DCS Monitor Setup - HeliosVirtualCockpit/Helios GitHub Wiki

Demo Video Part 1: https://youtu.be/UbVGleRAXhg

Demo Video Part 2 (Combined Monitor Setup): https://youtu.be/RFMxnSyo0_M

Helios optionally supports the creation of [Monitor Setup]] files and [viewports directly from a profile.

WARNING: This functionality currently only works correctly if all your displays are set to the same DPI configured via Windows setting "Display | Scale and layout | Change the size of text, apps, and other items." Using a different scale factor on your Helios monitor than you do on your other displays will result in incorrect placement of viewports and/or controls.

Profiles can have rectangles drawn on them using the Simulator Viewport control object from the toolbox or any of the many pre-created templates for different DCS aircraft's viewports.

Place one of these rectangles over the area where you want the viewport mapped. Subsequent Reset Monitors operations will also scale this rectangle, so it will stay in the correct place relative to the cockpit graphics.

If you have an interface of type "DCS Monitor Setup" in the profile, then Helios will create the monitor setup for you from these rectangles. If you use only viewports with unique names, then Helios will detect this fact and let you configure a shared Monitor Setup file that can be used for all your profiles.

In order to use any of the Monitor Setup functionality, your profile needs to be saved so that it has a name. Additionally, "Reset Monitors" will need to be completed. The UI will inform you of this fact and may not show all of the UI until you have done so.

If your profile has viewports that collide with some of your other profiles, you can move it to the "Separate" section by clicking the "Minus" icon next to its name in the "Combined" section. This will tell Helios to make a separate Monitor Setup and tell you the name of this setup file. If you use this option, you will need to switch "Monitors" in DCS when you switch profiles.

In order to be able to rename the viewports to be unique across aircraft, Helios also contains the ability to apply viewport mods for you. Please see DCS Additional Viewports.

Alternatively, you can configure the "Advanced Options" collapsible configuration section to specify that you will take care of the viewport mods yourself using some other software. If you do so, please consider informing the Helios developers of other projects that help you create these viewports. Helios is already cooperating with Jabbers' "DCS Alternative Launcher" project to ensure compatible naming, and we would like to also cooperate with any other projects helping people configure viewports.

Note: Because Helios cannot open all your profiles at the same time, you will need to open each profile and reconfigure the monitor setup if you make changes to the monitors on your DCS system. The UI will inform you of this fact.

Monitor Layout Modes

Demo Video for Monitor Layout Modes: https://youtu.be/ioC2TlrWYH8

Since DCS does not allow configuration of where the DCS window is placed when running in Windowed mode, some care is required to get the expected result if a complex monitor arrangement is used. Specficially, DCS will create a window sized according to the "Resolution" setting in the DCS settings. This window will be placed according to certain rules regarding your existing monitors and which monitor is selected as your main/primary display. To get the expected result, you need to select from a set of different layouts that map the DCS "Resolution" rectangle differently to the Windows desktop. This will allow Helios to only create configurations that will do what you expect in DCS.

There are currently 4 different modes:

1. From Top Left Corner of Desktop

This is the easiest mode to understand and configure, but it may use more of your Desktop area than you wanted. The DCS window will be placed at the top left corner of the desktop. If you only have two monitors, this will work fine. However, if you have additional monitors on the left side that you don't want to use for DCS, then this mode will cause DCS to draw on those monitors also and just show a black screen.

2. Vertical Columnd Including Primary Display

Choose this layout if you have just your main/primary display as the DCS 3D view and Helios on a screen above or below it. Any screens to the left or right won't be included, so you can have additional monitors for Discord or other utiliies to the side, and DCS won't render on them. This only works if your DCS view starts at the top of the desktop and is the width of your primary display.

3. Horizontal Row Including Primary Display

If your DCS monitors form a horizontal row that is the height of your main/primary Windows display and includes that display, then DCS will place the window across all those monitors starting from the left edge of the desktop. This means you can have additional monitors above or below that aren't part of DCS and it won't render on those. You won't be able to place viewports on those monitors above or below.

Note: If you have a "T" configuration of monitors, with a row for DCS and Helios below, then you must use the "From Top Left Corner of Desktop" mode, because DCS does not understand how to place its window in this case.

4. Just the Primary Display

If you don't have any viewports or all viewports are on the same display as DCS, then you can choose to render DCS and its viewports on just the main/primary display. DCS will position its window on the main/primary display if the Resolution is set to the size of that display, regardless of what other monitors are around it.

DCS Options

Because Helios does not edit your DCS Options, you will have to manually follow its instructions that will be shown both in the DCS Monitor Setup UI and in the Interface Status Details view. Specifically, you will have to configure the DCS "Resolution" and "Monitors" settings that appear in the System section of the Options UI in DCS.

Monitor Setup File Name

The name of the combined monitor setup file is normally Helios.lua because it is the monitor setup for all the profiles in Documents\Helios\Profiles.

If you have another Helios documents folder like Documents\Helios2... and run with a command line argument to start Helios there, then it would be called Helios2.lua to match the name of the folder that contains all the profiles that share it.

When selecting the "Monitors" in DCS Options, the name shown is actually not the file name, but the "name" attribute inside the file. Helios sets this to the same name to avoid confusion. The Interface Status view will tell you the name to select for the DCS "Monitors" option if it is not set correctly.

WARNING: You should not create any monitor setups yourself that are called "Helios" or you will create problems