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{{Template:WorkInProgressBanner}}
Since this page describes a file whose content frequently changes, this page may be out of date, unless somebody bothers to update it for every change.
=Purpose of Cumulus.ini file=
This is a text file containing initialization parameters. {{Template:Version badge Mx}}This page covers those used by the Cumulus MX software
For MX there can only to be one '''Cumulus.ini''' file, and it must be stored in the same folder as the executable "CumulusMX.exe".
* Control what is output to those destinations, to the extent that each can be configured
= Why does this Wiki now contain multiple pages describing "Cumulus.ini"?=
[[Category:Configuration Files]]
# Even more dramatic changes to the MX configuration have been happening since 3.8.0, with the biggest changes at 3.9.2, 3.10.0, and 3.12.0; therefore, <big>the decision was taken to abandon maintaining the page previously called "Cumulus.ini", and start again with a brand new empty page!</big>
All the pages, previously called "Cumulus.ini", can be found from the owning [[:Category:Configuration Files|category]]. The original page was preserved at [[Cumulus.ini_(preserving_history)]] so look there for its editing history. That page also expands on the above summary of why that old page was replaced.
You will also note that this page does not cover all settings in detail, and find some links to further pages within some sections below
==Need to install MX 3.12.0 ==
If you are using Cumulus 1 or a release of MX earlier than 3.12.0, be aware that the content of "Cumulus.ini" is totally different to the file for later MX releases. (It might have been better had the file been given a new name in release 3.12.0).
The way the developer decided to implement it, is that when somebody installs release 3.12.0, any existing "Cumulus.ini" file is renamed, and a new "Cumulus.ini" file is created from scratch, and from then onwards all changes apply to the new file. As 3.12.0 is the only release that can create the replacement file, it is highly recommended that anybody currently using an older release, downloads 3.12.0 from [https://github.com/cumulusmx/CumulusMX/releases/download/b3141/CumulusMXDist3141.zip here] and runs that release for a while before upgrading to the latest release [https://github.com/cumulusmx/CumulusMX here].
== Simplifications ==
The MX software offers much functionality and flexibility. Consequently, it has an extensive set of configuration settings, fortunately apart from the initial settings of model and units (see next sub-section), recent releases have simplified many of the settings for optional features by providing particular selections to affect a whole range of others (for predicted uses), instead of forcing you to individually work through every individual setting.
<big>Please see [[First Run of MX]] for how to set up settings when you first use MX.</big>
==What happens if I upgrade MX?==
As a specific example, release 3.11.0 added emailing capability; that requires quite a lot of new parameters to be added to the file. You could use MX without these new parameters, but the Alarm Settings page would not allow you to click '''Enable''' until you had defined various settings on another Settings page, as well as on this Alarm Settings page.
=Tables listing Settings=
== Alarms (and emails) ==
The Alarm settings seem to frequently be changed by new MX releases, so have been moved to a separate [[Alarms|wiki page]] where hopefully it will be easier for somebody to keep the content updated in future.
==Charts==
|}
==Debugging==
| 0 (disabled)
| This adds extra information about both data transfers initiated from MX, and all the internal MX processes.
|}
| The selections made on this Settings Page sub-section will place the appropriate content in the two parameters in the file
|}
==Optional Report Settings==
* 12 Hour (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini)
|}
* File Section is [NOAA]
Rainfall equivalents of mean temperature described above
==Optional Structured Query Language Settings==
MX uses a software package called "MySqlConnect" to run SQL queries.
Since the text that appeared here was added, documenting plans for the future 3.12.0 release, there have been a number of changes, and now a future release (3.20.0) is expected to make more drastic changes. Therefore the content has been moved to a [[MySqlConnect|new "MySqlConnect" page]] where it is hoped somebody will find it easier to update the content as MX develops.
==Optional Third-party Upload Settings==
==Optional Web Server==
There are two sub-sections below, because the settings for the optional web functionality are split between '''Station Settings''' and '''Internet Settings'''.
