Whazzup and JoinFS Maps

[ATC Roo]

This is a VERY BASIC guide for anybody wanting a map for their community showing aircraft using thier JoinFS hub.
If you follow this guide you will be allowing access from the internet to a folder on your computer.
DON'T SAVE YOUR BANK STATEMENTS IN SAID FOLDER!


What is Whazzup.

The whazzup.txt file shows information about a server, usually FSD servers like Vatsim and IVAO but in this case a JoinFS Hub.
Various programs are able to read this type of file to show information from it.
For example a map or Servinfo.

But in order to show the information, the program must be able to read the whazzup file.
If the file is on the same computer as the program then it's not normally a problem as you can point the program to the file (ie c:\whazzup.txt) and all is well.

But if the program is say a map on a webhosts server and your whazzup is a file on your PC, you will need to make the file accessible for the map to read.

One way to do this is to install a webserver on your PC to... well serve files to the web.
Webservers do not always need to be big and complex as you might find with webhosts, but can be fairly small programs as users of FSHost will know.
FSHost has a small webserver built in which is why you can see information on the internet from your FSHost server.

There is lots of webserver software available and the one I've chosen below is the first I came across during a Google search, its nothing special or my favourite etc etc.

How to share your whazzup file.
1. Download and install a webserver.
https://www.mwiede.de/windows-php-webserver/

2. After the installation is complete run the program and Input your LAN IP address into the Webserver Host/IP section.
3. Choose a port, ports 80 and 443 are the default web ports and are the best to use if you are not already using them.
4. In the Document path section select the folder you would like to share on the internet.
WARNING!
EVERYTHING IN THIS FOLDER WILL BE AVAILABLE TO EVERYBODY ON THE INTERNET.
DO NOT CHOOSE C:\
I have chosen C:\Users\YOUR NAME\AppData\Local\JoinFS as this is where JoinFS outputs the whazzup.txt file.
We want to share the whazzup.txt file so unless you can copy the file every X mins to another folder this is the folder to set.
5.OPEN UP THE PORTS YOU SET ABOVE (80 & 443) IN YOUR ROUTER and point them to the LAN IP (you set in step 2).
6.Run the webserver.

If you've setup the server as above when you type your EXTERNAL IP (shown in JoinFS) into a browser you should get a message saying NOT FOUND.
If you type http://YOUR_EXTERNAL_IP/whazzup.txt (if you set a port other than 80 your address will need to be http://YOUR_EXTERNAL_IP:PORT_YOU_SET/whazzup.txt) into your browser, it will show you your whazzup file similar to below.

!GENERAL
VERSION = 1
RELOAD = 1
UPDATE = 20170307124634
CONNECTED CLIENTS = 5
CONNECTED SERVERS = 0
!CLIENTS
LR53:0:Falkensteiner:PILOT::60.3179741517429:24.967967816784:182:0:/BE58::EFHK::EETN::::::IFR:::::::::::::::JoinFS:::::::242:::
1311624:0:Seralia:PILOT::60.7865317438262:-11.9946192655916284:/L049::BIKF::EGPH::::::IFR:::::::::::::::JoinFS:::::::134:::
!SERVERS

Now the whazzup.txt is available on the internet it's time to add a map.

This bit is easy.
Adding a map for JoinFS
1. Download a map from here.
2. Unzip the download and drag the map folder to C:\Users\YOUR NAME\AppData\Local\JoinFS
So the whole address would be C:\Users\YOUR NAME\AppData\Local\JoinFS\map
3. From the zip file drag index.html to C:\Users\YOUR NAME\AppData\Local\JoinFS
This file will automatically send everybody to your map when they input your external ip into their browser.
4. Go into the map folder and open up settings.php in notepad.
Edit the options in there for your map.

<?php
define('WHAZZUP_URL','http://roo.servebeer.com:80/whazzup.txt');//Where your Whazzup file is.
define('UPDATE_FREQ',60000);//map refresh time in ms (60secs = 60000)
define('API_KEY','YOUR GOOGLE MAPS API KEY'); //Get a google maps API key, although it seems one isn't needed lately.
?>

5. In your browser go to http://YOUR_EXTERNAL_IP (or http://YOUR_EXTERNAL_IP:port or http://YOUR_EXTERNAL_IP/map)
and you will see your map.


If you would like to host you map on your hosting plan then that can also be done but you would need the small webserver to serve your whazzup file to that map.

My map examples...
http://roo.servebeer.com/jfs/

Can be awkward to setup and not as easy as my example above as it uses a database.
You can download it from here https://www.flightairmap.fr/

http://roo.servebeer.com/map

Easiest to setup and get going.
Install as above.
Download here https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8q-ue ... sp=sharing

Servinfo

1.Create a new file called status.txt in the same folder as whazzup.txt.

2. Add the following line of text to status.txt
url0=http://YOUR_IP/whazzup.txt

3. In Servinfo set the address to http://YOUR_IP/

I hope I've helped a few communities to get a map up and running.

