FAQ and Cumulus.ini (preserving history): Difference between pages

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[[Category: Configuration_Files]]
The Cumulus FAQ (consult also the Help screens within Cumulus software, and the wiki)
= Initial Configurations =
The main cumulus.ini [[:Category:Configuration Files| configuration file]] is located in the directory in which you installed Cumulus.exe. It is a text file containing initialization parameters used by the Cumulus application, and is read only when Cumulus starts up. Cumulus re-writes the contents of the application configuration screens to the file when it shuts down.
 
A second cumulus.ini may be stored in the reports sub-directory, this only contains a [[#Section:_MainForm|single section]] and relates to the screen used for NOAA reports.
 
The parameters listed can change the look of Cumulus, hold basic information about your location, amend the way Cumulus interfaces with your weather station, and hold the settings used to interface with your website and various external websites.
= Installing and Running Cumulus =
 
If you are using an old version, then checking the release information may be advisable to identify the sections applicable to your build and the parameters allowed within those sections may be a subset of those listed below.
== What operating systems does Cumulus run on? ==
= File Structure =
The main file consists of a number of sections, each with a heading delimited by '[ ]', (although the order in the file may be different to that in this article). Parameter lines are in the form 'attribute=value' and grouped by those sections.
 
Some [[#Sections_dealing_with_interfaces_to_external_sites|sections]] relate to the external websites that Cumulus can optionally supply with updates. These are set by configuration screens and the whole sections will always be present. If you do not use those external services their parameters will be set to the defaults.
All versions of Windows from XP to Windows 8.1 inclusive (and the server versions). It works on 32 bit and 64 bit editions. It may also work on Windows 2000, but this is not supported. You will probably not be able to get it to work on Windows 2000 with a Fine Offset station.
 
Each new version of cumulus may add additional parameters set by revised configuration screens (these initially appear at the end of the relevant section), and/or permit additional parameters to be added manually (these can be inserted anywhere within the section).
== Where do I find the Cumulus installer? ==
On the [http://sandaysoft.com/downloads downloads page]
 
== Beta builds ==
== What do I need to get right when first getting Cumulus? ==
If you are using a beta build, there may be changes to the information shown below with additional sections and/or additional parameters (attribute=value) under test. Brief details of such changes will be given in the support forum annoucement for the relevant build. New sections and/or attributes and/or values for beta versions of Cumulus are not listed here until the version becomes 'live' however there is a [[Cumul.ini_(Beta)|page]] that details the additional parameters available in the Beta version once they have become established, but for details of beta tests see [http://sandaysoft.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=2 the forum].
The installation process for Cumulus displays '''readme.txt''', that has many tips. See also [[Setup]]. Below are three key points.
= Editing the file =
# Install Cumulus in its own directory directly under a drive root.
# Connect your weather station before you start Cumulus
# When you first run Cumulus, it displays the '''Station settings''' screen. On this, make sure you pick the right sort of station (to ensure Cumulus communicates correctly with your weather station, and can identify all the observations) and choose your '''units''' wisely. (Changing units later means all stored Lowest and highest numbers up to that point have to be converted immediately manually). See the '''Help''' for information about the rest of the screen, but generally you can easily adjust the other options later.
 
== Initialisation ==
== What weather stations does Cumulus work with? ==
When Cumulus is run for the very first time, the ''Station settings'' screen within the '''Configuration''' menu is displayed, so that the basic minimum settings can be entered into Cumulus.ini. Should you accidentally delete Cumulus.ini this would happen again, so it is always best to take a backup of the complete Cumulus directory and sub-directories so nothing is lost in such a situration.
 
See [[Setup]] for further advice, noting in particular that some settings (such as units, date/time formats) should stay unchanged.
*Davis Vantage Pro (VP), Vantage Pro2 (VP2), and Vue.
== Settings controlled by application ==
*Oregon Scientific WM918, WMR918, WMR928, WMR968, WMR88 (see [[FAQ#How do I set up recording wind speeds in Cumulus, with Oregon Scientific and La Crosse stations | this FAQ]]), WMR100, WMR180, WMR200.
Many configuration parameter lines are changed from the various application edit, view, or configuration screens, and so making any amendments using those screens should ensure your replacement values are acceptable. You should never edit these parameter lines directly in the file ''while Cumulus is running'', as when Cumulus shuts down it will replace your amendments to these parameters with the contents of the relevant application Edit/View/Configuration screens.
*Fine Offset - stations which use the Easyweather software such as MyDEL, Nevada, Watson and Fine Offset, with model numbers such as WH1080, WH1081, W8681, 265NC etc.
*La Crosse WS2300 range (see [[FAQ#How do I set up recording wind speeds in Cumulus, with Oregon Scientific and La Crosse stations | this FAQ]]). You may have problems with corrupt data if you use a WS23xx with a serial/USB adapter; this combination is therefore not supported.
 
For a more complete list see the [[Supported Devices]] page.
 
''You can edit them in the file with Cumulus stopped'', but beware of selecting invalid values for these parameters, generally it is safer to use the application to edit them (unless you are importing values from another setup), and Cumulus will read the new values when it is next restarted.
== Will you support a new weather station type? ==
== Settings independent of application ==
Some configuration settings can only be applied by editing this file to insert a new parameter line; they do not appear anywhere in the configuration screens. Cumulus does not write these values back out to the file on shut down, so they do not appear with default values - in other words, you need to ''add'' them if you want to set them. Make sure you place these additional parameters in the correct section as listed below.
=== Editing outside Cumulus ===
*It is best to take a copy of the existing cumulus.ini file before you make any changes (either by using application screens or by editing the file), so you can return to the original if necessary.
*If your system is configured to use a comma for a decimal separator, then you should use a comma in any decimal values that you set in this file.
*You should use a text editor (not a rich text editor nor word processor) to edit this file as only letters, numerical digits, decimal separators and the equals symbol are allowed in any parameter. If you use a spreadsheet program to make use of the manipulation it offers, ensure it is set to output in pure text.
*The parameter lines (attribute=value) can be in any order, but must be in the correct section. You might find it helpful to sort the attributes within a section into alphabetical order, to ''ensure you have no duplicates'' and to make it easier to find the particular parameter line you may wish to edit in the future.
 
= File Contents =
It’s quite hard to support a particular weather station when I don’t have access to one. No weather station is perfect, and problems inevitably arise after the code is written, and I have to start adding more and more code to work around issues with the station. Also, most companies don’t seem to like third parties writing software for their stations, so don’t make the protocol available. I will only consider adding support for a station under a certain set of circumstances which would include ''at least'':
== Introduction ==
The entries shown in the 'parameter line entry' column include the default value from the configuration screen where applicable, a typical example value where appropriate, or just the attribute and an equals sign where there is no typical value.
 
== Section: Station ==
*A significant donation towards Cumulus development
See individual parameters for specific instructions on setting them. In many cases this is by using Station Configuration Screen, but if the parameter line does not exist in your file, then insert it using a file editor as per instructions above.
*A well documented official protocol spec
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
*Loan or donation of a station
|-
*Access to technical support from the station manufacturer
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Station]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section name - the following parameters relate to the station configuration.
|-
|Type=-1
|Station Type as set by the checked radio box in the [[Cumulus_Screenshots#Configuration_Menu_Screens|Station Configuration Screen]], Station Type block. For details of [[Supported_Devices]] click that link.
*0=Vantage Pro
*1=Vantage Pro2
*2=WMR-928
*3=WM-918
*4=[[EasyWeather_Format#Usage_of_easyweather.dat_fields_for_Cumulus_input_of_latest_record: |EasyWeather]] (using .dat file)
'''NOTE:''' You can also use ''Type=4'' if you want to run Cumulus without a weather station attached, to view historical observations. A full set of (historic) files in the ''data'' subfolder copied from a system with a weather station attached is needed, but in this case, the [[#Introduced_for_problems_with_Fine_Offset_family| EWFile= ]] attribute should be at its default of not having any filename value.
*5=Fine Offset/Watson/MyDel etc (without solar measurement sensors (with or without solar recharging))
*6=WS2300
*7=Fine Offset/Watson/MyDel etc with Solar Sensors
*8=[[WMR100-200_Protocol|WMR100]]
*9=[[WMR100-200_Protocol|WMR200]]
*10=Instromet (with optional extra solar sensors or without)
|-
|Model="your Model description"
|The weather station model description - you choose what text appears for this on (from version 1.9) 'Display' settings screen within Configuration menu - the field is at the bottom left of that screen).
|-
|Port=0
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block. Com port in your computer which is connected to your weather station if connected via a serial port. Defaults to port 0.
|-
|Latitude=0
|You are advised ''not'' to directly edit this parameter in the file, but to type Latitude (unsigned) Degrees, Minutes, Seconds and select 'N' or 'S' in the Station Configuration Screen Location block. Value in this parameter is Latitude in Decimal Degrees based on what you have entered, Positive for North, Negative for South
|-
|Longitude=0
|You are advised ''not'' to directly edit this parameter in the file, but to type Longitude (unsigned) Degrees, Minutes, Seconds and select 'E' or 'W' in the Station Configuration Screen Location block. Value in this parameter is Longitude in Decimal Degrees based on what you have entered, Positive for East, Negative for West
|-
|LatTxt=
|You are advised ''not'' to directly edit this parameter in the file, but to type Latitude Degrees, Minutes, Seconds in the Station Configuration Screen Location block. Latitude in text string format of hemisphere D, M and S. HTML ampersand codes are used for spaces and unit characters.
|-
|LonTxt=
|Longitude in text string format of hemisphere degrees, minutes and seconds. HTML ampersand codes are used for spaces and DMS characters.
|-
|Altitude=0
|your station altitude (default is zero) as entered in the Station Configuration Screen Location block. See Cumulus Help for that screen. See next parameter to choose unit.
|-
|AltitudeInFeet=1
|Altitude measurement unit for value in previous parameter is set in the Station Configuration Screen Location block.
*0 = metres Above Sea Level
*1 = feet ASL
|-
|PeakGustMinutes=N
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. This line can be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini.
*With this parameter, N is the number of minutes over which Cumulus calculates its highest wind gust.
*Without this parameter, the default of 10 minutes, the international standard duration, is used.
*If you select 60, then Cumulus would calculate rolling 60-minute highest wind gust speeds.
*To be in line with met stations in Cz, select 30.
|-
|AvgSpeedMinutes=N
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. This line can be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini, if you have set the next parameter so that Cumulus does its own calculation of average wind speed.
*With this parameter, N is the number of minutes over which Cumulus calculates its average speed, if you have Cumulus set to do this with the next parameter enabled.
*Without it, the default of 10 minutes, the international standard duration, is used if Cumulus is set to calculate average wind speeds.
*If you selected 60, then Cumulus would calculate rolling 60-minute average wind speeds.
*To be in line with ASOS stations in USA, select 2.
|-
|Wind10MinAverage=0
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
*0 = Disabled (default), Cumulus will display the value supplied by the station. This is a 10 minute average for Davis stations, but an average over a shorter period for Oregon Scientific and Fine Offset stations, see [[FAQ#Cumulus_is_showing_a_different_wind_speed_compared_to_my_console]].
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will calculate and display a N-minute average wind speed where N is defined by the previous parameter if present, otherwise defaults to 10, the international standard duration used to calculate average wind speeds.
|-
|UseSpeedForAvgCalc=0
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
*0 = Disabled (default), Cumulus will display the average wind speed value supplied by the station, see [[FAQ#Cumulus_is_showing_a_different_wind_speed_compared_to_my_console]].
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will use the longer-term 'speed' values in the average speed calculation. The preceding 'Wind10MinAverage' option must be enabled for this parameter to have any effect.
Note that there isn't really any point enabling this option for Davis stations, as their 'longer-term speed' is a 10 minute average anyway; neither for La Crosse stations, as they only supply one wind speed anyway.
|-
|RoundWindSpeed=0
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
*0 = Disabled (default), Cumulus will display the wind speed value to the precision used by the station.
*1 = Enabled, this setting causes wind speeds to be rounded to the nearest integer.
|-
|AvgBearingMinutes=N
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. This line can be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini, with this parameter N is the number of minutes over which Cumulus calculates (by treating the wind as a vector and taking into account the speed as well as direction) its average bearing. Without it, the default = 10. See next parameter for behavoir when calm.
|-
|UseZeroBearing=0
|Set this in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
*0 = Disabled, Cumulus displays the current bearing read from the station (i.e. the last direction the wind was blowing from before it became calm). Note that the average wind bearing will always display zero bearing if there has been no wind for the last N minutes (where N is defined by previous parameter if present but defaults to 10), as the average bearing takes wind speed into account.
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus display a bearing of zero (and '---' for the compass point) when the wind is calm
|-
|CalculatedDP=0
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
*0 = Disabled, Cumulus will display the dew point value supplied by the station.
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will calculate the dew point instead. This avoids the restriction in the Oregon Scientific stations where the dew point can never be below freezing point.
|-
|CalculatedWC=0
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will calculate the wind chill instead of using the value supplied by the station. You should set this if you have specified any calibration values for wind and/or temperature, so that Cumulus can also apply those adjustments to the wind chill.
Note that some stations (Fine Offset, for example), do not make a wind chill value available to Cumulus. For these, Cumulus always calculates it.
|-
|UseWindChillCutOff=1
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. Purpose is to disable 'calculate [[Wind chill]] only if temperature less than 10°C rule'.
*0 = Disabled, Cumulus will use wind speed to determine the wind chill ignoring the temperature criterion
*1 = Enabled (default), Cumulus will use both temperature and wind speed criterions to determine if wind chill applies.
Note if your station is a type that supplies wind chill to Cumulus; that ''CalculatedWC=1'' is needed for this setting to have any effect [i.e. you need to set Cumulus (see parameter directly above) to calculate the wind chill as this setting cannot change how your weather station calculates wind chill].
|-
|ChillHourThreshold=45
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. The temperature threshold is specified in the units that you use in Cumulus (see [[Heat/cold_degree_days_and_Chill_hours]])
|-
|ChillHourSeasonStart=10
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. The season start figure is the calendar month number (1 to 12)
|-
|RolloverHour=0
|Log roll over time as selected on the Station Configuration Screen
*0 = midnight
*9 = 9am/10am
|-
|Use10amInSummer=1
|Daylight saving correction for 9am roll over
*0 = Use 9am in summer (use 10am not checked on Station Configuration Screen)
*1 = Use 10am in summer selected on Station Configuration Screen
|-
|SnowDepthHour=9
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini, it is the [[Weather_Diary|Snow lying/falling]] roll over time (time when yesterday's values in log.xml are forgotten) - Allowed values are 0 to 23 and represent the time to the nearest hour that snow depth measurements are taken.
*0 = midnight (default)
*9 = 9am,
*13 = 1pm etc.
Note this time is independent of your rollover time selections in the two preceding parameters.
|-
|WarnMultiple=0
|Set as 'Stop 2nd instance' in the Station Configuration Screen Program Settings block. Controls behavoir for Multiple Instances of Cumulus running on PC. Requires a Cumulus restart if value toggled, before new behavoir will take effect.
*0 = Disabled, (default) Multiple instances allowed.
*1 = Enabled, prevents multiple instances of Cumulus from running.
|-
|ConfirmClose=0
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Program Settings block. Toggles Confirmation you wish to close Cumulus application after telling it to close
*0 = Disabled, application will close immediately
*1 = Enabled, application will prompt for confirmation that you wish to close it (do not use this if you might suspend/standby/hibernate your computer)
|-
|CloseOnSuspend=1
|If this is selected, in the Station Configuration Screen Program Settings block, Cumulus will close if you suspend/standby/hibernate your computer. You should not select the previous parameter 'ConfirmClose' if you use this option.
*0 = Disabled, application will not close if you suspend/standby/hibernate your computer (it is highly recommended you close Cumulus manually before your computer is put into suspend/standby/hibernate state)
*1 = Enabled, application will close on suspend/standby/hibernate of your computer (recommended if your computer can go into any of these states when left alone)
|-
|DataLogInterval=2
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen [[Cumulus_Screenshots#Station|Data log interval]] block on the right hand side and defines frequency of logged information in the [[Monthly_log_files]] and, when applicable, in [[Extra_Sensor_Files]].
*0 = 1 min
*1 = 5 mins
*2 = 10 mins (default)
*3 = 15 mins
*4 = 20 mins
*5 = 30 mins
Notes:
*For a Davis station set to match your station logging interval. (Otherwise you may activate the 'feature' in the Davis stations where they send the entire contents of the data logger when Cumulus asks for the data since it was last running). See Readme.txt.
*For some station Types, Cumulus only reads latest readings while it is running, and missing station readings are not captured if Cumulus is restarted.
*For other makes as ''Cumulus on restarting is able (see next parameter) to read logged data from your station'' you can choose to match Cumulus and station logging intervals, then the frequency of logged information will be same regardless of whether Cumulus is running continuously or restarted.
*Some Cumulus users set this Cumulus logging interval to be one of the two shorter times so they retain the maximum measurement detail in case of any need to correct rogue measurements, but have set their station logging interval at a longer time so that the station does not overwrite the memory locations over the longest period they might be away. In this case, the frequency of logged information will change between the periods Cumulus is running and the catch-up readings from station logger when it is restarted.
|-
|UseDataLogger=1
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
*0 = Disabled, at start-up, Cumulus will not download data from the station's data logger (if it has one) but just start with next observations.
*1 = Enabled (Default), at start-up Cumulus will download data from the station's data logger (if it has one) to catch up from the point where Cumulus was last shut down. See last parameter for advice re station logging interval.
|-
|WindUnit=0
|[[Wind_measurement#Wind_Speed|Wind speed measurement unit]] Cumulus records in as selected in the Station Configuration Units block
*0 = m/s
*1 = mph
*2 = km/h
*3 = kts
These are the labels that Cumulus applies on its screens and web pages, most weather stations work in one unit (e.g. dm/s for Fine Offset) and so the values are converted to any of the 4 listed during processing
|-
|PressureUnit=0
|[[Pressure_Measurement]] unit Cumulus records in (as selected in the Station Configuration Units block)
*0 = mb
*1 = hPa
*2 = in
These are the labels that Cumulus applies on its screens and web pages, most weather stations work in one unit (e.g. hPa for Fine Offset) and so the values are converted to any of the 3 listed during processing
|-
|RainUnit=0
|[[Rain_measurement]] unit Cumulus records in (as selected in the Station Configuration Units block)
*0 = mm
*1 = in
These are the labels that Cumulus applies on its screens and web pages, most weather stations work in one unit (e.g. dm for Fine Offset) and so the values are converted to either of the 2 listed during processing
|-
|TempUnit=0
|[[Temperature_(and_humidity)_measurement#Temperature_Scales|Temperature measurement unit]] Cumulus records in (as selected in the Station Configuration Units block)
*0 = Celsius
*1 = Fahrenheit
These are the labels that Cumulus applies on its screens and web pages, most weather stations work in one unit (e.g. for Fine Offset a positive integer (a 12bit value) that uses 0 at -40 degrees Celsius/Fahrenheit and 500 at 10 degrees Celsius/50 degrees Fahrenheit; i.e. you get the actual temperature in Celsius by subtracting 400 and dividing by 10) and so the values are converted to either of the 2 listed during processing
|-
|LocName=
|Location Name (as entered on the Station Configuration Screen)
|-
|LocDesc=
|Location Description (as entered on the Station Configuration Screen)
|-
|StartDate=13/08/2009
|This parameter is automatically inserted into cumulus.ini and given a value when Cumulus is first run. By default this will be set to the date of initial installation of the Cumulus application. See [[FAQ#I_have_inserted_pre-Cumulus_data_making_.27Records_began_on.27_date_wrong]]
|-
|LastLoggerDownload=13/08/2008 12:48:52
|The date/time of the last down load from your weather station '''(note: no longer used, so only present if you used an earlier Cumulus version)'''; see [[Webtags#Miscellaneous|
<#LastDataReadT>]] and [[Today.ini|Timestamp]] for similar functionality
|-
|RainSeasonStart=1
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
The month (1 to12) of the year that is used as the start of the annual 'rain season'. Default = 1 = January.
|-
|YTD[[FAQ#My_monthly_and.2For_annual_rainfall_totals_are_wrong|rain]]=0
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block. Year to date correction if starting part way through rainfall year (see previous parameter). Value is entered in your current [[Rain_measurement]] units. Default is 0.
|-
|YTDrainyear=0
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block. The year for which the previous parameter (YTDrain) is to be applied. Default is 0 meaning not applied to any year.
|-
|RainDayThreshold=-1
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. The threshold value which the daily rainfall has to equal or exceed for the day to be considered a 'rain day'. Default -1 = 0.2mm or 0.01in. Value is entered in your current [[Rain_measurement]] units.
|-
|NoFlashWetDryDayRecords=1
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. When set to 1 stops new Longest Wet/Dry Period records being 'flashed'
|-
|UseCumulusForecast=0
|From the Station Configuration Screen Forecast block, if selected Cumulus will generate a simple weather forecast, if your station does not supply one, or as an alternative to the one supplied by your station. See the [[Forecast webtag]] for more information. See next parameter for interval between forecast updates.
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled
|-
|HourlyForecast=0
|From the Station Configuration Screen Forecast block 'update hourly' parameter, applies only if Cumulus is set (see previous parameter) to generate a forecast (see [[FAQ#My_forecast_says_.22Not_available.22]]),
*0 = Disabled, (default) Cumulus will use Zambretti Forecaster every time it updates the web pages.
*1 = Enabled, this setting causes the forecast to be updated only once an hour (on the hour).
|-
|UseCumulusPresstrendstr=0
|Set in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block. If selected Cumulus will generate the name for the current pressure trend, e.g. "Falling", "Rising quickly" etc, instead of the one supplied by your station. The names used are those in the UK Shipping Forecast. Note that some stations do not supply this anyway, so setting this has no effect (Cumulus always generates the names for those stations).
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|FCpressinMB=1
|Forecast pressure unit as selected in Station Configuration Forecast block
*0 = inches
*1 = mb
|-
|FClowpress=950
|Low Pressure extreme limit as entered in the Station Configuration Forecast block. Default is 950mb
|-
|FChighpress=1050
|High Pressure extreme limit as entered in the Station Configuration Forecast block. Default is 1050mb
|-
|CloudBaseInFeet=1
|Cloud base measurement unit as selected in the display screen within configuration menu
*0 = metres
*1 = feet (default)
|-
|RTdisconnectcount=N
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. By default, the 'realtime' ftp connection stays connected. You can make it disconnect periodically by adding an Option to periodically disconnect the realtime FTP connection, the theory being that it will not get stuck if the server dies, and will keep trying to reconnect.
N must be a positive integer. For example set N to '60'; it represents the number of realtime ftp uploads between disconnections - so 60 would give an hour if 1 minute realtime interval selected.
|-
|Logging=1
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. Add to cumulus.ini [Station] section to have Cumulus start with [[debug]] logging on
|-
|ListWebTags=1
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. Add this entry to make Cumulus create (each time it is restarted) a file called webtags.txt that contains an unsorted list of all the webtags that Cumulus supports
|-
|ErrorLogSpikeRemoval=0
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. ??keeps the number of messages in the error log window to a maximum of 256?
|-
|UVdecimals=0
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen.
UV values are now displayed and logged as whole numbers by default. You can change this by adding this entry specifying the number of decimal places. (added 1.9.3 build 1038)
*0 = Integer Values (default)
*n = Number of decimal places e.g. 1
|-
|NoSensorCheck=1
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen.
The option (for 'incomplete' stations) to disable the sensor check described in this [http://wiki.sandaysoft.com/a/FAQ#Cumulus_isn.27t_performing_periodic_tasks.2C_like_data_logging_or_web_uploads FAQ]
*0 = Sensor check enabled (default)
*1 = Sensor check disabled
|}
 
