Topic: Meteotemplate - new free website template

[virusdunil]

 

[Jáchym]

Thanks Tina,
I will have a look at it later, I cant right now, our work firewall blocks everything from codepan.

Though I am more and more thinking about making this like a little Javascript exercise and writing the code entirely myself from scratch. I know much more than I did yr ago, but I still have a much better knowledge of PHP than JS so at least I will learn something But I cannot promise it will be as nice as it is now, if I will be able to make it at all in the first place

[Jáchym]

OK I found an alternative link for the clouds, but that is also not usable.
1. I find it a bit too distracting
2. does not work in IE at all
3. hard to tell difference between partly cloudy, mostly cloudy, overcast etc

I will see if I can make something myself.

[SimonB]

Jachym

I'm not referring to the plugins. Most of the value in my site are the timelapses.

I need those visible but don't want them in the homepage blocks.

It's ok. Happy to fiddle

I've built a custom folder structure under mobile similar to the desktop version and adapted the menu. Easy-peasy. Took me 20 minutes to do.

[KapitainOne]

I'm getting confused, playing with the multiple block feature and have somewhat strange results. Blocks are slightly different widths and some have vertical spacing between the rows and other don't??

http://www.sanfordweather.com/meteo/indexDesktopTest.php

Here's the bits from my IndexDesktopTest file:

Code: [Select]

    // Multiple Block Layout!
    $columnWidths = array(100); // this will create just a one-column homepage, where every block will occupy the full width of the homepage
    $column1 = array("warningsCA",
        "multipleBlock(greetings,33;clockDigital,34;payPal,33)",
        "gauges",
        "multipleBlock(stationData,25;ecForecast,50;riset,25)",
        "interactiveGraph",
        "radarCA",
        "multipleBlock(rain,33;co2,34;weatherNetworks,33)",
        "multipleBlock(summary,60;meteogram,40)",
        "multipleBlock(forecast,50);worldWeather,50)",
        "multipleBlock(uvForecast,33;dbinfo,34;ozoneForecast,33)"
               
        );
    #### NOTE: place a comma (,) after the last line entry before adding a new line - i.e. "yowindow","newBlock"
    #### NOTE: the ); must be after the last entry - i.e. "yowindows" - and spaces and extra blank lines are permitted
    $columns = array($column1);

Ideas?

Oops, found the updated style.php file but it only corrected the width issue I was seeing, not the vertical spacing?

[Jáchym]

I'm getting confused, playing with the multiple block feature and have somewhat strange results. Blocks are slightly different widths and some have vertical spacing between the rows and other don't??

http://www.sanfordweather.com/meteo/indexDesktopTest.php

Here's the bits from my IndexDesktopTest file:

Code: [Select]

    // Multiple Block Layout!
    $columnWidths = array(100); // this will create just a one-column homepage, where every block will occupy the full width of the homepage
    $column1 = array("warningsCA",
        "multipleBlock(greetings,33;clockDigital,34;payPal,33)",
        "gauges",
        "multipleBlock(stationData,25;ecForecast,50;riset,25)",
        "interactiveGraph",
        "radarCA",
        "multipleBlock(rain,33;co2,34;weatherNetworks,33)",
        "multipleBlock(summary,60;meteogram,40)",
        "multipleBlock(forecast,50);worldWeather,50)",
        "multipleBlock(uvForecast,33;dbinfo,34;ozoneForecast,33)"
               
        );
    #### NOTE: place a comma (,) after the last line entry before adding a new line - i.e. "yowindow","newBlock"
    #### NOTE: the ); must be after the last entry - i.e. "yowindows" - and spaces and extra blank lines are permitted
    $columns = array($column1);

Ideas?

Oops, found the updated style.php file but it only corrected the width issue I was seeing, not the vertical spacing?

Your code seems ok, not sure why it is doing this, either way, try deleting the "margin-bottom:10px" in
homepage/css/style
line 115 and 139

[Jáchym]

With regards to the banner, the problem is solved.

