CUSTOMGAUGE$1$

[senorwx]

Just upgraded to v2 and the new custom gauges are slick!

What file will I find them in for uploading?

Thanks!

[elagache]

Dear SenorWX and WeatherCat web spinners,

Just upgraded to v2 and the new custom gauges are slick!

What file will I find them in for uploading?

No need to keep track of uploaded files, WeatherCat does all that for you.  All you need to do is insert the custom web tag into the place on your web page where you want the image to appear and WeatherCat will automatically upload the image for you and include an image link in your HTML file.  You'll find the WeatherCat tag to include in your web page on the custom gauge control window:



Check the WeatherCat manual starting around page 38 in the current manual for more information on custom gauges.

Cheers, Edouard 

[xairbusdriver]

I think the Dev linked to some <new tags in post #9 here>. The manual may not have all of the tags that are actually now available (at least in the latest version of WC).

[xairbusdriver]

I must be missing something extremely basic... again. I have a page full of CUSTOMGRAPH$ images. I simply inserted the WC tags into a 'dummy' html page that is nothing more than a list of tags; all the  "CUSTOMGRAPH$" and MOVIE$. The reason I've done this is to be able to use CSS on the html <img> lines; is you simply insert the WC tags, the html is created and the option to style them is limited. The images are uploaded by WC, of course, to the root level of the site. It is then a simple matter of adding the html and styling the CSS <img class="my-beautiful-images"...>. It does create more calls to the web server, but fast (and faster) connections ameliorate most of that.

Howsomever, CUSTOMGAUGE$ seem to operate a bit differently. Differently, in the sense that they simply are for display on your monitor, not on a web site? I notice a distinct lack of info about them in the WC 2 documentation. They are mentioned only once, even in a different font than the rest of the PDF. The web-based info (web tags in WeatherCat V2.20) mentioned them exactly six times. In neither place is there an example of how to use them on a site. That's the "clue" that I've missed for months.

This is probably why there are the "Steel Series" javascripts? I tend to have javascript blocked as much as possible, so I had not thought about using that method. I may be slow, but I'm also not very smarte! OTOH, it has only taken me 90+ days to figure this out! On the last hand, I'm hoping I am wrong (therz allwayz a furst thyme!) about not being able to upload the Custom Gauges that I spent a good deal of time on creating... Perhaps this is a job for a cron job or a PHP script running in WC? ... back to the "book"! 

Well, I'm wrong, again, twice, at least. I found this from Stu in a thread on the beta versions of WC:

Just like custom graphs, they have a tag you can use in custom web pages to display them.

And below is another comment saying I am wrong!

[Randall75]

Hi xairbusdriver
 I use them on my web site
and don't have any problems
http://randysweatheronthehill.com/customgraphs.html


cheers


 

[xairbusdriver]

Well, Randall, I'll take a look at the rest of your site and see if it has the "CUSTOMGAUGE$..." results. The link you provided is for "CUSTOMGRAPH$... Those work fine on my site, it's the GAUGEs I'd like to include. Same number of characters, many of the same letters, completely different look!

Lots of good info on your site, I may stealborrow a couple of your ideas.

I think what you are using are the Dxyz$ tags for "Dials". I'll probably start with those while investigating a way to get the Custom Gauges you create with the Tools menu. There are not exact matches available, however. Several more options for CUSTOMGAUGE$ even though there is a limit of 15. Oh well... I always look for the easiest way to skin a cat before buying bandages!

[Randall75]

Hi xair
 I was using the custom gauges but they were using way to much memory and keep causing the Cat to crash so I am know longer using them




But they will work just like the custom graphs


I added them back so you can see them @ http://randysweatheronthehill.com/customgauges.html

cheers


 

[xairbusdriver]

A closer reading of the "DIALS AND GAUGES" tags section reveals that there are only 4 round dials/gauges. The other 11 images are "meters", meaning 'vertical' not round 'dials/gauges'. Simply semantics, I guess.

