WeatherFax ...

[ozolli]

Originally Posted by rgleason

Latest Colour Mean Sea-Level Pressure Analysis

These are using *.shtml files which are compatible with browsers. There is an image file embedded in each one
http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDY00030.202205030600.png
http://www.bom.gov.au/difacs/IDX0894.gif
These images can be opened in a new browser tab, however they don't work with weatherfax! Why?

Maybe because they forbid scraping ? :
curl http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDY00030.202205070600.png
<p>Your access is blocked due to the detection of a potential automated access request. The Bureau of Meteorology website does not support web scraping: if you are trying to access Bureau data through automated means, you should stop. You may like to consider the following options:</p>
<ul> <li>An anonymous FTP channel: <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/catalogue/anon-ftp.shtml">http://www.bom.gov.au/catalogue/anon-ftp.shtml</a> - this is free to access, but use is subject to the default terms of the Bureau's copyright notice: <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/other/copyright.shtml">http://www.bom.gov.au/other/copyright.shtml</a> </li> <li>A Registered User service for continued use of Bureau data if your activity does not comply with the default terms: <a href="http://reg.bom.gov.au/other/charges.shtml">http://reg.bom.gov.au/other/charges.shtml</a> noting charges apply to most data products. Please contact webreg@bom.gov.au to discuss your requirements.</li> </ul> <p>If you still need assistance in accessing our website, please contact us by filling in your details at <a href="http://reg.bom.gov.au/screenscraper/screenscraper_enquiry_form/">http://reg.bom.gov.au/screenscraper/screenscraper_enquiry_form/</a> and we will get in touch with you. Thank you for your understanding.</p> True Client IP: 82.64.97.144 <br> Reference Error: 0.8ee24817.1651918295.281845aa

[rgleason]

Thanks ozolli sorry for the mixup! So "web scrapping is the problem" (automated access requests). I wonder how they detect this? Use of curl?
See Bug: Download URL's fail in particular Australia BOM #75


It appears AUS Bom is charging for automated web access requests via ftp data



AUS BOM Marine Lite
http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/lite/charts.shtml
http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/lite/

[rgleason]

IOM suggested for South Africa
https://www.weathersa.co.za/images/d...ised/ma_sy.gif
https://marine.weathersa.co.za/Forecasts_Home.html


IOM Are there other good Marine weather links on this website?

[rgleason]

Testing Weatherfax 1.9.32.0 on the PIM Beta Catalog.



Currently we are doing a trial test of Weatherfax which is available in the Opencpn Toolbox Options > Plugins Pick Beta Catalog and update (More complete Instructions in the Testing spreadsheet)


Testing Spreadsheet -Bookmark this
CF OpenCPN Plugin Links - Bookmark this
Weatherfax CF Thread
Weatherfax Github Issues

[rgleason]

Ozolli fixed several coords. Updated tarballs are here. Find yours, download and use Options > PI >Import tarball.
https://cloudsmith.io/~opencpn/repos...9.32.0+tarball

[IOM]

Originally Posted by rgleason

IOM suggested for South Africa
https://www.weathersa.co.za/images/d...ised/ma_sy.gif
https://marine.weathersa.co.za/Forecasts_Home.html


IOM Are there other good Marine weather links on this website?

No Sorry, dont think so.

[Aldebaran17]

while testing the WeatherFax plugIn on a Mac I had a hard job, figuring how it works, since its user interface is somehow different to standard.

On Macs there are no menus associated with a particular window, e.g. associated to the weatherfax window. Menus are only associated to programs, and actually there is only one menu at the top of a screen, which is the menu of the activated program, i.e. those program which belongs to the top most window.

So, when activating the weatherfax plugin via the toolbar, a window pops up ontop of the OpenCPN window, but is not activated. See the attachment below, which shows that the Standard OpenCPN is activated (visible by the read/yellow/green buttons at the the top) and the standard OpenCPN menu bar is visible on the top of the screen (not the OpenCPN) window. The weatherfax window is in the foreground, but not activated.



After clicking into the WeatherFax window, this window becomes activated (red/yellow/green buttons now in WeatherFaxWindow) and the menu bar changes to the weatherfax window.



