XPLMGetSystemPath

XPLM_API void       XPLMGetSystemPath(
                         char *               outSystemPath);

This function returns the full path to the X-System folder. Note that this is a directory path, so it ends in a trailing : or / .

The buffer you pass should be at least 512 characters long. The path is returned using the current native or OS path conventions.

XPLMGetPrefsPath

XPLM_API void       XPLMGetPrefsPath(
                         char *               outPrefsPath);

This routine returns a full path to a file that is within X-Plane’s preferences directory. (You should remove the file name back to the last directory separator to get the preferences directory using XPLMExtractFileAndPath).

The buffer you pass should be at least 512 characters long. The path is returned using the current native or OS path conventions.

XPLMGetDirectorySeparator

XPLM_API const char * XPLMGetDirectorySeparator(void);

This routine returns a string with one char and a null terminator that is the directory separator for the current platform. This allows you to write code that concatenates directory paths without having to #ifdef for platform. The character returned will reflect the current file path mode.

XPLMExtractFileAndPath

XPLM_API char *     XPLMExtractFileAndPath(
                         char *               inFullPath);

Given a full path to a file, this routine separates the path from the file. If the path is a partial directory (e.g. ends in : or / ) the trailing directory separator is removed. This routine works in-place; a pointer to the file part of the buffer is returned; the original buffer still starts with the path and is null terminated with no trailing separator.

XPLMGetDirectoryContents

XPLM_API int        XPLMGetDirectoryContents(
                         const char *         inDirectoryPath,
                         int                  inFirstReturn,
                         char *               outFileNames,
                         int                  inFileNameBufSize,
                         char **              outIndices,    /* Can be NULL */
                         int                  inIndexCount,
                         int *                outTotalFiles,    /* Can be NULL */
                         int *                outReturnedFiles);    /* Can be NULL */

This routine returns a list of files in a directory (specified by a full path, no trailing : or / ). The output is returned as a list of NULL terminated strings. An index array (if specified) is filled with pointers into the strings. The last file is indicated by a zero-length string (and NULL in the indices). This routine will return 1 if you had capacity for all files or 0 if you did not. You can also skip a given number of files.

• inDirectoryPath - a null terminated C string containing the full path to the directory with no trailing directory char.

• inFirstReturn - the zero-based index of the first file in the directory to return. (Usually zero to fetch all in one pass.)

• outFileNames - a buffer to receive a series of sequential null terminated C-string file names. A zero-length C string will be appended to the very end.

• inFileNameBufSize - the size of the file name buffer in bytes.

• outIndices - a pointer to an array of character pointers that will become an index into the directory. The last file will be followed by a NULL value. Pass NULL if you do not want indexing information.

• inIndexCount - the max size of the index in entries.

• outTotalFiles - if not NULL, this is filled in with the number of files in the directory.

• outReturnedFiles - if not NULL, the number of files returned by this iteration.

Return value: 1 if all info could be returned, 0 if there was a buffer overrun.

WARNING: Before X-Plane 7 this routine did not properly iterate through directories. If X-Plane 6 compatibility is needed, use your own code to iterate directories.

XPLMGetVersions

XPLM_API void       XPLMGetVersions(
                         int *                outXPlaneVersion,
                         int *                outXPLMVersion,
                         XPLMHostApplicationID * outHostID);

This routine returns the revision of both X-Plane and the XPLM DLL. All versions are at least three-digit decimal numbers (e.g. 606 for version 6.06 of X-Plane); the current revision of the XPLM is 400 (4.00). This routine also returns the host ID of the app running us.

The most common use of this routine is to special-case around X-Plane version-specific behavior.

XPLMGetLanguage

XPLM_API XPLMLanguageCode XPLMGetLanguage(void);

This routine returns the langauge the sim is running in.

XPLMDebugString

XPLM_API void       XPLMDebugString(
                         const char *         inString);

This routine outputs a C-style string to the Log.txt file. The file is immediately flushed so you will not lose data. (This does cause a performance penalty.)

Please do not leave routine diagnostic logging enabled in your shipping plugin. The X-Plane Log file is shared by X-Plane and every plugin in the system, and plugins that (when functioning normally) print verbose log output make it difficult for developers to find error conditions from other parts of the system.

XPLMSpeakString

XPLM_API void       XPLMSpeakString(
                         const char *         inString);

This function displays the string in a translucent overlay over the current display and also speaks the string if text-to-speech is enabled. The string is spoken asynchronously, this function returns immediately. This function may not speak or print depending on user preferences.

XPLMGetVirtualKeyDescription

XPLM_API const char * XPLMGetVirtualKeyDescription(
                         char                 inVirtualKey);

Given a virtual key code (as defined in XPLMDefs.h) this routine returns a human-readable string describing the character. This routine is provided for showing users what keyboard mappings they have set up. The string may read ‘unknown’ or be a blank or NULL string if the virtual key is unknown.

XPLMReloadScenery

XPLM_API void       XPLMReloadScenery(void);

XPLMReloadScenery reloads the current set of scenery. You can use this function in two typical ways: simply call it to reload the scenery, picking up any new installed scenery, .env files, etc. from disk. Or, change the lat/ref and lon/ref datarefs and then call this function to shift the scenery environment. This routine is equivalent to picking “reload scenery” from the developer menu.