Making Tobii eye tracker work with SU9

[Divij5549]

For those looking to make the Reset Head Position F12 key work with their Custom Keyboard Profiles, there is a workaround which involves editing files in Notepad++. Please back up all necessary files and please do not attempt this if you don’t feel technically savvy enough.

First in game, go to Controller Settings and find the Keyboard Profile you would like to do this for. Then find Head Tracking Toggle and assign a key bind to this. You don’t have to do this, but if you’re going to do it then doing it now is the best way.

After that’s done, navigate to your Sim Folder, mine is located in:

C:\Users\ABCDE\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe

Then to SystemAppData , wgs and then click on the folder with random numbers on it. Your eventual location is:

C:\Users\ABCDE\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\SystemAppData\wgs\000901F1C7541541_00000000000000000000000069F80140

Now you’ll see a whole bunch of folders with random numbers on them. This is where the profiles are stored. You need to find your Keyboard Profile folder. This could take some time depending on how many devices you have had. Once you open the file inside, it should say “keyboard” and your profile name with next to it.

I HIGHLY recommend backing up this folder before you start editing it.

Edit the file with Notepad++ which is named with lots of numbers and not the container file.
You need to copy and paste the following code to your file:

	<Action ActionName="KEY_EYE_TRACKING_RESET" Flag="2">
		<Primary>
			<KEY Information="F12">123</KEY>
		</Primary>
	</Action>

Once you have added this to the the file, it should look like this:

Notice I have pasted the code right above where KEY_HEAD_TRACKING_TOGGLE is which was what I just saved in my profile. Therefore I can ignore the CONTEXT command line. If you don’t have that key bind, then you’ll need to add that as well.

Now save this change in Notepad++ and restart the sim. F12 should now work to Reset Head Position in your Custom Profile.

[Divij5549]

Hahah I just saw this after posting my lengthy message! Glad this is sorted now

[The1l2p]

Could not have been better synced!

[Divij5549]

I tried doing the same with the Tobii profile to try and save the XML using notepad++. For example trying to set the sensitivity for head/yaw to 1.5 instead of 1 but it didn’t work.

Still starts as 1 when you load the sim and only saves whole numbers. Hopefully someone better than me at this stuff can find a workaround for that as well

[The1l2p]

Got the same results with decimal numbers…

[AnOilyRag]

Thanks for that, works for me.

[carldawid8526]

Is there any way you can pause your view, I can only find the setting that resets head tracking completely?

[MysticKite]

Can anyone point me to where controller profiles are stored on a Steam install? The path info given above doesn’t work for me. There’s no SystemAppData folder.

[skysthelimit707]

@Divij5549

Once you open the file inside, it should say “keyboard” and your profile name with next to it.

What was the name of the file including extension?

[Divij5549]

The name of the folder will be a random number. There should be two files inside, one with a random number and the other file says Container. You need to open the one which is a long string of random numbers without any extension.

Here is a photo of where my keyboard profile is located. I have highlighted the file that I have opened and also the entry that I have copy pasted in that file.

[skysthelimit707]

@carldawid8526

Is there any way you can pause your view, I can only find the setting that resets head tracking completely?

What you want to do is bind a key to TOGGLE HEAD TRACKING however pressing this resets the view forward so this is a bug. So be sure to file a bug report so that it can be fixed. Also post your problem in this thread(and vote for it too): Tobii Eye Tracking needs configuration options.

Until it has been fixed you can use FaceTrackNoIR V200.

For Tobii Eye Tracker 5 download SetupFaceTrackNoIR_v203_Tobii5.exe from here.

For Tobii 4C download SetupFaceTrackNoIR_v203_Tobii4C.exe from here.

For both Tobii Eye Tracker 5 and Tobii 4C download SetupFaceTrackNoIR_v204a_PluginPack.exe from here.

Be sure to install in this order:

1. facetracknoir_v200.exe
2. SetupFaceTrackNoIR_v203_Tobii5.exe OR SetupFaceTrackNoIR_v203_Tobii4C.exe
3. SetupFaceTrackNoIR_v204a_PluginPack.exe

After installing FaceTrackNoIR don’t launch it just yet instead launch MSFS, click OPTIONS, click CONTROLS OPTIONS, click KEYBOARD, click in the SEARCH BY INPUT text box, press F10, where it says TOGGLE VFR COCKPIT MODE click on F10, click CLEAR CURRENT INPUT then click VALIDATE, type in a name for your new input profile and click OK. Where it says TOGGLE HUD VIEW click on F10, click CLEAR CURRENT INPUT then click VALIDATE. Click in the SEARCH BY INPUT text box, press F11, where it says TOGGLE LANDING COCKPIT MODE click on F11, click CLEAR CURRENT INPUT then click VALIDATE.

Click on the Home icon, click on APPLY AND SAVE, then quit MSFS.

Launch FaceTrackNoIR. It should look like this:

For Tobii 4C, I’ve seen a screenshot by Hester40MT and in his screenshot he had Smoothing set to 20, I’m not sure if that was the default or if he changed it but having a smoothing that high will probably lag a little (Filters: The higher the value, the slower the response). The default smoothing for my Tobii Eye Tracker 5 was 1 so try that first and increase it later.

Click the Shortkeys button. Setup the Center keyboard for F11 and the Start/Stop keyboard for F10. Where it says When OFF:, change View to Stay, and change Engine tracker to Keep tracking. It should now look like this:

Click OK.

