DCS VR 4K | Scratchpad + Mod = EZ Mode Waypoint Entry!

**Please note, the video was made with an older version of the mod. The newer one enters data much more quickly in the Strike Eagle and fixes a few other annoyances. The link below was updated to point to the most recent version of the mod.
In a video which I had made not too long ago, I was using Scratchpad just for the dot so I could accurately enter map coordinates into a program called "The Way". This was a workaround to get The Way working in VR a bit better. The Way was used for entering waypoints into your aircraft's navigation system. Well there's an even better method for VR users!
There was a mod made for Scratchpad which enables it to not only capture waypoints from the F10 map (the base function of Scratchpad) but also will enter the waypoints into your aircraft's nav system! So there is no longer a need for The Way for VR users! Scratchpad is a much cleaner and simpler way to do this.
I demonstrate how to get the mod, install it and then use it in two different aircraft. I then conduct strikes against an airbase using the coordinates which were gathered via the modded Scratchpad.
LINKS:
Scratchpad Mod (Updated December 18 2023):
forum.dcs.world/topic/195700-...
Original Scratchpad:
github.com/rkusa/dcs-scratchpad
0:00 Opening
0:24 Intro
2:05 ScratchPad Install
7:28 Razer Tartarus V2
9:18 Scratchpad in F-15E
16:24 Intermission
18:51 Approaching Target Area
20:06 Rolling In
20:52 ScratchPad in Hornet
24:43 Program JDAMs
31:50 JDAM Release
33:25 JDAM Impact
33:47 Outro
34:40 Bonus Durandal Strike
Main System Specs:
AMD 7950X3D
ASUS ROG Crosshair X670E Hero (WiFi 6E)
PNY RTX 4090 XLR8 Gaming VERTO Overclocked Graphics Card
2x32 GB G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO RGB Series SDRAM DDR5 6000
SAMSUNG 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2
Additional Device List
Varjo Aero
PointCTRL
ButtKicker Gamer2
JetPad
Virpil MongoosT-50CM2 Base
Thrustmaster F/A 18 Grip
VKB STECS Max Throttle
Razer Tartarus v2 Gaming Keypad
SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless Gaming Headset

[@redtailpilot]

That was my exact intro to Durandals, never knew the name came from a sword! Wow, so I get to crater some runways again after decades😂 This time in VR......Nice!

[@StrIIker-TV]

Yeah it's a heck of a lot of fun! I made a mission for Falcon 3.0 called Airstrip. It was pretty basic, go bomb an enemy airstrip with Durandals while other aircraft fought off the enemy aircraft. I thought it was very cool back then where in the campaign, you coudl see a light grat patch on the runway where the runway was repaired after an attack a few missions later. Very fun times!

[@bobt223]

Great video!! ScratchPad (especially this iteration) is really the best VR capable WP/Target Point entry utility (IMHO)...

[@StrIIker-TV]

Thanks! It was a fun video to shoot. I agree that Scratchpad with the included mods is the best way to get waypoints and targets entered for VR users. I had another look at DTC but that's windows only and therefore does not show in VR. I really like the additional stuff which can be configured with DTC such as pre-programmed mode for weapons, radio channel setup etc. It looks pretty cool. Someone needs to snag those ideas and add them to Scratchpad :)

[@bobt223]

@@StrIIker-TV Yeah I looked at a recent DTC video and it SEEMED to indicate that the panel was now showing in VR, but I haven't tried it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2nZhKqpoJ1-gJosi=d41L98SvzIxrpCgg&t=248 Edit: Just tried it. DTC panel is still not visible in VR, though the Hot Buttons do work to upload information when the panel is upload screen is up in the background.

[@chipwillis]

Thanks man this is pretty dope!

[@StrIIker-TV]

Glad to have helped out! It can be tricky keeping up with all of these great little add-ons for DCS. It has been great using this tool to quickly plot out waypoints and targets so I can spend more time flying than data entry.

[@chipwillis]

I had been using DCS scratchpad for a while and this certainly is a step up! @@StrIIker-TV

[@JSAONYT]

thank you this helped alot, also what vr do you have?

[@StrIIker-TV]

Thanks! I have the Varjo Aero. The clarity in the headset is amazing and they recently dropped the price by $€1,000.00 to 990.00. I paid the old price and have zero complaints.

[@utley]

wish Id known you could do target entry into the JDAMs from scratchpad with this mod, I would have jumped on this months ago. Looks like I got some refreshing up to do...have you tried it on the SLAMs yet? JSOWs? I assume its the exact same way.

