The Alternative Interface (ai.cmx): Difference between revisions

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== The Alternative Interface ==
[[Category:Cumulus MX]]
 
== Overview ==
 
The Alternative Interface (AI) is currently provided as an '''addition''' to the existing Interface for CumulusMX. At the current time, it should '''NOT''' be used as an alternative. In the near future this may be possible.
 
The default Interface is maintained by Mark and will always provide all the tools needed to manage your installation of your weather station, The '''AI''' can be used as an alternative except immediately after an upgrade that has added new features to the interface as these may not yet be implemented on the AI (although every effort is made to do this).
The AI is built using the same technology as the alternative public website and is intended to be flexible and responsive on all screen resolutions. It is modular and designed so that end users can make changes to the way page content is displayed without too much knowledge of html coding. It comes with themes that allow its colour to be changed to suit your personal preferences and a configuration page so that you can do this easily.
 
In the near future it may replace the existing Interface but this is still under discussion.
The current version is for CumulusMX 3.28.1 and can be downloaded form [https://www.cumuluswiki.org/images/d/d7/AI2.zip AI2 for v3.28.01 build 32693]. Updated December 2023.
'''<big>Important</big>'''
---------
Do NOT use any settings page that include alpaca forms with this release. Full functionality is only available in Version 4. See below.
 
The AI is built using the same technology as the alternative public website and is intended to be flexible and responsive on all screen resolutions. It is modular and designed so that end users can make changes to the way page content is displayed without too much knowledge of html coding. It comes with themes that allow its colour to be changed to suit your personal preferences and a configuration page so that you can do this easily.
====The AI for CumulusMX Version 4====
 
With the beta release of CumulusMX version 4 there is a related beta release of the AI which takes advantage of the features available under .NET8. In this version ALL the features of the included Interface work as expected with some enhancements.
However, as I don't have a full set of additional sensors, I would be grateful for any feedback to ensure that it works correctly in all scenarios. You can download the beta AI4 below:
 
The AI is now included as an option with the main CumulusMX package which is the most up-to-date version. May 5th 2024.
 
=== Installation ===
 
As the AI is now included with CumulusMX, there is no need to download it unless an interim upgrade is provided.
Download the above package and extract it to '''somewhere other than your CumulusMX files'''.
 
The package contains a second zip file and documentation which you should read to understand what it does and what you can do with it.
 
Unzip the second zip file, again away from CumulusMX. This is to ensure that you don't accidentally overwrite critical files in the existing Interface.
 
You should now have a folder called '''ai2'''. This can be copied as is into the Interface folder so that it is a sub-folder of the Interface folder. You can rename the AI2 folder if you wish.
 
To use the AI, you should now use the url: '''localhost:8998/ai2/'''
 
If you renamed the folder then use the new name rather than ''ai2''.
If you access the normal CumulusMX interface from a different computer then use the IP address of the machine running CumulusMX rather than ''localhost''.
If you run CumulusMX through a different port then use that port rather than 8998.
 
If you already have the AI running on your system then please '''don't''' try to merge the two - keep them separate as files will change with each release and this '''will''' cause you issues. Technically you could simply create new folders for each AI release and run any of them in conjunction with the existing Interface.
 
==General Features==
* The Header and Footer can be fixed (default) or scroll, the footer is always at the bottom of the screen when page content is short and always scrolls on small screens.
 
* If you don't use a Davis station directly connected to your system, you will '''not''' see the 'Davis Stats' panel.
 
* The fonts used are fully responsive.
As far as possible, the menu has been split between those pages that simply allow you to view information provided by your weather station and those that allow you to edit them.
 
[[File:Screenshot AICumulusMX Menu 2025-10-26.png|800px|alt=AICurrent CumulusMX Menu|The latestCurrent AICumulusMX Menu]]
 
'''Note''' The link to the default Interface has been moved to the '''''Utilities''''' menu and a new drop-down, called ''''Support'''' has been added to provide access to the Wiki, the Forum and my Wiki.
 
===Viewing Data===
 
[[File:Screenshot Weather Data Menu.png|350px|left|alt=AI Weather Data menu|The mainWeather Data menu]]
[[File:View Menu Screenshot 2025-10-26.png|350px|thumb|left|alt=Viewing your weather data|Viewing your weather data]]
 
====The first three menu items====
These are '''Dashboard''', '''Weather Data''' and '''Extra Sensors'''.
 
The '''Dashboard''' menu item is always visible in both large and small screen, other menu items collapse until you expand the menu with the classic ''hamburger'' item.
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The '''Weather data''' menu, as shown on ththe left, contains links for all other pages that simply allow you to view rather than edit data.
 
The exceptions are for the NOAA reports pages which can still be used to regenerate the currently displayed or all missing reports.
The ''Extra sensors''' menu provides access for any extra sensors that are attached or 'air linked' to your weather station.
 
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===Editing Data===
 
[[File:Screenshot Settings MenuScreenshot 2025-10-26.png|600px|thumb|left|alt=The Settings Menu|The Settings Menu]]
As can be seen in the screenshot on the left, there are four top level menu items to the right of the ''diamond''.
 
These give access to either pagepages that enable you to configure setting for your CumulusMXCMX systemsetting or to editing your weather station data.
 
These are: '''Logs''', '''Settings''', '''Edit''', '''Utilities''' and '''UtilitiesSupport'''.
 
These mirror the same menu items as on the default Interface. One feature of the AI is that the '''''Settings''''' Menu is a drop down panel with columns. On the mobile menu it reduces to two columns. This makes it easier to access all items even on small screens.
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====The Default Interface====
 
===== The Default Interface =====
Access is provided to this via the last top level menu at the extreme right of the menu (just visible in the screenshot). It will open the Interface in a new Window.
This is now accessed using the '''''Utilities''''' drop-down menu.
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==Using the AI Settings Page==
*:The default is None (however, the seagull does still fade in at its default position).
*:You can choose:
*::'''Float''Grow down the screenupwards''''', or
*::'''Slide''Fade across the screenDownwards''''', or
*::'''''Expand diagonally'''''
*:If you chose an animation you can adjust the speed in seconds. Setting this to 0 effectively stops the animation.
*:Regardless of any animation, you can force the seagull to hide behind page content if preferred.
 
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