WeatherMap Live - Getting Started

Contents

» Overview
» Features
» Installation
» Upgrading to New Releases
» Configuring WML with the Online Generator
» Purchasing
» Troubleshooting
» Release History
» Appendix
     wmlconfig.xml tags

Overview

WeatherMap Live provides you with a way of displaying weather data on a map via your website. WeatherMapLive is a Flash ^{TM 1} movie which uses data available from Metars (airports) or Weather Display weather stations. The data is displayed in your web browser which requires the free Macromedia Flash plug-in ² - this is currently installed on 98% of internet-enabled desktops worldwide ³ and is pre-installed on many browsers and computers. The data is updated every 15 minutes from Weather Display stations and on a less frequent basis from Metars which vary depending upon the airport.

WeatherMap Live is free to use in Evaluation mode for a limited number of stations for a fixed map of the UK. An Evaluation Version notice is displayed. After purchasing the software and data feed you will be able to configure up to 10 of your own maps to present to your website visitors. Additionally you'll be able to use a "desktop version" which you can view on your PC anytime you wish.

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Features

• Animated cycling of weather conditions and parameters
• Up to 10 user definable maps
• Colour coding of temperature and barometric pressure
• Web links to every Metar or Weather Display station
• Most options can be set either 'globally' or for individual maps
• Various options for customising the display including
  • speed of rotation of icons
  • spacing of icons
  • size of icons
  • static or animated wind arrows
• Global offsets for fine alignment of station positions
• Zoom in/out and pan
• Full details for individual stations
• Definable units on startup
• Choose which buttons to show to allow users to change units
• Choose whether to show screen titles and where on the screen
• Add your own logo to a map and choose where to place it
• Users can pause, stop or manually change weather parameter rotation as determined by you
• 12 different languages included
• Share your weather data with other WeatherMap Live users around the world
• No requirement for your own weather station with standalone WeatherMap Live

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Installation

Installation is straightforward with only one file needing to have a change made to it to get the software working in evaluation mode. Step by step instructions are listed below.

To install the evaluation version of WeatherMap Live on a web server –

1. Place the wmlconfig.xml file, the index.html file, map.jpg, the wmlv1_04.swf and the swfobject.js file in the same folder on your web server.
   
2. Open the file index.html in an html editor, Notepad, or a similar text editor and locate the line which says
   
              var pathToWmlconfig = "http://www.yourwebsite.com/wmlconfig.xml";
   
   The line must point to the location of the wmlconfig.xml file on your web server. Therefore if the wmlconfig.xml file is at http://www.mywebsite.com/data/wmlconfig.xml then you would change this part of the line to show that. In this particular instance you would end up with the line looking like this -
   
                var pathToWmlconfig = "http://www.mywebsite.com/data/wmlconfig.xml"
   
   
3. That’s it!

Open up a web browser and navigate to the index.html file. You should see a map of the UK with a few weather stations and an Evaluation Notice displayed on top. In evaluation mode WeatherMap Live will only work with these preset stations but it will confirm that WeatherMap Live is working and allow you to experiment with the various options.

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Upgrading to New Releases

New versions of WeatherMap Live will be given a new name for two reasons: to avoid problems with browsers caching old versions and to avoid confusion over which version is being used.

If you are applying a new version of WeatherMap Live all you need to do is rename the reference to it in the web page that hosts the swf file so that it now points to the new swf. You must change the reference to the file in the web page so that if your new file is wmlv1_03.swf and the existing entry reads -

 var versionOfWml = "wmlv1_02.swf";

change it so that it now reads

 var versionOfWml = "wmlv1_03.swf";

Upload the file and refresh your browser to see the new version. Don't upload the index.html file directly from the installation package unless you wish to overwrite any previous changes you made.

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Basic Configuring

The wmlconfig.xml file allows many options to be set for WeatherMap Live. It is an xml file which allows for great flexibility but care when altering it is required. The slightest typo can stop the software working. It is recommended you make a backup before amending any details. In addition the file is case sensitive! Open the wmlconfig.xml files in a text editor such as Notepad and have a look at the contents within it. Each configuration option is specified on a new line. For a comprehensive guide to customising WeatherMap Live see the configuring_wml.pdf file. Here are a few of the most useful tags to get you started.

