key command was invaluable. Then again Asobo fixed some that were historically missing in FSX/P3D like the taxi light. I remember the only way I could control it was with my Saitek Multi Switch Panel because the taxi light switch on that panel was coded to toggle the light via SDK commands. You couldn’t find it in the key command list in the sim. It is similar to the flaps issue I posted above. It has to do with coding inside the sim. Evidently the F7 key is coded through separate logic because if I use the “Increase Flaps” key command it works. Someone will have to dive into the nuts and bolts to figure that out. Maybe when the full SDK is released we’ll get more answers. Or maybe someone else is aware of something I’m not in the know.
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Hi, following up on my Nov 13th post about the problems with the F7 key. I’m going to describe this in detail so those that don’t have this experience can use it themselves. I was trying to reassign the F7 key within the sim in hopes of finally resolving my issue and when doing this I noticed when trying to assign the key within the sim it would not ‘release’. When assigning keys in the sim it cannot be validated until it is released after being pressed. With the indications I got I thought the key itself was sticking. So, I quickly checked the F7 key press in another app and found that it was ‘sticking’. I seemed as though I had a defective key on my keyboard. So, I pulled out my keyboard diagnostics software and put the keyboard through the paces. After checking all key functions on the keyboard, I found three keys (F7, F9, and F12) getting ‘stuck’ in a similar manner, not just the F7 key. It is rare to none to see three keys go bad at the same time, even if a keyboard matrix went TU the symptoms would be different. Then I remembered from years gone bye-bye (I don’t see this problem often) the issue of key command conflicts. So, I started checking to see what other applications I had running in the background and one came to the surface but quick. Since I use it often, I leave it running in the system tray all the time. My TrackIR application which is for simulating head movement in the sim. TrackIR by default uses the F7, F9, and F12 hotkeys to pause, center, and set presicion, what a coincidence. This is an age-old problem trying to ensure key commands are not conflicted across different applications. Regardless, I’m closing my own case after reassigning the TrackIR hotkeys to something that doesn’t conflict with the sim. The flap functions in the sim are working perfectly and I’m checking to make sure no other key commands are in conflict across the board. Regardless, other posts, such as the one on Nov 11th concerning the Autobrakes remains as valid as ever. Regards.
I’m having the same problem in Basic Controls & Cameras. (Alt+1) is inop. Therefore, the flight instructor mode freezes and crashes into the side of a mountain and I can’t continue with the lesson.
Can you describe this issue in exact detail, like the exact steps you perform. The reason I’m asking this is because I use ALT+1 with no issues in the cockpit views (not external or drone camera views). I typically save some simple views when flying. For instance, I will save a forward view I use to see the better part of my avionics and out the front window using ALT+3. Then I typically save two views to the right front and off the right wing using ALT+4 and ALT+5. I’ll also save two views to the left front and off the left wing using ALT+2 and ALT+1. ALT+1 along with the others works fine for me.