when posting screenshots to reddits and blogs and forums

..Especially from FSX because most people use fullscreen inside of windowed mode.. you gotta make sure you crop the shots ok!!

It's not hard to make a crop or edits to screens if they come out well, like the screenshots toward making it seems like you're really there so keep in mind to crop screens when you start seeing menu's and taskbars show up in screenshots..


Requirements

1. Paintshop program of any type
2. The screenshots you've taken
3. Places to upload  ie discord/flight sim groups etc

Most of every common image editor is the cut paste and crop tools, it doesn't take long to do any of these edits and isn't even considered when large groups ask if it edited... mostly they ask because of "blooming effects" and other very caustic and very interesting edits but they will never care or worry if a photo has been cropped at all since you took it!!

All you have to do is load the image of an aircraft worthy to edit and crop per se, into an editor, there's a free one called paint.net and I'm not gonna give you the URL cause it's too confusing...just search paint.net on google...older operating systems (Vista, XP) you can only use paint.net 3.5.11 as its the only one that will work...some plugins for added effect will only work on newer but you may get some that come out that work with that

• ok open your images in paint.net, photoshop6, or whatever 
• select the area you want to keep, so select the aircraft and scenery and everything above the windows taskbar and below the FlightSm X menu (FS9ers, you don't have to worry about this unless you re in windowed mode as well).. and once you have the desired selection open the menu and hit crop button!!

You're done!!

Now rinse, rinse repeat as many times as you like!!

  and in case you didn't follow or this was hard to read/understand here's what I mean!!

(the line above and ones you've seen in previous years is just more for elders and people with bad eyesight or ones that find it hard to read for things for so long..

"can you use flyable aircraft as custom ai" i hear alot of flightsimmers ask...

well, some come off talking about this idea about making that happen as if its not possible  like on avsim post below, from user hjwalter

"In general it is not advisable to use flyable aircraft as AI because of possible frame rate and/or stuttering issues whenever they come into view, even in total darkness. The external textures of flyable aircraft are just too complex, too many and too large. However, if you only have a very limited quantity of these flying around and your rig can handle it, then it may work for you without the said issues.

Good luck.

Hans"

I find that it is the exact opposite as is mentioned above, I've been able to do that the way you could consider it for nearly 15 years...if I cant find a  model for fs9 I will find an AI model, copy in a panel and some sounds and viola...

but that's only to make ai planes flyable... I've also used them as AI, what some of them are designed for and also , and I have enjoyed them for just about that long.

some part of this post (above) os just talking about is using regular aircraft as ai, and a lot of simmers are agreeing that it's not advisable with this idea...but I've done it with rare problems..there are here and there but normally its just odd to say stuff like this...


as John Hinson on the avsim forums said before I was able to chime in...

"Flight Simulator 2004 has huge abilities these days with modern computers which are far more pwerful than what existed in the days when it was first released.You can use most non-AI aircraft for AI if you don't overdo it.Be aware, though, that advanced models may have performance features that are incompatible. I have seen the odd aircraft that won't take off but continues in a straight line across the ground at the end of the runway, and indeed ones in the air that just won't turn in accordance with the controller's instructions and keep getting repeated instructions to change course.Both can probably be fixed by exchanging the air files, or certain content of the aircraft.cfg with an aircraft that flies properly.The answer on behaviour is to try it and see for yourself.John"

even with that said its hard for me to have even seen that happen exactly like john said...like where it distorts stuff...really rarely thoigh...!!

heres the link to the post...and see what you have to deal with

https://www.avsim.com/forums/topic/562493-using-normal-aircraft-as-ai-aircraft/?tab=comments#comment-4148637

dear all fs2004 aircraft painters...

it has come to my attention that many fs2004 painters are using DXT3 files instead of the BMP 8-8888 file type for fs2004 aircraft repaints and its either I haven't found enough to figure how to let or allow DXT3 files to show up or I don't know how to use it that way...

I usually have to convert textures from DXT3 files to 8-8888 bitmap file and I'm really getting tired of this! if you are making textures please stay with BMP type 8-8888, please!!

FS9 Default Sceneries in these areas are still behind of the days..

as I continue to download lots of scenery files at least each and every other day, I notice there are some major airports that have not gotten an upgrade from being defualt, in like almost 20 years

places like (freeware searching only)

1. KORD  (almost finished)
2. RJAA
3. KLAX
4. KPAE (finished this summer)
   
5. KRNT(finished this summer)
   
6. KBFI
7. KLAR
8. CYXS
9. 
   

...and many others... there are some quite good quality sceneries but are payware, I'm only freeware based...if it occurs there are only 1 item of an aircraft, scenery located on the net then I will buy it but not like this all the time. I try to stay freeware for as long as I can!!

if anyone finds any for fs9 (free) in the future comment below, or if you know me online as darrenvox and can find me either "dm" me or send me a note somehow...even Facebook message me at some point...id like to see them being updated at some point!!

or if you are a scenery designer, do those at some point!!