The manual page for Curves explains how to tweak the sensitivities.

Start MSFS, start a flight. Pressing F11 will reset the view back to Center 0,0,0. F10 will pause your view and keep it there, press F10 again to resume head tracking. Use the arrow keys (not the numeric keypad), left/right arrow moves left/right, up/down arrow moves up/down, Alt + up/down moves closer/further away from the instruments without zooming, f to reset.

If resuming head tracking isn’t working the way you expect, try pressing F11 to reset, or try changing the Engine tracker to Stop Engine.

[The1l2p]

The Steam path folder should be something like that:

“C:\Users\your_user_name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator”

Is there any "SystemAppData" folder in it?

[skysthelimit707]

No SystemAppData folder anywhere on C: drive. Also no 86E959EF17FB4A7D946290F19BD40B7B nor container.72 files anywhere on C: drive either.

[skysthelimit707]

@MysticKite

Can anyone point me to where controller profiles are stored on a Steam install?

For Steam:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\896450362\1250410\remote
Then open each file which has this name format using either Notepad or Notepad++:
inputprofile_[10 digit number]
and look at line 4 for this:

<Device DeviceName=“Keyboard” GUID=“{0}” ProductID=“34891” CompositeID=“0”>

then look at line 3, it will look similar to this:

<FriendlyName PlatformAvailability=“15”>Keyboard NO F10 NO F11</FriendlyName>

^ The name of your keyboard profile will be there so you can make sure that you are editing the correct keyboard profile

To find the inputprofile files quickly:

1. Click in the Windows Search bar
2. Type in File Explorer and click on it
3. Navigate to:
   C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata
4. Press F3
5. Type in:
   inputprofile
   and press Enter key
6. Wait for the results to appear
7. Right click on any one of inputprofile_[10 digit number] files and then click on Open file location

[ehrw5059]

I’ve just posted a deeper dive into our settings and what each slider does. Check it out and see if it helps you optimize the settings and get an even better experience while piloting the skies

Settings & Setup guide for the Tobii Eye Tracker 5

The Tobii Eye Tracker 5 implementation in Microsoft Flight Simulator allows you to control the camera using your head and eyes, reducing the times you need to take your hands off your joystick or HOTAS. SU8 introduced 6DoF and more detailed settings for the feature. Now you can tweak your Tobii Eye Tracker 5 experience to a much higher degree than previously Getting Started To get started, go to options > controls option and locate the Tobii option. Press sensitivity to get access to all the…

/Jonas
Community Manager
Tobii Gaming

[donka73]

Thanks for the guidance the ‘KEY_EYE_TRACKING_RESET’ action. I now have this assigned to a button on my Virpil control panel as well as my custom keyboard profile without the need to remap all the custom keys to a new profile.
It looks like Asobo just need to expose this action in the controller configuration options - I’m assuming this was an oversight, but this is a much needed workaround in the meantime.

[skysthelimit707]

@YodaVonBeck75

I will try this - its better than nothing for sure

The other keys you would want to be aware of are:
Use the arrow keys (not the numeric keypad), left/right arrow moves left/right, up/down arrow moves up/down, Alt + up/down moves closer/further away from the instruments without zooming, f to reset.

[skysthelimit707]

@ASKemp1970

The head tracking on/off keybind can be assigned to whatever you want (seems to be a lot of fuss over F12)

It is TOGGLE HEAD TRACKING and it currently unbound so you need to bind a key to it however when turning TOGGLE HEAD TRACKING off it resets the view to looking straight forward so I’ve written a workaround that you can use here(it will keep your view where you are currently looking at): https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/making-tobii-eye-tracker-work-with-su8/472111/252.

The fuss over F12 are two different issues:

1. F12 is the default key to take a screenshot in Steam and so it will interfere with trying to Center/Reset tracking.
2. F12 is a hidden function that is not exposed in the CONTROLS OPTIONS in keyboard settings(try pressing F12 in the SEARCH BY INPUT textbox and only LIVERIES will appear). For any custom keyboard profiles made prior to SU8 the F12 key will not work so you need to change it back to a default profile first and then you can edit your custom keys. Alternatively you could hand edit your custom input profile config file and add the hidden F12 function by following the guide posted here: https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/making-tobii-eye-tracker-work-with-su8/472111/242. You can also change this hidden F12 function to a different key if you hand edit the input profile config file by following the guide posted here: https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/making-tobii-eye-tracker-work-with-su8/472111/242

[ASKemp1970]

Agree,so why is everyone quoting F12. The head tracking bind has always been there, just bind what you want and forget about F12

[skysthelimit707]

@ASKemp1970

Agree,so why is everyone quoting F12. The head tracking bind has always been there, just bind what you want and forget about F12

Try this and you will see why F12 is so important:

1. Sit where you normally sit
2. Launch MSFS and get into a flight.
3. Make sure head tracking is on.
4. Move your seat backwards so that your view is behind the pilot seat.
5. Toggle TOGGLE HEAD TRACKING to OFF. Your view is reset to being in front of the instruments.
6. Toggle TOGGLE HEAD TRACKING to ON and your view is back behind the pilot seat.
7. Try clicking on RESET POSITION, this does nothing, your view is still behind the pilot seat.
8. Press F12 and be amazed