It "never" ever happens that a menu is replaced while staying in the same program on a Mac. The consequence is, that it took me, a Mac User since decades, weeks to find the WeatherFax menu. The menu was appearing at a position, where it does not belong to. It is actually forbidden to be there, so I was not expecting it to be there, so I did not see it. For weeks!! This is more about psychology, and you probably know about the black monkey videos. It is not really just about psychology, it is more about the guidelines used to design GUIs on the Mac, which were established in the Guidelines for human Interfaces decades ago.

So, what to do, to make live easier for Mac afficionades like me, for people who only see what they expect to see:

- simple fix: when activating weatherfax, not only opening the Weatherfax window, but also making it the active window and by doing so change the menu. Against the rules (to change the menu), but it will work and should be apparent to the user

- legal fix, or at least this is what certified software does on the mac: if there is need for context dependent menu entries, then add an extra menu entry (e.g. weatherfax) to the existing menu bar, but leaving the other entries in the standard OpenCPN menu there. In that new menu entry, we could find the retrieve points, ...

Final remark: I was not really intending to report this "issue" here, since it is rather a no-expected behaviour. However, rgleason encouraged me to do so.

Best,

Manfred

[rgleason]

Manfred,
The first menu that should open is this one, the drop down one! (The last one below that you posted.)

Retrieve
- Capture
- HF Radio Schedules
- Internet
- Update Data


Once you select "Internet"
What menu appears?


For windows this is the sequence for a weatherfax that has coordinates properly defined, when first downloaded.

1. Use first menu dropdown and select "Internet"

2. Open InternetRetrieval menu and select a Regaion and weatherfax, hit select.

3. Download the files and then the wxfax is mapped and overlaid.
4. The weatherfax appears in the first window and is shown overlaid.


Can you illustrate this process too?

[rgleason]

Weatherfax v1.9.32.0 is now in the Beta Catalog.

[kubek]

Hi,

There is a problem with update a WeatherFax plugin.
I have tried few times but without a success.
It looks like download link is broken, see picture.

Regards,
Kubek

[rgleason]

Originally Posted by kubek

Hi,

There is a problem with update a WeatherFax plugin.
I have tried few times but without a success.
It looks like download link is broken, see picture.

Regards,
Kubek

Thanks, will update it, but try the beta catalog for 1.9.32.1

[rgleason]

I understand the problem now. For MacOS we need to

• - simple fix: when activating weatherfax, not only open the Weatherfax window, but also make it the "active window" thus change the menu ...Against the rules (to change the menu), but it will work and should be apparent to the user
• - legal fix, if there is need for context dependent menu entries, then "add an extra menu entry (e.g. weatherfax) to the existing menu bar" , but leaving the other entries in the standard OpenCPN menu there. In that new menu entry, we could find the retrieve points, ...

Created an Issue, Bug, so it gets fixed. https://github.com/rgleason/weatherfax_pi/issues/112

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Aldebaran17

while testing the WeatherFax plugIn on a Mac I had a hard job, figuring how it works, since its user interface is somehow different to standard.

On Macs there are no menus associated with a particular window, e.g. associated to the weatherfax window. Menus are only associated to programs, and actually there is only one menu at the top of a screen, which is the menu of the activated program, i.e. those program which belongs to the top most window.

So, when activating the weatherfax plugin via the toolbar, a window pops up ontop of the OpenCPN window, but is not activated. See the attachment below, which shows that the Standard OpenCPN is activated (visible by the read/yellow/green buttons at the the top) and the standard OpenCPN menu bar is visible on the top of the screen (not the OpenCPN) window. The weatherfax window is in the foreground, but not activated.

Attachment 258080

After clicking into the WeatherFax window, this window becomes activated (red/yellow/green buttons now in WeatherFaxWindow) and the menu bar changes to the weatherfax window.

Attachment 258081

It "never" ever happens that a menu is replaced while staying in the same program on a Mac. The consequence is, that it took me, a Mac User since decades, weeks to find the WeatherFax menu. The menu was appearing at a position, where it does not belong to. It is actually forbidden to be there, so I was not expecting it to be there, so I did not see it. For weeks!! This is more about psychology, and you probably know about the black monkey videos. It is not really just about psychology, it is more about the guidelines used to design GUIs on the Mac, which were established in the Guidelines for human Interfaces decades ago.

