Hi guys,
you might have noticed there has not been many updates recently.... this is because I was intensively preparing version 10. However, I should say that this version also includes many changes I wanted to do long time ago, but never completed so did not include in previous versions.
Meteotemplate 10.0 Banana is a major update, probably
the most significant update yet, and this includes not just
many new pages and things you will see directly on the page, but majority of the code of the Weather Station section - code that I have written over a year ago, while learning PHP, has been rewritten, optimized and
some pages done completely from scratch.
One thing that you will appreciate especially if you are a new user is that I have
completely re-written the data import and database update scripts. There are no more WD.php, Cumulus.php, meteobridge.php etc. scripts... there is simply "an update script", "an import script". These now also work totally differently. In previous versions you made a file that was compatible with Meteotemplate for import -
now Meteotemplate adjusts based on what your files look like - and so you can now import data and update database with practically any file that contains the necessary information, regardless of its structure.And in addition, this version finally completed my long-term goal - the database update was the very last thing that still had to be set up in the code itself. Now it uses GUI and is accessible from your control panel. And this therefore means, that unless you want to make specific customizations,
you can now install and setup Meteotemplate, setup and install blocks and plugins and do admin actions, without ever seeing the code. And this is also a major advantage for me because it gives much less space for potential errors that people can accidentally make when they for example delete a semi-colon etc.
Some of the new features might look like minor, but they will also save you time - for example the new "remember me" function - stay logged in as an admin even if you close the browser or shut down your PC until you click the log out button, current conditions in header, site search in footer. Your homepage blocks now also have some new features - a new "header block" and "footer block" further extend the layout possibilities, possibility to highlight important blocks, set names for menu blocks. There is lot of new things, so just keep reading and then especially explore it once you have it installed yourself - btw. the update should be very easy.
New/redesigned pages- new page: Rain Seasons
- calculate statistics for “rain season” – select month you want as season beginning
- year comparison and visualizations
- month averages
- tables + graphs
- seasonal graphs
- graphs resizable
- graph selection – line/column
- all month data
- comparison with absolute station values
- available also for mobile version
- DEMO: http://www.meteotemplate.com/template/pages/station/rainSeasons.php
- new page: Day-time Statistics
- detailed statistics for day-time – select day iterval on the fly (from-to)
- alltime stats
- hour averages – graphs, tables
- monthly averages – graphs, tables, comparison with absolute values and deviations
- yearly averages – graphs, tables, comparison with absolute values and deviations
- all-values graph – resizable, zoomable
- smart caching for very fast loading
- available also for mobile version
- DEMO: http://www.meteotemplate.com/template/pages/station/day.php
- new page: Night-time Statistics
- detailed statistics for day-time – select night interval on the fly (from-to)
- alltime stats
- hour averages – graphs, tables
- monthly averages – graphs, tables, comparison with absolute values and deviations
- yearly averages – graphs, tables, comparison with absolute values and deviations
- all-values graph – resizable, zoomable
- smart caching for very fast loading
- available also for mobile version
- DEMO: http://www.meteotemplate.com/template/pages/station/night.php
- new page/discontinued: Weather Outlook/forecast
- this page is based on the Outlook plugin. The Outlook plugin is now DISCONTINUED as well as the WWO page! The new forecast/outlook page is now included for all in the core template files
- added new forecast summary table – see all forecasts in a single table overview
- available also for mobile version
- DEMO: http://www.meteotemplate.com/template/pages/forecast/index.php
- new page: Astronomy Calendar
- daily report
- complete redesign and code clean up/optimization
- added station long-term averages to tables and graphs
- added deviations from long-term station averages to tables and graphs
- added absolute min/max for station for comparison
- new “all-data” graph – graph shows all parameters in one graph, you can turn on/off just the ones you want to compare
- color-underlay in tables for all parameters
- redesign included for mobile version
- speed optimization
- graphs resizable
- bug fixes – for example, in previous versions, no data showed as “0” in graphs, which completely shifted the axis. Now the graphs simply are blank when there is no value
- DEMO: http://www.meteotemplate.com/template/pages/station/redirect.php?url=reportDaily.php%3Fd%3D22%26m%3D10%26y%3D2016
- monthly report
- complete redesign and code clean up/optimization
- new all-parameter graph – all parameters in one graph
- new “almanac” section with month calendar, moon phases, sun rise/set
- added to graphs and tables: comparison with long-term station