==== Davis family specific: ====
Please contact me if you would like to discuss this further
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Station]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section name - the following parameters relate to the station configuration.
|-
|DavisRainCollectorModel=X
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. (Available from Build 1096 of version 1.9.4)
Option to specify rain collector model for Davis stations for situations where the Davis DLL is unable to read it from station, and your rain figures in Cumulus are incorrect as a result (can happen when using Virtual VP, for example).
Value X is an integer from 0 to 5 with the following meanings:
*0 = 0.1 inch
*1 = 0.01 inch
*2 = 0.2 mm
*3 = 1 mm
*4 = 'other' inch
*5 = 'other' mm
|-
|ForceVPBarUpdate=0
|Set this in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block. Select to force the Vantage Pro (and Pro2) barometer to update once a minute instead of the default 15 minutes. Note that you may not need this, more recent stations already update every minute
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|SyncDavisClock=0
|Set this in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block where called '''Synchronize station clock'''.
When set, at Cumulus start-up and at 04:00 each day, Cumulus will set the Davis VP/VP2 clock to within a minute of the same time as the PC
*0 = Disabled, default as deselected on the Station Configuration Screen
*1 = Enabled, ensures that when Cumulus asks the station for data since time X, both recognise X!
|-
|VP2ConnectionType=0
|Weather station connection type as selected in the Station Configuration Screen VP type block
*0 = serial
*1 = usb
*2 = TCP/IP
|-
|VP2TCPPort=22222
|Set this in the Station Configuration Screen VP2 TCP/IP Settings block. Comunications port used if VP type has TCP/IP selected. Default is 2222
|-
|VP2IPAddr=0.0.0.0
|Set this in the Station Configuration Screen VP2 TCP/IP Settings block. Weather station IP address if VP type has TCP/IP selected. Default is 0.0.0.0
|-
|VP2SleepInterval=x
|where x is sleepinterval in milliseconds.
This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. See note in ''readme.txt'' about VP2SleepInterval - in current release it is around line 50. This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. See [[FAQ#My_Davis_station_shows_a_higher_maximum_wind_speed_than_Cumulus]]
This is the period which Cumulus waits between reads of the data from Davis stations. The default is 500 ms; if you suspect that data is being missed, you could try reducing this figure. For VirtualVP users, tests revealed that VP2SleepInterval = 1100 seems to work the best. It updates every two seconds with few exceptions.
|-
|VPClosedownTime=x
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen. x is the number of seconds after the start of the re-connect attempts that you want the program to close itself (added v.1.8.5 b.726).
|-
|VP2PeriodicDisconnectInterval=0
|Set this in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block with the ''Discon period'' value. Causes Cumulus to disconnect for the specified number of seconds, once a minute, on the minute (or as close as possible) to allow the Weatherlink IP to connect to the Davis Weatherlink site. Set it to zero to disable, if you are not using the Weatherlink site.
|-
|DavisCalcAltPress=1
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen.
Davis stations calculate Sea Level Pressure from Station Pressure using a formula based on several parameters such as temperature, humidity, etc, rather than just using altitude as most other stations. CWOP require 'Altimeter Pressure' to be uploaded, i.e. a value calculated simply using altitude. The station does not provide this value directly, nor the station pressure, so Cumulus has to read some extra data once a minute in order to do the calculation. This can take several seconds, so it means that a 'normal' data reading may be missed.
 
If you don't use CWOP, or you are happy for Cumulus to send Sea-Level pressure to CWOP (the difference is small unless you are at high altitude), set this value to 0.
== How do I request a new feature for Cumulus? ==
Cumulus will then use the Sea-Level Pressure value instead of the Cumulus calculated Altimeter Pressure.
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled (default)
|-
|LogExtraSensors=0
|This is set in the settings frame on the Station settings screen off the configuration menu. Set this to 1 if you have additional sensors (e.g. a Davis Leaf Wetness probe) to make Cumulus read, display, and log the readings from the sensors. You don't need to select this for Solar/UV sensors..
|-
|RestartIfDataStops=0
|This parameter (attribute=value) is added directly to the file, it does not appear on a configuration screen.
Davis stations can use this option explained in the [[#La_Crosse_specific:|La Crosse]] table if Cumulus sometimes fails to read information from the logger. As it says in the help, it may not fix the connection problem, but at least it stops Cumulus logging, so once you have fixed the problem it will download the missing data when you start it up again.
|}
 
====Introduced for problems with Fine Offset family:====
Please create an [http://sandaysoft.com/forum/tracker.php enhancement request].
*These parameters apply to Fine Offset stations and their clones, but a few may be more widely applicable
*Some parameters are set on screens, other attributes do not appear in the file unless they are added using an external editor, but the values still have a recommended default value as explained below.
*As Cumulus does not check station type before applying any of these settings, ensure for Davis stations (these do not have spike problems) the spike removal filters are set to the defaults shown below.
*However, spike removal correction may be implemented for La Crosse stations using the EW filter settings below.
*Stations not recognised by Cumulus ''may'' be set to create an [[EasyWeather_Format#Usage_of_easyweather.dat_fields_for_Cumulus_input_of_latest_record: |EasyWeather_Format]] file requiring the first two parameters below.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Station]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section name - the following parameters relate to the station configuration.
|-
|EWInterval=0
|This parameter is entered in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
*0= Default, meaning not applicable
*n= any integer representing Easyweather logging interval in minutes (used for reading latest observations from [[EasyWeather_Format#Usage_of_easyweather.dat_fields_for_Cumulus_input_of_latest_record: |Easyweather]] software output).
|-
|EWFile=
|This is set in the settings frame on the Station settings screen off the configuration menu.
*(attribute and equals sign, but no value)= Default (Station '''Type''' ''not'' set to 4)
*[[EasyWeather_Format#Usage_of_easyweather.dat_fields_for_Cumulus_input_of_latest_record: |Easyweather.dat or EasyWeatherPlus.dat]] file path/name as entered in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
'''Note:''' If you want to run Cumulus without an attached weather station (because your station has a fault or because you have a second PC), it is possible to run Cumulus with station '''Type=4''' but with the default of no file specified in this parameter. The full directory structure and its files including those in the ''data'' sub-directory are needed (kept from when your station was working or copied from the PC with the station).
|-
|LogExtraSensors=0
|This is set in the settings frame on the Station settings screen off the configuration menu.
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled; Use if you a) have Fine Offset models (generally those [[EasyWeather_Format#Note_on_Models|models 3xyz]]) with Solar/UV sensors, b) '''Type=4''' set in that parameter (see top of [station] section), and c) '''EWFile='''''path'''''/EasyWeatherPlus.dat''' set in previous parameter. Only relevant if '''all these''' conditions met.
|-
|RestartIfUnplugged=0
|This is set in the settings frame on the Station settings screen off the configuration menu.
*0 = Disabled, default i.e. deselected on the Station Configuration Screen
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will restart if it detects that a Fine Offset station is unplugged.
|-
|EWdisablecheckinit=0
|Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section if application gets stuck when Cumulus starts up connected to a Fine Offset (clone) station (added Cumulus version 1.9.2, build 1011).
*0 = Disabled, default, it checks the first two bytes of the Fine Offset station's memory.
*1 = Ignores part of memory (see [[FAQ#When_I_start_Cumulus.2C_I_get_the_error_message_.22The_station_is_not_initialised.22]])
|-
|EWduplicatecheck=0
|Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section if application gets stuck in the download stage.
Introduced in version 1.8.5 (b.630) to deal with certain bytes being given the same value in first and second line. For example one problem is that "55 AA" repeats at the start of the second line of data. Those bytes are only supposed to appear at the start of the first line (or so I am told).
*0 = Disabled, default, Cumulus accepts all bytes from the Fine Offset station's memory.
*1 = Ignores part of memory (see [http://sandaysoft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=393 this forum thread]).
|-
|SyncFOReads=0
|This is set in the settings frame on the Station settings screen off the configuration menu.
A Fine Offset station will be writing to its memory every 48 or 60 seconds (depending on model); Cumulus can attempt once a day to identify when this update of memory occurs, and thereafter try not to read the memory at update time, by using what is called a synchronisation mode of operation.
*0 = Synchronisation disabled, default (Cumulus reads the memory without taking into account when it is being updated)
*1 = Re-synchronizes once each day, to avoid reading memory at time of memory update
|-
|-
|FOReadAvoidPeriod=3
|Sets the interval (in seconds) during each 48 second station logging period when Cumulus will avoid reading the station data to try and minimise lock ups. If the clock drifts more than this value in 24 hours, then Cumulus may cause the station to lock up when reading the data. The actual station clock drift gets logged to the diags file when the re-synchronise takes place, this will give an idea of whether it would be useful to adjust this setting.
*3 = default value
 
Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section if you wish to change the default
== Why haven't you added the feature I asked for a long time ago? ==
|-
|ReportLostSensorContact=0
|Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section
Option to turn off reporting of 'lost sensor contact' for Fine Offset stations. (added Cumulus 1.9.4 b.1070)
*0 = reporting off
*1 = reporting on (default)
|-
|EWpressureoffset=x.y
|Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section
Got a pressure problem with a Fine Offset station when the pressure 'offset' that Cumulus reads is garbage, so Cumulus just uses zero? Tell Cumulus what offset to use, by using an external text editor to insert this parameter where x.y is the difference between your station (absolute) and sea-level (relative) pressures, in mb or hPa.
|-
|EWminpressureMB=900
|Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section
Cumulus will ignore all pressure readings from the station that are less than this value (units are always hPa/millibars)
|-
|EWmaxpressureMB=1200
|Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section
Cumulus will ignore all pressure readings from the station that are greater than this value (units are always hPa/millibars)
|-
|EWmaxHourlyRain=999
|This is set in the spike removal frame on the Calibration settings screen off the configuration menu. An hourly rain rate 'spike removal' filter for weather stations that do not supply rain rate so cumulus has to calculate it; ''changes in calculated value'' between one calculation and the next greater than the value specified here (set in calibration screen of configuration menu) will be ignored by Cumulus when it calculates the rain rate. Cumulus ignores this parameter for other makes of weather station that supply a rain rate to Cumulus.
|-
|EWmaxRainRate=999
|This is set in the spike removal frame on the Calibration settings screen off the configuration menu. A rain rate 'spike removal' filter, ''changes in calculated value'' between one calculation and the next greater than the value specified here (set in calibration screen of configuration menu) will be ignored by Cumulus when it calculates the rain rate. Cumulus ignores this parameter for other makes of weather station that supply a rain rate to Cumulus.
|-
|EWgustdiff=999.0
|This is set in the spike removal frame on the Calibration settings screen off the configuration menu. A wind gust 'spike removal' filter, ''changes in calculated value'' between one calculation and the next greater than the value specified here (set in calibration screen of configuration menu) will be ignored by Cumulus.
|-
|EWwinddiff=999.0
|This is set in the spike removal frame on the Calibration settings screen off the configuration menu.. A wind speed 'spike removal' filter, ''changes in calculated value'' between one calculation and the next greater than the value specified here (set in calibration screen of configuration menu) will be ignored by Cumulus
|-
|EWpressurediff=999.0
|This is set in the spike removal frame on the Calibration settings screen off the configuration menu. A pressure change 'spike removal' filter, ''changes in read value'' from any station greater than the value specified here (set in calibration screen of configuration menu) will be ignored by Cumulus
|-
|EWTempdiff=999.0
|This is set in the spike removal frame on the Calibration settings screen off the configuration menu. A temperature change 'spike removal' filter, ''changes in read value'' from any station greater than the value specified here (set in calibration screen of configuration menu) will be ignored by Cumulus. Replace 999.0 with the maximum difference in degrees C you are prepared to accept between successive data readings
|-
|EWhumiditydiff=999.0
|This is set in the spike removal frame on the Calibration settings screen off the configuration menu. A humidity change 'spike removal' filter, ''changes in read value''from any station greater than the value specified here (set in calibration screen of configuration menu) will be ignored by Cumulus
|}
 
==== Oregon Scientific specific: ====
I develop and support Cumulus in my spare time, and I have a full time job. I invite donations, but I don't make a living from Cumulus. I add facilities when I can. There is a long list of [http://sandaysoft.com/forum/tracker.php enhancement requests] already, and I am slowly working my way through them as time permits. If there is an enhancement request for the facility you have asked for, and the facility is a reasonable one (in my opinion) then I will hopefully get around to adding it one day. Please be patient. Please don't ask for a forecast of when a feature will be added.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Station]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section name - the following parameters relate to the station configuration.
|-
|Humidity98Fix=0
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, humidity displayed and recorded as 100% if your sensor registers a relative humidity of 98% or greater. Normally only useful for Oregon Scientific stations.
|-
|LogExtraSensors=0
|This is set in the settings frame on the Station settings screen off the configuration menu by the '''Extra Sensors''' selection.
*0=Disabled (default)
*1= Enabled - Used for Oregon Scientific WMR-928 and similar stations if you have additional sensors (e.g. another temperature probe) to make Cumulus read, display, and log the readings from those sensors. You don't use this for Solar/UV sensors.
(Note this attribute appears in [[#Davis_family_specific|Davis family]] and [[#Introduced_for_problems_with_Fine_Offset_family:|Fine Offset family]] tables above and in [[Instromet_station_specific:|Instromet station specific:]] table below with different usage explanations).
|-
|WMR928TempChannel=N
|This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini file for WMR-928 stations (and other serial stations using the same protocol, eg WMR-968) to use an 'extra' channel (see previous parameter) as your main temperature sensor, set N to the required channel
|-
|WMR200TempChannel=N
|This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini file for WMR200 stations (and any other Oregon Scientific USB stations which work with Cumulus, e.g. WMR100) to use an 'extra' channel as your main temperature sensor, set N to the required channel
|}
 
==== La Crosse specific: ====
== How do I upgrade to a new release? ==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Station]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section name - the following parameters relate to the station configuration.
|-
|WS2300Sync=1
|This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini. This makes Cumulus check the time that the station is going to communicate with the sensors, and synchronises all of its reads to be 2.5 seconds after that. Experiments have shown that this does not help the bad data situation.
|-
|LCMaxWind=X
|This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini. It is setting for the La Crosse max wind speed, where X is the maximum (uncalibrated) wind speed in m/s that you want to allow. The value you supply should be in metres/second, regardless of what wind unit you are using in Cumulus.(V1.8.8 Build 874 on)
|-
|WS2300IgnoreStationClock=0
|This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini. Option to ignore the La Crosse station clock on logger download.
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled
|-
|RestartIfDataStops=0
|This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini. Option to restart Cumulus if data from La Crosse stations stops. This may fix whatever the problem is; it may not. But it should at least stop the same data being repeatedly logged.
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled
|-
|ReportDataStoppedErrors=0
|This line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini. Option to turn off reporting of 'data stopped' errors to the Cumulus error log (may be needed with La Crosse stations)
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled
|}
 
Just run the installer for the new version. Your data and settings are not affected, but of course you should back up your data and any settings files (e.g. cumulus.ini and strings.ini) before you run the installer. You can install the new version where you like, but the installer will offer the same place as the previous version as the default. Occasionally, there may be actions you need to perform before or after the upgrade (these will be documented in the readme.txt file, this will appear as you run the installer). Required actions also usually appear in the announcement of the version you are installing.
 
==== Hydreon specific: ====
During the install, you will be given the option of re-installing the Cumulus HTML template files. If you have [[Customised_templates#Creating_Your_Own_Templates|customised the existing pages]], you might want to untick this option so that your versions don't get overwritten. Alternatively store your customised pages in a directory outside the Cumulus folder, and specify up to 10 such files on the local side of the files tab in the Configuration menu Internet settings screen and untick ''Include Standard Files''. (100 such files can be specified in [[Cumulus.ini]]).
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Station]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section name - the following parameters relate to the station configuration.
|-
|RG11port=1
|Specifies the COM port to use for [[Rain_measurement#Optical_Rain_Gauge | Hydreon RG-11 rain detection devices]]. 1 = COM1. Set on RG11 screen within configuration menu, see its ''Help'' for more information.
|-
|RG11TBRmode=1
|Specifies the Hydreon RG-11 rain device mode of operation.
*0 = Rain detection mode - "It's Raining"
*1 = Tipping bucket mode. Set on RG11 screen within configuration menu.
|-
|RG11tipsize=0.01
|Specifies the tipping bucket size for Hydreon RG-11 rain detection devices. The 'tip size' must be specified in the units that you have configured Cumulus to use for rain. Set on RG11 screen within configuration menu.
|-
|RG11port2=
 
RG11TBRmode2=
Cumulus will always install the HTML template files to a folder called 'originals' in the 'web' folder, so you can look at them to see if there are any changes you might want to include in your customised versions.
 