[KapitainOne]

I'm getting confused, playing with the multiple block feature and have somewhat strange results. Blocks are slightly different widths and some have vertical spacing between the rows and other don't??

http://www.sanfordweather.com/meteo/indexDesktopTest.php

Here's the bits from my IndexDesktopTest file:

Code: [Select]

    // Multiple Block Layout!
    $columnWidths = array(100); // this will create just a one-column homepage, where every block will occupy the full width of the homepage
    $column1 = array("warningsCA",
        "multipleBlock(greetings,33;clockDigital,34;payPal,33)",
        "gauges",
        "multipleBlock(stationData,25;ecForecast,50;riset,25)",
        "interactiveGraph",
        "radarCA",
        "multipleBlock(rain,33;co2,34;weatherNetworks,33)",
        "multipleBlock(summary,60;meteogram,40)",
        "multipleBlock(forecast,50);worldWeather,50)",
        "multipleBlock(uvForecast,33;dbinfo,34;ozoneForecast,33)"
               
        );
    #### NOTE: place a comma (,) after the last line entry before adding a new line - i.e. "yowindow","newBlock"
    #### NOTE: the ); must be after the last entry - i.e. "yowindows" - and spaces and extra blank lines are permitted
    $columns = array($column1);

Ideas?

Oops, found the updated style.php file but it only corrected the width issue I was seeing, not the vertical spacing?

Your code seems ok, not sure why it is doing this, either way, try deleting the "margin-bottom:10px" in
homepage/css/style
line 115 and 139

Now the spacing is all the same!  Note That Paul's test site a couple pages back shows the same symptoms!

[jeffm5690]

Hey all!

Any thought to a clock for hurricane season?  Something that shows active hurricanes, stats and tracks?

Jeff

[Jáchym]

Hi Jeff,
yes I am aware of this, obviously this is not relevant to us (lucky ones) in Europe, but I do know this is very important for the US.

The only problem is that if I remember correctly, the NWS page shows something like "the hurricane season starts on....".

The problem is that I cannot start developing the plugin/block until there is some data available, so that I can see the actual structure of the data and ways it could be used. Once it is developed it can be used in the future and disabled when it is out of season, but until I get a chance to see the actual outputs, I cant start. Im not sure when the season starts, but once it does I will do this ASAP.

Btw. did you guys know mangoes last much longer than kiwis, which actually go bad pretty quick?

[Mapantz]

Btw. did you guys know mangoes last much longer than kiwis, which actually go bad pretty quick?

 

Is it almost time to visit the grocery store to pick up some more fruit?

[Jáchym]

Yeah, I think a truck full of fresh ###censored### is on its way.

[vreihen]

Atlantic Hurricane season officially starts June 1st.

Can you pull any useful info from the National Hurricane Center (NHC's) RSS feeds?

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutrss.shtml

There were archived samples from last year.....

[Paul]

Hi Jachym (and everyone else!)

I wonder what your thoughts are on inserting missing data, after an internet connectivity outage.

Obviously you could use the data import scripts to insert missing records.
However there is a mismatch in that the data logs are with minute intervals and the DB has been 'reformatted' to 5 minute intervals for query performance reasons.

A few options I see:

• Just insert with minute interval and have a 'mixed' DB - Not ideal.
• Manipulate missing data log file in Excel to aggregate to 5 min interval and then import that.
• Maintain an ongoing minute interval DB as well, regularly inserting data and then after an outage once DB is up to date, 'reformat' it.

Any thoughts? The Excel route is probably what I will do as outages are fairly rare and usually casued by a strange issue I have (topic for another post) with the weather PC rather than an ISP issue.

[Jáchym]

I see

Thinking about it the easiest option would be an alternative reformat.php, where it was possible to set time span for the conversion, so you would first import the data to the db normally and then select to reformat just the time interval you want

[Paul]

I see

Thinking about it the easiest option would be an alternative reformat.php, where it was possible to set time span for the conversion, so you would first import the data to the db normally and then select to reformat just the time interval you want

Yes that would be optimal but does require work on your side 
Obviously the existing reformat.php creates a new table, would need to factor in updating the existing with the associated logic which could be tricky.
Clearly you can put a WHERE clause on the SQL SELECT statement to filter the date range but then you need to think about inserting them (as not to duplicate one of the minute records with the new 5 min record) and also then need to delete the minute records.

