Cockpitdecks offers a few special activations that are normally not called in regular use.

Reload

type: reload

No option. Provoke the reload of all decks from initialisation.

The procedure first gracefull terminates the current setup, and then reloads the setup.

If a page different than the home page was currently loaded, the process will try to reload the same page if available in the new setup.

This activation is mainly used during development process to create buttons, alter their appearance and re-load the configuration to see the changes.

(Please note that reloading decks is a complex process, since it involves the reset of all devices, reloading all configurations, and displaying pages as they used to be, if still present.)

Stop

type: stop

No option. Gracefully stops all decks and terminates Cockpitdecks.

Inspect

type: inspect

Provoke the output of information for all buttons of all pages or all decks.

Mainly for development purpose.

Inspection always starts at the Cockpit level and may or may not crawl down into its constituting parts like decks, layouts, pages, and buttons. Some inspection terminates earlier in the drill down. For example, threads inspection stops at the Deck level.

Attribute

Button Inspect has one attribute

what

The value of the what attribute determine what is displayed when activated.

what Attribute Values

Value	Description
threads	list Cockpitdecks and deck threads that are currently running.
datarefs	list datarefs and values (the page containing the buttons need to be loaded first before it can display values).
datarefs-listener	List all datarefs and which buttons (listeners) are using the dataref.
status	list internal variables and statuses of each button.
valid	check button validity and report invalid status.
desc	print a description of what each button does in plain English, both for activation and representation.
image	produces an image of each deck, images are saved in the Cockpitdecks home directory and named after the deck.
longpress	list Longpress command that should have a couple of additional commands added to X-Plane through the plugin.

index: 4
type: inspect
what: desc

When button index 4 is pressed, it will display what each button does (description) in plain English on the output or debugging screen or file.

Notes for Button Designers

Button Instantiation

When a button is created, internal meta data are set first. Second, the Activation is installed and initialised. Third, the Representation is installed and initialized, as it may already use some activation information for rendering. Finally, the button is initialised. It will be rendered when the page that contains it is loaded on a deck.

Button Validity

Each button has a validity function that ensures that all necessary attributes are provided in its definition. If the activation of the button is not valid, its activation function will never be triggered, because of missing or misconfigurated parameters. If its representation is not valid, it will not be rendered on the deck.

If a button is not valid, a small red triangle appears in the lower right corner of the key icon if the button is capable of representing it. A small blue triangle appears in the lower right corner of the key icon if Cockpitdecks suspect the button is a placeholder.

Button Description and Inspection

Each button has an describe() method that prints in plain English what the button does and what it renders on the deck.

Each button has an inspect(what: str) method that exposes internal values and state. The inspect method takes one parameter what that determines what is displayed when invoked.

These methods can be invoked from the Inspect button activation.