RG11tipsize2=
These instructions apply whether you are upgrading to/from a beta version or a 'release' version.
|Settings to connect a second Hydreon RG-11 rain detection device. Set on RG11 screen within configuration menu.
Note that you must have one RG-11 set to "It's raining" mode and the other to "tipping bucket" mode. Cumulus does not validate this.
|}
 
== Section: Offsets ==
Set most of these parameters using the '''Configuration''' menu and ''Calibration'' screen, the exception is 'TempMult2'.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Offsets]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - the following 'attribute=value' parameters are the adjustment factors for your specific sensors
|-
|PressOffset=Offset_Value
|Default 'Offset_Value' is 0 in this parameter, used for formula: Cumulus pressure = Measured Pressure + 'Offset_Value'
|-
|TempOffset=Offset_Value
|Default 'Offset_Value' is 0 in this parameter, used for quadratic formula shown below
|-
|TempMult=1
|First order multiplier by which measured outdoor Temperature is to be corrected (default=1).
For formula see next item.
|-
|TempMult2= multiplier
|This line needs to be added in the [Offsets] section of the Cumulus.ini, if it is omitted default multiplier is 1.0.
"Second order" multiplier by which measured outdoor Temperature is to be corrected, this means that the logged reading can be (TempMult2 * measured-temp * measured_temp) + (TempMult * measured_temp) + TempOffset
|-
|HumOffset=Offset_Value
|Default 'Offset_Value' is 0 in this parameter used for formula: Cumulus Humidity = Measured Humidity + 'Offset_Value'
|-
|WindDirOffset=Offset_Value
|Default 'Offset_Value' is 0 in this parameter used for formula: Cumulus Wind Bearing = Measured Wind Bearing + 'Offset_Value'
|-
|InTempOffset=Offset_Value
|Default 'Offset_Value' is 0 in this parameter used for formula: Cumulus Indoor Temperature = Measured Indoor Temperature + 'Offset_Value'
|-
|WindSpeedMult=1
|Multiplier by which measured Average [[Wind_measurement#Wind_Speed|Wind Speed]] is to be corrected (default=1).
 
e.g. Officially in UK the wind speed is measured with sensors at 10m above ground level. If your sensor is not at 10m AGL then a correction multiplier should be applied using the following formula ''V10/Vh = 1/(0.233 + 0.656*log10(h+4.75))'' where "h" is your sensor height in meters so if your anemometer is 5m off the ground, V10/Vh comes out at 1.134
== Moving Cumulus software to a new PC (or updating Windows Operating System) ==
|-
Cumulus will continue to work with your existing weather station and existing log files, providing
|WindGustMult=1
#Your Windows regional settings are the same (i.e. date format unchanged, decimal point symbol unchanged, list sparator character unchanged) - if there is a difference, the new installation cannot understand the old lines in the file and will give an error when Cumulus is restarted.
|Multiplier by which measured [[Wind_measurement#Wind_Speed|Wind Gust]] Speed is to be corrected (default=1).
#You may need to 'tweak' a few things (serial port number etc) in [[cumulus.ini]].
|-
#The Cumulus 'data' sub-folder has been copied across, together with 'cumulus.ini' from the folder with cumulus.exe in it, and if you have created a 'strings.ini' that file too.
|HumMult=1
#Obviously if you use customised web pages, then you need the corresponding templates in the new installation.
|Multiplier by which measured Humidity is to be corrected (default=1).
#Any other customised files (images and/or a twitter.txt file, for example), you may want to copy those over too.
|-
|RainMult=1
|Multiplier by which measured Rainfall (and therefore rainfall rate too) is to be corrected (default=1).
|-
|UVOffset=Offset_Value
|Default 'Offset_Value' is 0 in this parameter used for formula: Cumulus UV level = Measured UV level + 'Offset_Value'
|-
|UVMult=1
|Multiplier by which measured UV to be corrected (default=1).
|}
 
== Section: Web Site ==
All parameters edited in the Internet Configuration screen ''Sites/Options tab'' Web Site block.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Web Site]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your website
|-
|ForumURL=<nowiki>http://sandaysoft.com/forum/</nowiki>
|A website forum URL
|-
|WebcamURL=<nowiki>http://www.sanday.org.uk/webcam/webcam.php </nowiki>
|URL for your Webcam
|}
 
== Section: FTP Site ==
== Can I view my Cumulus data on another device? ==
See individual entries for how to edit these parameters.
# If Cumulus uploads your weather information to an online web site, you can view that on another device.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
# Software like 'Remote Desktop' can be used to view the computer that is running Cumulus - see many postings on the Support Forum.
|-
# A back-up as described in the next answer can be viewed in Cumulus installed on another PC (see point about Windows regional settings in previous question) to look at past extremes or graphs; although obviously that additional installation will not be able to add further observations from the weather station connected to the original PC.
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
# If your web site is on your local network, but not online, your device may be able to view it directly or view a back-up of how it was in the past.
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[FTP site]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your website FTP parameters
|-
|Host=
|Selected in the Internet Configuration screen ''Sites/Options tab''. This is either the name or the IP address of the ftp server to which you connect when you upload pages to your web site. You probably used it with an external FTP program when you followed the instructions in the Cumulus help, Readme.txt or [[Simple_Website_setup]].
''Leave blank if you are not using ftp, but simply creating the output files on your pc.''
|-
|Port=21
|Selected in the Internet Configuration screen ''Sites/Options tab''. Port used for FTP upload, default =21
|-
|Username=
|Select in the Internet Configuration screen ''Sites/Options tab'' your web site FTP login Username
|-
|Password=
|Shows your web site FTP login password as entered in the Internet Configuration Screen (note: this is not encrypted)
|-
|Directory=
|Selected in the Internet Configuration screen ''Sites/Options tab''. Directory (including path) on your server to which FTP will upload the files. Starting point is the position specified by ftp server (see Host above)
|-
|AutoUpdate=0
|Set in the Internet Configuration Screen Web Settings block.
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will automatically upload your processed web pages to your web site at regular intervals (as specified by the 'Update Interval') using FTP to the directory as specified in 'Directory'.
|-
|UpdateInterval=15
|Set in the Internet Configuration screen ''Sites/Options tab'' Web Settings block in '''Interval''' box. The interval in minutes at which you wish auto updates (either FTP to your website or output to a directory on your pc) to occur. Default 15 minutes.
|-
|IncludeSTD=1
|Selected in the Internet Configuration Files Tab screen
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled, (default) the standard web files provided with Cumulus will be processed and uploaded at each web update.
|-
|IncludeSTDImages=1
|Selected in the Internet Configuration Files Tab screen
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled,(default) the standard image files generated by Cumulus (graphs, etc) will be uploaded at each web update to a subfolder of the 'Directory' you specified called 'images'.
|-
|EnableRealtime=0
|Set in the Internet Configuration screen ''Sites/Options tab'' Web Settings block.
The [[realtime.txt]] file contains various weather parameters and is used by the CumulusRealtime.swf (shock wave flash) real time wind gauges (as on the supplied 'gauges' web page).
*0 = Disabled (default) If you have the 'auto update' option set (and a suitable interval configured), Cumulus will create the realtime.txt file at the specified normal update Interval (not the Realtime Interval) so that you can specify it as an extra file to upload during the 'normal' upload, or use it for any other purpose on your PC.
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will create the realtime.txt file, and upload it to your web site, at the interval specified by Realtime Interval (see below).
|-
|RealtimeInterval=3000
|Set in the Internet Configuration screen ''Sites/Options tab'' Web Settings block. The time in seconds between uploads of the realtime.txt file.
|-
|RealtimeFTPEnabled=0
|Selected in the Internet Configuration screen ''Sites/Options tab'' Web Settings block
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will establish an FTP connection to your web site, so that the realtime.txt file, and any other files you specify, can be uploaded when realtime processing takes place. The 'EnableRealtime' setting must be set to 1 for this setting to have any effect.
|-
|RealtimeTxtFTP=0
|Selected in the Internet Configuration screen ''Sites/Options tab'' Web Settings block
When set to 1 Cumulus will upload the [[realtime.txt]] to your web site during realtime processing. The 'EnableRealtime' and 'RealtimeFTPEnabled' settings must both be set to 1 for this setting to have any effect.
|-
|ActiveFTP=0
|Set in the Internet Configuration Screen ''Sites/Options tab'' Web Settings block
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will use 'active' FTP mode instead of the default 'passive' mode. You should only select active mode if you are having problems with FTP uploads.
|-
|FTPRename=0
|Selected in the Internet Configuration screen ''Sites/Options tab'' Web Settings block
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, the new update is loaded using temporary names, files are renamed on the sever afterwards
|-
|DeleteBeforeUpload=0
|Selected in Internet Configuration Screen ''Sites/Options tab'' Web Settings block
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, files are deleted from sever before the new update is loaded
|-
|ResizeGraphs=0
|Selected in the Internet Congfiguration Screen Web graphs block.
*0 = Disabled (default) Cumulus uploads the default 750 x 300 pixel graphs.
*1 = Cumulus resizes the large graph images when creating them for upload to your web site. Specify the required height and width in the corresponding boxes. Note that the images are simply scaled to the new size; there will be some loss of quality
|-
|GraphHeight=300
|Graph height, default is 300 (pixels) - see previous parameter
|-
|GraphWidth=750
|Graph width, default is 750 (pixels) - see ResizeGraphs parameter
|-
|ImageFolder=
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab. Path and file name in LOCAL folder to which the generated image files are also copied at each web update interval, either the 'normal' interval, or the 'realtime' interval, depending on next parameter. Used if you want backups of generated images. See Cumulus Help.
|-
|ImageCopyRealtime=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = files copied in 'normal' interval each web update (default)
*1 = files copied in 'real time' interval.
|-
|ExtraLocal[0-9]=
| Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab. Path and file name on local computer for alternate files #0 through #9. See cumulus Help for details of how to specify reading current monthly log here.
|-
|ExtraLocal[10-99]=
|Path and file name on local computer for alternate file #10 through #99. These additional files can only be selected by adding parameter lines to the configuration file, they are not visible in the Internet Configuration screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraRemote[0-9]=
|Path and file name on web server for alternate files #0 through #9. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab. See cumulus Help for details of how to specify creating current monthly log here.
|-
|ExtraRemote[10-99]=
|Path and file name on web server for alternate file #10 through #99. These additional paths/files can only be selected by adding parameter lines to the configuration file, they are not visible in the Internet Configuration screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraProcess[0-9]=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, (default) extra file will not pass through the cumulus 'tag processor'.
*1 = Enabled, extra file will be passed through the 'tag processor' in Cumulus, in the same way that the standard Cumulus web pages are. This allows to you to create your own web pages into which Cumulus will insert the various weather parameters. See the "Web tags" section of the help file for a list of the tags which you can use. Cumulus will create a temporary file to hold the processed version of your file and then upload that.
|-
|ExtraProcess[10-99]=0
|Set in this config file only.
*0 = Disabled, alternate file #10 through #99 will not pass through the cumulus 'tag processor'.
*1 = Enabled, alternate file #10 through #99 will be passed through the 'tag processor' in Cumulus, in the same way that the standard Cumulus web pages are. This allows to you to create your own web pages into which Cumulus will insert the various weather parameters. See the "Web tags" section of the help file for a list of the tags which you can use. Cumulus will create a temporary file to hold the processed version of your file and then upload that
|-
|UTF8encode=1
|Selected in Internet Configuration Screen ''Sites/Options tab'' Web Settings block.
*0 = Standard Cumulus Web Templates are processed into '''charset=iso-8859-1''' web pages as for builds prior to 1093.
*1 = Default from build 1093, Standard Cumulus Web Templates are processed into '''charset=utf-8''' web pages
|-
|ExtraUTF[0-9]=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Default from build 1093, Customised Cumulus Web Templates are processed into '''charset=iso-8859-1''' web pages as for builds prior to 1093.
*1 = Customised Cumulus Web Templates are processed into '''charset=utf-8''' web pages from build 1093
|-
|ExtraUTF[10-99]=0
|Set in this config file only.
*0 = Default from build 1093, Customised Cumulus Web Templates are processed into '''charset=iso-8859-1''' web pages as for builds prior to 1093.
*1 = Customised Cumulus Web Templates are processed into '''charset=utf-8''' web pages from build 1093
|-
|ExtraBinary[0-9]=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = not binary (if pure ASCII characters)
*1 = Binary (e.g. images)
|-
|ExtraBinary[10-99]=0
|Set in this config file only.
*0 = alternate file #10 through #99 is not binary (is pure ASCII characters)
*1 = alternate file #10 through #99 is Binary (e.g. images)
|-
|ExtraRealtime[0-9]=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab. If you select this for any files, you will also need to select the Realtime option.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file uploaded as part of normal upload
*1 = Enabled, file uploaded during Realtime upload
|-
|ExtraRealtime[10-99]=0
|Set in this config file only. If you select this for any files, you will also need to select the Realtime option.
*0 = Disabled, alternate file #10 through #99 uploaded as part of normal upload
*1 = Enabled, alternate file #10 through #99 uploaded during Realtime upload
|-
|ExtraFTP[0-9]=1
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, File copied to the location specified in the Remote Filename box.
*1 = Enabled, (default) File uploaded by FTP
Not intended for standard Cumulus web pages (tick box at top of screen, missing files will be ignored), nor for NOAA reports (FTF for them set up in '''NOAA Setup''' within Configuration menu).
|-
|ExtraFTP[10-99]=1
|Set in this config file only.
*0 = Disabled, alternate file #10 through #99 copied to the location specified in the Remote Filename box.
*1 = Enabled, alternate file #10 through #99 uploaded by FTP
|-
|ExternalProgram=
|The name (including path) of a command-line program to be run at the 'normal' web update interval, after all of the processing has been performed.
|-
|ExternalParams=
|The corresponding 'paramaters' for 'ExternalProgram' used to specify any parameters to be passed to the command.
|-
|RealtimeProgram=
|The name (including path) of a command-line program to be run at the 'realtime' web update interval, after all of the processing has been performed.
|-
|RealtimeParams=
|The corresponding 'paramaters' for 'RealtimeProgram' used to specify any parameters to be passed to the command.
|-
|DailyProgram=
|The name (including path) of a command-line program to be run once a day, after the daily 'rollover' has been performed.
|-
|DailyParams=
|The corresponding 'paramaters' for 'DailyProgram' used to specify any parameters to be passed to the command.
|-
|MaxFTPconnectRetries=3
|Set in this config file only. Allow configurable max FTP connect retries (default is retry up to 3 times)
|}
 
== Section: Display ==
== How do I back up my data? ==
Set these parameters using Configuration menu and [[Cumulus_Screenshots#Display_and_Colour_screens_as_at_version_1.9.4|either ''Display'' or ''Colours'' screens]] as seen on link and indicated below.
*Copy the contents of the Cumulus ‘data’ sub-folder on a regular basis to a different storage device. Then if you have any problem with the original storage device, or corruption of files, you can minimise the loss of logged observations. To restore from the backup, just copy the saved data folder back into your Cumulus installation, with Cumulus stopped.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
*It can be useful to take copies of the Cumulus 'backup' sub-folder on key dates (e.g. just after change of month or year), or if you think you might have some rogue figures. The '.ini' files in the backup sub-folder contain past extreme values that you might want to look up.
|-
*You should also back up, at least once, your cumulus.ini file in the main Cumulus folder. This contains all the key settings and you need a record of those!
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Display]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section heading - the following parameters affect how the main screen looks.
|-
|Heading=My Weather
|Title Heading on the Main Screen. Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
|-
|SavePosition=0
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block.
*0= default, the main window will be displayed in the middle of the main or only monitor connected to your pc
*1= the current position of the main window will be saved to [[Cumulus.ini#Section:_MainForm]] when Cumulus closes, and the window will open again at that position the next time Cumulus starts.
|-
|StartMinimised=0
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block.
*0= default, the main window will be displayed on the main or only monitor connected to your pc
*1= If set to 1, Cumulus will start with the main window minimised, either to the system tray or the task bar, depending on the 'MinimizeToTray' setting (see next parameter).
|-
|MinimizeToTray=0
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
*0 = Disabled (default), Cumulus will minimise to the task bar
*1 = Enabled, causes Cumulus to appear as an icon in the system tray when it is minimized. The icon will flash if a record is broken or an error occurs. Double click on the icon to restore the main window (or right click on the icon and use the pop-up menu).
|-
|ForecastCentred=0
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block.
*0 = Disabled, (default) Forecast appears left justified on main screen below sun and moon details
*1 = Enabled, Forecast appears centred horizonatally on main screen below sun and moon details
|-
|ShowCurrentConditions=0
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
*0 = Disabled, (default)
*1 = Enabled, a box labelled 'Current:' appears at bottom of Cumulus main screen. See [[Webtags_as_boolean_operators_in_HTML#Current_Weather_Conditions]] for possible use of this information, and [[Currentconditions.txt]] for the effect when the contents of the box on main screen changes.
|-
|FontColour=4227327
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the screen font color
|-
|BackColour=12632256
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the application background color
|-
|HeadingColour=10485760
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the screen heading color
|-
|ClockDigitColour=4227327
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the figures on clock in top right corner of main screen
|-
|ClockColour=16777201
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the main screen clock background color
|-
|TwelveHourClock=0
|Set by left click on clock on main screen
*0 = 24Hr clock mode
*1 - 12 Hr am/pm clock mode
|-
|DisplaySolarData=0
|Set by ''Display solar/extra data'' item in the Display Configuration Screen ''General'' block.
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, adds an extra panel to the main screen below the recent extremes panel - EITHER
**Panel displays ''Temp'', ''Dew pt'' and ''Hum'' (this [[FAQ#How_does_Cumulus_deal_with_extra_sensors.3F|extra sensor data]], can be populated from Oregon WMR-928 stations, see next 3 parameters) OR
**Panel displays ''Evapotranspiration (ET)'', ''Ultraviolet (UV)'' and ''Solar radiation'' if station '''Type''' is Vantage Pro and solar data is available
|-
|WMR928Channel1Caption=Extra channel 1
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen ''WMR928 extra channel captions'' block. Note that the extra channel data for WMR928 stations is only displayed on the main screen if ''Display solar/extra data'' is Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block (see previous parameter). This parameter defines the caption to be used when Cumulus reads observations from the extra sensor.
|-
|WMR928Channel2Caption=Extra channel 2
|See previous parameter.
|-
|WMR928Channel3Caption=Extra channel 3
|See 'WMR928Channel1Caption=Extra channel 1' parameter
|-
|SnowUnitText=cm
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block. Snow measurement unit. Default is cm. Can be any unit (or other text) you like, remember all snow depth observations must be entered as an integer (without any decimal part)!
|-
|DisplayCloudBase=0
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block.
*0 = Disabled, (default)
*1 = Enabled, the calculated cloud base is displayed on the main screen. The calculation is a simple one; 1000 feet for every 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit difference between the temperature and the dew point.
|-
|DisplayHumidex=0
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
*0 = Disabled (default) [[Heat_index]] displayed on main screen. The heat index is calculated only if the actual temperature in the shade (not in direct sunlight) is above 27 °C (80 °F), so normal temperature shown here for cooler temperatures.
*1 = Enabled, calculated [[Humidex]] value to be displayed on the main screen instead of Heat Index. (Note that Cumulus displays degrees C or F for Humidex, whereas strictly speaking it is unitless. This is for the convenience of those who use Fahrenheit but would still prefer to see Humidex displayed, where it might be confusing to show the unconverted value.)
|-
|LegendSymbolWidth=3
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen Graph block. The width of the plot lines in graph legends
|-
|ChartLineWidth=2
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen Graph block. The width of the plot lines in the graph body
|-
|WindGaugeRange=50
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block. Value represents the default full scale deflection of the top of the 3 wind plots in the wind speed units you have selected. Default value is 50 in that unit.
|-
|WindGaugeArcColour=16773091
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindGaugeAnimated=1
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen. Animate the Wind Gauge pointer movement
*0 = Disabled,
*1 = Enabled (default)
|-
|WindGaugeAnimationFactor=2
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen. This sets the speed of the wind gauge animation. Lower values correspond to a faster animation speed. Be careful not to set the animation too slow, particularly with stations which update frequently (e.g. Davis) as the animation will never catch up, and will use significant CPU time.
|-
|WindGaugeTickColour=9841920
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindGaugeFontColour=9841920
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindGaugeInnerCircleColour=16765615
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindGaugeNeedleColour=128
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindGaugeInnerCentreColourFrom=16765615
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindGaugeInnerCentreColourTo=16765615
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindGaugeOuterCentreColourFrom=16765357
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindGaugeOuterCentreColourTo=16711680
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindGaugeOuterCircleColour=16765615
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindGaugeOuterRimColour=9470064
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindGaugeAverageSectorColour=32768
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindGaugePeakSectorColour=33023
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindGaugeNeedleShineColourFrom=1049273
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindGaugeNeedleShineColourTo=328090
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the upper of the 3 wind plots
|-
|CompassColour=12632256
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the middle of the 3 wind plots
|-
|CompassTickColour=16711680
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the middle of the 3 wind plots
|-
|CompassLabelColour=16777215
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the middle of the 3 wind plots
|-
|CompassBearingColour=0
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the middle of the 3 wind plots
|-
|CompassCurrentPointerColour=255
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the middle of the 3 wind plots
|-
|CompassAveragePointerColour=16711680
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the middle of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindRoseColour=8388608
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the wind rose shading that represents duration and intensity of wind in different directions
|-
|WindRoseLabelColour=0
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the wind rose compass points
|-
|WindRoseAxesColour=8388608
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the circle and radii of lower of the 3 wind plots
|-
|WindRoseTransparency=50
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu.
|-
|NumWindRosePoints=16
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen Graphs block
The number of points to plot on the Wind Rose diagram (choose 8 for Fine Offset stations)
|-
|TransparentGauges=0
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. The square backgrounds of the three wind gauges on the Cumulus main screen
*0= same colour as the main window background (default)
*1= the images will be processed to make the background colour transparent.
|-
|LogFTPErrors=1
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
*1= (default), the FTP errors will be logged to the Cumulus Error Dialog display
*0= to suppress the logging of FTP errors.
|-
|DigitBackground=0
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the colour to be used for background to displayed observations on main screen
|-
|LabelColour=0
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the Parameter labels on main screen - default black. Note alarm conditions can change label colour (see next 2 parameters).
|-
|AlarmColour=255
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the Parameter labels on main screen - default red - when an alarm is set for that parameter
|-
|PastAlarmColour=16711680
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the Parameter labels on main screen - default blue - when an alarm is cleared for that parameter
|-
|PanelHeadingFontColour=0
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the heading at the top of each panel with observations
|-
|PanelLineColour=0
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the heading at the top of each panel with observations
|-
|PanelBorderColour=8421504
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the edging of each panel with observations
|-
|PanelGradientColourFrom=16777215
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the panel background
|-
|PanelGradientColourTo=13226453
|Set on the colour setting screen in the Configuration menu. Decimal code for the panel background
|-
|DisplayBeaufortDesc=1
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
*1 (default), the Beaufort description of the current average wind speed will appear in the header of the wind panel on the main screen.
*0, it will instead appear as a 'tool tip' for the wind panel.
|-
|DisplayBarometerTrendText=1
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
*1 (default), the description of the current barometer trend will appear in the header of the barometer panel on the main screen.
*0, it will instead appear as a 'tool tip' for the barometer panel.
|-
|UpdateAtStartup=1
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
*1 (default), the display will be updated as data is downloaded and processed from the station's logger. This increases the time taken to process the data.
*0, it makes the download faster as display is onlyn updated when catch up completed; this may be significant if there is a lot of data to download.
|-
|IndependentGraphsWindow=0
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen Graphs block
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled
|}
 
