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. WeatherMap Live is a Flash TM 1 movie which uses data available from Metars (airports), Weather Display and other types of weather stations. The data is displayed in your web browser which requires the free Adobe 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

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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 wmlv2_02.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";

    This line must be changed to 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 confirms that WeatherMap Live is working correctly and allows 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 normally need to do is upload the new swf file and 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 wmlv2_02.swf and the existing entry reads -

 var versionOfWml = "wmlv1_04.swf";

change it so that it now reads

 var versionOfWml = "wmlv2_03.swf";

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.

NOTE: If you are upgrading from v1 to v2 of WeatherMap Live you may wish to upload the new improved versions of index.html and swfobject.js included in the install pack. If you wish to make use of the new feature in v2.03 that allows you to select the initial map to display using an HTML parameter then you must use the new index.html and swfobject.js files (or the relevant code from index.html and the new swfobject.js).

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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 may 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 may stop WeatherMap Live from working with the smallest of typing mistakes. 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 up to 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 how you want it to 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 Adobe 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 one of the pre-defined maps 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 –

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.

v2_04 10/06/2012

Fixed problem that prevented town location settings in the config file from being used.

v2_03 10/06/2012

Fixed problem which prevented first unit conversion button from being displayed.
Fixed problem which prevented unit conversion buttons working for the initial station conditions.

v2_02 13/05/2012

Added Hungarian language option.
Added a URL parameter to allow selection of a specific map on startup.
Removed the Pan/Zoom functions.
Added a drop down box which allows you to select a specific station on the map to display conditions for.
Added an option to display country/city/town names to allow maps to be better customised.
Added a Management Centre map maintenance function to select the location names to be displayed on map.
Added options to the wmlconfig.xml file to allow the colour/size of the font used for location names and the colour/size of the marker for location names to be defined.
Modified the Management Centre map option that selects stations for display on a map to allow only specific station types to be listed for selection.
Added an extra higher resolution map type to the map generator.
Added an option to make the map image partially transparent.
Modified various Management Centre scripts that download maps to avoid failures with certain web server types.
Modified the map generator script to prevent failed maps stalling the generation queue.
Fixed a problem in the WML client when the temperature icon sometimes faded out to virtually invisible.

v1_04 22/10/2010 Change of name to WeatherMap Live
v1_03 30/07/2006

Changed the <mapN> tag system so that <mapName> replaces the previous <number> system to make it clearer when configuring the Management Centre which map is which.
Added ability to display a logo in any corner of any map.
Fixed some language problems.
Fixed problem with maps with only one station not showing.
Station URL for Metars now generated by WML Flash.
Changed icon priority order.
Amended compass abbreviations for different languages.
Added error checking to windchill and heat index values for wind arrow colour calculation.
Added some code to possibly help with intermittent animation stopping problem.
Fixed problem with individually scaled map icons losing scale settings on zoom.
Added Estonian language option.
Added 'Calm' text when wind is 0.
Small update to add linkType and new index.html file 28/08/2008
Small update to add error information 29/08/2008

v1_02 12/11/2005

Added code to allow selection of the initial map to be displayed using <initMap></initMap> config file parameter.
Added code to allow selection of an initial station to be displayed in the side panel using <initStation></initStation> config file parameter.
Added information to the visible stations list selection screen to show how old the most recent data is for a station.
If the wind speed is zero or undefined no wind arrows will be drawn.
Fixed bug whereby if there was only one station on a map it wouldn't be displayed.
Fixed some language problems.
Station URL for Metars generated internally now.
Changed icon priority order to reflect severity of weather conditions
Amended compass abbreviations for some languages.
Added more error checking to windchill and heat index values for wind arrow colour calculation.
Added some code to possibly help with intermittent animation stopping when map is changed bug.
Fixed problem with individually scaled map icons losing scale settings on zoom.
Screen title now stays in the corner correctly when map is zoomed.
Increased size of station marker dots.
Added Estonian language option.

v1_01 26/06/2005 The first release of WeatherMap Live

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Appendix

1. Flash is a trademark of Adobe Systems Inc.

2. Available from Adobe at http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer

3. Adobe Flash current statistics. You can view the latest figures at http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplatformruntimes/statistics.html

4. Adobe website for Flash is at http://www.adobe.com/products/flash.html

5. wmlconfig.xml configuration tags :

Please take care changing entries in this file. The slightest typo may 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 more common 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, catalan and hungarian.
<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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© Chris McMahon 2012