To change the speed of rotation between weather parameters enter the required speed in seconds into this line

<auto>5</auto>.

Change 5 to 10 for a pause of 10 seconds between each rotation. Setting to 0 will cause the rotation to stop and allow you to have a static display showing all parameters at once. You will need to amend the offsets in this situation to avoid icons overlapping.

To change an option such as the temperature units that WeatherMap Live starts with find the line –

<initTempUnits>C</initTempUnits>

Change it so that it now reads –

<initTempUnits>F</initTempUnits>

Be careful when changing settings in this file as you can easily stop WeatherMap Live from working with the smallest of typing mistakes. The xml file is case sensitive! Refresh your web page to reload WeatherMap Live and see the new temperature units.

In the same way you can change the barometric pressure, rainfall, altitude and wind units at start up.

There are some settings which you can apply globally to all maps or you can override them for individual maps. To change global settings enter the appropriate values into the options within the <wml> tags. For example to increase the size of all temperature icons by 50% change the tag –

<tempSize>100</tempSize>

within the <wml> tags to be –

<tempSize>150</tempSize>

After purchasing WeatherMap Live you can configure upto 10 different maps. You must enter your username into the tag –

<userName>evaluation</userName>

replacing the word 'evaluation' with your username and then set the details for each map. As a minimum you must enter the URL of the map (this must be a jpg format image), the mapName as configured on the wml management centre and a label that will appear in the drop down list of maps -

<map2>
          <label></label>
          <mapName></mapName>
          <url></url>
</map2>

If after changing this setting or any other in the wmlconfig.xml file your browser does not reflect the change see the Troubleshooting section below.

The full set of configuration tags in the wmlconfig.xml file and comprehensive instructions for customising WeatherMap Live to look exactly the way you want are described in the configuring_wml.pdf guide included in the installation download.

You can change the size of WeatherMap Live by amending the width and height tags in the index.html file. For example you can make WeatherMap Live automatically fill the screen by setting the values to a percentage. Enter 100% for both the width and height tags. It’s best to keep the values relative to each other or the display will appear distorted due to the incorrect aspect ratio.

You can change the background colour of the display or place a background image by changing the <BODY bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> tag. For example to give WeatherMap Live a yellow background you would change the tag to <BODY bgcolor="#FFFF00">. For more information on any of this visit the Flash pages on the Macromedia website ⁴ or any decent html book.

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Configuring WML with the Online Generator

Alternatively WeatherMap Live can be configured by using the online generator available at the WeatherMap Live Management Centre

Getting started -

1) Ensure WML is set up and working in evaluation mode in a sub-directory of the main web site. When it is, enter the URL of the evaluation wmlconfig.xml file and then tick the box to say you want to set up a standard map.

2) Select a pre-defined map and then wait until it's created (30-60 seconds). An email will be sent describing how to download the relevant map image file.

3) Configure the WML map settings (or leave as default) and take a note of the URL where the map image file (info included in email in step 2) should be stored when it's been downloaded.

4) Review randomly selected stations. Add/remove stations as required, or leave as default.

5) Select zero, one or more priority stations (stations that display over the top of other nearby stations) and select the initial station to display on this map. This page can also be left as the default.

6) Configure the main WML settings, or leave as default initially.

7) Display the finished configuration file. Cut and paste the contents of the table into your wmlconfig.xml file.

8) Access WML on your web site and the first map should be displayed.

9) Repeat from (2) if you want to add another standard map.

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Purchasing

To purchase WeatherMap Live please go to http://wxd.weather-watch.com/amember/signup.php

For more information on WeatherMap Live visit the website at http://www.weather-display.com/wmlive.php

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Troubleshooting

If WeatherMap Live fails to load correctly in your web browser please carefully check the following –

• WeatherMap Live requires Flash player 7 to work correctly. You can download this version from the Macromedia website at http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer
• You have changed the line in the index.html file to reflect the location of your wmlconfig.xml file.
• You have put the wmlv1_03.swf file and the index.html file in the same folder as the wmlconfig.xml on your web server.