== Section: Graphs ==
== Moving Cumulus software to a different location on your PC? ==
Set many of these parameters using '''Configuration''' menu and either ''Display'' (Graphs block) or ''Colours'' screens.
This article in the wiki gives more details above moving Cumulus: [[Moving cumulus]]
Set the colours of the data lines on graphs/charts and Select whether to plot particular data by using '''View''' menu and ''Graphs'' option, then right click over the relevant graph.
Set the SAG colours and axis position by using '''View''' menu and ''Select-A-Graph'' option, the settings for different observations are at the foot of the screen.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Graphs]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your graph settings
|-
|GraphHours=12
|The number of hours data to be displayed in temperature (outdoor, heat index, wind chill, dewpoint and apparent temperature), humidity, rainfall rate, rainfall, pressure, solar radiation, UV index, wind speed and wind direction graphs.
You can enter any multiple of 12 from the Display Settings Screen, and you can also edit cumulus.ini and set this item to any other value. But note that setting it to a non-standard value is unsupported (i.e. if it causes problems, I probably won't fix them) and if you change any display settings, the value will get reset to a supported value (so you'll need to edit cumulus.ini again).
|-
|ChartMaxDays=7
|How many days of values to plot on the daily min/average/max temperature, daily sunshine, and daily rain charts (default=7)
|-
|Background=12632256
|Decimal value for the Graph and Chart background colour.
|-
|WindColour=65535
|Decimal value for the 10 minute average wind speed plot colour
|-
|GustColour=8421376
|Decimal value for the Wind Gust plot colour
|-
|RainColour=9527753
|Decimal value for the Rain plot colour
|-
|RainTodayColour=9527753
|Decimal value for the Rain Today plot colour
|-
|TempColour=9527753
|Decimal value for the Outside Temperature plot colour
|-
|HeatIndexColour=16711680
|Decimal value for the Heat Index plot colour
|-
|AppTempColour=8388736
|Decimal value for the Apparent Temperature plot colour
|-
|PressColour=9527753
|Decimal value for the Pressure plot colour
|-
|WindDirColour=255
|Decimal value for the Wind Direction plot colour
|-
|DewPointColour=255
|Decimal value for the Dew Point plot colour
|-
|WindChillColour=32768
|Decimal value for the Wind Chill plot colour
|-
|MinTempColour=16711680
|Decimal value for the Minimum Temperature chart plot colour
|-
|MaxTempColour=255
|Decimal value for the Maximum Temperature chart plot colour
|-
|AvgTempColour=32768
|Decimal value for the Average Temperature chart plot colour
|-
|DailyRainColour=32768
|Decimal value for the Daily Rain chart plot colour
|-
|InsideTempColour=0
|Decimal value for the Inside Temperature plot colour
|-
|InsideHumColour=255
|Decimal value for the Inside Humidity plot colour
|-
|OutsideHumColour=16711680
|Decimal value for the Outside Humidity plot colour
|-
|Graph3D=0
|3D or normal graph selection as selected in the Display Configuration Graphs block
*0 = normal graph selected
*1 = 3D graph selected
|-
|PlotLatestGust=0
|Plot Latest Gust selection as selected in the Display Configuration Graphs block
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|OriginIsSouth=0
|Wind Direction Graph Y Axis origin
*0 = North as Origin (default)
*1 = South as Origin
|-
|ShowFreezingLine=0
|Draw a horizontal line on the temperature graph at 0°C/32°F
|-
|TempVisible=1
|Select whether to plot the outside air temperature on the temperature graph
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|HIVisible=0
|Select whether to plot the heat index on the temperature graph
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|DPVisible=1
|Select whether to plot the dewpoint values on the temperature graph
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|WCVisible=1
|Select whether to plot the wind chill values on the temperature graph
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|AppTempVisible=1
|Select whether to plot the apparent temperature values on the temperature graph
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|InHumVisible=1
|Select whether to plot the indoor humidity values on the humidity graph
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|OutHumVisible=1
|Select whether to plot the outdoor humidity values on the humidity graph
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|GraphGradientEnabled=0
|Use gradient shading on the graph background
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|GradientStart=12632256
|
|-
|GradientMiddle=16777215
|
|-
|GradientEnd=8421504
|
|-
|SAGintempcolour=32768
|(Select-A-Graph)
|-
|SAGouttempcolour=255
|
|-
|SAGpressurecolour=16711680
|
|-
|SAGraintotalcolour=8388608
|
|-
|SAGrainratecolour=16776960
|
|-
|SAGgustcolour=16711935
|
|-
|SAGpeakgustcolour=65280
|
|-
|SAGspeedcolour=8388736
|
|-
|SAGinhumcolour=32896
|
|-
|SAGouthumcolour=8388608
|
|-
|SAGheatindexcolour=128
|
|-
|SAGwindchillcolour=8421504
|
|-
|SAGwinddircolour=0
|
|-
|SAGdewpointcolour=8421376
|
|-
|SAGsolarradcolour=65535
|
|-
|SAGmaxsolarradcolour=16711935
|
|-
|SAGapptempcolour=0
|
|-
|SAGuvindexcolour=65280
|
|-
|SAGintempaxis=L
|(Select-A-Graph)
|-
|SAGouttempaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGpressureaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGraintotalaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGrainrateaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGgustaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGpeakgustaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGspeedaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGinhumaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGouthumaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGheatindexaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGwindchillaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGwinddiraxis=L
|
|-
|SAGdewpointaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGsolarradaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGmaxsolarradaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGapptempaxis=L
|
|-
|SAGuvindexaxis=L
|
|-
|SAG3D=0
|
|-
|SAGgradientback=0
|
|-
|SAGleftgrid=1
|
|-
|SAGrightgrid=1
|
|}
 
== Section: Alarms ==
== What are the formats of the Cumulus data files? ==
Set these using the '''Edit''' menu, ''Alarms'' screen.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Alarms]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your alarm settings
|-
|alarmlowtemp=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable low temperature alarm (default)
*1 = Enable Low temperature alarm
|-
|LowTempAlarmSet=0
|Setting for low temperature alarm point (degrees)
|-
|LowTempAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|LowTempAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name of sound file for Low Temperature alarm
|-
|alarmhightemp=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable high temperature alarm (default)
*1 = Enable High temperature alarm
|-
|HighTempAlarmSet=0
|Degrees above which alarm will occur.
|-
|HighTempAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|HighTempAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name of sound file for High Temperature alarm
|-
|alarmlowpress=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
|-
|LowPressAlarmSet=0
|Pressure below which you wish Low Pressure alarm to occur
|-
|LowPressAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|LowPressAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for sound file to play for Low Pressure Alarm
|-
|alarmhighpress=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable low High Pressure alarm (default)
*1 = Enable High Pressure alarm
|-
|HighPressAlarmSet=0
|Pressure above which you wish High Pressure alarm to occur
|-
|HighPressAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|HighPressAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Pressure Alarm
|-
|alarmhighraintoday=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable High Rain today alarm (default)
*1 = Enable High Rain today alarm
|-
|HighRainTodayAlarmSet=0
|Rain level above which alarm to occur
|-
|HighRainTodayAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|HighRainTodayAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Rain Today Alarm
|-
|alarmhighrainrate=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable High Rain Rate alarm (default)
*1 = Enable High Rain Rate alarm
|-
|HighRainRateAlarmSet=0
|Rain rate above which you wish alarm to occur
|-
|HighRainRateAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|HighRainRateAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Rain Rate Alarm
|-
|alarmhighgust=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable High Gust alarm (default)
*1 = Enable High Gust alarm
|-
|HighGustAlarmSet=0
|Gust speed above which you wish alarm to occur
|-
|HighGustAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|HighGustAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Gust Alarm
|-
|alarmhighwind=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable High Average Wind alarm (default)
*1 = Enable High Average Wind alarm
|-
|HighWindAlarmSet=0
|Average Wind speed above which alarm to occur
|-
|HighWindAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|HighWindAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Wind Alarm
|-
|SensorAlarmSet=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable sensor contact lost alarm (default)
*1 = Enable sensor contact lost alarm
|-
|SensorAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|SensorAlarmSoundFile=C:\Program Files\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for the sound file used for the Sensor Contact lost Alarm
|-
|alarmtempchange=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable Temperature Change alarm (default)
*1 = Enable Temperature Change alarm
|-
|TempChangeAlarmSet=0
|Temperature change value to trigger the alarm
|-
|TempChangeAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|TempChangeAlarmSoundFile=C:\Program Files\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for the sound file used for the Temperature Change Alarm
|-
|alarmpresschange=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable Pressure Change alarm (default)
*1 = Enable Pressure Change alarm
|-
|PressChangeAlarmSet=0
|Pressure change value to trigger the alarm
|-
|PressChangeAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|PressChangeAlarmSoundFile=C:\Program Files\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for the sound file used for the Pressure Change Alarm
|}
 
== Sections dealing with interfaces to external sites ==
These are detailed in the [[:Category:Log Files|Log Files]] section of this Wiki and also in the Cumulus help file, in the section “Data log file format”
 
=== Section: WUnderground ===
== Can I import logged information from before I installed Cumulus? ==
Set in the Internet Configuration Screen sites/Options tab
The '''Configuration''' menu, ''Station'' setting screen (near bottom) has option to enter there the ''rainfall total'' for the bit of the year (starting month can be selected here too) until when you first start using Cumulus. See the Cumulus '''Help''' for this screen for further details.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Wunderground]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - Parameters for your [http://www.wunderground.com/ Weather Underground] site
|-
|ID=
|Your Weather Underground station identifier (note: not your user name).
|-
|Password=
|Your Weather Underground password. (note: not encrypted)
|-
|Enabled=0
|Set if you wish to upload to your Weather Underground site
*0 = Disabled, (default) no Weather underground site
*1 = Enabled, data sent at the interval specified below
|-
|RapidFire=0
|'rapid fire' mode.
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, You should also tick 'Enabled'. Rapid fire updates occur every 5 seconds.
|-
|Interval=15
|Time in minutes between uploads to Weather Underground. (default = 15)
|-
|SendUV=0
|Current UV value
*0 = Disabled (default) no UV info sent
*1 = Enabled, UV value sent with the data
|-
|SendSR=0
|Solar Radiation
*0 = Disabled (default) no solar data sent
*1 = Enabled, Solar Radiation value sent with data
|-
|SendAverage=0
|Causes average wind speed and directon to be sent rather than instantaneous/gust speed and direction.
*0 = Disabled (default) instantaneous/gust speed data sent
*1 = Enabled, average wind speed sent with data
|-
|CatchUp=1
|If possible send missing historic data to the server on startup
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled (default)
|}
 
Set by editing this section of cumulus.ini with Cumulus stopped (from build 1095)
Yes is the answer for other weather information, providing you can manipulate the information you have into either (preferably) the format used by the [[Monthly_log_files#Importing_pre-Cumulus_data]] or (second best) [[Dayfile.txt]]. Look up those cross-references in this Wiki (or the Cumulus '''Help''') for further information on required formats. The support forum includes a few threads related to this topic, and if you post there then people who have already imported from particular systems may offer their services to import your past observations.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Wunderground]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - Parameters for your [http://www.wunderground.com/ Weather Underground] site
|-
|SendSoilTemp1=0
|Soil Temperature 1
*0 = Disabled (default) not sent
*1 = Enabled, value sent with the data
|-
|SendSoilTemp2=0
|Soil Temperature 2
*0 = Disabled (default) not sent
*1 = Enabled, value sent with the data
|-
|SendSoilTemp3=0
|Soil Temperature 3
*0 = Disabled (default) not sent
*1 = Enabled, value sent with the data
|-
|SendSoilTemp4=0
|Soil Temperature 4
*0 = Disabled (default) not sent
*1 = Enabled, value sent with the data
|-
| SendSoilMoisture1=0
| Soil Moisture 1
*0 = Disabled (default) not sent
*1 = Enabled, value sent with the data
|-
| SendSoilMoisture2=0
| Soil Moisture 2
*0 = Disabled (default) not sent
*1 = Enabled, value sent with the data
|-
| SendSoilMoisture3=0
| Soil Moisture 3
*0 = Disabled (default) not sent
*1 = Enabled, value sent with the data
|-
| SendSoilMoisture4=0
| Soil Moisture 4
*0 = Disabled (default) not sent
*1 = Enabled, value sent with the data
|-
| SendLeafWetness1=0
| Leaf Wetness 1
*0 = Disabled (default) not sent
*1 = Enabled, value sent with the data
|-
| SendLeafWetness2=0
| Leaf Wetness 2
*0 = Disabled (default) not sent
*1 = Enabled, value sent with the data
|}
 
=== Section: [[Twitter.txt|Twitter]] ===
A converter for Weather Display log files is available from this thread in the forum: http://sandaysoft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10118
Set in the Internet Configuration Screen sites/Options tab
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Twitter]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your [[Twitter]] site parameters
|-
|User=
|your Twitter login username
|-
|Password=
|your Twitter login password ('''note:''' this is not encrypted)
|-
|Enabled=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Twitter block
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, tweats sent at the specified interval.
|-
|Interval=60
|interval in minutes that Tweats will be sent.
|-
|OauthToken=
|Twitter inserted authentication token parameter - you can delete this line with Cumulus stopped
|-
|OauthTokenSecret=
|Twitter inserted authentication token parameter - you can delete this line with Cumulus stopped
|}
 
===Section: PWSweather ===
A converter for WeatherLink log files is available from this thread in the forum: http://sandaysoft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11349
Set in the Internet Configuration Screen sites/Options tab
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[PWSweather]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your [http://www.pwsweather.com/ PWS] weather site parameters
|-
|ID=
|Your PWS Weather station identifier (note: not your user name)
|-
|Password=
|your PWS weather site login password ('''note:''' this is not encrypted)
|-
|Enabled=0
|Select in Internet Configuration Screen PWS Weather block
*0 = Disabled (default) no data sent to PWS
*1 = Enabled, data sent to PWS at the specified interval
|-
|Interval=15
|Interval in minutes that updates will be sent to your PWS weather site
|-
|SendUV=0
|Current Ultra Violet level
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, UV level sent with normal data
|-
|SendSR=0
|Solar Radiation level
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, Solar radiation reading sent with normal data
|-
|CatchUp=1
|If possible send missing historic data to the server on startup
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled (default)
|}
 
=== Section: APRS ===
== I was away on the last day of last month/year - How do I see the final lowest and highest figures for last month/year? ==
Set in the Internet Configuration Screen sites/Options tab
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[APRS]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your [[APRS]] weather site parameters
|-
|ID=
|Your APRS identifier
|-
|pass=-1
|your APRS password (Note: not encrypted)
|-
|server=cwop.aprs.net
|The APRS server to use
|-
|port=14580
|The port number to use on the APRS server.
|-
|Enabled=0
|Select in Internet Configuration Screen APRS Settings block
|-
|Interval=9
|Time in minutes between uploads to the APRS server
|-
|APRSHumidityCutoff=1
|For Oregon Scientific, so it doesn't report humidity to [[APRS]] when the temperature is below -10&#176;C
|-
|SendSR=0
|Solar Radiation level
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, Solar radiation reading sent with normal data
|}
 
=== Section: WOW ===
'''View''', ''Highs and Lows - This month (or This year)'' (or ''thismonth.htm'' or ''thisyear.htm'' web page) only shows the lowest and highest values for the current calendar month (or current year). This answer describes a way to see the same information for the month (or year) that fairly recently ended. It is valid only until build 1088 (from 5 March 2014 build 1089 'Delay writing of end of day backup files until the first log entry is written' means the stored ''month.ini'' relates to the ''initial'' entries for the start of the new month). From version 1.9.3 build 1041, Cumulus creates a daily backup of the log files.
Set in the Internet Configuration Screen sites/Options tab
*Look in the ''backup\daily'' subfolder within your Cumulus installation.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
*These daily backups will be created if Cumulus was left running during the period of interest, or stopped before that period and since restarted.
|-
*Normally about 10 such back ups are available, each folder has a name based on the timestamp and contains the 6 [[:Category:Log_Files|xxxx.ini files]], the current [[Monthly_log_files|monthly standard data log]]/[[Extra_Sensor_Files|monthly extra data log]], and the most recent update of [[dayfile.txt|daily summary log]].
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[WOW]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your [http://wow.metoffice.gov.uk/WOW| WOW] weather site parameters
|-
|ID=
|Your WOW station ID
|-
|Password=
|your WOW password (Note: not encrypted)
|-
|Enabled=1
|Updates enabled/disabled
|-
|Interval=15
|Time in mimutes between uploads to the WOW server
|-
|SendUV=0
|Current Ultra Violet level
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, UV level sent with normal data
|-
|SendSR=0
|Solar Radiation level
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, Solar radiation reading sent with normal data
|-
|CatchUp=1
|If possible send missing historic data to the WOW server on startup
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled (default)
|}
 
=== Section: Weatherbug ===
Open as a text file [[month.ini]] in the folder whose name is bearing the timestamp after your final rollover, for Cumulus builds 1041 to 1088 the final lowest and highest for each observation in the month will be listed.
Set in the Internet Configuration Screen sites/Options tab
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Weatherbug]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your [http://weather.weatherbug.com| Weatherbug] weather site parameters
|-
|ID=
|Your Weatherbug station ID
|-
|Password=
|your Weatherbug password (Note: not encrypted)
|-
|Enabled=1
|Updates enabled/disabled
|-
|Interval=15
|Time in mimutes between uploads to the Weatherbug server
|-
|SendUV=0
|Current Ultra Violet level
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, UV level sent with normal data
|-
|SendSR=0
|Solar Radiation level
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, Solar radiation reading sent with normal data
|-
|CatchUp=1
|If possible send missing historic data to the server on startup
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled (default)
|}
 
=== Section: xAP ===
In a similar manner if you miss the last day of the year, for Cumulus builds 1041 to 1088 see the final 'this year' figures for last year by opening [[year.ini]] from the appropriate backup.
Set in the Internet Configuration Screen sites/Options tab
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[xAP]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - the following parameters are used if you have enabled xAP in the Station Configuration xAP Settings block
|-
|Enabled=0
|When set, Cumulus will periodically send out xAP weather reports. See [http://www.xapautomation.org/ http://www.xapautomation.org/] for more details
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled
|-
|UID=4375
|Sets the UID for xAP messages. You should only need to change this if you have more than one instance of Cumulus running on a network.
|-
|Port=3639
|IP port your computer uses to send data to xAP
|}
 
== Section: NOAA ==
== What do the various wind speeds in Cumulus correspond to, with Davis stations? ==
All these can be set in the NOAA Setup Screen in Configuration menu. You might select to close Cumulus, and edit the 'Norm' parameters by using a external editor to manipulate into required format, copy, and paste, the values from another source (as there are a lot of figures to type in).
Davis station firmware supplies two windspeeds, a 3-second average and a 10-minute average (later versions of the firmware also supply a 2-minute average, Cumulus currently doesn't use this).
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
* The latest Davis 3-second average is treated by Cumulus as 'Latest' (available via <#wlatest>)
|-
* The highest of the station's 3-second readings over the previous 10 (configurable by adding ''AvgSpeedMinutes=N'' in [[Cumulus.ini#Section:_Station]] where 'N' is number of) minutes becomes the Cumulus 'Gust (available via <#wgust>). Note that the WMO definition of a wind gust is the mean wind speed over a 2 to 3 second sample period (not the maximum instantaneous wind speed).
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
* The Davis 10-minute average is the Cumulus 'Average' (available via <#wspeed>).
!style="width:600px" | Function
Note that if you sample these readings at shorter (real time) intervals it is possible for Cumulus 'Latest' to be lower than Cumulus 'Average' because approximately half of the 3-second wind speeds will be higher and half of them lower than the 10-minute average.
|-
If the Cumulus figure seems lower than the Davis figure see [[#My_Davis_station_shows_a_higher_maximum_wind_speed_than_Cumulus]].
|style="background:lightgray;"|[NOAA]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - the following parameters are set from the NOAA Setup dialog in Cumulus
|-
|Name=
|Your NOAA Station name
|-
|City=
|NOAA location city
|-
|State=
|NOAA location state/county/province or the equivalent in your nation
|-
|12hourformat=0
|Use 12 or 24 hour time format in the reports
*0 = 24 hour format (default)
*1 = 12 hour format
|-
|HeatingThreshold=65
|The temperature which is to be used to calculate [[Heat/cold degree days and Chill hours | heating degree days]]. The default is 65 degrees Fahrenheit that equates to 18 1/3 degrees Celsius. The value you type on the NOAA Setup Screen is entered in the units that you have selected for temperature.
|-
|CoolingThreshold=65
|The temperature which is to be used to calculate [[Heat/cold degree days and Chill hours | cooling degree days]]. The default is 65 degrees Fahrenheit that equates to 18 1/3 degrees Celsius. The value you type on the NOAA Setup Screen is entered in the units that you have selected for temperature.
|-
|MaxTempComp1=27
|The value used in the reports for the counts of days with max temperatures above the specified temperature.
|-
|MaxTempComp2=27
|The value used in the reports for the counts of days with max temperatures below the specified temperature.
|-
|MinTempComp1=0
|The value used in the reports for the counts of days with min temperatures below the specified temperature.
|-
|MinTempComp2=-18
|The value used in the reports for the counts of days with min temperatures below the specified temperature.
|-
|RainComp1=0.2
|The value used in the reports for the counts of days with rain totals greater than (or equal to) the specified amount.
|-
|RainComp2=2
|The value used in the reports for the counts of days with rain totals greater than (or equal to) the specified amount.
|-
|RainComp3=20
|The value used in the reports for the counts of days with rain totals greater than (or equal to) the specified amount.
|-
|AutoSave=0
|If set, when Cumulus does the end of day reset, it will auto create NOAA-style reports for the month and year corresponding to the day which has just ended.
|-
|NOAAUseUTF8=0
|'''(Added in Cumulus 1.9.4 beta build 1078)''' Specifies the 'Character set' in which NOAA reports are generated whether automatically (by Cumulus just after rollover) or manually (by selecting '''Save''' in NOAA Monthly/Annual Reports screen within Edit menu).
*0 = Uses the encoding used for the viewer's operating system's default ANSI code page.
*1 = Uses UTF8 (UCS Transformation Format—8-bit) format - the dominant character encoding for the World-Wide Web as using one to three bytes it represents most characters in common use covering most languages.
|-
|AutoFTP=0
|If set, when Cumulus does the first FTP upload after the daily reset, it will also upload the latest auto-created monthly and yearly NOAA-style reports. Note that you must already have regular (non-realtime) FTP configured.
|-
|MonthFileFormat="NOAAMO"mmyy".txt"
|Defines the format of the filename used for the monthly reports, using date formatting characters (see [[Webtags#Time.2FDate_.27format.27_Parameter]]). The default uses a 2 digit number for the month, but you may prefer the full month name or an abbreviation in your language. Note that any characters which are not date formatting characters should be in double quotes.
|-
|YearFileFormat="NOAAYR"yyyy".txt"
|Defines the format of the filename used for the yearly reports, using date formatting characters (see [[Webtags#Time.2FDate_.27format.27_Parameter]]). Note that any characters which are not date formatting characters should be in double quotes.
|-
|FTPDirectory=
|The FTP directory into which Cumulus will attempt to upload the latest NOAA-style reports. You must give the full path from the point of login, and do not supply a trailing 'slash'. Note that the directory must actually exist on the server.
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|
|style="background:lightgray;"| the following 'normal' values are set from the NOAA Setup dialog in Cumulus, but could be set up by processing information in a spreadsheet
|-
|NOAATempNorm[Jan-Dec]=
|Long term temperature averages for each month, used for 'departure from the norm' calculations.
|-
|NOAARainNorm[Jan-Dec]=
|Long term rainfall averages for each month, used for 'departure from the norm' calculations.
|}
 
== Section: Solar ==
Davis station loggers record a single spot (not any average) wind speed, so if you restart Cumulus and the software attempts to catch up from the station logger there may be only one or two values to include in the Cumulus average (over 10 or whatever) minutes calculation.
Set mostly in solar block at foot of Station Settings screen of Configuration menu.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
!style="width:600px" | Function
|-
|style="background:lightgray;"|[Solar]
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section Name - the following parameters are set from the Solar Setup dialog in Cumulus
|-
|SunThreshold=75
|If you have a solar sensor: Cumulus tries to determine whether the sun is shining by determining whether the current solar radiation value is above a certain percentage of the current theoretical maximum. The value you supply here is used as that percentage. The default value is 75%.
|-
|RStransfactor=0.8
|Cumulus uses the Ryan-Stolzenbach formula to determine the current theoretical maximum solar radiation at your location at the current moment in time. This formula has a factor to allow for the transmission of the radiation through the atmosphere; the default is 0.80.
|-
|SolarMinimum=0
|This setting allows you to specify a minimum solar radiation value which needs to be reached before it can be considered to be sunny. Note that this setting does not replace the calculation using the current theoretical maximum, it specifies an additional condition which has to be met. This setting therefore allows you to cater for the periods at the beginning and end of the day when the theoretical maximum is very low.
|-
|LuxToWM2=0.0079
|Edit cumulus.ini to add this parameter if you have a Fine Offset station with a solar detector. These supply 'Lux' values rather than 'W/m2' values that Davis stations supply. Cumulus attempts to convert from Lux to W/m2 using the supplied multiplication factor. You can add this parameter if you want to use a value other than the default of 0.0079, which is the generally accepted standard conversion factor for sunlight.
|-
|UseBlakeLarsen=0
| Called B/l on screen. Set this to 1 if you have a Blake-Larsen Sun Recorder, and you want Cumulus to get today's sunshine hours from it. You need to configure the Blake-Larsen software to put the SRsunshine.dat file into the Cumulus data folder so that Cumulus can read it.
|}
 
== Section: MainForm ==
== What do the various wind speeds in Cumulus correspond to, with Fine Offset stations? ==
This is an optional section if you have set 'Save main window position' on Display settings screen.
Fine Offset sensors measure wind over 48-second intervals, divided into 24 2-second intervals. At the end of each 48-second period, they transmit the highest of those 24 values as 'Gust', and the average of those 24 values as 'Wind'. The console keeps '''overwriting''' the newly received 'Gust' and 'Wind' values to the same area of console memory every 48 seconds, until the station logging interval time is reached, then it moves on to the next memory location, leaving the last values it wrote in the previous console memory location.
This section appears in the main cumulus.ini (found in same directory as cumulus.exe) where it stores the position of the main Cumulus screen on your monitor. Cumulus updates this section of the main cumulus.ini on closing, after you move the screen around on your monitor. An equivalent section also appears in a shorter cumulus.ini stored in the reports sub-directory where it stores the position of your last saved NOAA screen.
*If Cumulus is not running all the time, on restart it works through the console memory locations and extracts the Fine Offset Wind and Gust in each memory location, i.e. at the station logging interval.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
*While Cumulus is running, it reads the current wind speeds (and direction) every 10 seconds. There are new values only every 48 seconds (i.e. every fourth or fifth read)
|-
 
!style="width:150px" | Parameter Line Entry
Cumulus, for various reasons, uses different terminology, and also has configuration settings which control how some of the wind values are displayed.
!style="width:600px" | Function
* The Fine Offset console 'Gust' value becomes Cumulus 'Latest'.
|-
* The highest of the Fine Offset 'Gust' values over the previous 10 minutes becomes Cumulus 'Gust'.
|style="background:lightgray;"|[MainForm]
* Cumulus 'Average' can be calculated in 3 different ways:
|style="background:lightgray;"|Section name - the following parameters relate to the Cumulus screen position.
** The default: If 'Calculate 10-min wind average' is not selected on the Station Settings screen, the console 'Wind' value is used.
|-
** If 'Calculate 10-min wind average' is selected, then by default the average of the Fine Offset 'Gust' values read over the previous N (configurable, defaults to 10) minutes is used.
|Left=100
** If 'Calculate 10-min wind average' and 'Use speed for avg calculation' are both selected, the average of the Fine Offset 'Wind' values read over the previous N (configurable, defaults to 10) minutes is used.
|The last saved Cumulus main screen position, in pixels from the left-hand edge of the screen.
 
|-
Select value for 'N' using ''AvgSpeedMinutes=N'' in [[Cumulus.ini#Section:_Station]].
|Top=50
 
|The last saved Cumulus main screen position, in pixels from the top edge of the screen
Note that Fine Offset Consoles can display a 'MAX' figure, this is highest recorded since it was last reset (on touchscreen models multiple touches of the displayed speed will cause maximum speed, or gust, to be shown, and when a max value is displayed continuing to hold touching that value for 3 seconds will reset max to current value). Cumulus maintains its own various extremes for different periods (e.g High wind and high gust for yesterday on its main screen) calculated from all values read by Cumulus in that period.
|}
 
== How do I set up recording wind speeds in Cumulus, with Oregon Scientific and La Crosse stations ==
 
La Crosse and some Oregon Scientific weather stations only output a single wind speed. To allow Cumulus to calculate 'gust' and 'wind speed' with different values, select the '''Station''' dialogue from the ''Configuration'' menu and set ''Calculate 10 min wind average'' in the 'Settings' frame, so in [[cumulus.ini]] this will produce the parameter 'Wind10MinAverage=1 when cumulus is next stopped.
* The station's 'Wind' value will then display as Cumulus 'Latest'.
* A 10 (configurable by adding ''AvgSpeedMinutes=N'' in [[Cumulus.ini#Section:_Station]] where 'N' is number of) minutes average of the station's 'Wind' value will then display as Cumulus 'Average'.
* The highest of the station's 'Wind' value in a 10 minute period will then display as Cumulus 'Gust'.
 
See ''LCMaxWind=X'' parameter in [[Cumulus.ini#La_Crosse_specific:]] where X is the maximum (uncalibrated) wind speed in m/s that you want to allow.
 
== How do I make Cumulus run automatically when Windows starts? ==
 
There is no option in Cumulus to set this up automatically as I prefer to leave it under the control of the user: The safest and most reliable method is simply to put a shortcut in your Startup folder. If you are running Vista or Windows 7, you may find that Cumulus gets blocked by UAC if you try to run it from the Startup folder, in which case it is recommended that you use Task Scheduler instead. See here for a good description of how to do this - http://blogs.techrepublic.com/window-on-windows/?p=616
 
== How does Cumulus handle Daylight Saving Time? ==
 
As far as the timestamps in the extreme logs, monthly log, and the graphs, are concerned; Cumulus doesn't do anything in particular for DST. It generates timestamps based on the Windows clock. So basically, at the start of DST (i.e. when the clocks 'go forward') you will get an apparent gap of one hour in your data, and similarly at the end of DST (i.e. when the clocks 'go back') you will get an apparent hour of duplicate timestamps in your logs and graphs. You will tend to get better results if you leave Cumulus running during the clock change, because if it is stopped you may lose data, the exact timing of the affected hours depends on the type of station and when Cumulus was running.
 
Note that there seems to be an issue with Davis stations, either in the console/logger, or in the Davis DLL which Cumulus uses. If you don't have Cumulus running when DST ends, then when you start Cumulus up again, it doesn't receive all of the logger data it needs to catch up to the present time - the previous hour or so is missing. So with Davis stations, I strongly recommend that you leave Cumulus running at the end of DST, if at all possible.
 
For Fine Offset stations if you don't have Cumulus running when DST ends, then when you start Cumulus up again, the catch up misses off the first hour after the time Cumulus was stopped. This is because the console memory does not time-stamp the data blocks and Cumulus does not remember the console data block used just before shutdown, after all depending on how long Cumulus has been stopped and the station logging interval, the old memory location could be overwritten by now. On restart it just tries to read the appropriate number of hours worth of observations back from the block now marked as latest. If it was stopped at 2200 DST and restarted at 0600 standard time, Cumulus catches up with the last 8 hours worth of stored measurements as if going back to 2200 standard time, that means it stops at 2300 DST. At the start of DST, the catch up will duplicate the last hour that Cumulus was previously operating. (Stopping from 2200 standard time to 0600 DST the catch up goes back to 2200 DST or 2100 standard time).
 
== What formula does Cumulus use for Apparent Temperature? ==
 
It uses a formula from the Australian BOM - http://www.bom.gov.au/info/thermal_stress/#atapproximation
 
Note that the version used is the one that doesn't take into account solar radiation.
 
== How does Cumulus know the height of the cloud base? ==
 
It doesn't. It uses a calculation which gives the theoretical height above ground level at which Cumulus clouds might form, based on the current temperature and dew point. It assumes that the difference between temperature and dew point decreases by about 4.4 degrees Fahrenheit per 1000 feet increase in altitude. When the two values coincide, the air is saturated (relative humidity = 100%) and Cumulus clouds may form.
 
== How is my rain rate calculated? ==
 
For stations which supply a rain rate, Cumulus uses that. For stations which don't supply a rain rate (e.g. Fine Offset and La Crosse), Cumulus simply takes the rain total from the last five minutes and calculates a rate based on that; e.g. a single tip of 0.3mm in 5 minutes is a rate of 3.6mm/hr. When data from the station's logger is used, a similar calculation is performed, but the interval used is the logger interval rather than five minutes.
 
== Where does Cumulus get its this month and this year rainfall totals from? ==
* Each time Cumulus reads records from the weather station it applies any change to the 'total rain count' against today's total in its memory.
* The today's total so far at each reading time is also added to the 'recent tag' array allowing values for up to a week ago to be added as web tags to a web template.
* The rainfall totals that Cumulus uses when processing 'thismonthT.htm' and 'thisyearT.htm' web templates are initialised when Cumulus is (re-)started by adding up the corresponding daily totals in dayfile.txt and storing those sums in memory. To these are added today's total as currently in memory when a web page is created with those tags.
**Important, for the <#ryear> web tag Cumulus reads the dayfile for the rainfall season starting with the month set on the station settings screen and stored as the value for attribute ''RainSeasonStart'' in [[Cumulus.ini#Section:_Station]].
**If you have set a 'year to date' value for the current year, that is also added into this year's total. There is no corresponding setting for 'this month'.
*Note that you need to stop and then restart Cumulus to update the initial values stored in memory and get any corrections to rogue values reflected on the main Cumulus screen and in web tags.
* The rainfall totals shown on the ''This period'', ''This month'', and ''This year'' screens within the '''View''' menu are generated by adding up the daily rainfall totals found in [[dayfile.txt]] for the selected period. So any rainfall for the current (meteorological) day is excluded as the latest dayfile.txt row is for yesterday. Totals are recalculated when you press the ''Update display'' button. Important note: The view menu 'This year' screen always calculates the total for a selected calendar year starting in January.
 
The built-in dayfile.txt editor is used if it is necessary to amend the daily totals (to correct any monthly, rain season, or calendar year, totals); the built-in all-time (or monthly records) editor(s) in Cumulus is used if it is necessary to regenerate the extreme records from dayfile.txt; see [[#My_station_invented_some_rain_that_didn.27t_really_occur.2C_and_I_want_to_set_it_to_zero_.28or_some_other_figure.29 |FAQ about correcting incorrect rainfall displays]].
 
== How do I reset all my data to start again from scratch? ==
 
Stop Cumulus and delete all of the files in the data folder. You may also want to edit the 'StartDate=' line in [[cumulus.ini]] to set the date for the start of your data.
 
== How do I localise Cumulus to my own language? ==
 
Cumulus does not directly support languages other than English. It was never intended for use in other languages, and it is not possible to add support for this now. However, the text used for:
*Forecasting
*Moonphases
*Beaufort Scale
*Trend descriptions
*Compass points
*Graph titles
*Extra sensor channels
can all be customised by using the [[strings.ini]] file. This facility may be extended to allow other items to be translated, but it is very unlikely that there will ever be a fully multi-language version of Cumulus in its current form.
 
Also see this wiki page: [[:Category:Other_Languages|Other Languages]] for information about customising the web pages.
 
== Can I connect/disconnect my weather station while Cumulus is running? ==
No. You must make sure your weather station is connected to your PC and switched on, before running Cumulus. Do not disconnect your station while Cumulus is running.
 
 
== How does Cumulus deal with extra sensors? ==
By default, Cumulus deals with weather stations incorporating solar sensors, if you have selected the relevant station 'Type' or 'Display solar/extra data' in configuration, but it has some capability to deal with extra sensors added including the Blake-Larsen Sun Recorder.
Cumulus has the ability to input, log, and display Current Values/Outputs from the [[Rain_measurement#Optical_Rain_Gauges|Hydreon Optical Rain Sensor - Model RG-11]] and from either Oregon Scientific or Davis [[Extra_Sensor_Files|extra sensors]]. Only today's and yesterday's total rainfall from a Hydreon sensor are available in [[today.ini]] and [[yesterday.ini]] respectively. For some Oregon Scientific models, the temperature from an extra sensor can replace the temperature from the main sensor for processing by Cumulus, but all extra sensor values are stored in a series of [[Extra_Sensor_Files| monthly log]] files. No other processing is performed for Davis extra sensors, but past values are retained in a series of [[Extra_Sensor_Files| monthly log]] files. The file [[strings.ini]] is used to customise the description associated with extra sensors.
 
== What is this "Solar Max" value which Cumulus is displaying? ==
It's the current theoretical maximum solar radiation value at the current date and time at your location. It is calculated using the Ryan-Stolzenbach formula, and uses the 'transmission factor' configurable in the station settings to allow for the effect of transmission through the atmosphere. The figure is not particularly useful in itself; it is used if you have a solar sensor, to compare with the current solar radiation reading, in an attempt to determine whether the sun is currently shining or not.
 
== My Fine Offset console says the memory is nearly full - how do I clear it? ==
You don't need to, and it's much safer if you don't; clearing the memory could lead to a loss of data. The memory indicator on the console has no effect on the logging of data; the console will automatically start re-using the oldest memory locations. As long as you are running Cumulus (at least occasionally), Cumulus will have downloaded the data it needs from the console, so the console is free to overwrite the oldest data when it needs to.
 
== How do I get my Davis station with USB working with Cumulus? ==
Cumulus cannot drive the station in USB mode, you must install 'virtual serial port' drivers, and configure Cumulus to use the virtual serial port. Make sure you have the station connected to the PC during the following operations.
 
You should first make sure that you can use the station with Weatherlink, in serial mode. If you have not already installed the Weatherlink software, install the version which came with your weather station. You should then upgrade to the latest version of Weatherlink; you can download the update from the Davis web site, [http://www.davisnet.com/support/weather/downloads/software_sftwr.asp here].
 
You now need to install the 'CP210X USB to Serial Converter'. You may find a link on your Start menu under 'Weatherlink'. Alternatively, you should find it in the folder where Weatherlink was installed, under 'Support' then 'Utilities'. Davis also make it available on their web site, [http://www.davisnet.com/support/weather/downloads/software_driver.asp here]
 
It's a good idea to then update the driver to the latest version from the Silicon Labs web site, particularly if you use Windows 7 or 8. You can download it [http://www.silabs.com/products/mcu/pages/usbtouartbridgevcpdrivers.aspx here] - click on 'VCP driver kit' under 'Download for Windows XP/Server 2003/Vista/7' to begin the download. Run the executable once it's downloaded.
 
At this point, it's best to restart your computer.
 
You should now run Weatherlink, and attempt to connect to the weather station '''in serial mode'''. Weatherlink should find the appropriate COM port number automatically. If not, you can find it under 'Ports (COM & LPT)' in the Windows device manager. Look for the port called 'USB Serial Port (COMn)', where 'n' is a number. That's the number of the port you need to use in Weatherlink. If you cannot get Weatherlink to work using this virtual COM port, it is unlikely that you will be able to get Cumulus to work either, so either contact Davis support, explaining that you are trying to use the virtual serial port drivers because you want to run third-party software, or ask in the Cumulus forum, someone may be able to advise.
 
Once you have Weatherlink connected and working via the virtual serial port, '''close it down''', and start Cumulus.
 
In the station settings in Cumulus, select the appropriate station type for your station; under 'VP Type' select '''Serial'''; in the serial port section enter the COM port number that you found earlier. You may need to restart Cumulus at this point. It will then start displaying live data. Note that the it deliberately does not download any historical logger data from before the current point in time. When you run it subsequently, it will download logger data to catch up if necessary from when you last ran it, but never from earlier than when you first ran it.
 
If you still having difficulty, the Davis Weatherlink manual offers this advice, which may be useful:
 
"Included with the WeatherLink software is a utility that allows you to convert a USB data logger from a direct USB data logger back to a USB data logger that emulates the serial port. To use
this utility, select Convert USB to Virtual Serial in your WeatherLink program group on the Start menu of your computer (Start>AllPrograms>WeatherLink>Convert USB to Virtual Serial) and run the utility to convert your data logger. Please contact Davis Technical Support (“Contacting Davis Technical Support” on page 26) for more information."
 
== Why does Cumulus do some things the way it does, when there are better ways? ==
Cumulus was originally something I 'knocked together' quickly when I got my first weather station, simply because I couldn't find any other software anywhere which I was prepared to use. No 'design' went into it, it was really just a prototype. Some of the things I did were just quick 'hacks' that I intended to fix when I did it 'properly'. But I never got around to going back and doing it 'properly', and it was never my intention that anyone else would use it. But I was persuaded to make it available for others, and then to add more and more enhancements.
 
The fact that it works with several different types of weather station means that much of it is a compromise; it doesn't use certain features of the weather station which it could use if it were dedicated to that type of weather station. For example, it typically does not use any high/low data that the station might store internally. Instead, it maintains its own high/low data from individual readings. There are a number of reasons for this; the fact that Cumulus supports an 0900-0900 day, and the weather station does not, and the fact that typically Cumulus maintains far more high/low values than the station does, and these need to be self-consistent.
 
So yes, I am aware that some of things that Cumulus does may seem strange, but it is simply not possible for me to start again from scratch, knowing what I know now. And it is not possible for me to effectively produce separate versions of Cumulus specifically for each type of weather station. If you don't like the way Cumulus does certain things, do what I did and write your own software!
 
= Troubleshooting =
 
== My 'Error' light is flashing ==
 
Click on it, and a window will open describing the error. It may just be a temporary ftp problem. If you want to stop ftp errors being reported in this way, you can turn them off in the display settings ("Show FTP errors on error log window").
 
== I’ve configured my ftp details but the web pages aren’t appearing on my site ==
 
Try setting ‘use active FTP mode’.
 
== I’ve tried active FTP mode, but my web pages (or my realtime.txt file) still don’t appear? ==
Are you absolutely sure you have set the ftp path correctly? Most problems like this are a result of an incorrect path. Note that the information in the 'FTP progress' window is not generally useful for diagnosing upload issues' try turning on the ftp logging (on the Configuration menu) and look in the ftplog.txt and realtimeftplog.txt files (in the Cumulus folder). It is best to supply a relative path - i.e. with no leading 'slash'. Please don't ask me what path you need to supply, it is impossible for me to guess how your web space is set up. If you cannot work it out, ask your web space provider for help.
 
== My ‘new record’ light has stopped flashing ==
 
It is the normal situation that the light does not flash. The ‘new record’ light only flashes when an all-time record has been broken. It stops flashing if you click on it or restart Cumulus, until another all-time record is broken. When you first start using Cumulus, inevitably the light will flash a lot, even if you cancel it, as you will be breaking records constantly. After a while, it will 'settle down' and not flash so often.
 
== I installed a new version and my web page templates got over-written ==
 
The supplied web page templates are part of Cumulus and will be over-written on upgrade. If you want to create your own web pages, don’t edit the supplied ones, place them in a different folder and use the ‘extra files’ facility. From version 1.8.9, the installer offers the option of not over-writing the web templates; it unconditionally also installs them to a sub-folder of the web folder called 'originals', so you can refer to them if required, even if you chose not to over-write those in the web folder.
 
== I can’t find my data files! ==
 
You’re probably running Windows Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8 (or one of the corresponding server versions of Windows). Look in C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Cumulus - note that this is a 'hidden' folder. Ideally, to avoid this situation, you would install to somewhere outside the Program Files hierarchy, as recommended in the readme.txt.
 
== I can't save my NOAA reports! ==
 
You've probably corrupted your Cumulus.ini file in the default Cumulus folder. See [[Cumulus.ini#Section:_NOAA]]. It can only be edited either (if Cumulus is stopped) with an external text file editor or (with Cumulus running) using the ''NOAA Setup'' in the configuation menu. Pay attention to where the quotes are required for the file names, and check that you have an allowed date format (see [[Webtags#Time.2FDate_.27format.27_Parameter]]).
 
== My sunrise and sunset times are wrong ==
 
You've almost certainly entered your co-ordinates incorrectly, or not entered them at all - on the station settings screen. You must enter DEGREES, MINUTES, and SECONDS, no other format will work. Make sure to use '''unsigned whole numbers''' for degrees, minutes, and seconds, with a 'W' for your longitude if you're West of the Greenwich meridian (e.g. if you are in the United States), and the appropriate letter for your latitude (N for northern hemisphere, S for southern hemisphere).
 
If you are not familiar with the degrees/minutes/seconds standard format and have your co-ordinates in some other format, there are pages on the web which will convert for you. One such is here: http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/DDDMMSS-decimal.html
 
One other less likely possibility is that you have set the wrong time zone on your PC.
 
== The Moon rise or set time is showing dashes. ==
 
The moon doesn’t rise and set every day, the dashes appear when that event doesn’t occur on that particular day. The period between a moon rise and set is approximately 12 hours and 25 minutes, on average. The moon rises (or sets) approximately 50 minutes later, on average, each day. It therefore follows that sometimes the moon will not rise or set on a particular day - i.e. it had risen the previous day, or will set on the following day.
 
== The Moon image is just black ==
 
It's probably a New Moon.
 
== Why are the 'Yesterday' figures missing on the Main Cumulus Screen? ==
 
The yesterday values on the Main Screen under "Recent Extremes" are not shown correctly:
*EITHER when the ''end of day rollover has not taken place''. The usual cause of this is allowing your PC to 'sleep' while Cumulus is running. The support forum mentions a few other causes.
*OR if Cumulus was unable to read observations from your station during that day, but can today.
 
== I’ve ‘zoomed’ a graph, how do I get it back to full size? ==
 
Drag from lower right to upper left.
 
== My station invented some rain that didn't really occur, and I want to set it to zero (or some other figure) ==
Cumulus does include some code to try to ignore some obvious rain errors. For example, if the station reports negative rain, Cumulus will normally ignore that, but if for 6 consecutive readings the rain cumulative count stays below what it was before, Cumulus will normally accept the new count as a new starting point. Because many positive values are realistic (see sub-answers), Cumulus generally will accept those as a result of accidental knocking of a tipping bucket gauge, due to wind effects on the gauge, or even due to the station electronics generating a rogue reading.
=== (Invented rain) Error in today's total===
#correct today's total using the 'today's rain' editor on the edit menu.
#optionally stop Cumulus and edit [[today.ini]] to change the ''LastTip=''(look up previous value in a recently backed up today.ini) parameter.
#Remember that 'ConsecutiveDryDays' and 'ConsecutiveWetDays' do not include today.
 
=== (Invented rain) Error in yesterday's total ===
#edit the total for the relevant day in dayfile.txt, using the dayfile.txt editor on the edit menu.
#optionally edit yesterday's total (which is only held temporarily for display purposes) in [[today.ini]], while Cumulus is stopped.
=== (Invented rain) Error in total or high rainfall rate for any day before today ===
Just edit the total or rate for the relevant day in dayfile.txt, using the dayfile.txt editor on the edit menu.
 
=== (Invented rain) Error in total, or extremes, for this month and/or this year ===
See next FAQ. Once you have corrected the daily totals (or high rainfall rates) in dayfile.txt, you can use the editors (on the edit menu) for 'This Month' and 'This Year' to fetch the corrected values from dayfile.txt (or enter figures manually).
 
=== (Invented rain) Error in all-time records ===
If your all-time records, or month-by-month all-time records have been affected, you can use the built-in editors to fetch the correct values once you have corrected dayfile.txt.
=== (Invented rain and) Other rain figures ===
Note that other rain figures, such as 'rain last hour' and 'rain last 24 hours' depend on a sensible progression of the rain counter, so it's not easy to correct this; it's easier to wait until the erroneous figure is far enough in the past so as not to affect the calculation. If you really do want to try to correct it; you would need to stop Cumulus, then find and edit multiple field 11 (assuming date is field 0) the 'total rain counter' values in the [[monthly_log_files]] in the current monthly log file so they are correct relative to the current value of the rain counter (i.e. the latest one logged).
 
=== (Invented rain) Error prevention by Spike removal ===
#It is better to try to avoid spurious rain being recorded in the first place.
#Cumulus attempts to ignore large increases in the rain total automatically, and is quite often successful.
#For 'hourly rain' and 'rain rate', you can set 'spike removal' settings on the calibration settings screen. The value you set here, is the maximum change allowed between successive observations. These apply only to Fine Offset and La Crosse stations (which are known to occasionally produce faulty rain readings).
=== (Invented rain) More information ===
There is more information about correcting rogue data elsewhere in the Wiki, in the pages about the [[:Category:Log_Files|log files]].
 
== My monthly and/or annual rainfall totals are wrong ==
Cumulus calculates these when it is restarted, holds the values within memory, and increments them as required while it is running. This FAQ in the previous section [[#Where_does_Cumulus_get_its_this_month_and_this_year_rainfall_totals_from.3F]] has a concise description of how Cumulus calculates these figures.
 
* The rainfall total shown on the ''This month'' screen within the '''View''' menu, is calculated from summing [[dayfile.txt]] totals for a selected month, and so for the default current month will exclude the current meteorological day. The rainfall total for today so far is added for the web tag ''<#rmonth>''.
 
* The rainfall total shown on the ''This year'' screen within the '''View''' menu, is calculated from summing totals in dayfile.txt for a selected calendar year. For the default current year, it will exclude the current meteorological day.
 
* The rainfall total reported by the ''<#ryear>'' web tag is for the rainfall season to date, it is calculated from taking today's rain and then adding the sum of the totals in dayfile.txt starting with the first (meteorological) day of the month specified in the 'rainfall season' frame on the ''station settings'' screen within the '''Configuration''' menu, until the end of dayfile.txt is reached. So check you have specified the right starting month there before deciding the rainfall total shown is wrong.
 
If you need to, you can specify a year-to-date total to add in for the period up to the point where you started using Cumulus, so that your first year’s total is correct. This is also on the Station Configuration screen. Make sure you specify the first Cumulus operating year here, otherwise the extra will be added to the annual total for the wrong year!
 
See immediately preceding FAQ [[#My_station_invented_some_rain_that_didn.27t_really_occur.2C_and_I_want_to_set_it_to_zero_.28or_some_other_figure.29 |correcting rainfall]] for how to correct errors in total for particular days and how to correct the high extremes for the various periods.
 
In all cases then restart Cumulus to get the monthly and annual totals recalculated from correct daily totals.
 
If you need to correct within day values for trend graphs as well as the longer period totals, provided you know roughly when the rogue rainfall was recorded, find (and edit) it in the [[monthly_log_files]], field 11 (assuming date is field 0) is the count used to derive other parameters.
 
== The ‘gust’ line has disappeared from my graph ==
 
You probably have Cumulus set to calculate a 10-minute average, and your logger period is 10 minutes or longer, so your gust comes out the same as the average when using data from the logger.
 
== My ‘gust’ values are the same as my ‘average’ wind speed values. ==
 
As above, you probably have Cumulus set to calculate a 10-minute average, and your station logger period is 10 minutes or longer, so your gust comes out the same as the average when using data from the logger.
 
== I’ve just installed Cumulus, and it didn’t download all the old data from my weather station ==
 
Cumulus deliberately doesn’t attempt to download any data from before the point when you first run it. If you wish, although this isn't recommended, you can force it to download data from any point by editing the ‘Timestamp’ line in the today.ini file (in the data folder), before starting it (you will need to have run it at least once previously). Note that if you do this, it is at your own risk, and you will need to sort out any issues which may arise yourself.
 
If you do this, you will probably need to edit your log files in the '''data''' folder as you may have duplicate entries and/or entries out of order. Your rain totals will almost certainly also be wrong - the total for "today" in particular. See the [[FAQ#My_station_invented_some_rain_that_didn.27t_really_occur.2C_and_I_want_to_set_it_to_zero_.28or_some_other_figure.29 |FAQ]] entry about correcting rainfall data. If you have only just started using Cumulus, you could delete all of the files in the data folder, and just create a simple today.ini as below. Then when you start Cumulus it will start again with just the data from the station's logger.
 
Note that this method does not work for the Oregon WMR200 station. This station deletes logger entries when they are downloaded, and there is no mechanism for retrieving logger entries for a particular period - it just sends all the entries that it has. You may be able to circumvent this by creating a today.ini file in the data folder before you run Cumulus, with just this in it:
<pre>
[General]
Date=10/04/2012
Timestamp=10/04/2012 10:00:00
CurrentYear=2012
CurrentMonth=4
CurrentDay=10
</pre>
 
Change the dates and time to match the point from which you want Cumulus to start downloading data. If the station has already sent the data, this may not work, unfortunately.
 
If you stored data from your weather station (on another file-based system) before you first ran Cumulus, then you may be able to (using a text editor outside Cumulus) generate [[Monthly log files]] for the pre-Cumulus period. See that Wiki article for more information on what you can then do with those files within Cumulus.
 
== I have inserted pre-Cumulus data and now I get errors ==
Probably some of your inserts used the wrong format (blank rows, fields with real numbers where integers expected, alternatively missing or duplicated fields). See [[:Category:Log_Files]]. Note that Cumulus will only flag errors in the log files that it reads (e.g. those relating to the period for which it displays trends graphs). Check all the log files you have amended.
== I have inserted pre-Cumulus data making 'Records began on' date wrong ==
Stop Cumulus and edit [[Cumulus.ini#Section:_Station | cumulus.ini (station section)]] within the main Cumulus folder. Change the "StartDate=" line. Be sure to use the same format for the date.
 
'''Note''' ''StartDate=xxxx'' does ''not'' need to be updated for Cumulus to recognise earlier data in log files in its ''data'' subfolder.
 
It really represents "Cumulus began on", so there is an alternative of leaving cumulus.ini unchanged, but editing default Cumulus ''recordsT.htm'' template twice:
*after the h2 heading is ''&lt;p&gt;Records began on <#recordsbegandate>. Here are the extremes recorded since then.&lt;/p&gt;''; you can replace '<#recordsbegandate>' with the new earliest date typed in as text; and
*at the start of the table is the ''&lt;caption&gt;Records Since <#recordsbegandate>&lt;/caption&gt;''; replace the label "Records since" with "Cumulus began on" leaving the web tag unchanged.
 
== Cumulus doesn’t show the same pressure as my Fine Offset console ==
Cumulus displays atmospheric pressure corrected to sea level. The console calls this ‘relative pressure’; it displays the letters "rel" when this is being displayed. First of all, check
# that you are comparing the Cumulus display with the ‘relative’ pressure on your console,
# that only one copy of Cumulus is accessing the weather station (and no other software),
# that you do not have a 'EWpressureoffset=x.y' line in the [Station] section of [[Cumulus.ini#Introduced_for_problems_with_Fine_Offset_family:| cumulus.ini]],
# and that you do not have a setting for pressure on the Cumulus calibration screen.
 
The Fine Offset stations only store absolute/station pressure readings in their weather memory locations updated with each transmission and read by Cumulus. Within Cumulus, the software applies the adjustment to sea level before any further processing. It does ''not'' use the altitude setting in the cumulus station configuration screen.
Normally when Cumulus starts, it reads in [http://www.jim-easterbrook.me.uk/weather/mm/ the fixed block] in the console a pair of absolute/station pressure and relative/sea level pressure readings and uses the difference between these as the ‘offset’ in millibar for the station; Cumulus uses this offset subsequently to calculate the sea level pressure (each time when reading the absolute pressure in the weather memory locations of the station), but it is possible to define the offset in cumulus.ini instead.
 
Make sure that you have set your console's relative pressure correctly:
*for a push button operated model, press 'menu' key 4 times for pressure mode, press 'enter' to move to relative pressure setting, press 'up' or 'down' to adjust value.
*if your model uses a touch sensitive screen then it is probably tap the reading three times, then touch '+' or '-' to adjust value.
 
The support forum includes discussion on where to find isobar charts or other sources to determine what the pressure should be. Obviously after any adjustment you need to stop Cumulus, because it is when you restart it that Cumulus reads the new pressure offset.
 
Sometimes the offset that cumulus reads from the fixed block is clearly garbage, so
# the cumulus error light is set,
# an error message suggests you check the station, and
# Cumulus uses zero offset instead as a best effort.
In this situation, Cumulus will display the same value as the 'absolute' pressure on the console (no "rel" is displayed on the console when it is displaying absolute pressure). Often, if you restart Cumulus, it will then be able to read the correct value. If the problem happens often, you can circumvent it by editing cumulus.ini (while Cumulus is stopped), and in the [Station] section add an entry:
 
EWpressureoffset=x.y
 
where x.y is your pressure offset. '''Cumulus will then use this instead of reading the fixed block offset from the station'''.
'''Note''' that ''you must supply the offset in hPa'' (i.e. the millibar units that the station works with) and that this circumvention generally stops Cumulus from agreeing with the relative pressure displayed on the console.
 
== My pressure suddenly dropped! Or suddenly increased! ==
 
If you have a Fine Offset station, and this happened when you (re)started Cumulus, it is quite likely a problem with reading the pressure 'offset' from the station. See: "Cumulus doesn’t show the same pressure as my Fine Offset console" above.
 
== I get an error when I try to view my all-time records. Also, they don’t appear on my web site ==
 
The date format on your system has probably changed. Look at the Startdate line in cumulus.ini and check whether this is in the correct format for your system. If not, stop Cumulus and correct the date format.
 
== I get an error when I close Cumulus ==
 
Cumulus does sometimes report an error when you close it. This does not appear to cause any problems, you can just close the error message. I don't seem to be able to do anything about this, as the 'crash' is not in code that I have control over. You may be able to avoid this error by avoiding closing Cumulus while it is uploading to the internet. Please don't bother sending me a bug report about this.
 
== My forecast says "Not available" ==
 
You can get Cumulus to create a simple forecast by selecting 'Cumulus Forecast' on the Stations Settings screen.
 
== My forecast always says "Exceptional Weather, Stormy, much precipitation" ==
 
You probably have incorrect Pressure Extreme settings in the Forecast section on the Station Settings window. Make sure that the values you have supplied match the units you have selected for the extremes. Note that the units for the extremes are not related to the units you have chosen for pressure display in Cumulus. The option of supplying mb/hPa or inHg for the extremes is merely a convenience; you can supply either, but the values and the units must of course match.
 
== My computer hibernated/suspended, and I lost data/my graphs 'flat-lined' ==
 
Cumulus can't cope with being suspended, it just carries on as normal after being woken. There is an option in the station settings to 'close on suspend', so Cumulus will close itself as a safety measure, if you forget to do it manually. Don't use the 'close on suspend' option and the 'confirm shutdown' option at the same time; this will cause problems.
 
But I strongly recommend that you don't have your computer set to go into any form of standby while Cumulus is running - it's continuously gathering real-time data, after all, so it's a rather strange thing to do.
 
== My heat index/humidex/wind chill is the same as my temperature ==
*Wind chill only applies when the average wind speed is above 4.8 kph '''and''' (by default in Cumulus as it should really always be set, but this is an option that can be unset) the temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius.
*Heat index only applies when the temperature is above 27 degrees Celsius '''and''' the humidity is above 40%.
* Humidex does not have any 'cutoff' values, but at low temperature and/or humidity it will give the same figure as ambient temperature.
 
If heat index or wind chill is not applicable, Cumulus will set them the same as the ambient temperature.
 
== Cumulus is showing a different wind speed compared to my console ==
 
You have probably misunderstood Cumulus processing of wind speeds, looking at different parameters, or different averaging periods.
*If you have a Davis weather station see [[#What_do_the_various_wind_speeds_in_Cumulus_correspond_to.2C_with_Davis_stations.3F]]
*If you have a Fine Offset station, see [[#What_do_the_various_wind_speeds_in_Cumulus_correspond_to.2C_with_Fine_Offset_stations.3F]]
* For Oregon Scientific and La Crosse stations see [[#How_do_I_set_up_recording_wind_speeds_in_Cumulus.2C_with_Oregon_Scientific_and_La_Crosse_stations]]
 
Note that you can't compare the graphs drawn by Easyweather and Cumulus unless you are certain that they are plotting the same data. They can't both be running at the same time, so one would normally be plotting 'live' data at a given interval, and the other will be plotting data downloaded from the station's logger. The wind speed will hence not normally be the same for a particular time on the graph as it may well have changed at the point that it is saved to the logger. The only situation where it ''would'' be valid to compare the graphs would be if neither were running at the times you are comparing, and both subsequently downloaded the same data from the logger.
 
== I get error -32710 with Cumulus and my USB Davis station ==
 
The USB support in the Davis DLL which Cumulus uses doesn't seem to work. You need to use the CP210X USB/serial software which Davis supply, and use the station in serial mode. If you have previously been using your station with Weatherlink in USB mode, you will need to change to serial mode in Weatherlink before you can use the station with Cumulus. You can do this using [http://www.davisnet.com/support/weather/download/CP210X_USB_Serial_Converter_ver2.exe this utility from Davis].
 
== When I start Cumulus, the graphs restart again each time and don't show the earlier data ==
 
You probably have an error in one or more data files. Look near the beginning of the latest file in the Diags folder for an error message which will tell you which file is in error and which line is causing the problem. It may simply be a blank line. Edit the file with Cumulus stopped. Note that you may need to repeat this process; only the first error is shown.
 
This problem can also occur if you change your system format settings (date format, decimal and list separators etc). Again, check the diags file for a message about a number not being a valid floating point value.
 
== Cumulus won't read the data from my station ==
 
If you have one of the Fine Offset clones, make sure you have configured your relative pressure correctly. If Cumulus finds an 'impossible' value, it will ignore all data from your station.
 
== The peak values on my graphs are not the same as my extreme values ==
 
The graphs are snapshots of the data, taken once a minute while Cumulus is running; it is not feasible to plot every data point. If the extreme value did not coincide exactly with the point at which the data was added to the graph, then it will not appear on the graph. The graphs are not intended to show all of the highs and lows, they are there to give an idea of the trends. This also applies to 'Select-A-Graph', which takes its data from the data logs; the highs and lows do not necessarily appear in the periodic data logs.
 
This is most noticeable with wind gusts, the value of which can change rapidly, even over a period of a minute. The 'Plot latest gust' setting causes the 'Latest' figure (as shown on the main screen) to be plotted. What this figure represents exactly depends on your weather station type. This figure may vary rapidly, e.g. on Davis stations, it changes every 3 seconds or so. The graphs are plotted once a minute, and hence, with Davis stations, for example, there is approximately a one in 20 chance of any given 'latest' figure actually being plotted.
 
Cumulus also stores the peak value of the 'latest' figure from the last 10 minutes. It calls this the 'gust', as this is a reasonable representation of a true 'gust' figure. If you untick 'plot latest gust', it will plot this figure instead. As it contains the peak figure from the last 10 minutes, and the graph is plotted once a minute, plotting this value means that the high gust figure will always appear on the graph. The exception to this is with Davis stations, in the situation where the 'high gust' figure has been read directly (as a way of ensuring that the high gust isn't missed) rather than by the usual reading of the current data. In this case, the gust is recorded as the high, but is not written to the current value, and hence does not appear on the graph, as it may be out of sequence with the current data.
 
== My extreme values do not appear in the 'monthly' data logs ==
 
The data logs are snapshots of the data, taken at the configured interval while Cumulus is running (or at the station's configured interval when data is read from the station's logger directly into the Cumulus monthly log). Cumulus, while it is running, reads the station frequently, detecting each change in observations, and can update extremes at each of these reading times.
 
If the extreme value reading time did not immediately precede a time at which the data was logged, then it will not appear in the log. This is most noticeable with wind gusts, the value of which can change rapidly between log entries.
 
Cumulus is designed to be kept running, if you only run it once a day, then the information it reads from the station's logger during catch up may miss extremes. For example ''when Cumulus reads the archive temperatures from a Davis station'', (in a compromise to allow Cumulus to have as much code as possible that is common to all weather station types) the design means that it ignores the first and second figures representing highest and lowest reported at each logged time, just reading the third figure that, depending on console configuration, is either the average value over the archive period or the final reading of the archive period (I don't know what the default is).
 
== Cumulus takes a long time to download the data from my Davis station at start up ==
 
When Cumulus starts, it asks the station for all the data from the logger since the last time it was running. If the timestamp that it supplies does not exactly match the timestamp of an entry in the Davis logger, the station has a strange 'feature' where it decides to send the entire contents of the logger. This will take some time to download, during which the Davis console display may appear to freeze.
 
It is recommended that you set the logging interval in Cumulus to the same interval as the station (the station interval can be changed using Weatherlink), then Cumulus will be able to make sure it uses a timestamp that matches an entry in the logger. Note that this is mentioned in the readme.txt file which appears during the Cumulus installation, which you were asked to read at the time. If you didn't read it, it is strongly recommended that you do so now; it contains important information.
 
== Today is the shortest/longest day, but Cumulus says that tomorrow will be a few seconds shorter/longer ==
 
The routines I use to calculate the length of the day aren't really suitable for this level of accuracy. I don't consider it an issue.
 
== Cumulus got the forecast wrong! ==
 
Cumulus uses a forecast based on the Zambretti Forecaster (see Google). I didn't design the algorithm myself and to be honest I don't know how it works, so I can't answer any questions about it. Note that this is a 'forecast' for the following 12 hours or so; it is not a 'nowcast' (what the weather is doing now). Please regard the forecast as 'for entertainment purposes only'. Do not base any decisions on it, and bear in mind that it is a very simple calculation based on only a few basic parameters. Some people get reasonable results, others do not. You can try tweaking the pressure extreme settings (in the Forecast section in the station settings), but don't expect the forecast to be as good as that provided by the weather agencies which have invested millions in their forecasting systems.
 
== I only see one set of points on the wind direction graph ==
 
This happens just after you restart Cumulus, if the data came from the weather station's logger (i.e. Cumulus hasn't been running for a while). Weather stations only supply a 'current' direction, and Cumulus calculates the average direction when running 'live'. So there is only one set of data available to be plotted, if it comes from the station logger.
 
== My average wind bearing remains at zero ==
Cumulus will always show zero average bearing when the average wind speed is zero (it can't be otherwise because it's calculated using the wind speed). In addition, it will show zero current bearing when the current wind speed is zero if you have ''use bearing zero when calm'' selected in the station settings (accessible from '''Configuration''' menu).
 
This also happens if your anemonmeter has a fault.
 
== My graphs appear to be plotted less frequently just after Cumulus starts up ==
 
When running live, Cumulus plots data at 1-minute intervals. When it starts up, it pre-fills the graphs with data from the log files, which generally (depending on how you have Cumulus and your station configured) will be at less frequent intervals.
 
== I closed Cumulus, the 'please wait' form appeared, but Cumulus didn't close, even after several minutes ==
 
If you've closed Cumulus shortly after it has downloaded a lot of data from the logger, it can take a while for the logging thread to get everything written away to disk, and Cumulus won't close until this has completed. However, in some circumstances, there seems to be a situation where Cumulus will never close, so you will need to close it with task manager. If you think you know what conditions cause this to happen, please let me know.
 
== Cumulus isn't logging data at the interval that I set ==
 
It logs data at the interval you have configured, while it is running. If there is data to read from the station logger at start up, each logger entry is logged to the Cumulus log files, so those entries will be at the logger interval that you have configured in your station.
 
== Cumulus takes a very long time to shut down ==
You may have closed it very soon after starting it up, when it had a lot of data to download from the station logger, and you use Weather Underground. From version 1.9.1 there is a facility where it 'catches up' with data that hasn't been uploaded to Weather Underground while it hasn't been running. This takes a little while, and if you close it while it is doing it, it will take a long time for all of the updates to time out. You need to give it sufficient time to finish the upload. From version 1.9.2, there is a 'catch up' light which shows that the upload is taking place, and the 'catch up' is optional'; and it will abort much more quickly if you still close it while the catch up is taking place.
 
== My temperature Min/Max/Avg graph is empty ==
The most likely explanation is that you have only recently started running Cumulus (in the last day or two). It adds new values to this graph at the end of each day; it wouldn't make sense to add a value part of the way through the day, and you need a few points to be plotted before the graph starts to take shape. You need to wait until you have been running Cumulus for a few days.
 
If you've been running Cumulus for more than a few days, but the graph is still empty, the most likely explanation is that it was unable to read your dayfile.txt file. Look at the latest file in the 'diags' folder (the files are plain text) for error messages mentioning dayfile.txt.
 
== The longest dry/wet spell for this month/year includes days from last month/year ==
This is intentional. I decided that it didn't make sense to arbitrarily chop off a dry/wet spell at the start of the month/year, as then the figure is meaningless. So the figures are to be interpreted as "the longest dry/wet spell which includes this month/year". I note that other software takes the same approach.
 
== Cumulus isn't performing periodic tasks, like data logging or web uploads ==
Cumulus assumes a certain level of weather station functionality. It checks that it has received data from a number of sensors (e.g. pressure and outside temperature) before it starts logging or uploading to the web, or drawing graphs. If your weather station is not fully functional, you will not be able to use Cumulus fully.
 
*From version 1.9.3 onwards, you can over-ride the start up check by adding a line to the [[Cumulus.ini#Section:_Station]], thus: ''NoSensorCheck=1''
*From version 1.9.4 onwards: Option to turn off reporting of 'lost sensor contact' '''for Fine Offset stations'''. Add a line to the [Station] section of [[Cumulus.ini#Introduced_for_problems_with_Fine_Offset_family:|cumulus.ini]], thus: ''ReportLostSensorContact=0''
 
== I've changed my Twitter password, and now Cumulus won't update Twitter ==
You need to force Cumulus to re-authenticate with Twitter. Stop Cumulus and edit cumulus.ini. Find the [Twitter] section, and '''delete''' the lines which start
 
OauthToken=
OauthTokenSecret=
 
Start Cumulus and it should be able to update Twitter again.
 
== When I start Cumulus, I get the error message "The station is not initialised" ==
For Fine Offset stations, when Cumulus starts up, it checks the first two bytes of the station's memory. They are supposed to contain the values Hex 55 and Hex AA to indicate that the station has initialised itself correctly. If they do not, then presumably the station has had some kind of internal problem, so Cumulus doesn't try to read any data from it. A reset of the station normally fixes this - remove the batteries and the USB cable; but note that you will almost certainly lose any stored data in the logger.
 
If you want to force Cumulus to ignore this check (not recommended), edit cumulus.ini and add a line to the [Station] section: ''EWdisablecheckinit=1''
 
You will most likely not have any success with this, as your station memory is probably corrupted anyway.
 
Note that for this setting to work, you need to be using version 1.9.3, build 1034 or later.
 
== How do I correct today's or yesterday's highs and lows? ==
Today's totals, highs and lows (and yesterday's rain total) are held in [[today.ini]] in the Cumulus data folder. Yesterday's totals (including RG11 rain but not standard rain), highs and lows are held in [[yesterday.ini]]. Follow the cross-references if you are unsure which parameter is what. To change any values, stop Cumulus and edit the file(s) in a text editor. Be sure to keep any date and time formats the same. If you are editing yesterday's highs and lows, you might also need to edit [[dayfile.txt]], as the same values will probably have been written to that file. You can use the [[Dayfile.txt#Editing_in_Cumulus|built-in dayfile editor]] in Cumulus to do this. If your all-time and/or monthly all-time records have been affected, see the [[#How_do_I_correct_my_all-time_.28or_monthly_all-time.29_records.3F|FAQ entry below]].
 
If the value you want to change is today's high hourly rain figure, it is best to wait until the current figure has returned to a sensible value. There is no easy way to correct the current figure, so if you change it in today.ini while the current figure is incorrect, the high value in today.ini will immediately be changed again when you start Cumulus. More information about correcting rain [[#My_station_invented_some_rain_that_didn.27t_really_occur.2C_and_I_want_to_set_it_to_zero_.28or_some_other_figure.29 |in this FAQ]].
 
If the problem occurred because Cumulus wasn't able to download the data from the station's logger when you started it up in the morning (or perhaps you turned off the 'use data logger' setting for some reason), you can get it to try again by 'rewinding' to the time when you started Cumulus, and allowing it to try again. Cumulus takes a copy of the current files each time it starts up, and puts them in a folder in the backup folder in the Cumulus installation. Stop Cumulus, and find the backup folder with the appropriate timestamp, and copy all of the files from the backup folder into the Cumulus data folder, and start Cumulus up again.
 
== How do I correct my all-time (or monthly all-time) records? ==
Use the editor in Cumulus - on the Edit menu. If you know the correct figures, you can enter them manually.
*You can look at the [[Alltimelog.txt]] file to find the previous values for the [[Monthlyalltime.ini|all-time records]].
*Similar entries are logged to the [[diags]] files for the monthly highs and lows in [[month.ini]].
*You can also get the editor to scan the [[dayfile.txt|daily summary log]] and [[Monthly_log_files]] to find the highs and lows from those files, click the Help button for details. Note that to use this facility you first need to correct any incorrect values in the files being scanned; you can use the built-in editor in Cumulus to edit dayfile.txt.
 
Cumulus takes a backup of all the active data files when it starts up, and also at the start of the meteorological day (just after midnight for a lot of users). The backups are kept in folders within the backup sub-folder in the Cumulus installation. So an alternative method would be to find the latest backup from before the error occurred, and copy the ''alltime.txt'' and/or ''monthlyalltime.txt'' file from the backup to the Cumulus data folder. Do this with Cumulus stopped.
 
There is more information in [[:Category:Log_Files]], on the page for each type of file.
 
== It's January 1st and my 'rain since midnight' and/or 'last 24 hours rain' are wrong/negative ==
You are probably using a Davis station. Cumulus needs an incrementing rain counter to calculate all of the rain figures, and the nearest to that on a Davis station is the annual total. When this resets at the end of the year, this causes some of the rain data to show odd values for a day. You will notice this particularly if you use an 0900 start of meteorological day, as the 'rain since midnight' figure is used for services such as Weather Underground. There's no easy solution to this, sorry.
 
== Cumulus stops at the "Downloading data" screen ==
If you have a Fine Offset station, this is probably caused by the station's interface locking up. You should be able to get it going again by doing a reset - remove batteries and the USB cable. Recent Fine Offset models have a problem where they can lock up frequently, requiring a reset. From version 1.9.3 of Cumulus onwards, there is an option to synchronise the reading of data with the console writing the data, to avoid doing both at the same time, and this seems to avoid most lockups. The setting is "Synchronise Fine Offset reads" on the station settings screen.
 
If you look in the status bar at the bottom of the Cumulus window, there may a message "Error: no response"; this would confirm that the station has locked up and needs resetting.
 
== Cumulus locks up when it starts and I have to use the task manager to kill it ==
If you have a ''Fine Offset station'', this is most likely caused by the station's interface locking up, i.e the station has stopped communicating with the PC.
 
The problem where Cumulus locks up when the Fine Offset station doesn't respond is fixed in version 1.9.4. If you look in the status bar at the bottom of the Cumulus main window, there may be a message "Error: no response"; this would confirm that the station has locked up and needs resetting.
 
You should be able to get the station going again by doing a reset - either remove console batteries and the USB cable or press the reset button hidden below the small hole (on 1081-based models, above the top RH corner of the battery cover). Recently manufactured Fine Offset models have a problem where they can lock up frequently, requiring a power reset. From version 1.9.3 of Cumulus onwards, there is an option on ''station settings screen'' to '''Synchronise Fine Offset Reads''' (Cumulus reading data from console) with the timing of received transmissions from sensors updating the data, to avoid doing both at the same time, and this seems to avoid most lockups.
 
== Error messages with "Error on line..." or "Error at line..." ==
These are corruptions in the log files, typically caused by Cumulus being unexpectedly closed (e.g. killed using Task Manager, or a PC reboot) while it is writing to the log files, but there can be other causes. The error message may say something like "List index out of bounds". The error message will name the affected file(s) and the affected line number(s). Stop Cumulus and open the named file(s) in a good text editor such as notepad++. Go to the line number(s) mentioned and correct the error(s), which will be obvious as the lines won't look like the other lines, they will be blank or have garbage characters, or perhaps two lines have been run together. Save the file(s) and start Cumulus again.
 
== Cumulus gives an error and won't run on my HP computer ==
It's a known problem with HP computers; they have missing fonts. One solution is to install [http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?DisplayLang=en&id=16083 this font update] from Microsoft. It appears that computers other than HP can have the same font issue, so it is worth installing the font update anyway, if you get a problem where Cumulus won't start.
 
== The headings or data look wrong in the data log viewer ==
You're probably trying to view the wrong type of file. "View | Data logs" is only for the monthly data logs, e.g. Oct13log.txt, "View | Extra data logs" is for "extra" data logs, e.g. ExtraLog201310.txt, and if you want to view the daily summaries in dayfile.txt, use the dayfile.txt editor - "Edit | dayfile.txt".
 
== The wind rose in Cumulus does not display anything with my Fine Offset ==
The Fine Offset weather stations are supposed to supply data for 16 wind directions, however the design is such that most of them only actually use 8 of the possible 16. Try setting the wind rose to only display 8 directions by setting the 'wind rose points' value to 8 on the display settings screen.
 
== My Davis console clock is not exactly the same as my PC clock, but I have "Synchronise station clock" selected ==
The Davis protocol only allows hours and minutes to be set, so there is always likely to be a difference of up to a minute between the PC and the station.
 
== I've set the graph background to white, but there's a problem with the small wind direction graph ==
This appears to be an issue with the third party chart component. The work around is to choose a gradient background and set all three colours in the gradient to white.
 
== My Weather Underground tabular data interval is not the same as the interval I've set in Cumulus (I'm using Rapid Fire) ==
If you have selected 'rapid fire', the data is uploaded every 5 seconds, and the interval you configure in Cumulus is not used. Weather Underground decide how often your tabular data is logged when using rapid fire, not Cumulus.
 
== My monthly (month-by-month) all-time records don't have entries for all of the months that I have been using Cumulus ==
You need to initialise them. See the release announcement for version 1.9.3, which is when this facility was introduced: http://sandaysoft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9286
 
You only need to do this once; when you have initialised them, Cumulus will keep them up to date thereafter.
 
== I am getting I/O error 32 or I/O error 103 ==
Something on your system has one of the Cumulus files open, preventing Cumulus writing to it (Cumulus needs exclusive access). This may be anti-virus software or something similar. If you are seeing "file access denied", you may have a permissions problem.
 
== I get very large amounts of rainfall shown, or other high readings ==
Fine Offset stations have a habit of producing unbelievable readings, and Cumulus filters many of these out automatically. You can also use the 'spike removal' settings on the calibration page, and Cumulus will then filter out large changes in readings. Please read the help for how to use these settings. Another possible explanation is that you have chosen the wrong station type in the Cumulus station settings. You should only select the "Fine Offset with UV/Light sensor" type if your station actually has SENSORS for these. Your station may have solar CHARGING, but this is not the same as having a solar SENSOR, and so you should choose the "Fine Offset (WH1080 etc)" type. Typically, stations which do have solar SENSORS have a model number which starts with a '3', e.g. WS3080, and stations without solar sensors start with a '1' or '2'. Selecting the wrong type of station will cause Cumulus to misinterpret the logger data read from the station and hence incorrect readings will result.
 
= Website =
 
 
== How do I set up a website? ==
The crucial settings are selected on the ''Internet'' screen in the '''Configuration''' menu.
*On the ''Sites/Options'' tab, you must have '''Auto Update''' selected if you want Cumulus to generate web pages at the standard interval. Other parameters will depend on your particular set-up, but are explained in the Cumulus '''Help''' and in Wiki pages starting with [[Website_setup]] and following links as required.
*On the ''Files'' tab, you select whether to use the standard Cumulus templates and images, or specify your own templates and destinations.
 
== How do I replace the 'bird' image on my website? ==
There are several ways to change the image of the 'bird' on the standard Cumulus web page. You will need a [[FTP tool]].
* The simplest way is to upload a new picture to the images folder of your website; the file should be called picture.jpg. Please ensure the image is not too large and bear in mind it will appear on the bottom left of the page; the site data may cover some of the image. As a guide, the default image is 600 x 450 pixels.
* Secondly, you may upload an image using your own file name. Edit the ''weatherstyle.css'' file and look for the line <tt>background-image: url(images/picture.jpg);</tt> around line 9 and adjust as necessary. Upload the edited css file to your website.
* if you wish to remove the image completely edit the ''weatherstyle.css'' file and remove the line <tt>background-image: url(images/picture.jpg);</tt> Upload the edited css file to to your website.
 
NOTE: It is not recommended that you overwrite the image in your local folder (webfiles\images\picture.jpg) because that gets overwritten when you update to a new build of Cumulus. Ideally your image will be in its own local folder outside the Cumulus structure.
 
 
== Why does the heading say 'weather weather' ? ==
The standard first template page contains '''&lt;h1&gt;&lt;#location&gt; weather&lt;/h1&gt;''', so do not include 'weather' in your station name (this is what the tag &lt;#location&gt; represents, see next answer) to avoid it being duplicated.
 
== How do I change the "Welcome to." on the front page ==
 
The Welcome message is controlled within Cumulus. Click on the ''Station'' screen in '''Configuration''' menu and Edit the '''Description''' field within the Location frame to amend what the tag <#longlocation> represents in "Welcome to &lt;#longlocation&gt;." on template page.
 
== I don't have a solar sensor. How do I remove the solar data from the supplied web templates? ==
Locate the Cumulus 'web' folder on your PC and edit the following files (there are comments in the html to guide you):
 
'''indexT.htm'''
 
Remove the following code:
 
<pre>
<!-- Solar data. If you don't have a solar sensor, you may wish to delete everything from here to the next comment -->
<tr class="td_temperature_data">
<td>Solar Radiation</td>
<td><#SolarRad>&nbsp;W/m&sup2;</td>
<td>Evapotranspiration Today</td>
<td><#ET>&nbsp;<#rainunit></td>
</tr>
<!-- End of solar data -->
</pre>
 
'''todayT.htm'''
 
Remove the following code:
 
<pre>
<!-- Solar data. If you don't have a solar sensor, you may wish to delete everything from here to the next comment -->
<tr class="td_temperature_data">
<td>Hours&nbsp;of&nbsp;Sunshine</td>
<td><#SunshineHours></td>
<td>&amp;nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<!-- End of solar data -->
</pre>
 
'''yesterdayT.htm'''
 
Remove the following code:
 
<pre>
<!-- Solar data. If you don't have a solar sensor, you may wish to delete everything from here to the next comment -->
<tr class="td_temperature_data">
<td>Hours&nbsp;of&nbsp;Sunshine</td>
<td><#YSunshineHours></td>
<td>&amp;nbsp;</td>
</tr>
<!-- End of solar data -->
</pre>
 
== How do I remove Inside Temperature graph or add solar/UV/sunshine? ==
Locate the Cumulus 'web' folder on your PC and edit the following file:
'''trendsT.htm'''
 
Modify the following code:
 
<pre>
<td class="td_thumbnails"><a onclick='changeImage("images/intemp.png")'><img src="images/intempsm.png" alt="Inside Temperature Graph Thumbnail" width="150" height="100" style="border:0" /></a></td>
</pre>
*For solar, replace 'intemp.png' with 'solar.png', replace 'intempsm.png' with 'solarsm.png', and change the wording of the value associated with the alt property.
*For sunshine, replace 'intemp.png' with 'sunshine.png', replace 'intempsm.png' with 'sunshinesm.png', and change the wording of the value associated with the alt property.
*For UV, replace 'intemp.png' with 'uv.png', replace 'intempsm.png' with 'uvsm.png', and change the wording of the value associated with the alt property.
 
If you want to do more than a straight one for one swap see [[Customised_templates#Slightly_less_simple_customisation_of_trendsT.htm|here]].
 
== How do I include extra items on supplied web templates? ==
Open the folder cumulus\web and edit the relevant file named xxxxxT.htm. For example instead of deleting the sections in the [[#I don't have a solar sensor. How do I remove the solar data from the supplied web templates?|remove solar answer]], edit their contents.
See [[Customised_templates#Changing_the_Standard_Templates]] for fuller description.
 
If you do change the standard templates, take a copy of your new versions, and store elsewhere.
The sub-folder cumulus\web\originals has copies of the standard templates from the installed build, do not edit these.
When you install a new build of Cumulus, you have an option to replace or not replace the contents of cumulus\web with the new build's standard templates.
 
== How do I upload extra web pages? ==
See Cumulus help for the Internet Settings screen, or for a step-by-step guide see [[Customised_templates#What_to_select_on_the_.27Files.27_tab_of_the_Internet_Settings_screen_within_the_.27Configuration.27_menu]]
 
 
== What character encoding does Cumulus use for the web pages it generates? ==
Cumulus 1.9.4 build 1093 changed all the template pages from XHTML 1.0 Transitional using charset=iso-8859-1 encoding to HTML 5 using charset="UTF-8" encoding. It uses this without [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byte_order_mark Byte Order Mark] (BOM).
 
From that build, you can tell Cumulus which of those two encodings to use:
*For standard template names in standard 'cumulus\web' folder, if you replace them with customised templates not using [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-8 "Universal Character Set Transformation Format — 8-bit" (UTF-8)],
**unselect '''UTF-8 encode''' in the web settings frame on the Sites/Options tab of Internet settings screen in Configuration menu.
**Cumulus will then, as in earlier builds, use [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO-8859-1 iso-8859-1] encoding.
*For extra templates, the Files tab of the Internet settings screen in Configuration menu has the option to choose which of the two Cumulus encodings to use. See Wiki article referenced in previous answer.
 
Note that since Cumulus 1.9.4 build 1078 there has been an option on the NOAA Setup screen in Configuration menu to specify whether character set utf-8 encoding is to be used for those reports.
 
== Why does a standard gauges web page have text where it should show gauges? ==
[[File:Gauges missing.jpg]] If a standard Cumulus 'gauges.htm' web page displays like this then either
 
1) (Most Likely) The weather station owner has not loaded the required files/folders onto his/her server;
* The gauges graphics require the 'images' subfolder (see next answer), containing the script and many images to be pre-loaded in the 'dbimages' subfolder.
* All these should exist within the destination folder that holds the HTML files as instructed in the Cumulus Help ('setting up your website' page)
* Also explained in [[Simple Website setup]] on this Wiki.
 
or 2) JavaScript is not enabled (or not available) in the browser being used to view the page (if not enabled, this can be switched on in either 'Options', 'Preferences' or 'Settings' depending on browser). Note that Firefox version 23 has removed the ability to change this in Option preferences, so ignore this solution in that browser.
 
or 3) You are using a browser add-on such as 'NoScript' (over 2 million use this) which requires you to explicitly turn on JavaScript for each web site you visit within the 'NoScript' options. (This sort of add-on may be used to restrict advertising or tracking of your actions, or for security against unwanted processes being started by sites you visit).
 
== Why are there no graphs on my standard trends web page? ==
Either 1) You have not created an images sub-folder (within your folder that holds web pages) as instructed in the Cumulus Help ('setting up your website' page) - also explained in [[Simple Website setup]]. In this case, the bird image will not be appearing in the bottom left corner of your web pages.
 
Or 2) You have switched off '''Include Standard Images''' on the file tab of the Internet dialogue of the configuration menu. In this case Cumulus believes you are working in a non-standard way, and does not automatically upload the graphs (nor moon image).
 
== What is the size of the standard Cumulus update? ==
The default is that all of the standard pages and standard images are uploaded on each update at whatever standard update frequency you select.
 
In total for version 1.9.2, it's about half a megabyte - about 100kB for the pages (about half of that is the gauges.htm page with all the detailed wind plotting points, and half the other pages) and 400kB for the variable images (moon phase, some gauges images and trend graphs - the exact size of latter can vary if you change the period they cover).
 
Version 1.9.3 adds the monthly records page which contains 12 months worth of a lot of data, and adds 25kB to every update (although usually very little changes between updates).
 
The NOAA monthly and annual pages are uploaded once a day, that is another 8kB for a full month and full year, obviously less at the start of a month/year.
 
'''Optional extras'''
This excludes the [[realtime.txt]] file, this is less than 1024 bytes in size. It also excludes any additional file transfers you may add (e.g. [[dayfile.txt]] a file that keeps growing in size or files required by external sites that are no more than a few kB).
 
== How do I upload my own pages or files once a day? ==
Cumulus allows you to specify a command (with optional parameters) that will be actioned just after daily rollover. The command is entered in the ''External programs'' frame at the bottom left of the Internet Settings screen. The box is labelled '''Daily'''. Click the Cumulus ''Help'' button for guidance. For example you could type 'c:\cumulus\daily.cmd' in the box labelled ''Daily''.
 
This could be used to upload the pages with the longer term extremes (as your monthly, annual and all-time extremes may only change a few times a month or even less frequently) and so reduce the upload burden at the standard uploading frequency. To achieve this you would use the content of that example file 'daily.cmd', in the default Cumulus folder, to call your own [[FTP_tools| file transfer tool]] for those infrequently changing pages. Remember to also unselect '''Include Standard Files''' on the'' 'Files' tab'' of 'Internet settings', and list [[Customised_templates#How_Cumulus_uses_its_templates|the templates]] on that tab, selecting '''Process?''' for all of them, but only selecting '''FTP?''' for the other frequently changing pages that are still to be uploaded at the standard interval. You may find help on the forum or elsewhere on this wiki [[SFTP| for the FTP call]] and [[Customised_templates#Creating_Your_Own_Templates| for 'Files' tab settings]].
 
It can also be used for the optional files mentioned in the previous answer. For the daily command specified above, in the default Cumulus folder, add a file 'daily.cmd' that contains (if you host your own server using 'XAMPP'), 'copy c:\cumulus\data\dayfile.txt C:\xampp\htdocs\weather\daj\' for example to enable you to use the [[AnnualDataSummary| Annual Day-by-day Summary]] tool. (Uploading if you do not host your own server is described at [[Upload_Dayfile| upload dayfile]] but basically you swap the copy command for a FTP command).
 
== The 'real time wind data' gauges on the standard gauges page aren't working ==
These require a [[realtime.txt]] file to be uploaded by Cumulus. Tick the "Enable Realtime", "Enable Realtime FTP" and "Enable realtime.txt FTP" boxes on the internet settings screen. If the gauges still do not work, check that the [[realtime.txt]] file is being uploaded to the correct place. If it is not, it is likely that you have specified an incorrect 'ftp directory' in Cumulus. If your 'normal' pages are being uploaded correctly, but realtime.txt is not, then it is likely that you simply need to leave the ftp directory blank (but see the note below first).
 
A possible cause for this problem is that your web space provider does not allow .txt files to be accessed. For example, the free hosting provider 000webhost.com do not.
 
== I'm using the supplied web pages, and get lower case in places where I want upper case ==
 
It's in the CSS. Go to the webfiles sub-folder of your cumulus installation, edit weatherstyle.css and find lines like: "text-transform: lowercase;" and remove them. Use FTP tool to replace the weatherstyle.css on your website.
 
== My web pages have things like &lt;#location&gt; in them ==
You’ve edited your templates with something like Dreamweaver, and it’s changed the angle brackets on the [[Webtags]] to "&amp;lt&nbsp;;" and "&amp;gt&nbsp;;" - you need to change them back to &lt; and &gt;. ''These may look the same when viewed in your browser, but you can see the difference if you 'view source'''
 
Alternatively, if the web templates are listed in [[cumulus.ini]] (and for the first 10 appear on the '''files''' tab of ''Internet'' dialogue of '''Configuation''' menu), the '''Process''' option must be ticked for the web pages generated by Cumulus to have values replacing the [[Webtags]]. Otherwise at each web update, Cumulus will generate web pages the same as the templates.
 
 
== My web pages are empty ==
If empty web pages are being uploaded to your web site (i.e. they report size of 0 kB, but do not produce 'error 404 - page not found' message), and your browser shows that their modification date is recent (see next FAQ), then it is likely that the [[Customised_templates#What_is_meant_by_.27Cumulus_processes_templates.27| Cumulus processing]] of templates is failing:
*Either (since build 1093) because the character encoding used in the relevant template does not match the character encoding (UTF-8 or iso-8859-1) that (for standard named templates) is specified in '''Web Settings''' frame as shown about half way down on this screen extract.[[File:Web settings.JPG]]
*Or you have edited/customised the template and added an incorrectly specified Cumulus [[webtag]] that has caused [[Customised_templates#What_is_meant_by_.27Cumulus_processes_templates.27| Cumulus processing]] to abort for that template. If you stop cumulus you can use a text editor to open the latest [[Diags|diagnostic file]]. Look at entries time-stamped just before the hour and repeated at your auto-update ''interval'' (also about half-way down in screen image above). You might find a message like "Error processing C:\web\indexT" (i.e. mentioning whichever template is at fault) followed by a brief hint as to the nature of the error.
 
== My web pages have obsolete web tag values in them ==
If the information showing on your web pages is out of date, then it must have been working before, so you have made a change somewhere.
*Most browsers will display 'page information' that tells you when the page was last modified (by querying the web server).
**if the page was recently modified,
***then the next item to investigate is the template file; a template file contains Cumulus web tags and the [[Customised_templates#What_is_meant_by_.27Cumulus_processes_templates.27|'process']] that Cumulus does to create a web page involves reading text from a template and when it finds a web tag it inserts the latest value in as it creates the page. Therefore if there is no template file, Cumulus can not generate a new web page and will just upload the old local copy of the web page.
**if the page was not recently modified,
***maybe you are not running Cumulus, so it is not updating.
***maybe your file transfer is not working, turn ftp logging on for technical output, and look for any filenames and any 'successfully transferred' messages.
***maybe your 'internet settings' screen has accidentally been changed, see Cumulus help for simple instructions. If you took a backup of [[cumulus.ini]] you can stop Cumulus, rename the current file and copy your cumulus.ini backup back into the 'cumulus' directory containing the Cumulus program.
***maybe your web server provider has changed something.
 
== Running a web server on the same PC as Cumulus ==
If you do not have a web site, or run a web server locally (same PC, or on your local network), you can get Cumulus to generate/copy html or image files locally instead of using FTP to place them remotely. You'll need to list the (source) file including paths on the files tab of the internet settings, and specify a destination path and file name for the remote file in each case. Don't tick the ''FTP?'' box for standard cumulus pages (the exception is for a local web server and any non-standard web page that attempts to read using a script a local file such as dayfile.txt as this does need FTP to generate the server-based web page). For the standard images, you can supply a folder name (specify on the same screen), and they will all get copied there. Set everything else up as if you were using ftp, but don't supply a host name etc (except for exception already mentioned). See [[Customised_templates#What_to_select_on_the_.27Files.27_tab_of_the_Internet_Settings_screen_within_the_.27Configuration.27_menu|here]] for greater detail.
 
There's a limit of 10 files on the files tab, but you can increase this to 20 files in version 1.9.2 (in version 1.9.3 it is 100 files) by editing cumulus.ini, with Cumulus stopped. Follow the format of the entries for first 10 files.
 
== Error Codes generated by FTP or Winsock ==
You should be able to look these up on the web. [http://kb.globalscape.com/KnowledgebaseArticle10142.aspx Try Here]
 
== How do I configure Cumulus for Secure FTP (SFTP/FTPS)? ==
Cumulus doesn't support Secure FTP. You can configure Cumulus to invoke an external program like WinSCP, as described here: [[SFTP | SFTP article]]
 
== Directory related problems in FTP ==
The following pointers should help:
* All universal resource locator (url) references are case sensitive. So if your FTP server directory is ''public_html'', then 'Public_HTML' will not work!
* On the ''Internet settings'' screen in '''Sites/Options''' the optional Directory parameter required is the path from your FTP root, to where the web pages are to be stored. Click the '''Help''' button for full explanation, or search the support forum as many people have found this is the hardest parameter to get right.
* The standard pages are uploaded after a 'change directory' attempting to select the directory you specified in '''Sites/Options'''; if this fails, the files will still be uploaded but to the FTP server root. So some mistakes do not matter because if no change of directory was actually required, these pages will be uploaded correctly.
* Any files you specify for uploading at standard update frequency are uploaded between standard pages (if 'Include Standard Files' selected) and standard images (if 'Include Standard Images' selected), and in 'remote filenames' you specify the path including any web site directory, so there is no call to 'change directory'. In this case, if that web site directory is invalid, the upload fails.
* The standard images for gauges and trends pages are uploaded after the standard pages, (and any pages you specify for uploading,) by performing a second 'change directory' this time fixed at 'images'; if this fails, the files will still be uploaded to the current web site directory (FTP root or the directory you specified in '''Sites/Options''').
* If you have enabled ''Realtime'', the realtime.txt file is uploaded without doing a change directory, by appending "/realtime.txt" to the directory on the ''Internet settings'' screen in '''Sites/Options'''. In this case, if the web site directory is invalid, the upload fails.
* On the ''NOAA Setup'' screen the optional Directory parameter required is the full path from your FTP root, to where the NOAA report pages are to be stored. (It is totally independent of the directory on the ''Internet settings'' screen in '''Sites/Options'''). Click the '''Help''' button for full explanation. Like realtime.txt, the upload is by appending the filename for the report to the NOAA directory and will fail if that directory is specified wrongly.
 
See '''Setting up your website''' in Cumulus help for a simple guide to the subfolder structure you need to create and the list of files that need to be uploaded manually when first installing a website. Or see [[Website_setup]] for all the options including customised pages.
 
== My standard web pages are uploading but the uploading fails for images, realtime and/or NOAA reports ==
See previous answer, you have probably got your web pages in the default FTP directory of your web site, but specified the wrong directory on the settings screen. Turn on the ''FTP logging'' in the configuration menu to see the technical detail. You should have an FTP tool that you used to upload the 'static' files required on your web site, and that will help you to see what is your site's root directory for file transfer uploads, and therefore any relative directory change you require.
 
== What file-names does Cumulus use when processing and uploading files to my web site? ==
[[File:Cumulus_FTP_Process.png|150px|thumb|FTP Process]]Cumulus use two slightly different processes depending on if the file is part of the supplied 'standard' web site, or an extra file you have specified on the ''Internet Settings|Files'' configuration dialog. For each of these processes there is an further variation depending on whether you have enabled the ''Use FTP rename'' option. This graphic shows the various combinations of file-names used for each step of the process. For the standard files, you can substitute any of the file names for indexT.htm, e.g. trendsT.htm
 
For more details of Cumulus ''Process'' see [[Customised_templates#What_is_meant_by_.27Cumulus_processes_templates.27| here]].
 
=Selecting a Weather Station sensor site=
A simple guide is at [http://weatherfaqs.org.uk/node/124 uk.sci.weather newsgroup], note this advises against roof mounting.
An attempt to compare the conflicting siting standards that apply across the world is included in a portable document format guide from [ftp://ftp.campbellsci.com/pub/outgoing/apnotes/siting.pdf Campbell Scientific].
For more advice see the website of your local Meteorological Bureau, an educational place (e.g. in USA see [http://newa.nysaes.cornell.edu/public/NEWAStationSitingGuidelines.htm Cornell University]), the [http://library.wmo.int/opac/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=12407 World Meterological Organisation] (WMO), or a specialist organisation (e.g. in UK see [http://www.rmets.org/weather-and-climate/observing/guidelines-observing-0 Royal Meteorological Society] rather than the Met Office web site).
 
Modern Stevenson Screens are uPVC constructed with a black interior (so they do not radiate heat onto the sensors) and a white exterior (so they reflect as much radiation as possible). There is a lot of discussion on the [http://sandaysoft.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=16 Homebuilt forum] about different approaches to improving measurements, and the problems with out of the box instrumentation from the different manufacturers.
 
If you are contributing to an external site like APRS/CWOP, Weather Underground, PWS weather, Weatherbug and/or WOW, see guidance from these organisations re instrument placement.
 
'''Note:''' Some stations have all sensors in one unit, positioning of these is a compromise between the ideals below for each sensor.
 
== Where should I position the wind sensors ==
The side labelled 'North' on the wind vane mount should face ''True North'', remember that the magnetic north deviation from true north varies from year to year, see details on maps or online. Most wind vanes have a large surface that follows the wind and a thin end that points where the wind comes from, it is the latter direction that is reported.
 
In the UK, the standard climatological measuring height is 10 metres. Advice varies on whether you should apply a correction factor for any lower height. Cumulus allows you to apply such a factor to either just wind speed, or wind speed and gust speed, by using the Calibration screen within the configuation menu. In the Cumulus Help it recommends that you also adjust wind chill - in practice this means ask Cumulus to ''calculate wind chill'' by selecting this in the settings frame on the '''station settings screen accessed from configuration menu''' (i.e. ignore any wind chill output by your weather station).
 
If you are mounting near a building of height 'h' above ground level, ideally the wind sensor should be at a height of '1.5 times h' above ground level.
If you are positioning away from a building or tree (or other object) of height 'h' (or the mean height of several objects is 'h'), then the distance away depends on which standard you are trying to meet, and can vary between 1.5 and 3 times 'h'.
 
== Where should I position the rain sensor ==
The WMO says the rain gauge should at a distance away of 2 times the height of each nearby object (buildings, trees, walls, solid fences etc.) and just high enough off ground level to avoid possibility of splashing. You can experiment, but for amateurs, no more than a metre off the ground (or roof if mounted above it) and at least a metre from any chimney, wall or solid fence whose height exceeds that of the sensor seems good enough for most gauges.
See [[Rain measurement]] or your local offical organisation.
 
== How do I protect my rain gauge against spiders or other natural problems ==
There is a lot of discussion on the [http://sandaysoft.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=16 Homebuilt forum]. In terms of siting, it is important to position your rain gauge where you can safely get to it.
 
== How do I get good temperature and humidity measurements ==
The international standard states ambient air temperature/humidity is measured at 1.25 metres above ground level, above soil or grass not paving, protected from direct sun radiation (and direct rain), unless you are measuring soil or ground temperatures. The height is important for derived values as an air frost is defined as a temperature below the freezing point for water at this height, and the count of these is a standard reporting requirement in some countries.
 
If you are using a ''Fine Offset sensor'', the thin depth of the thermonmeter/hygrometer (transmitter) should face where your console (receiver) is, for maximum transmission strength/distance, with the wide face at right angles to the transmission route. (Although if you use a model requiring a radio time signal, you will probably be trying to optimise that instead).
 
== Pressure ==
Varies with altitude and temperature, but no significant variation with spatial position with regard to nearby fixed bulky objects. Often measured indoors, do not mount above any heating or cooling system as there temperature may be particularly variable, and try to avoid any forced ventilation or extraction as such air moving systems could have different pressures on intake and outlet sides. Equally operation in close proximity to opening doors/windows or to fast moving (road or railway) vehicles or tunnels can distort readings.
 
== Solar ==
One would expect solar sensors should be positioned for maximum unshaded exposure to sunlight throughout the year, but again the forum contains advice for specific makes.
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