iFLY EFB / CHECKLISTS / VERIFIED AGAINST 14.1.26
iFly EFB builds a checklist from a plain text file. This article covers the complete syntax, the tokens that fill in live flight data, and the one rule that stops most imports cold.
MOST COMMON CAUSE The first real line of the file has to be a section header — a line beginning with |
This is why a file that looks completely reasonable imports as nothing. The usual culprit is a checklist written for a different app, or produced by a converter, using tags such as Section:, Subsection: or *no-check*. iFly does not recognise any of those — it marks a section with a leading > and nothing else.
Depending on how the file was opened you will see either “Import Checklist Failed” with “Err: (see log file)”, or “Unable to read file, or file contained unexpected contents.” Both mean the same thing, and neither is caused by your text editor or the file’s encoding.
The file’s name, minus its extension, becomes the checklist’s name — so name the file exactly what you want the list called.
Open any checklist and choose OPTIONS → Export this Checklist. iFly writes a .txt file in precisely the format the importer expects and hands it to your device’s share sheet. Editing an exported file and re-importing it is the most reliable way to build a new checklist, and the fastest way to see the syntax in practice.
ON FILE EXTENSIONS Exports are |
Plain text, one entry per line. A line’s first character decides what it becomes.
| STARTS WITH | BECOMES | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
> | Section header | One > is a top-level section. >> is a subsection, >>> nests a level deeper, and so on. |
; | Comment | Ignored entirely. Leading spaces before the ; are fine. |
` ` | Reference note | Wrap the whole line in backticks — or straight single quotes — for a line with no checkbox. Good for speeds, power settings and reminders. |
| anything else | Check item | Gets a checkbox. Leading and trailing spaces are trimmed. |
| (blank) | Nothing | Blank lines are ignored, so use them freely to keep the file readable. |
IN THE FILE ; C172 — before takeoff | IN THE APP
|
When every item in a section is checked, its banner turns from black to green and the section collapses:
| ▸ BEFORE TAKEOFF |
Throttle: 1800 RPM carries no meaning. iFly does not split the line — write items however reads best.> BEFORE TAKEOFF #FF8800. It must be exactly # plus six hex digits, separated by a space.> to >>> makes iFly insert the missing level for you as an unnamed section.Drop any of these into an item’s text and iFly substitutes the live value when the checklist is displayed. Tokens work anywhere in the line, and are not case-sensitive.
FREQUENCIES AND SETTINGS
| DEPARTURE | DESTINATION | RESOLVES TO |
|---|---|---|
$dep_atis | $dest_atis | Best available ATIS / ASOS / AWOS 118.125 |
$dep_twr | $dest_twr | Tower, CTAF or UNICOM 124.850 |
$dep_ground | $dest_ground | Ground 121.700 |
$dep_unicom | $dest_unicom | UNICOM 122.950 |
$dep_fss | $dest_fss | Flight Service 122.200 |
$dep_alt_setting | $dest_alt_setting | Altimeter setting from that airport’s METAR 29.92 |
$dep_best_runway | $best_runway | Runway favoured by the current wind 16L |
IN FLIGHT
| TOKEN | RESOLVES TO |
|---|---|
$atc | Nearest Center, Approach, Departure or Flight Service contact 133.25 |
$alt_setting | Current altimeter setting for your position 29.92 |
$cruise_alt | Filed or last planned cruise altitude 8,500 ft |
$pattern_alt | Destination pattern altitude 4,800 MSL (1,000 AGL) |
ACTION TOKENS — THESE TURN THE ROW INTO A BUTTON
| TOKEN | TAPPING THE ROW OPENS |
|---|---|
$open_map | The map |
$open_plan | The flight plan form |
$open_sketch | The sketch picker |
$open_craft | Opens the CRAFT Sketch |
Every exported checklist lists the full token set as comments across the top of the file, so an export is always current for the version you are running.
Any plain text editor works. Notepad or TextEdit are the safest choices, because neither can introduce the formatting that causes trouble below.
UTF-8 is the safe choice, with or without a byte-order mark; UTF-16 works too if the mark is present. Windows, Mac and Unix line endings are all accepted, so that is never worth troubleshooting. Note that the wrong encoding garbles individual characters — it does not stop an import. If nothing at all imported, the cause is structural, not the encoding.
| WHAT YOU SEE | WHY | FIX |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing imports at all | An item appears before the first > section header | Add a section header above it, or comment the line out with ; |
Nothing imports, and the file uses Section: or *no-check* | The file is in another program’s format | Convert section lines to > and delete the other tags |
| Everything lands in one long section | No > characters after the first one | Mark each section with its own > line |
| An item has no checkbox | The line begins and ends with an apostrophe or backtick | Remove them, or leave them if a note was intended |
| Items are cut in half | “Insert line breaks” was enabled when saving from Word | Re-save with that option unchecked |
| Odd characters in the text | The file was saved in a non-Unicode encoding | Re-save as UTF-8 |
| A token shows as literal text | Misspelled, or newer than your app version | Export a checklist and check the token list at the top |
| Column spacing collapsed | Runs of spaces are not preserved on display | Put each item on its own line rather than aligning them side by side |
BEFORE YOU FLY IT Always check an imported or converted checklist against your POH. Formatting changes can reorder or merge items in ways that are easy to miss on screen. |
ADVENTURE PILOT • iFLY EFB 14.1.26 • SUPPORT@ADVENTUREPILOT.COM