So, what to do, to make live easier for Mac afficionades like me, for people who only see what they expect to see:

- simple fix: when activating weatherfax, not only opening the Weatherfax window, but also making it the active window and by doing so change the menu. Against the rules (to change the menu), but it will work and should be apparent to the user

- legal fix, or at least this is what certified software does on the mac: if there is need for context dependent menu entries, then add an extra menu entry (e.g. weatherfax) to the existing menu bar, but leaving the other entries in the standard OpenCPN menu there. In that new menu entry, we could find the retrieve points, ...

Final remark: I was not really intending to report this "issue" here, since it is rather a no-expected behaviour. However, rgleason encouraged me to do so.

Best,

Manfred

[Hakan]

This is on Win10 using 1.9.32.1. Internet capture.

The fax picture overlay does not open on several PC but works as it should on another.

I've one W10 where the overlay is shown directly after download and if I want to show the picture viewer I've to double click the file in the Weatherfax window.
The problem on the other two PC is that the picture window is opened directly on download and no overlay. (Yes the chart is zoomed out enough to cover the picture)
I haven't found any corresponding settings in the config file. I also compared the config files for the not working PC with the working but found nothing significant.

Please any help to trace forward?
Håkan

[rgleason]

Originally Posted by Hakan

This is on Win10 using 1.9.32.1. Internet capture.

The fax picture overlay does not open on several PC but works as it should on another.

I've one W10 where the overlay is shown directly after download and if I want to show the picture viewer I've to double click the file in the Weatherfax window.
The problem on the other two PC is that the picture window is opened directly on download and no overlay. (Yes the chart is zoomed out enough to cover the picture)
I haven't found any corresponding settings in the config file. I also compared the config files for the not working PC with the working but found nothing significant.

Please any help to trace forward?
Håkan

Hakan, I seriously want to address this "Retrieve > Internet" (Ctrl+I) and come up with a plan to fix it and make it clearer and easier for users who are updating or downloading data files.


Originally Sean had to address how users could fix the coordinates and and image overlay with Image Wizard, because weather services tended to change them frequently. His solution was to copy coordinateSets.xml from the installation location %localappadata%/opencpn/plugins/weatherfax_pi/data/CoordinateSets.xml into a user (writable) directory under opencpn and use that file to save custom user coordinate data. For windows, this user folder is C:\ProgramData\opencpn\plugins\weatherfax


Presently updates to weatherfax do not overwrite the user (writable) coordinateSets.xml.


Please close opencpn and simply remove C:\ProgramData\opencpn\plugins\weatherfax\Coordina teSets.xml and you might as well also remove the file User_CoordinateSets.xml, which saves custom user coordinates which are selected from the drop down menu in Image Wizard (second step) (upper right "Image Coordinates" pick "New Coordinates") which whenever this is done, saves the coordinates to a special new file "user_coordinateSets.xml".

See https://github.com/rgleason/weatherf...ent-1140558322


Also https://github.com/rgleason/weatherfax_pi/issues/115


If you simply remove C:\ProgramData\opencpn\plugins\weatherfax\Coordina teSets.xml and User_CoordinateSets.xml then all user custom coordinates will be removed, and when you start weatherfax_pi again, those files will be missing and the plugin will automatically save the file in memory to the user location after using weatherfax again.


I hope I have explained this clearly enough, and what to do.
I am trying to work out a plan to improve this situation as you can see by the links above.


Perhaps a prompt, "Do you want to remove the user customization files, CoordinateSets.xml and User_CoordinateSets.xml from your user (writable) directory, to that they can be updated to the new urls and coordinates?


I need user feedback on this. We don't want to simply overwrite User Customized files without a prompt, it is bad practice, however if we are updating all the weatherfaxInternetRetrieval_(region).xml and weatherfaxSchedule.xml files we will most definitely need to copy the new coordinateSets.xml file into C:\ProgramData\opencpn\plugins\weatherfax\Coordina teSets.xml from the install directory, %localappdata%/opencpn/plugins/weatherfax_pi/data/coordinateSets.xml
if the overlays are going to work!

[rgleason]

@Hakan Did my response below help to answer the problem with the various windows machines. Just remove the coordinateSets.xml file in the user writable directory and restart Opencpn and weatherfax.