Hi
Basically grab the panels sdk from m$oft
You can build gauges by xml code or C+ code (.gau)
Xml is easier in that you really only need notepad and you can use the default xml gauges as a guide
Im pretty sure there is a cold and dark gauge already avalable.Have a look at the design and or panel forums on avsim and flightsim.com there are tuts for basic setup,code snipets to help you get started
Wozza

Quote:



"You'll shoot your eye out!"...

Once you start making you own gauges or modifying others,
your flying time is going to decrease as your tweaking time
increases dramatically. But it is rewarding to finally get things
"just right" and see your creations at work in the sim

XML is the easiest way to go. As the previous poster pointed
out, all you need is Notepad and the MS XML dll stuff. That
and alot of curiosity and patience.

Start by "de-cabing" some of the standard .cab files and look
at the structure of xml gauges. Also you'll want to have read
through the panel SDK and get familiar with the variables and
KEY events that you can use to your own ends.

Then just start cutting and pasting or writing from scratch.
Before you load up FS9 to test a gauge, double-click on the
xml file and make sure there are no obvious syntax errors.
A window will open and if your code is syntactically correct
you will see a multi-colored listing of the file. Otherwise you'll
get a short error message that will point you to the first error
found.

So, just do some reading and then jump on in...oh, you'll want
a program that allows you to create/edit BMP files as well.

     Paul