[SpringHillWeather]

Btw. did you guys know mangoes last much longer than kiwis, which actually go bad pretty quick?

 

Is it almost time to visit the grocery store to pick up some more fruit?

I think your right, the kiwis may be getting overripe already

Although all the fruit has been great so far, nothing like fresh fruit to quench the appetite.

[Jáchym]

Hi guys,

you have probably noticed there has not been much new stuff recently. This is because version 5 did not have all the features I originally planned and some of the new stuff in this version affects all the files and blocks so I did not want to release any new stuff before this is finished.

Let me introduce to you a brand new major update – Meteotemplate 6.0 Blueberry!

What is new?

Well… a lot. And most importantly, most of the changes are now done all automatically, so update should be very simple. The update has lot of changes in the backend which you probably will not even notice, but will substantially improve the user experience and speed. This update is especially for YOU – the webmaster – many more options for customization as well as much easier administration!

Here is a brief list of new things:

- setup.php – all template setup (ie. the config) is now done using a graphical user interface! This has many advantages: reduced potential for making errors, much easier editing and direct realtime previews of changes and also very important – for me the possibility to make modifications to config, i.e. changes that affect the template globally – without you having to setup everything again! How this is done is explained in the updated wiki and also in the instructions for update below.
- new mechanism for block updates – there is now a page which will automatically detect your block versions and compare them with the latest ones available by checking at Meteotemplate.com automatically. You will immediately see if there are any new versions for any of your installed blocks. Just install a new block and it will appear here (again, more info below).
- block setup also now done from one global page using graphical user interface
- new interactive banner – although it looks the same, it has several major changes – it no longer uses unreliable and slow Yahoo. Instead, it will use your own station data together with information from the nearest METAR you specify. Also, I have completely replaced the original code for the banner, which used some libraries I found back when I was still just getting to know the first bits of JS and PHP. The new code I wrote is 80% less CPU intensive, most part is done using PHP, not JS, so in the HTML it will be about 75% shorter, and it is much faster and reliable because it no longer relies on Yahoo or WWO.

This update is also a lot about customization, the new setup allows me to add things to the config and thus change the things in the template as a whole. Here are some newly added features (all setup using live previews and graphical user interface inside setup.php)

- customizable top banner title
- customizable top banner subtitle
- customizable left image in the top banner – choose if you want to automatically use your country flag (just like until now) or specify custom image URL
- customizable page background (one color, custom linear or radial gradients, or custom picture, all with live preview)
- customizable page width
- menu can now be set to either the way it was now, or as “sticky” – will remain on top, once the user starts scrolling down the page
- customizable block borders, border widths, border radius and 3D effect
- optional: all headings with shadows, all body text with shadows
- globally increase/decrease template font size and graphs font size
- “debug mode” – in case something goes wrong you can activate this, which will then help me as a developer in trying to diagnose what is wrong with your template without having to ask you for FTP access or any further changes
- customizable text in the footer – autoinsert date, time, date and time or custom text
- customizable menu slidedown/slideup speed (I have also fixed the bug where the menu closed when you tried to hover over it too fast)
- customizable top banner image – use the interactive banner, or specify URL for your custom image file
- CSS tweaks – the multiple blocks should now align much better and symmetrically, also some minor problems in the “light” theme were corrected
- optimization of all icons and images – the update package is quite large because it contains all the images and icons – but overall they are smaller, so once you replace the original ones, they will take up less space and load faster

More info and update instructions in the blog:
http://meteotemplate.com/blog/?p=528

[Jáchym]

This update makes lot of changes in the backend, which you wont see.

Although it has been tested independently on 4 servers, please if you have successfully updated, let me know to confirm it works

[SpringHillWeather]

Updated on my site without issue and its looking great!

