Utility - MSTS_Check

[slipperman12]

Hi,
May I thank all those who have helped me locate the source of the problems with this program, in particular Charles Stagg who, maybe inadvertently, pointed me in exactly the correct direction. He also found another bug in the program, which will be corrected in its next release.

The main problem (not appearing to start and/or giving the "stopped working" message) is caused when the selected MSTS root folder is the root folder of a drive. The .cfig file stores the parent folder of the last selected folder - if itself is the drive's root folder, there is no parent with the result that the second item read from the .cfig file is null, thus causing the "index out of range" message. This explains why the first run after an installation is always successful - the .cfig file is empty and this is allowed for.

The second bug found by Charles occurs when a .wav or .ace file is enclosed in double-quotes, but the closing quotes do not immediately follow the file extension. It results in the error "Invalid character in path" being displayed, meaning the opening double-quotes character.

I apologise for all the hassle this has caused

Cheers,
Ged

[rufuskins]

For those who might be interested I have run Ged's latest trial (v1.0g) which appears to work as intended. Obviously I'm not sure what other tweaks need to be carried out but this is looking good.

Ged's excellent work on MSTS utilities has continued to promote interest in MSTS and I am very grateful for this.

[slipperman12]

Hi Alec,
Many thanks for your kind comment

However, I should point out that v1.0g only proved that the solution I'd derived from Charles' comments was correct; the coding which caused the problem was disabled.

Cheers,
Ged

[tary5]

Hi Ged

I have downloaded, installed and used your excellent new utility "MSTS_Check" now several times without any problems at all.
I know this does not help with any fault finding as such but thought I would just answer the call for feedback anyway.
All of my routes are set up as Mini Routes 40+ and so checking each routes TRAINS folder takes no time at all.


Best Regards

Terry White.

P.S. I have just added my computer spec. to the signature line. Hope I have put it in the right place!!!
P.P.S. Norton 360 Antivirus. I know!! I Know!!

[slipperman12]

Hi Terry,
Many thanks for your information

As you've got your installations set up as mini-routes, I assume they have a similar hierarchy to the UKTS mini-routes, ie C:\mini-route-x\Train Simulator, in which case, as Train Simulator is not the root folder of drive C:, you won't have the problem.

A new version of the program should be available later this week. I have found another untrapped error condition, but, as it will take a little while to rectify and test, I thought it more important to publish the corrected version first.

If anybody discovers any error conditions which are not reported by MSTS_Check, please let me know and I'll consider them for inclusion in the next version.

Cheers,
Ged

[rufuskins]

Based on my testing, the amended utility is looking good!

[slipperman12]

Hi Alec,
Thanks

My other testers have also reported success, so the corrected version will be uploaded this afternoon - it will be shown as v1.1.

Cheers,
Ged

[slipperman12]

Hi All,
MSTS_Check v1.1 is now available from UKTS and TSSH libraries.

If anyone (besides Roderic!) has noticed that some of the information and error messages on MSTS_Check are not fully "enclosed" in the form itself, I have an answer! It due to how the user has set up their screen preferences, particularly the size of printing and icons. If it's set to "Small 100% (default)", there's no problem, but if it's set to "Medium 150%" that's when the disappearing text occurs. One would have thought that Windows would resize the application's box automatically, but it doesn't seem to! The problem will be resolved in the next version.

Speaking of which, as long as no serious bugs appear in this version, I'll be continuing with adding a couple more validation checks to MSTS_Check.

Cheers,
Ged

[ozziedriver]

MSTS_Check v1.1 appears to work out of the box correctly

Only thing I did notice was when first installed and pressed Start it went to my C drive folder
Once I had found .......D:\Microsoft Games .........the program appeared to work as described
Pressing Quit and program ended

On opening program a second time and pressing start it opens at my D drive folder

Would it be possible to open at the Microsoft Games ones found the first time or have the option to open at the open rails folder
Only an observation not a criticise of your work

Operating Win 8.1
Ozziedriver

[slipperman12]

Hi ozziedriver,
Thanks for your comments

Would it be possible to open at the Microsoft Games ones found the first time

I assume you mean "open at the MSTS default location". Yes, that would be quite possible, but what about those who don't have MSTS installed, or, for whatever reason, don't have a valid MSTS Registry entry? For them, the only option can be Drive C: Again, those who have followed the Steam4Me tutorial to the letter, will have their installation on drive C: (C:\1MSTS). For those who use mini-routes, these can be absolutely anywhere, so, overall, starting at Drive C: is not so bad, I don't think

You finally mentioned the Open Rails folder - The location of each installation is recorded in the Registry, but which one should be focused on? There's a very good chance that it won't be the one you want to check!

Cheers,
Ged

[Easilyconfused]

Unlocked on request

[slipperman12]

Hi,
Many thanks, John

MSTS_Check v2.0 is now available from the library.
After unpacking the .zip file, please read the readme.txt file for details of changes since the last version, together with the recommended method for its installation.

My testers did a great job (thanks, chaps!), but anything can happen when a program gets out in the great wide World, so please let me know of any problems!

Thanks,
Regards,
Ged

[slipperman12]

Hi All,
My apologies, but I've just found a bug in the program, which has been there since the original version

If an aliased .sms file is not present in its specified folder, but that folder IS present, the file is not reported as missing.

This will be fixed very soon, but, in the meantime, please let me know if you have run MSTS_Check, cleared all the missing files and run MSTS, only for it to report a missing .cvf or .sms file! MSTS will not report missing .ace or .wav files.

Thanks,
Cheers,
Ged

[slipperman12]

Hi All,
The fixed version of MSTS_Check (v2.0b) has been uploaded today and will be available as soon as it's approved.

Cheers,
Ged