- added to graphs and tables: deviation from long-term averages
- added to graphs and tables: absolute min/max
- redesign included for mobile version
- color-underlay in tables for all parameters
- graphs resizable
- bug fixes – see daily reports, correctly shift months when the first month in database is not January (previously showing January in all cases…)
- DEMO: http://www.meteotemplate.com/template/pages/station/redirect.php?url=reportMonthly.php?date=2016/9
- yearly report
- station climate/statistics
- complete redesign and optimization – all parameters now handled by 1 script – much easier code management and speed
- added station averages to tables
- added deviations from long-term station averages to tables
- added absolute min/max for station for comparison
- trends
- redesign and optimization
- all parameters now handled by just one script
- now for mobile version as well
- code clean up, bug fixes (same features, 95% less code…)
New features for blocks- block highlighting – in homepage setup you can choose which blocks you want to be highlighted (different background color based on your color theme), works for mobile version as well
- header block – you can now select one block which will be right at the top and span the whole width of the page regardless of how many columns you have – ideal for gauges for example and no need to use single-column layout and multiple blocks, just put header block at the top and have 3 columns below, works for mobile version as well
- footer block – the same as above, but this time a block spanning the whole width of the page at the very bottom below all other blocks, works for mobile version as well
- menu block names – you can now specify names for menu blocks. This is optional. If you specify a name, it will be shown at the top of the menu block below the blocks menu selector, the template will also try to translate this name if it is available in the language strings, if not, it will show it as specified, works for mobile version as well
New features- show current conditions in the header – in the Main settings you can now specify if you want to enable this. If yes then you will see the current conditions on every page directly in the header below the flag icon. The values iterate automatically and you can specify the interval for the change to another parameter. Works also for mobile version.
- site search – you can now include a search for your whole site in the footer! This can be enabled/disabled in the Main settings. For this to work you will need a Google API key, instructions included in the Main settings file.
- new feature – insert custom image background to header for mobile version (setup in Main settings)
- new features for you as an admin
- “remember me” feature – select this and you will stay logged in as an admin even if you close the browser or shut down the computer, until you log out. This feature uses cookies and the currently most sophisticated encryption available (B-crypt)
- new Import pages – now accessible via cPanel directly
- any software -> one import file
- you can now import data to the database from practically any file or WU. You can precisely define the format of the file and it will automatically import it, no need to adjust the format. This allows importing log files from any software.
- very detailed overview of what exactly is happening during the import to spot any errors (over 200 possible messages based on what is happening)
- possibility to “test import” to see if correct values will be saved to db
- possibility to set the time span for WU import (for slow servers importing by month was a problem, in contrast, on faster servers you can now set longer intervals for import at once)
Bug fixes/optimizations/minor changes- GENERAL:
- naming standardization – at the beginning I simply called the files whatever I just first came up with, so some pages were renamed to respect the naming convention of the rest of the template
eg: daily_report -> reportDaily
annual_report -> reportYearly
- station/pages/calendar.php
Bug fixes, optimizations, CSS tweaks - station warnings icons moved inside the header to save valuable space below the header
- climate pages – optimization, CSS tweaks, redesign
- interactive graph – prevent graph from not loading when there is no data available for selected period
- alldata table now created automatically when testing MySQL in Main settings
- possibility to test emails – mail server must be correctly configured on the server for emails to work, you can now test directly in Main settings, if notifications and plugins using emails will work for you
- footer code clean up – previously included all days available in the db in the code for day report selection, now handled by separate script
- prevent the settings block showing “opened” below the footer if db empty
- removed all PHP notices caused by the METAR script
- few new icons
- fixed “sun theme” issue
- new spinner
- liveData - fixed issue with total rain not showing
Depracted pages:- all update pages (WD, WView, WU, Cumulus - replaced by update.php)
- all import pages (CSV, WU, WD, Cumulus - replaced by import.php)
- worldweatheronline.php - replaced with darksky.net outlook
Depracted plugin:- outlook - now part of main template files with even more features
Update InstructionsIn the blog
As always - the first person to do the update, please let me know, once Im sure it is ok I will send out emails to people about the new version.
E N J O Y !!!!!