[@StrIIker-TV]

I have used this for JSOWs (here's an earlier video where I was using Scratchpad just for the dot to enter into The Way.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKqVhH5vi7GhsKs ) This method is obviously no longer needed because Scratchpad and the mod handle this easily) but in it I used the same methodology to set JSOW TOO targets in the exact same way. BTW, there is a minor update to the Scratchpad mod to speed up Strike Eagle entry if you use that aircraft. It's on the same forum thread. I have also used this method for SLAM-ERs in the Persian Gulf. I shot a video but I kept getting jumped by enemy aircraft so I couldn't do man in the middle fun so I skipped on making it until I pick a new target but yes, just use this method to set very accurate waypoints and then set your ordinance to TOO and Waypoint Designate. It is touchy as mentioned in the video in that any other designation which you do will overwrite the currently selected station TOO program (or all 4 if you have selected them via Quantity). It's fun and I have blasted airbase targets with 8 JSOWs on the 4YA maps quite a few times. I think a few of my other videos show this (minus the programing part because who wants to watch that?)

[@chipwillis]

Just tested and works great. My assumption is the automated portion only works once for entering waypoints, and any you get coords for have to be manually added if you want to add later? This correct or is there a workaround?

[@StrIIker-TV]

The automated part is simply a means of entering the coordinates which you grabbed off the F10 map into the navigation computer. If you are flying and get instructed to fly to a new waypoint, that will need to be manually entered. If you are flying and want to grab more waypoints (for navigation or targeting) from the map, you can use scratchpad again. Just clear out the existing content and then start grabbing the new points on the map. You can then use the automated method to enter them but you do need to take care to either set the starting waypoint (such as I did in the Strike Eagle) or set the waypoint to the starting waypoint for subsequent entry (as I did in the Hornet). I’m not sure if this answers your question though. I guess you could pull up scratchpad and quickly type the new coordinates which you receive via voice so you can then manually enter it. If it’s a mission script, the kneeboard usually contains a transcript of the radio logs and you can retrieve it from there. Let me know if I misunderstood what you were asking

[@chipwillis]

@@StrIIker-TV no, that’s great, thanks!

[@TheGreekbull]

I run Scratchpad Plus with VoiceAttack and completely control it with voice commands...it's a life saver!

[@StrIIker-TV]

I wound up using the Razer Tartarus to control Scratchpad but using Voiceattack is a great idea! I may try that out if I need more buttons available on the Tartarus.

[@ShockAndYaw]

Hiya @@StrIIker-TV, great videos ... In one of them you mention you strap your Tartarus to your leg ... curious how you're doing that. Run something across the wrist guard? Some other way that's not obvious by looking at the photos on Amazon?

[@StrIIker-TV]

@@ShockAndYaw I have a stretchable strap which has Velcro on it to connect the ends which I wrap around my thigh. I leave part of that Velcro exposed. I then stuck some Velcro onto the back of the Tartarus and then stick that onto it. I will do a quick video to demonstrate. I’ve been asked before and meant to make a quick video about it.

[@ShockAndYaw]

@@StrIIker-TV Thanks ... look forward to it. Subbed.

[@gavancorrigan8813]

Lads… I came here looking for details on ScratchPad. Now I’ve want to buy a Tartarus and VoiceAttack!! Is there no end to this addiction?

[@chadnorthcut9077]

Can this be done from the back seat? Great job as always!

[@StrIIker-TV]

Thanks! I am pretty sure it works but I haven’t tried it because I’m a loner with no friends ;-D I will give it a quick test later today and let ya know.

[@VideoUser3053]

Great tutorial - so you only need to enter the starting waypoint in scratchpad with co-ords and all subsequent co-ords will automatically be assigned as consecutive waypoints?

[@StrIIker-TV]

Thanks! You are partially correct. This varies by aircraft. In the Hornet, it will start entering waypoints using the current waypoint as a start. So, if your current waypoint in the Hornet is 10, pressing the Load Waypoints button will start entering the waypoints starting with 10 and then 11, 12, and so on. In the Strik eEagle, you will want to indicate which starting waypoint you want to use with the @ button and then modify the # to match the starting waypoint you wish to use and it will start there and increment upwards automatically. So if I set that to be @, pressing Load Waypoints will set the first waypoint at 50A (assuming you are on the A route which is typically default) and then next will be 51, 52 and so on. It replaces the @|#| with the number sequence. If you want to set some as target points, you add a period after the # in the individual coordinate lines (so I could set one of the waypoints as a target by setting it to @|#.| . You can also manually set each waypoint number by replacing the @|#| with numbers (i.e. @|50| will set that coordinate set to waypoint 50A). I probably over explained this as I tend to do. I suspect setting the sequence works for other aircraft as well but I have not yet tried it. Hope this answered your question (eventually hehe).

