Checklist using Open Office

[woneill]

I have Open Office (free software) and not EXCEL. It can open and save docs in EXCEL formats.

But using it the program CLOSES when hitting "CTRL Q". First time in years I haven't seen Open Office mimic EXCEL precisely.

Exactly what does "CTRL Q" command?

 

[skysailor]

According to Open Office documentation CNTL Q "Quits application" so it appears to be working as designed.

 

[dynonsupport]

The checklists file uses macros and scripts. It does not work in clones of Excel which don't fully implement the Excel scripting language. We'll make this more clear in the file and downloads page.

 

[Eric_Greenwell]

The checklists file uses macros and scripts. It does not work in clones of Excel which don't fully implement the Excel scripting language. We'll make this more clear in the file and downloads page.

If it can't be made to work in Open Office, how about a "post-processor" that would take a  TXT file and convert it to SV checklist format? It should accept notepad and similar files in this example format that the pilot would use to write his checklist:

PRE-FLIGHT
  Turn on Master switch
  Note fuel quantity
ENGINE START
    Ignition - ON
      Brakes - SET
PRE-TAXI
etc

The post-processor would recognize any indenting (spaces, tabs, whatever) as the lines under a heading (eg, PRE-FLIGHT)  and save it as a TXT file with the same name plus "-SV", so you'd know it was the version for loading into SV. This would make constructing and maintaining the checklist file super-duper easy, and would not require Excel.

 

[dynonsupport]

Eric,
The base checklist format already is a text file. Check out our example file and documentation on our downloads page:

http://dynonavionics.com/docs/support_software_choice.html

The Excel based "program" just makes it a bit easier and faster, and does some cross checking for you, but you can already edit checklists on any computer in close to the format you already listed.

 

[Eric_Greenwell]

The Excel based "program" just makes it a bit easier and faster, and does some cross checking for you, but you can already edit checklists on any computer in close to the format  you already listed.

Here's the format I want to use (note that varying indentations would be corrected by the post-processor):

PRE-FLIGHT
  Turn on Master switch
  Note fuel quantity
ENGINE START
    Ignition - ON
      Brakes - SET
PRE-TAXI
etc

The format SV requires is this:

CHKLST0.TITLE, PRE-FLIGHT
CHKLST0.LINE1, Turn on Master switch
CHKLST0.LINE2, Note fuel quantity

CHKLST1.TITLE, ENGINE START
CHKLST1.LINE1, Ignition - ON
CHKLST1.LINE2, Brakes - SET

CHKLST2.TITLE, PRE-TAXI

"Close" must be in the eye of the beholder, because that looks like assembly language compared English. And a big problem is it's very error prone: The first checklist I tried was a very slightly modified template, and it was rejected by SV. I can not expect a checklist to work the first time, so I'd have to take my laptop to the hangar, and after SV rejects my checklist, revise it on the laptop until I get it right.

Another problem is moving Titles around, or inserting new ones, means a whole bunch of manual renumbering. Of course, practice would improve results, but a post-procesor would avoid both issues.

My current plan is to wait for an owner of the same model aircraft to produce a checklist, and use his 

 

[mmarien]

Eric

Try this program: Checklist Editor

Use the "Import Text File" menu item to read your text file. The program will save in Skyview checkList format. Give it a new name when you save it and then you can use the "Open" menu item to open and modify it. You can open any checklist in Skyview checklist format including their example file.

Just remember to use Open for Skyview format and Import for your format.

You can move the sections up and down. You can also use copy and paste.

For Import I assumed that any line starting at the left is a title and any lines starting with a blank or tab are checklist items.

 

[Eric_Greenwell]

Checklist editor sounds great, but my Windows 8.1 laptop hair caught on fire, with warnings from Windows and Norton and maybe even Samsung. Are Windows Installer 3.1 and Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile compatible with 8.1?

Maybe I'd have better luck installing it on my old XP laptop?

 

[mmarien]

Are Windows Installer 3.1 and Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile compatible with 8.1?

Yes. I used Microsoft Visual C# 2010 Express on Windows 7 Professional to produce the program.

Antivirus' are always going to complain about an executable file called setup.exe and will not like the installed program unless you tell it it to exclude it from scans. Windows Defender (Microsoft's antivirus) should recognize it as one of their own. I installed it on a couple of different computers including my wife's Windows 8.1 and Windows Defender let it run. Windows 8.1 did ask for administrator privileges to install it but it ran fine after that.

It also should run just fine on Windows XP if you are more comfortable installing it on that.

 

[Eric_Greenwell]

I've installed Checklist Editor on my XP laptop. It's taking a while to use it, and more instructions would be helpful. It's taken me 30 minutes of trying this and that to realize the left side is for the Titles (even though it's labeled "Section Name"), and the unlabeled right side is for the Lines.

When I try to load a simple checklist like this:

PRE-FLIGHT CHECKLIST
  Check fluid levels
  Check oil and cooling systems for leaks
  Run electric fuel pump and check for leaks
  Drain fuel and check for contaminants
  Throttle, choke, fuel selector controls
  Control stick, rudder pedals, trim lever
  Flaps, airbrakes open
  Check wheel brake function
  Wing pins and wingtip pins secured
  Aircraft walk-around check
  Pitot probe installed
  Wheel chocks removed

ENGINE START
  Master Switch on
  EFIS

I get the attached error message and only the Header Comments and Checklist INFO lines. Until that's resolved, I can write my checklist in the editor itself, which will be loads quicker than tediously typing in all the line identifiers.

 

[mmarien]

It didn't like the blank line. Try the new version. Just click on the link in my message above and it will install the new version.

I didn't spend a lot of time on the program so didn't do any documentation. To save new users some time, File->New will create a new checklist with the Header Comments and CheckList Info sections automatically created. The title of the section is in the left panel and the text is in the right panel. Clicking on the title in the left panel will display the lines in the right panel.

[list bull-greenarrow][*]You can edit the text in the right panel, Copy and paste also works so if you already have a checklist in some format other than the Skyview format, you can copy it and paste it into the right panel. I copied from a Word document and it worked fine.

[*]To create a new blank section, type a title into the box at the bottom of the left panel and click Insert. It will insert the new title into the left panel and start a blank section in the right panel.

[*]To move the title up or down in the list, highlight the title by clicking on it and click the Up or Down buttons. You can't displace the Header Comments. And the program needs the Checklist INFO section to be able to insert a new section. More program bugs I guess. I'll work on that.

[*]The File->Update Info updates the date and time in the CheckList INFO section. Or creates a new CheckList INFO section if one doesn't exist. It puts it at the bottom of the list.

[*]The Layout menu changes the position of the line in the right panel. You can type past the line but the text to the right of the line will not show up on Skyview.
[/list]
Caution** Clicking the Delete  button will delete the currently highlighted title and the associated lines in the right panel.

 

[schwbo]

How do you add more titles to the excel file? It currently has only 23 different checklists.

 

[dynonsupport]

The excel tool does not support more than 23 checklists. You'll need to edit the macros to expand it if you wanted to do so.

How many are you looking to do if it's "only 23"?