Cumulus Realtime Gadget

[dane]

Yes, it works on my PC, too.
If you do not have any forecast backgrounds (only a blue window), maybe you did not tell Cumulus to generate forecasts?
(Configuration-->Station: tick mark in lower right hand corner)

You may find that the gadget stops after a while if you are using a local realtime.txt.
I am investigating - have reshuffled the code slightly to prevent this hang. Will update code when/if I find the cause.

[dane]

Warning: do not use the local-file version "for real"!

If you run the gadget with input from a local realtime.txt file, the gadget will run happily for an unpredictable length of time, then hang

Problem: the code hangs in an OpenTextFile(realtime.txt) - and gets stuck.
The OpenTextFile method does not give a return code that might indicate that the file was in use (e.g. being updated by Cumulus) - it simply never returns.

Well - it was fun trying to do this. Too bad Microsoft wouldn't play along

[dane]

Update 2010-07-09 18:45: Code updated. Version no. not changed.

New: site name (the url/path minus the 'realtime.txt' bit) may be shown above the temperature (in color: lime)
Controlled by a new paramter in the settings.ini: sitename = 1. Default: anything else = no site name
(this was an old request (Janter?))

For info: the latest code has been running flawlessly against a local file for about 24 hours now....

The new code is in the first post of this thread.

[Super-T]

Dane
I'm having trouble running the new gadget. Would you be able to post a copy of your settings.ini please? It's probably the way I am trying to read a local realtime.txt on a mapped Z:\realtime.txt. Cumulus directory is mapped as Z:

For some reason it also doesn't recognise the changes in the settings.ini i.e Changed the refresh time to 60 from 10.

Downloaded a fresh gadget and tried again and it now works.
Still not sure how to name it though?

[dane]

Terry,
your settings.ini looks OK to me. So not much point in my sending you another one.

Still not sure how to name it though?

You mean: getting a "sitename" on your gadget display?

"Site name" is simply whatever is in front of the 'realtime.txt' file specification, so in your case, with a "z:realtime.txt" the "sitename" would be "Z:" (...actually "z::" as I apppend a colon...).
The gadget for your website would be:

janter.PNG

[Super-T]

Thanks Dane.
Displays Z:
Perhaps it would be better in this case to display an ascii $ to put in a name? Z: means very little to people on the network.

All seems to work well though. I was sometimes losing the connection when sourcing the Internet realtime so it will be interesting to see how this goes.

Beautiful winters day in Auckland.

[mikeflight]

GREAT Gadget....however I can't seem to get the .ini OR modifications I've made to the index.html to actually show up. I unloaded the gadget, made the changes and then installed the gadget assuming it would install using the changed .ini and .html. It didn't. I don't know where it's getting it's information. I want to eliminate the lime green location ID and do away with the 2nd temp after the slash and don't seem to be able to make any changes that do anything. What am I missing?

[dane]

GREAT Gadget....however I can't seem to get the .ini OR modifications I've made to the index.html to actually show up. I unloaded the gadget, made the changes and then installed the gadget assuming it would install using the changed .ini and .html. It didn't. I don't know where it's getting it's information. I want to eliminate the lime green location ID and do away with the 2nd temp after the slash and don't seem to be able to make any changes that do anything. What am I missing?

You cannot do away with the 2nd temp after the slash - the code always puts something there. You may choose what to put there: the default or any field from realtime.txt, but the code insists that something mustl go there (feel free to modify the code ).
To eliminate the green site name: simply do not specify anything for sitename in settings.ini: delete the line (Defaults is no site name).

[dane]

Correction: if you specify a negative value for temperature2 in the settings.ini, e.g. -49, you will get no slash and no 2nd value.

I unloaded the gadget, made the changes and then installed the gadget assuming it would install using the changed .ini and .html. It didn't.

Where did you make your changes? in the installed files on your c:drive? and then re-installed the gadget on top of them again?
Suggest you make the changes in the installed files:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar\Gadgets\cumulusih.gadget
and just restart the gadget: right-click somewhere on your desktop, select gadgets, and double-click the gadget.

[mikeflight]

Sorry...I guess I jumped too quickly to ask the forum. Figured out that I had to make the changes in the ORIGINAL package from you....THEN install. All is good. THANKYOU

[mikeflight]

The single problem remaining is that the gadget doesn't update. Update set to 60 as is the upload from cumulus. Realtime.txt IS updating on my server but the gadget has stopped reading it apparently. Saw a LONG series of posts early on about this issue but it seemed to be solved. One of the posts said to click on the wrench and then back to the gadget and it would update....which is EXACTLY what happens on mine. The problem is that it won't update automatically. I've tried the rename option and a variety of different timings on the upload from cumulus and the gadget read but no joy in mudville today. Any thoughts?

[dane]

Give me a link to your realtime.txt file, and I'll see if I can re-create...

[blackpoolguy]

This is my first post so hello to everyone.
This gadget is brilliant but I would like it to show the dewpoint value rather than the default windchill value. I've tried editing the setting.ini file within the installed folder and no matter what number I enter or even the negative value it just shows the default windchill value, the other settings do alter the way the gadget runs e.g the update interval.
Hope you can help me out.

[mikeflight]

http://tacflightschool.com/wx/realtime.txt

[dane]

This is my first post so hello to everyone.
This gadget is brilliant but I would like it to show the dewpoint value rather than the default windchill value. I've tried editing the setting.ini file within the installed folder and no matter what number I enter or even the negative value it just shows the default windchill value, the other settings do alter the way the gadget runs e.g the update interval.
Hope you can help me out.

How about this in your settings.ini?:

Code: Select all

temperature2 = 4;   // dew point.         // between 0 and 50, or negative for no 2nd value.