76. Network Setup

This chapter explains how to connect with a remote computer across the network to a simulator on a flying computer.

Note

There is no need to share the scenery library or files of any simulator on the network.

You do not have to copy the simulator scenery library neither do you have to install a second simulator on the client computer.

Important

You need basic computer skills to create network shares and to copy files from one computer to another for such a setup.

Contact a friend or a family member or get professional help in a shop if you cannot do this.

76.1. How to Prepare a Network Setup

  1. Install/extract the whole Little Navmap archive on the flying and the network computer.

  2. Install Little Xpconnect into the X-Plane plugins directory if you use X-Plane. See Little Xpconnect for details.

  3. Use Little Navmap to generate the scenery database on the flying computer. Main menu -> Scenery Library -> Load Scenery Library

  4. Open the database directory on the flying computer using Tools -> Files and Directories -> Show Database Files.

  5. Copy the database files to the network computer. Always close Little Navmap before copying. See Databases for information on what is stored in what database file. There is nothing else to do on the remote computer after copying. The copied file is ready-to-use and there is no need to load the scenery library.

Note

Make sure that the major versions of Little Navmap and Little Navconnect match, otherwise you might get an error message. Use the version of Little Navconnect which is included in the Little Navmap download archive if unsure.

Tip

The best way to copy a scenery library database from the flying computer to the remote is a batch file or command script.

Share the folder C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\ABarthel\little_navmap_db on the flying computer and then simply run a batch or command file like copy_lnm_db.cmd on the remote to copy it over.

Create a command file copy_lnm_db.cmd on your remote computer and add the content below. Adapt MYLFYINGCOMPUTER to the name or the IP-address of your flying computer.

xcopy /F /Y "\\sol\public\little_navmap_db\little_navmap_msfs.sqlite" "%APPDATA%\ABarthel\little_navmap_db"

Adapt the database filename little_navmap_msfs.sqlite to your simulator. See Scenery Library Databases for database filenames for all simulators.

Then you can reload the scenery library database using LNM on the flying computer, quit Little Navmap on both computers and simply double click the copy_lnm_db.cmd script to copy the database over to the remote.

76.2. Weather

76.2.1. FSX, P3D and MSFS

The weather information from P3D and FSX is transferred through the connection via Little Navconnect. MSFS does not provide weather information at all.

76.2.2. X-Plane

Weather information like winds aloft and airport METARs are read from files in the X-Plane installation directory.

Do the following to get access to X-Plane weather files:

  1. Share the weather directories on the flying computer. This is either the X-Plane 11 base directory containing the files global_winds.grib and METAR.rwx or the directory Output/real weather in the X-Plane 12 installation.

  2. Open the Little Navmap options dialog and go to page Weather Files. Change the path to the network share containing the two X-Plane 11 files or the directory for the X-Plane 12 weather files.

Weather should update automatically in Little Navmap once done.

76.3. Flying in a network setup

Startup order does not matter.

  • Start the simulator

  • Start Little Navconnect on the flying computer.

  • Run Little Navmap on the network/remote computer.

  • Connect Little Navmap on the network/remote computer to Little Navconnect on the flying computer. Main menu -> Tools -> Connect to Flight Simulator.

See the two chapters below for more details: