5,838
edits
FAQ: Difference between revisions
From Cumulus Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
m
added "Do I need to leave Cumulus running all the time"
m (added "Do I need to leave Cumulus running all the time") |
|||
| (4 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
This is the Cumulus FAQ (consult also the Help screens within Cumulus software, and learn more from the rest of this Wiki) | This is the <big>Cumulus 1 FAQ</big> (consult also the Help screens within Cumulus software, and learn more from the rest of this Wiki) | ||
Some references to other flavours of Cumulus are included here. There is also a separate FAQ specifically for [[Cumulus MX FAQ|Cumulus MX]]. | |||
= Installing and Running Cumulus = | = Installing and Running Cumulus = | ||
| Line 15: | Line 17: | ||
== I use Cumulus 1 and want to move to Cumulus MX == | == I use Cumulus 1 and want to move to Cumulus MX == | ||
You can move between versions fairly easily, but you should really read all the guidance | You can move between versions fairly easily, but you should really read all the guidance on the Cumulus [[Cumulus MX|MX page]]. However, here are some key points: | ||
* While Cumulus 1 has a tool to generate graphs itself and then uploads them to your website, the graphs used in Cumulus MX are drawn when the end-user loads the web page, they use Highcharts routines that are free for non-commercial use only, i.e. you may not use MX with these graphs on a company web site. | * While Cumulus 1 has a tool to generate graphs itself and then uploads them to your website, the graphs used in Cumulus MX are drawn when the end-user loads the web page, they use Highcharts routines that are free for non-commercial use only, i.e. you may not use MX with these graphs on a company web site. | ||
* While Cumulus 1 runs as an application that includes a main screen, and other screens, that appear when you start it, Cumulus MX is two separate applications, there is the "engine" that connects to your weather station and processes that data, but there is also a separate user interface that can be viewed on a browser on any device connected to the same local network as the device that runs the engine (for key security reasons this user interface should not be exposed over the wider internet). | * While Cumulus 1 runs as an application that includes a main screen, and other screens, that appear when you start it, Cumulus MX is two separate applications, there is the "engine" that connects to your weather station and processes that data, but there is also a separate user interface that can be viewed on a browser on any device connected to the same local network as the device that runs the engine (for key security reasons this user interface should not be exposed over the wider internet). | ||
* If you want to use your Cumulus 1 data folder with MX, and you use decimal commas in your Cumulus 1 data, you will need to edit the '.ini' files to change, in each stored value, the decimal commas into periods/full stops, because Cumulus MX always expects periods/full stops in .ini files regardless of the locale in use. | * If you want to use your Cumulus 1 data folder with MX, and you use decimal commas in your Cumulus 1 data, you will need to edit the '.ini' files to change, in each stored value, the decimal commas into periods/full stops, because Cumulus MX always expects periods/full stops in .ini files regardless of the locale in use. In other respects the .ini files in the Cumulus 1 data folder can be read and used by MX, although MX when it needs to update these files will change the way dates are stored, see the Log File pages in the Wiki for more information. | ||
* The '.txt' files in the data folder will work with both Cumulus 1 and MX - assuming you are using the same decimal and list separators in MX as you used in Cumulus 1 (i.e. the same locale). | * The '.txt' files in the data folder will work with both Cumulus 1 and MX - assuming you are using the same decimal and list separators in MX as you used in Cumulus 1 (i.e. the same locale). | ||
* Any web tags on your web pages or in your scripts that use date and/or time formatting to change the default will need to be edited. See the [[Webtags]] page for information on how to change these. | * Any web tags on your web pages or in your scripts that use date and/or time formatting to change the default will need to be edited, and you may find this difficult because certain formatting characters (e.g. H or M) have different meanings when they appear in isolation in an output format to what they mean when combined with others (e.g.H:mm or 'd M'). See the [[Webtags]] page for full information on how to change these, and ask in the support forum if you have difficulty. | ||
* Your "Cumulus.ini" file must start with a capital letter for MX, and all the characters used within the configuration file must be within ASCII range, Cumulus 1 on Windows is not fussy about case in the file name. Cumulus MX adds further items to this file, but you do not need to change the contents of it for moving in either direction except in regards to the NOAA reports. Those from Cumulus 1 and MX are set up differently because of different codes to output a month format parameter as the change to date/time formats in webtags also applies to NOAA report file format lines in Cumulus.ini. Also the [FTP site] section in Cumulus.ini will only work in MX with 'site' entirely in lower case, so if it is different in your copy, edit that. | * Your "Cumulus.ini" file must start with a capital letter for MX, and all the characters used within the configuration file must be within ASCII range, Cumulus 1 on Windows is not fussy about case in the file name. Cumulus MX adds further items to this file, but you do not need to change the contents of it for moving in either direction except in regards to the NOAA reports. Those from Cumulus 1 and MX are set up differently because of different codes to output a month format parameter as the change to date/time formats in webtags also applies to NOAA report file format lines in Cumulus.ini. Also the [FTP site] section in Cumulus.ini will only work in MX with 'site' entirely in lower case, so if it is different in your copy, edit that. | ||
*(Other file names within MX will be as supplied in the file that you download, or as Cumulus MX decides when it creates the file). | *(Other file names within MX will be as supplied in the file that you download, or as Cumulus MX decides when it creates the file). | ||
* The settings in Cumulus 1 and MX work differently, for Cumulus 1 you choose to save changes by clicking OK, for MX changes are | * The settings in Cumulus 1 and MX work differently, for Cumulus 1 you choose to save changes by clicking OK, for MX changes are either saved when you move on to next setting or when you click a '''Save''' button if one is provided. | ||
Finally if you are moving from Windows to Linux, remember you need to learn a host of new commands! | Finally if you are moving from Windows to Linux, remember you need to learn a host of new commands! | ||
| Line 85: | Line 87: | ||
== How do I upgrade to a new release? == | == How do I upgrade to a new release? == | ||
'''Cumulus MX: | |||
'''Cumulus 1: The executable file in the release is the windows installer for the new version.''' Your data and settings are not affected, but it is still best if you back up your data (sub-folder 'data') and any settings files (e.g. cumulus.ini and strings.ini) before you run the installer. | These instructions apply whether you are updating by one build, skipping several builds, upgrading to/from a beta version, or installing the latest 'release' version. | ||
[[File:Badge vMx.png]]'''Cumulus MX: The release is supplied as a zip of all files (whether changed or same as before), unzip it into a suitable holding area. Copy those files, that the release announcement says have changed, into the correct folders. Then, when you next start Cumulus MX it will be the next release''' (If you have edited any of the files, don't overwrite those files you have changed). | |||
{{Version badge 1}}'''Cumulus 1: The executable file in the release is the windows installer for the new version.''' Your data and settings are not affected, but it is still best if you back up your data (sub-folder '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 Cumulus 1 installer will offer the same place as the previous version as the default. | You can install the new version where you like, but the Cumulus 1 installer will offer the same place as the previous version as the default. | ||
| Line 92: | Line 98: | ||
''Occasionally, there may be actions you need to perform before or after the upgrade.'' Required actions usually appear in the announcement of the build you are installing, and for Cumulus 1 may be documented in the readme.txt file that will appear as you run the installer. Read such announcements for every release since your existing build in case any of the in-between changes affect you. | ''Occasionally, there may be actions you need to perform before or after the upgrade.'' Required actions usually appear in the announcement of the build you are installing, and for Cumulus 1 may be documented in the readme.txt file that will appear as you run the installer. Read such announcements for every release since your existing build in case any of the in-between changes affect you. | ||
{{Version badge 1}}'''Cumulus 1 only:''' | {{Version badge 1}}'''Cumulus 1 only:''' | ||
The Cumulus 1 installer will always upgrade the following files (replacing them, ignoring existing versions): | The Cumulus 1 installer will always upgrade the following files (replacing them, ignoring whether same or different to existing versions): | ||
# "cumulus.exe"; - the latest build | # "cumulus.exe"; - the latest build | ||
# "unins000.exe"; | # "unins000.exe"; | ||
| Line 113: | Line 118: | ||
*So tick this option, if you have a standard Cumulus implementation and then you can be sure to upgrade the standard templates. | *So tick this option, if you have a standard Cumulus implementation and then you can be sure to upgrade the standard templates. | ||
*Untick this option if you have [[Customised_templates#Creating_Your_Own_Templates|customised the existing pages]], so that if your customised versions are in "web\*.*" they don't get overwritten. It is recommended that you store any customised pages in a directory outside the Cumulus folder, as you can specify up to 10 such files on the local side of the files tab in the Configuration menu Internet settings screen and (if you are not using standard files) untick ''Include Standard Files'' on the same screen. (100 such files can be specified in [[Cumulus.ini]]). | *Untick this option if you have [[Customised_templates#Creating_Your_Own_Templates|customised the existing pages]], so that if your customised versions are in "web\*.*" they don't get overwritten. It is recommended that you store any customised pages in a directory outside the Cumulus folder, as you can specify up to 10 such files on the local side of the files tab in the Configuration menu Internet settings screen and (if you are not using standard files) untick ''Include Standard Files'' on the same screen. (100 such files can be specified in [[Cumulus.ini]]). | ||
== Do I need to leave Cumulus running all the time == | |||
Cumulus is designed on the basis that it works best if it is operating continuously, so it can interrogate the weather station at maximum frequency and has least risk of missing extreme measurements. All the derived calculations (maximum and minimum in a day, apparent temperature, average temperature,and many more will be more accurately calculated if based on the most possible measurements at consistent intervals. | |||
if you are using the EasyWeather input option or your weather station does not have a logger, then Cumulus must run all the time, because there is no way of accessing readings while it is 'switched off'. | |||
That said, many Cumulus users do turn their devices off when they are not around, to save energy or reduce fire risk; and accept that the quality of the derivatives output is poorer and that some extremes may be missed, some averages might be biased etc. When Cumulus is restarted, if the weather station it is talking to has retained measurements in a logger, Cumulus will read these, and do a catch-up from when you turned it off (it may miss some if the clocks have changed, see later question). Cumulus will roll over to next day when it has finished reading logger results from previous day and starts with those to assign to new day. | |||
== Changing to different weather station == | == Changing to different weather station == | ||
