FAQs

NavBox technical support

As we are selling more and more copies of our software (thank you!), solving your problems is taking more and more of our time. Time we would otherwise have spent in optimizing our products.

If you are having a problem, please consult the respective Help topic before contacting us.

Then, if you do not recognise your problem in one of the frequently asked questions below, please mail us|.

We will be happy to answer.

Windows Vista & Windows 7

As far as we are aware the only known major issue is that the "Help" files are not Vista/Windows 7 compatible. A VISTA patch to solve this problem is available for download fom the Microsoft web site.

Please also do NOT install the software in the default path of c:\program files\ pp50 (or qp50). We suggest for VISTA/Windows 7 that you change the installation path to c:\pp50 or qp50.

METARs, TAF's & NOTAMs

ProPlan 5.40 offers free NOTAMs, METARs & TAFs. This function only works if your ProPlan database is current (this requires a paid subscription). Use of this facility requires registration as a GUEST user at www.avbrief.com - GUEST registration is free of charge. To obtain OPMET data for the current route click on the icon on the tool bar

select first the LOGIN tab and enter your Avbrief details, tick the "Save ID and password" box.

the next step is to download the required data. If you have an active route on the screen then the input line will be filled, otherwise you may type in the airfields you are interested in.

Aircraft

My aircraft model is not on my CD-ROM - what do I do?
Before you start creating your own aircraft file from scratch, have a look at our free download section. New aircraft files are posted on a regular basis.

I am trying to fill in my W&B envelope details, but can't get it right.
Please mail or fax us the complete Weight & Balance section from your POH, together with the weight report. We will try and do the job for you.

Files

Which files should I copy across to my laptop to keep the user waypoint and aircraft database synched up?
Navbox.ini will copy your personal settings. User.nbw contains your user waypoints. *.nba your aircraft. Routes.nbr your routes. Track??.gps your track logs. NBgps.ini your GPS interface settings and track log names.

GPS

My GPS is not in your list of supported GPS models.
We are constantly upgrading our GPS interface as new models appear on the market. Please check our free download section to see if your model is currently supported. If not, mail us your GPS model and we will put it on our "To Do" list...

My GPS is in your latest list of GPS models, but the interface returns a message that it is not supported.
It is possible that the manufacturer has changed the internal ID number of your model. Our interface uses this number to identify your GPS. Please mail us the ID number (from the message box) and we will see what we can do.

I am able to download track logs from my GPS 295, but unable to upload a route to it.
Your GPS software version number is probably the buggy 2.02. You can download the latest 295 software from www.garmin.com.

When I click on the 'Abort' button, my Skymap stops reacting. I can't even switch it off.
Be patient, no harm will be done to your unit. After 15 - 20 minutes it will come back to life again.
We are in touch with Skyforce about this, but don't know when they will have fixed it.

How do I access details from the logger in my Skymap?
When you download a track log from the Skymap, it will be saved in a temporary ASCII text file 'Skyforce.log' in your ProPlan directory. Every line gives logged position details in this order:
'L' - Logged position
'DDMMYY' - Date
'HHMMSS' - Time as in Skymap setup
'NDDMM.MM' - Latitude N/S, degrees, minutes and 1/100ths
'EDDDMM.MM' - Longitude E/W, degrees, minutes and 1/100ths
'GGG.GG' - Ground speed in knots
'TTT.T' - Magnetic track in degrees
'+AAAAA' - Altitude in feet
A blank line indicates bad reception or the start of a new flight.

ProPlan sometimes does strange, unpredictable things and makes my video driver crash. I am running NT 4.0.
Apply SP6a or higher for Windows NT.

Maps

My map only seems to cover a very small part of Europe.
Select "Map | Create new map" from the menu. This will then enable you to change the area and map size.

When I place my mouse cursor over the map, it disappears.
NavBox expects your video card to support at least 16 bits high colour. If it doesn't, it can't determine the colour needed for your cursor. Make sure your screen is set to 16 bits colour. If you can't, you may experiment with different land and water colours in the "Create new map" window.

I am using older versions of QuickPlan and ProPlan. The magnetic variations in the maps are getting out of date.
Of course, we advise you to upgrade to the latest versions of our software. You can update the variation with a program from our free download section.

Printing

I am using older versions of QuickPlan and ProPlan. They printed without a problem. Now, I bought a new Epson Stylus 460 and they refuse to print. I have no printing problems in other programs.
We are very sorry, but this is a bug in your Epson driver. The whole X60 series is suffering from this. Please try to download the latest driver from the Epson web site (though at the moment of writing this, there were no upgrades available). All NavBox reports are first printed to your screen and then flushed to the printer. This is rather unusual but according to the Windows standards. We have found a work-around for this in our later software versions.

I have installed my ProPlan in D:\PP50. After applying the update, "Help | About NavBox ProPlan" still messages the old database update. What did I do wrong?
The Update program assumes that your ProPlan is installed in C:\Program Files\PP50. To change this, click the "Browse..." button and select D:\PP50. The update will now work.

Waypoints

My map does not show the waypoint types I was promised during a previous demonstration.
Select "Map | Configure this map scale..." from the menu. This will then enable you to check the waypoint types you wish to see.