If you have made changes to the wmlconfig.xml file and they are not showing up in your web browser this is usually because the file is being cached somewhere, either by your web browser or a proxy server somewhere in the chain. This is commonly hosted by your Internet Service Provider to reduce internet traffic. There are four things you can try if your browser is caching –

1. Refresh the page. In Internet Explorer press F5.
2. Force a refresh of the cache in your browser. In Internet Explorer press Ctrl + F5
3. Restart your browser.
4. Empty your browsers cache completely. In Internet Explorer go to Tools – Internet Options – General and click on ‘Delete Files’.

Flash will not load data files which reside in a different domain to the actual swf file for security reasons. Therefore make sure your swf and wmlconfig.xml file reside in the same domain.

If your map fails to load make sure it is in jpg (and not 'progressive jpg') format. Your map size must be a mercator projection and have a size of 550 x 550 pixels for best results.

For any other issues please post to the WeatherMap Live forum at http://www.weather-watch.com/smf/ where we’ll do our best to help.

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Release History

Changes listed are for the WML Flash client only.

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Appendix

1. Flash is a trademark of Macromedia.

2. Available from Macromedia at http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash

3. Macromedia current statistics. You can view the latest figures at http://www.macromedia.com/software/player_census/flashplayer/

4. Macromedia website for Flash is at http://www.macromedia.com/flash

5. wmlconfig.xml configuration tags :

Please take care changing entries in this file. The slightest typo can stop the software working. It is recommended you make a backup before amending any details. The file is case sensitive!

This is a list of some of the configuration tags and their settings to get you started. See the configuring_wml.pdf guide for more on customising WeatherMap Live and for a complete list of tags.

Enter the language displayed in WML. Options are currently english(default), finnish, danish, dutch, french, swedish, german, spanish, norwegian, italian, portuguese, estonian and catalan.
<language>english</language>

Specify the date format displayed by the all time records page
Options are dd/mm/yyyy(default), mm/dd/yyyy, yyyy/dd/mm, yyyy/mm/dd, dd,mm,yyyy, mm,dd,yyyy, yyyy,dd,mm, yyyy,mm,dd, dd-mm-yyyy, mm-dd-yyyy, yyyy-dd-mm, yyyy-mm-dd
<dateFormat>dd/mm/yyyy</dateFormat>

Enter the initial temperature units here.
Options are - C or F.
If nothing is entered it will default to c - celsius.
<initTempUnits>F</initTempUnits>

Enter the initial wind units here.
Options are - mph, kph, knots or m/s. km/h is available if language is set to Catalan, French or German.
If nothing is entered it will default to mph.
<initWindUnits>mph</initWindUnits>

Enter the initial rain units here.
Options are - mm or in.
If nothing is entered it will default to mm.
<initRainUnits>mm</initRainUnits>

Enter the initial snow units here.
Options are - cm or in.
If nothing is entered it will default to cm.
<initSnowUnits>cm</initSnowUnits>

Enter the initial pressure units here.
Options are - mb, inHg or hPa.
If nothing is entered it will default to mb.
<initPressureUnits>mb</initPressureUnits>

Enter the inital cloudbase height here.
Options are feet (ft), metres (m) or yards (yds)
If nothing is entered it will default to ft.
<initCloudbaseUnits>ft</initCloudbaseUnits>

Enter 0 to hide the compass heading.
Enter 1 to show the compass heading in letters.
Enter 2 to show the compass heading in degrees.
Enter 3 to show both.
<showCompassHeading>1</showCompassHeading>

Enter the display of data date/time next to station name
Enter 0 to hide station name, date and time
Enter 1 to alternate between date and time
Enter 2 to display date only
Enter 3 to display time only
<stationdatetime>1</stationdatetime>

Enter the speed of rotation between weather icons or paramters
Enter 0 to stop rotation
Enter 5 for 5 seconds pause
Enter 10 for 10 seconds pause etc.
<auto>5</auto>

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© Julian Best 2008