[@VideoUser3053]

@@StrIIker-TV thank you yes - was thinking of the Viper to save adding manual waypoint data.

[@StrIIker-TV]

@@VideoUser3053 ​​⁠One other program to consider is DTC. People really love it. I’m going to give it another look and try it out. I think in the end, I may wind up using both programs. DTC for preloading and pre-configuring the aircraft to my liking and Scratchpad with the mod to use while flying in game for quick waypoint creation and entry.

[@shockandyaw6024]

​@@StrIIker-TV looking at the DTC docs it looks like it also supports capturing waypoints from within the f10 map. So perhaps a complete replacement for scratchpad. Plan on testing this week.

[@rackin5837]

So far its great, the only thing is i lost the white dot attached to scratchpad and cant get it back, any idea where it would have gone?

[@StrIIker-TV]

Hmm. Well I assume you clicked the box to turn on the dot? I apologize if this is a trivial question but I don't know your experience level with Scratchpad so I'll state the basics.. You need to click the box (the empty one to the right of the L/L box along the bottom of the scratchpad window) to turn the dot on each time you enter scratchpad. If you did this and the dot is still not present, I would suggest removing the two scratchpad folders, do a slow / full repair of DCS and then step through the install process of Scratchpad (copy the two folders in from the original zip file. There's no reason for the dot to be missing so there may be some odd issue with your DCS install, with the Scratchpad install and/or some other add-on.

[@roylau1049]

Same issue here😂，I just can move the map instead of the scratchpad

[@StrIIker-TV]

@@roylau1049 So are you saying that you can’t relocate the default position of scratchpad? Like in the video I moved scratchpad so that the recording could see it better. If you can’t drag scratchpad then I suggest what I had mentioned previously around uninstalling it (making sure to clean it out of the locations in your saved games structure. ), grabbing a new fresh version and doing a full repair on DCS.

[@roylau1049]

@@StrIIker-TVGot it！Big Thanks for your reply❤

[@Spirit-Soldier2026]

Hi, I just installed Scratchpad and the QWERTY keyboard mod but when i open Scratchpad in VR or 2D it doesn't have the "+L/L" button to enable clicking on F10 Map to create new waypoints in the Scratchpad for upload to UFC etc? I've re-started DCs but still same problem. What am i missing or doing wrong? Thanks, this really is a GREAT couple of mods!! Much appreciated.

[@StrIIker-TV]

Hi! The mod is not the QWERTY mod but is one which incorporates it. If you look at the video description, I link to the mod which you need to grab. It’s just a file which you download from the DCS forums and add to the Scratcpad program. I can’t fly without it now! I use it every mission and often while flying to grab coordinates of some enemy or an airbase which I want to land at. Let me know if you still have a question and I will clarify further for ya!

[@StrIIker-TV]

I see you posted on the forum so you grabbed the correct file. The user who responded there is correct. You need to click that box and then you will see the L/L pop up.

[@Spirit-Soldier2026]

@@StrIIker-TV Yes, thanks i did get that working and created a route like the one you show in your video here. My next problem though was the route was visible in the TSD but not in the HUD? The UFC showed route 2A as being active but there were none of the circular steerpoint markers visible in the HUD as i travelled along the route i had created with Scratchpad? I suspect this has nothing to do with Scratchpad and i am not setting something correctly in the cockpit. Was the route created in your video route 2A or was it 1A etc? I posted about this on the same forum thread you mention above. Thanks v much.

[@DuckDynastyGaming]

Anyone know why when i add the period after # to make a target it wont load the waypoint on my ufc? The coordinates just keep flashing and gets stuck on it.

[@StrIIker-TV]

There are a few possibilities. If your UFC only shows B at PushButton 10 (top right.. which is typical now. After I made the video they made a change) you will need to set the letter as well.. So put #.A in order to get it to start on the A route. Let me know if this solves the issue. I shot some footage to point this little issue out as well recently but haven't made it into a video yet.

[@JohnDoe-ku8qn]

Is there a way to transfer the cords from the pad to the smart wep page for jdams in the 15?