[Timonier]

Hello Roo,

Thanks for sharing your explanation.
I've a little problem regarding the map.
Indeed I see, on the right side, the different pilots connected on my server but I don't see the different a/c on the map. Do you have an explanation what do I wrong ? here is our link to the map : http://cyberavia.tessaro.fr/map/map.html
Thanks in advance for your further advice.

Best regards
Marc

[Timonier]

So some other remarks : it seems the HDG and the squawk aren't operational. Could you confirm ?
Thanks

Marc

[ATC Roo]

Hi Timonier,

Can you post the contents of your settings.php here and I'll have a look.

[ATC Roo]

OK found the fault.

For some reason your whazzup file is displaying the coordinates as 43,5592071816802:59,519660629405

when they should be 43.5592071816802:59.519660629405

Are you using the whazzup.txt Peters JoinFS created?

Was there a French language addition I've seen in the files?

[Timonier]

Hello Roo,

It's our webmaster working on this procedure (Karel Tessaro) and yes we use the french language
I transmit to him directly your constattation and he is absent at this moment but he will have a look during this afternoon.

Stay tuned we'll inform you ASAP.

Thanks

Marc

[Timonier]

Roo,

I see on your map the same problem as ours regarding the squawk transponder and the heading ? Have you founded a solution on your site ?

Marc

[ATC Roo]

Heading will update after the next refresh (60 seconds by default) as it takes the initial position when the map loads, the next updated position and then displays the heading.

I believe Peter knows that the squawk is not updating and would imagine he'll fix this in one of his future versions.

[lerak]

Hi Roo, I'm Karel the Cyberavia webmaster.
We work on the map system, wich seems to be very sympathic.

After your post, i've check the data of the settin, here the copy of it :

define('WHAZZUP_URL','http://cyberavia.tessaro.fr/whazzup.txt');//Where your Whazzup file is.
define('UPDATE_FREQ',60000);//map refresh time in ms (60secs = 60000)
define('API_KEY','AIzaSyAgDCOFIlyn5-TXHrcuAus6Y0sXnbJQa-I'); //Get a google maps API key, although it seems one isn't needed lately.

After that i try to replace only the line with data of pilots of the whazzup file by the line in yours. And it works, the aircraft is show on the map.
As you said, there is pb on the coordinates.

My pb is thats coordinates are given by joinFS v 1.1.8, i have no action on the content of the file.
Is there any setting that i miss, or any action i must have to do ??
Perhaps, the version 1.1.8 is giving coordinates with that mistake "," instead of "."

I think it is because of the settings of the windows server. I will give a try on that kind of possibility

Thanks for the help
and i will give more information on that if i have.

[ATC Roo]

My pb is thats coordinates are given by joinFS v 1.1.8, i have no action on the content of the file.
Is there any setting that i miss, or any action i must have to do ??

No.
What you have done is correct.

Perhaps, the version 1.1.8 is giving coordinates with that mistake "," instead of "."

My whazzup is also generated by 1.1.18 and outputs correctly.

I think the difference may be that you are using the French translation?
Although I'm not sure if that changes anything in the whazzup file?

[lerak]

I use the english version 1.1.8,
i think about the regions setting of windows.
I restart the server, and i will wait for marc (Timonier) reconnection to check the new result..
I will tell you...

[lerak]

With the changes of regional setting in windows and the use of . instead of , to separate decimals, the whazzup is nice and ok. The map show names AND aircrafts.
Thanks for the help

[ATC Roo]

Glad it's working.

[ATC Roo]

If any community running a hub would like their aircraft displayed an a general JoinFS Map.

Drop me a PM with your groups name and a link to your whazzup file and I'll add your group to the map below.

http://roo.servebeer.com/jfs/map/

[lerak]

Hi again,
Thanks for your sugestion, we will talk about it in the cyberavia team, it sounds interresting.

Another question about the whazzup.txt file and ServINfo (as Qutescoop).
When i use your link to your file, it works perfect
When i use my link to my file, it doesn't work at all
when i use my file with your data (i shut down joinfs to avoid erasing your data in my file), it doesn't work neither...

Once again, i probably have done a mistake somewhere, but ... where !

http://cyberavia.tessaro.fr/whazzup.txt

Thanks

[ATC Roo]

If you want to use servinfo.....

1.Create a new file called status.txt in the same folder as whazzup.txt.

2. Add the following line of text to status.txt
url0=http://cyberavia.tessaro.fr/whazzup.txt

3. In Servinfo set the address to http://cyberavia.tessaro.fr/

[lerak]

Once again, thanks a lot, it was the perfect answer and it's work well.
Next step for me, qutescoop, it seems not to be the exact same way as ServInfo... I will look for it this evening.

[ATC Roo]

I'm not familure with qutescoop, so I'll have a look later.

[lerak]

Hi again, so here the solution i found, by comparing vatsim file and ours :
qutescoop need a second line in the status.txt file :

url1=http://cyberavia.tessaro.fr/whazzup.txt

so in final, we have
url0 for the connected people
url1 for the server available

there is other option like metar and more, but we don't have in our case any server of that kind.

Thanks for all, see you soon

[ATC Roo]

Great stuff.

Yes, If you google you will find information on Whazzup and what can be included in the status.txt file.