Legacy Cumulus 1 release 1.9.4 (build 1099) - 28 November 2014
(a patch is available for 1.9.4 build 1099 that extends the date range of drop-down menus to 2030)
Download the Software (Cumulus MX / Cumulus 1 and other related items) from the Wiki
OK, here is your chance to contribute gauge page layouts. What I created for version 1 was 'functional', so how would you lay out the gauges to maximise screen space and look 'pretty'
To get you going here is a mockup that includes both UV and Solar Radiation (ignore the background ). Remember you can use any combination of radial and linear gauges, and the sizes do not all have to be the same. Maybe you also want to leave room for a wind direction radar plot?
gauges-1.jpg
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After Trying out the gauges i finally got running with your expert help you then go and show a layout which is just what i was going to ask you about.
I think it looks realy nice and the background is fine by me.
I would be very happy to have a gauge layout like that.
Thank you once again for your help and a donation has been sent to steve like you suggested.
Kind regards Richard
Last edited by hectic on Fri 20 Jan 2012 8:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Thanks chaps, but the purpose of the thread was really to get your great ideas, I was just giving an example. So cut out those gauges in Photoshop, resize, move around, exchange radial/linear and come up with a killer layout!
First - too many gauges! The page(s) look cluttered and, IMHO, make it hard to really find what a user may be looking for (and before you start to gang up on me, remember that YOU are used to this data, and have been playing around with it for a while so you DO lose perspective of what looks god or bad from a USERS POV).
Look at the wind speed and direction gauges as an example. This is perfect for data that relates to each other - speed and direction, so show them on the same gauge - 2 instead of 1. Now, extend this to temperatures. Which are usually talked about together? OPutdoor and apparent immediately come to mind - so why not combine them.
Similarly with rain (amount) and rate. They are so closely linked as to be, almost, the same thing (yes I know they aren't but you can't have one without the other).
The gust and average gauge shows that multiple data lines can be shown together. (In fact if you look at this - why does the example gauge show wind direction and average direciton but the speed ONLY shows (I presume as it isn't stated) current speed??)
Put together the ones I suggested - Temp/app temp; rain and rain rate; wind speed, direction - and you remove 3 extraneous gauges fromthe screen allowing you to show gauges all of the same size without overcrowding your screen.
As I said - I don't use, and not really a fan, of gauges. Reason? They are graphics and graphics are the one thing that can slow down a web page (the number of sites given in links here I have been to that throw images and graphics on screen and then, even though I have cable and ADSL here, the pages slow to a crawl when they are first, being generated and then second, when they have to transfer and load (and remember - creating a graphic (as some sites do) of around 250k and then throwing half a dozen on the page is NOT a good way to attract return traffic or friends).
Obviously some people here will take offence at this post - but take it for what it is worth - constructive criticism. Get it to make you start thinking about HOW you present your data to others. Don;t force unneccesary informaiton, screens or graphics on them and, the bottom line?
K.I.S.S.
(Keep It Simple, Stupid for those that don;t know about the KISS principle).
Stephen
Punctuation is the difference between 'Let's eat, grandma' and 'Let's eat grandma'
Paul - take it any way *you* want - first the KISS principle is a generalised term and has been used for many many years without causing offence (except to those that are too sensitive)
Second - What did you want me to do? Come over all lovey dovey and say how good everything is? The point was to say 'Hey, you have this - how about looking at doing someting else which consolidates what you already have'.
But then again - maybe I shouldn't have bothered. You will find out one day that generally the ONLY feedback authors of any type get is perceived as negative. The problem is, it is usually only negative in the minds of those that want it to be that way - the rest take it for what it is - ieas for elping to improve something.
Punctuation is the difference between 'Let's eat, grandma' and 'Let's eat grandma'
serowe wrote:Oh ffs - if you really find that offensivee that I am really sorry for you.
If you can't understand about trying to conserve screen space then I suggest you just make every data piece a gauge and flood a screen.
surely when you use the abreviation ffs , that is also offensive and is still swearing / using foul language.
I can understand that when writing comments it can be difficult to put a tone of voice with the comment and this can make comments seem offensive.
I have read a few of your posts and you do give some good advice to people and can be very helpful.
I have looked at your website and it is very informative but surely dont you consider it a little overcrowded also?
My comment to you is not a personal attack against you but some of your helpful advice can be a bit to jugular and can be interpreted the wrong way coursing offense to some of us more sensitive people .
serowe, I understand your view on less is more, the other route leads to Weather Display type pages. My view is there is most demand for the middle ground.
A few points:
The base steelseries library is 'reasonably' generic and I don't want to go down the route of specialising it to weather dashboards. So I will resist making multiple pointer gauges etc - now, I have made an exception and created a custom Wind Direction gauge as the existing Compass component didn't really cut it.
The download size is about 92Kb, this is the same whether you create 1 or 20 gauges - there are no graphics involved.
I have tried to make my 'sample' page (the one supplied in the download, not the one above) as 'data dense' as I could. So without multiple pointers the temperature gauge already shows current|todaysMin|todaysMax|trend, the pressure gauge shows current|todaysMin|todaysMax|trend|alltimeLow|alltimeHigh, the wind gauge shows current|10minAvg|10minGust|todaysHighGust etc. etc...
My sample page was intended to be just that, an example that people can take and hack around to their preferences. A few people have done so, but the majority have opted to implement it 'as-is'. That is fair enough, not everyone has the knowledge or time to manipulate it. So my intent on this thread was to solicit ideas on how that sample page might evolve, as it is now it is pretty basic with all the gauges laid out in a grid and uniform size.
That said I think your approach is as valid as any, so why not invest a little effort and show us what your ideal layout would be (given the current constraints of the base library). You never know you may like it so much you decide there is a place for it on your web site!
There is room to supply alternative layouts, what I don't want to happen is that I have to do all the work trying to satisfy everyone!
). Remember you can use any combination of radial and linear gauges, and the sizes do not all have to be the same. Maybe you also want to leave room for a wind direction radar plot?
.
