SMS Plugin

General

The VACC-Austria Slot Management System Plugin has been designed to help controllers keep track of slots during events. It provides a list of slots and associated times and of aircraft at and around the airport. The information one controller enters into the system is communicated to the controllers around them such that they all have the same information available.

The plugin comes with two modes: Simple and Event. Slot Information is provided via a text file that can be downloaded by VACC-Austria members in the SMS Plugin-Area.

Prerequisites and Download

To use the current version of the plugin you need to have Euroscope V3.2 installed. The current Version of the Plugin can be found in the SMS Plugin-Area (login required).

Installation

• Copy the files SMS.dll and SMS_Default.asr to a location of your choice.
• Open Euroscope
• Go to Other SET → Plug-ins
  • Click on Load and locate the file SMS.dll
  • The plugin should now be listed in the list of plugins. Click it again and make sure that SMS View and, if you want to use the SMS TAG items, Standard ES Radar Screen are listed unter Allowed to draw on types.
  • Close the Plug-ins Dialog
• After (!) loading the plugin go to Open SCT → Open ... and open the SMS_Default.asr
• You should now see a grid looking something like this:

Usage

Configuration

The settings of the plugin can be changed in the CFG dialog that can be opened by clicking on the CFG or by directly editing the ASR file used. There you can switch between DEPARTURE and ARRIVAL view, change colors and adapt various other settings to your liking. Also you can chooose between the methods slots are inserted into the system.

There are three ways to specify the slots displayed:

• Simple - Empty slots are created in a fixed time interval and can then be assigned by the controller
• Local - Event slots and bookings are loaded from a local file that is specified in the ASR file.
• Server - Event slots and bookings are loaded from the web.

The easiest way to configure the system is by going to the SMS Plugin-Area. The options are as follows:

• General options
  • Event - If there is an upcoming event that uses slots and the slot booking period has passed, it will be shown here. Otherwise only the Simple Mode is available.
  • Airport - Airport to be shown
  • View - Specifies whether departure or arrival slots will be shown
• Advanced Options
  • Local Folder - When using Server mode to retrieve slot information, necessary files will be save to this folder.
  • Fontsize - Fontsize used
  • Position top and Position left - Control the position of the slot grid within the ES radar screen
  • Grid Height and Grid width - Control the space available for the slot grid
  • Grid Space - Controls the space between the slot list and the aircraft list

Once you have set the right settings, download the file and open it via the Open SCT → Open ... dialog.

Version

This guid has last been updatet for SMS Plugin V1.2 for Euroscope V3.2.