Now to play around with all the configuration options and settings.

Thanks for all the new features in Blueberry Jachym it very much appreciated.

[Jáchym]

Great

Btw. now I can again concentrate on new blocks and updates, I have been working on this new version exclusively for the past few weeks, so there will definitely not be any new version in the near future, but rather more blocks and plugins. I did not want to develop anything because now all the newly released stuff can already be in the format necessary for this new version

[Paul]

Blueberry working great for me too.
Awesome work as always.

Quick question. For the forecast block what should I put as the defaultForecast if I want to use YrNo? Tried yrno but didn't like that. Using wu for now, really must get WXSim running again.

One more question, do you ever have time for the other fun stuff in life? Heck do you even have time to eat or sleep? 

[vreihen]

Please...stop the insanity!!!    I installed MeteoTemplate V4.1 over the Easter weekend as a new site, just to have it go immediately obsolete when V5.0 came out.  Now, I just finished upgrading to V6.0 - all in the course of two weeks.

Anyway, I have not performed the block modifications step yet, but everything else appears to be working and I generated a new config file from the setup.php file.  A few questions/comments:

1) The METAR input box in setup.php is too small for 4-character entries.

2) Is the metarchecker.com link included in #1 is blowing chunks for anyone else?  (SQLSTATE error)

3) Am I the only person missing my admin section lock link from the footer?

I'm going back to check my work and do the block mods now.....

[Jáchym]

Sorry, it should be in the documentation..... use "yrNo"

Code: [Select]

One more question, do you ever have time for the other fun stuff in life? Heck do you even have time to eat or sleep?
Occassionally I do sleep

But I must say I do this all from my own initiative, its not like I spend 99% of my free time doing this because "I have to" - which is the great thing about it.

I am not really into art, so I never really enjoyed visiting museums, going to concerts, watching movies, looking at historical sites (I am by no means suggesting this is good, its just the way I am)... I like biking and in the past I also did macrophotography, but then my camera broke so I found a different hobby And there are a very few movies that I did enjoy watching, my alltime favorite is Forest Gump and Star Wars, and just 5 days ago, I felt a bit sick so instead of working on Meteotemplate after coming back home after work, I watched the new episode VII, which I havent seen yet and I must say I really enjoyed it (except for one scene, but definitely better than all the prequels)

[Jáchym]

Please...stop the insanity!!!    I installed MeteoTemplate V4.1 over the Easter weekend as a new site, just to have it go immediately obsolete when V5.0 came out.  Now, I just finished upgrading to V6.0 - all in the course of two weeks.

Anyway, I have not performed the block modifications step yet, but everything else appears to be working and I generated a new config file from the setup.php file.  A few questions/comments:

1) The METAR input box in setup.php is too small for 4-character entries.

2) Is the metarchecker.com link included in #1 is blowing chunks for anyone else?  (SQLSTATE error)

3) Am I the only person missing my admin section lock link from the footer?

I'm going back to check my work and do the block mods now.....

Hi,
yes I know, but I explained this earlier. When I was working on version 5, I had sort of an idea of what I want to be included. The problem was that some of these things were things people were asking for repeatedly here on the forum - the mobile version and the multiple blocks. I knew that I wont be able to finish this other stuff very soon, so rather than having people ask again, I changed my mind and I released just the first part of what I wanted as version 5 and since then, have only been working on finishing this other stuff which is now version 6.

but right now I can again focus on blocks and plugins. It will also be much easier for you to manage block updates and this requires some changes in the way I create these blocks so I didnt want to release any new blocks in the old format and instead released this new version ASAP. There will definitely not be version 7 any time soon, you can trust me on that

Now to your questions:
1. weird, I checked and it looks good for me in Chrome, IE and FF
2. yes, it is, I dont know why, their server is obviously not working. In this case simply use some alternative site where you can browse metar station, if this problem persists, I will change the link in the setup file, but it is really just to point you to a place where you can find out the metar, many other sites have that information too
3. this is strange, because under normal circumstances it should never disappear. There isnt any option anywhere in the template to disable this.