=== Display Options controlling what appears on default web pages ===
* File Section is '''[Display]'''
* MX Section is '''Station Settings → Display Options'''
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:30px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:100px" | Introduced
!style="width:60px" | Label on Settings page
!style="width:20px" | Default
!style="width:600px" | Description
|-
| DisplaySolarData=0
| ??? 3.10.0 ???
| Display Solar data
| Unticked (shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini)
| Simple tick or not
* Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) if you want MX to display solar data in tables shown on the [[New_Default_Web_Site_Information|web pages]] provided in [[Webfiles folder|webfiles folder]] (from release 3.10.0 onwards)
* Don't tick (value shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini) if you want MX to suppress the table cells that would display solar data
|-
| DisplayUvData=0
| ??? 3.10.0 ???
| Display UV-I data
| Unticked (shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini)
| Simple tick or not
* Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) if you want MX to display ultra-violet intensity data in tables shown on the [[New_Default_Web_Site_Information|web pages]] provided in [[Webfiles folder|webfiles folder]] (from release 3.10.0 onwards)
* Don't tick (value shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini) if you want MX to suppress the table cells that would display UV intensity data
|-
| NumWindRosePoints=16
| Legacy Cumulus
| Number of wind rose points
| 16
| Drop-down determining if weather station bearing supplied by weather station is to be converted to 8 or 16 compass directions (i.e. whether to include or exclude (in English) NNE, ENE, ESE, SSE, SSW, WSW, WNW, and NNW
* 8 points
* 16 points
Despite what it says in the hint on the settings page, leave at default whichever weather station type you use, unless this actually causes you a problem. The parameter was introduced by Steve Loft. Davis wind vanes use a potentiometer to measure wind direction so send Cumulus a bearing that can vary continuously between 1 and 360 degrees. Fine Offset wind vanes use magnetic switches that depend on the magnet under the moving part selecting two switches in the fixed part for the vane being exactly in-between compass directions, and selecting one switch for the main 8 directions and slightly away from the main directions; so they have a bias against sending Cumulus the in-between directions.
|-
| UseApparent=1
| ??? MX 3.6.0 or 3.10.0 ???
| Use Apparent Temperature
| Ticked (shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini)
| Simple tick or not
* Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) if you want MX to display apparent temperature in tables shown on the [[New_Default_Web_Site_Information|web pages]] provided in [[Webfiles folder|webfiles folder]] (from release 3.10.0 onwards) for consistency with Cumulus prior to release 3.6.0
* Don't tick (value shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini) if you want MX to display feels like temperature in tables shown on the [[New_Default_Web_Site_Information|web pages]] provided in [[Webfiles folder|webfiles folder]] (from release 3.10.0 onwards) for consistency with Cumulus from release 3.6.0
|}
=== File transfer and Copy Options controlling transfer of data to default web pages ===
The settings listed in table below changed dramatically at both 3.10.0 and 3.12.0 releases, but they have gradually evolved throughout the development of MX.
To implement (and customise) this web server functionality, there are many settings as listed alphabetically in this table. The ''Internet settings'' page simplifies making settings by providing selections that amend multiple settings in a bulk operation:
* Some settings (marked ^ in table) are only displayed if you select '''I want to use the supplied default web site'''.
** For these settings, the "Generate" option is enabled in nearly all (see any qualifier) settings
Since MX is being developed by someone who uses a Davis station, a lot of "Labels on the Settings Screens" mention "Davis" even if you have selected a different station, because the code was written by copy and paste!
=== Solar===
Cumulus MX is unable to work out if you have a solar sensor, so these options are always displayed.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:30px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:100px" | File Section
!style="width:100px" | Introduced
!style="width:100px" | MX Section
!style="width:60px" | Label on Settings page
!style="width:20px" | Default
!style="width:800px" | Description
|-
| SolarCalc=0
| [Solar]
| 3.13
| Station Settings → Solar
| Solar Calculation Method
| 0=Ryan-Stololzenbach
| Drop-down list:
* 0=Ryan-Stololzenbach
* 1=Bras
|-
| SunThreshold=75
| [Solar]
| 3.13
| Station Settings → Solar
| Sun Threshold (percent)
| 75
| Enter a number
|-
| SolarMinimum=0
| [Solar]
| 3.13
| Station Settings → Solar
| Solar minimum (W/m2)
| 30
| Enter a number
|-
| RStransfactorJul=0.80000000000000004
| [Solar]
| 3.14
| Station Settings → Solar
| RS Transmission factor (June)
(Note the internal calculation does apply this to June, but some MX releases were incorrectly typed to say "July" on the settings screen).
