Setting up the navigation database for ProSim737
When the program runs for the first time, it is important to prepare the navigation database. To do this, open the configuration screen with the “Config” item from the “File” menu. Locate the “Database” block and press the “rebuild” button. The location of the Flight Simulator folder has to be entered. Usually, this folder is already pre-selected. Confirm the correct folder with the OK button. ProSim737 will now scan the scenery and extract the navigation database. This process will result in the file “startpositions.xml” being created in the ProSim737 folder. This file contains the extracted data and is loaded by ProSim737 every time it starts.
Every aircraft needs a navigation database. In ProSim, the navigation database comes from two sources: In Prosim737 the navigation database is derived from two sources:
- Data is extracted from Flight Simulator scenery files. Airports, runways and gate positions are extracted from Flight Simulator, so they always match the currently installed scenery. This extraction can be run any time when the scenery has been updated.
- Routes and Terminal Procedures are read from a Navigraph database. This database can be updated to reflect real world navigation procedures. It must be purchased from the Navigraph website. The database can be updated by following the Navigraph procedures.
To see the current state of the installed navigation data, open the ProSim737 configuration screen and look for a block called “Database”. In this block there is also a “Rebuild” button. Pressing this button will scan the Flight Simulator directory and build the first part of the navigation database. The Flight Simulator database is created in a file called “startpositions.xml” in the ProSim737 directory. This file contains all data extracted from Flight Simulator.
If running the full cockpit suite is planned, a Navigraph database should also be installed. This database contains the extra navigation information that is not available in Flight Simulator.
To install the Navigraph database, go to the Navigraph website at http://www.navigraph.com/, and select the “FMS Data” tab. Download the navigation package labelled “Prosim737”. The package comes in the form of an executable that installs the required data. Run the installer on same the machine where Prosim737 is installed. A trial set can also be downloaded from our website; for this, see the downloads page.
To use up to date information, a Navigraph account has to be setup where the data-sets can be bought. For details check the Navigraph website on how to proceed with this.
All navigation data is distributed by the ProSim737 main program to all other ProSim modules requiring them. Therefore, only install and maintain the data on the machine running ProSim737.
When the database has been successfully configured, the database block in the configuration screen should show the picture below, meaning that it is using both Flight simulator data and Navigraph data.