[@StrIIker-TV]

There absolutely is! I demonstrate it in the video I will link below. When I made this video for scratchpad and the mod, the Strike Eagle did not yet have JDAMs! It’s super easy to do. Check the video and please ask if you have any questions. kzbin.info/www/bejne/raSop6KsZ5VosKMsi=dHdmnSCRRcMdDyPS

[@JohnDoe-ku8qn]

@@StrIIker-TV Thank you for linking the video it never came up when looking but remembered this original one for scrathpad. This will help alot pluging cords in! (:

[@StrIIker-TV]

@@JohnDoe-ku8qnGlad to help! I use this occasionally in my videos. I try not to bore peoppe watching me type this stuff in though. :) I use it daily for getting targets into the JDAMs in the Strike Eagle as well as for setting quick waypoints while flying. I pull up the map, see a base I want to fly to for recovery or an identified enemy location and a quick click, set the waypoint number to be what I want or to designate it as a target and then set it as my active waypoint. Seconds with minimal distraction vs. much more time manually typing it in etc

[@JohnDoe-ku8qn]

@@StrIIker-TV as someone who plays in vr i get that, bringing the map up and copying code over manually can take some time and get confusing if your flying in a ao. I usually fly on the 4ya so bases usually get pecked apart before I can set it all up xD

[@StrIIker-TV]

@@JohnDoe-ku8qn Yep! That's why this works so well! It's all in VR. There is a program called DTC for DCS and it's a great program which people use but you do need to drop to the desktop to use it which makes using it while flying a no-go for me. There is another one called The Way which I initially used( I even made a video demonstrating it) but at the time, it lacked native VR support. It has since been upgraded though but I haven't tried it again because the ScratchPad / Mod approach works so well for me. I've made a few videos while on 4YA (love the servers) where I used Scratchpad to program my JSOWs, JDAMs, etc. and used them to great effect. It's all such fun and a great time to be into flight sims.

[@JohnDoe-ku8qn]

Hey str][ker have you used scratchpad in the 15 recently? Tryed ysing it yesterday and could not get it to load wavepoints. Is there a update? Thank you

[@StrIIker-TV]

I used it last night without issue. Have you successfully used it in the past to enter waypoints? I’m asking because you do need the mod to make that part work and I wanted to verify that you have that installed. The last update to the mod was several months ago. I did post a link to the update in the video description and I think also a community post.

[@JohnDoe-ku8qn]

​@@StrIIker-TVyes I used it 2 weeks ago I start it with @ shift then put a period after the # i was wondering if i need to add .A as I had seen another comment with that

[@JohnDoe-ku8qn]

Ah it just worked. Wonder what changed lol

[@StrIIker-TV]

@@JohnDoe-ku8qn Sometimes you do need to include the letter. Typically the Strike Eagle will load in with B as the current nav point. This is the home base location where the aircraft spawned into the world at. You can’t enter waypoints in this mode without also including the trailing letter unless you switch the active nav point to be something on the route letter (such as setting 1A as the active nav point (and you need to include the nav route letter to do so))

[@JohnDoe-ku8qn]

@@StrIIker-TV i would break that lol I mostly just use the pre made points

[@user-xc1qx2ti2v]

Hi there, im curious why the button wpts doesnt work?

[@user-xc1qx2ti2v]

*load wpts

[@StrIIker-TV]

Hmm, I am not sure. You do need to make sure that you installed the mod for scratchpad installed. Once you grab waypoints, you just need to press the load waypoints button. There are some conditions for each type of aircraft though. For example, in the Hornet, you need to be in precise mode. For the Strike Eagle, you can't edit an active waypoint and there are other considerations (foe example, since I had made that video, Razbam added the default waypoint of B when you load in. This is a special waypoint and denotes your spawn point in DCS. You can't edit this so you need to create a new waypoint using the letter of the route (for example, the new waypoint is 10A (instead of just 10), etc. Can you provide me with additional detail such as which aircraft you are having difficulty with and what you are seeing?

[@UlanIdrisov-fw4zv]

on f18 hornet I do it like in the video, load all the points but it doesn’t load

[@UlanIdrisov-fw4zv]

in your video at 22:52 minute there is where you press wpts and it automatically uploads everything to ufc but it doesn’t work for me

[@StrIIker-TV]

@@UlanIdrisov-fw4zvin the Hornet, it must be in precise mode. I demonstrate this in the video by pressing HSI, Data and then boxing Precise at the bottom. Did you do this step?