| 0.8
| MX does a sinusoidal interpolation between this value and the next. So this June factor changes very little either side of that solstice, with the average value from both factors applying at the equinoxes (March and September) and different amounts of each factor each side of equinox. (So actually more like a cosine interpolation!)
|-
| RStransfactorDec=0.80000000000000004
| [Solar]
| 3.14
| Station Settings → Solar
| RS Transmission factor (December)
| 0.8
| MX does a sinusoidal interpolation between last value and this one. So this December factor changes very little either side of that solstice, with the average value from both factors applying at the equinoxes (March and September) and different amounts of each factor each side of equinox. (So actually more like a cosine interpolation!)
|-
| UseBlakeLarsen=0
| [Solar]
| Legacy
| Extra Sensor Settings
| Blake-Larsen Sunshine Recorder
| 0=deselected
| checkbox
|}
===Selecting the weather station type determines which options are shown===
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
* Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) then Cumulus will calculate wind chill from temperature and wind speed
** Note that there is a maximum temperature, and minimum wind speed, for Cumulus to make the calculation, see [[Wind_chill]] page
* Don't tick (value shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini) action depends on
** If Cumulus has non-default multiplier and/or offset settings for temperature or wind speed, Cumulus will calculate wind chill
** If station does NOT make a wind chill value available to Cumulus, Cumulus MX reports an error if you have not ticked this setting, (that is different to how the setting worked with the legacy software).
** If station provides wind chill, then that value will be used provided no multiplier/offsets have been specified for temperature or wind speed.
|-
| ChillHourSeasonStart=
| Legacy Cumulus
| Chill Hours
| Chill Season Starts
| Default depends on release
* (up to 3.11.4) 10 = October
| ChillHourThreshold=
| Legacy Cumulus
| Chill Hours
| Chill Hours
| Default depends on Temperature Units
* Either 45 degrees Fahrenheit (equivalent to 7.22 <sup>o</sup>Celsius)
| Humidity98Fix=0
| Legacy Cumulus
| Common Options
| Max humidity
| 0 (disable)
| For any weather station that never reports a relative humidity greater than 98%
| RainDayThreshold=
| Legacy Cumulus
| Common Options → Advanced Options
| Rain day threshold
| Default is -1 which depends on Rainfall Units AND station type
* -1 = normally 0.2 if units are millimetres
* -1 = normally 0.01 if units are inches
* Otherwise enter a value in your selected units
| For derivatives like count of consecutive wet/dry days, any daily rainfall less than this threshold will be ignored.
| Rounding of wind speed
| 0 (no)
| Simple tick or not, (only applicable if any reported wind speed would otherwise include decimal places):
* Tick (value shown as 1 in Cumulus.ini) then
* Don't tick (value shown as 0 in Cumulus.ini) then
|-
| SunshineHrsDecimals=2
| Select a number of decimal places to overwrite the default
|-
| WindSpeedAvgDecimals=
| Release 3.8.3
| Units → Advanced Options (Here be dragons!)
| Wind speed average decimals
|
| Select a number of decimal places to overwrite the default. (NOTE: If the weather station does not provide an average wind speed, or if the user requires a change of units from how the weather station reports it, then CMX will calculate it to 1 decimal place by default; otherwise average wind speed will default to integer, or to one decimal place, depending how it is provided by the station).
|-
| WindSpeedDecimals=
| Release 3.8.3
| Units → Advanced Options (Here be dragons!)
| Wind speed average decimals
|
| Select a number of decimal places to overwrite the default which depends both on the weather station type and what units have been selected by user (speeds are normally reported as integers unless metres per second are reporting unit, because most sensors are not precise enough to give any decimal places in other units)
|-
| WindUnit=0
| (displayed as blank)
| Enter a 4 digit year:
* Legacy Releases (1.7.12 from 5 July 2008) and MX up to 3.11.4 (build 3133 from 25 May 2021): The year-to-date amount in previous parameter is added to the current (seasonal) rain if the year specified in this parameter matches the current year.
** If your rain season starts in January (default) then set this to the calendar year when you first use Cumulus (in a particular location).
** If your rain year starts in any other month, set this to
* From Release 3.12.0 (
|}
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