In my flying history, most "gauges" were round, even the later, digital ones. Probably only because it was easier to use a round/circular punch on the instrument panel! All the worker had to do was make sure to drill the starter holes on the same horizontal line. The round instrument housing could always be rotated to make its 'top' in the right place.

Square(ish) punches would also require making sure the punch was vertically and horizontally aligned! "Progress"! Now it's easier to make instruments because they can be in square(ish) boxes; making it easy to stack several similar long, rectangular circuit boards. In "the old days" they had to fit into mostly round(ish) tubes, less efficient use of internal space!

Of course, it's all done by a robot, now. Any shape hole, anywhere you want!

[elagache]

Dear X-Air, Randall, and WeatherCat web spinners,

I must be missing something extremely basic... again. I have a page full of CUSTOMGRAPH$ images.

Check out Stu's all tags web page on the Trixology website:

http://live.trixology.com/custom/

If you scroll down you'll see the web tags and the custom gauge that is created by the tag.  If you want to see how it is done, save the page as HTML and reverse engineer to your hearts content!

Cheers, Edouard 

[WCDev]

Each custom gauge has a unique web tag associated with it - this is displayed in the 'Web' section of its settings. It's just the same as any other tag that's replaced with an image - use that tag in your template and it'll be replaced with a link to the image and the image uploaded.

[xairbusdriver]

I think I may have figured out my erer. Using the CUSTOMGRAPH$ was easy to see in the examples. I just used the "basic format" as described in the explanations on p. 207: STAT$ITEM:TYPE:PERIODS$

I had already done that when I created my "Statistics" page. I then used the "MOVIE$" tag in the "Web Cam" page. Actually, neither of those pages use the WC generated html, I do that myself, but the 'dummy' html page, that never gets seen or displayed, has the multi-part WC tags for the graphs. WC usually needs to have those 'tag constructions' in order to know which image items to create and upload, and, of course, to create the html. However, the movie tag is slightly different; it doesn't need anything other than the single "MOVIE$" tag in some html page that's listed in the Prefs->On-Line->Custom Web->Additional Files.

I completely dismissed the need for the "basic format" construction because I was thinking (a rare exercise for me) of the last thing I had done (get the web cam displayed) and failing to understand that "gauges" are just another form of "STAT$" as far as WC is concerned. All I was doing was listing the custom graphs 'tags' without any of the rest of the appropriate "basic format" parts. At least that's what I dreamed about last night (I do my best trouble-shooting, when I'm semi-conscience! It's safer for others, as long as I don't sleep walk... ).

I'll tackle this 'dream-theory' solution later today, SWMBO had a bunch of girls over last night and I get to clean up their mess today! At least I also get some left-over dessert...

[xairbusdriver]

 

I think I may have figured out my erer. Using the CUSTOMGRAPH$ was easy to see in the examples. I just used the "basic format" as described in the explanations on p. 207: STAT$ITEM:TYPE:PERIODS$

Nope, I couldn't even remember what my 'dummy' html page had in it. It's even simpler than stated above! I've edited the previous post. More info later.

[elagache]

Dear X-Air and men who aren't dominated by their wives,

I'll tackle this 'dream-theory' solution later today, SWMBO had a bunch of girls over last night and I get to clean up their mess today! At least I also get some left-over dessert...

Ouch!  When you write SWMBO - you aren't kiddin' . . .

It reminds me of a story told by the Irish comedian Dave Allen:

There are two lines in front of the gate into heaven.  The first has a sign over it: "Men who have been dominated by their wives."  The queue for that line goes on and on and on.  The other "line" is for men who weren't dominated by their wives.  One day Saint Peter checks that second line and there is a single man: thin, timid, standing 4 feet 11 inches when on his tippy-toes, with a dew drop going one one cheek.  Saint Peter can't help himself and bursts out: "What are you doing standing in this line!?!?!?"  The man replies just as quickly: "My wife told me to stand in this line!!"

Cheers, Edouard 

P.S. Of course I can laugh at all this because . . . I've never been married!

[xairbusdriver]

That's a good one, Edouard! But don't let any of your women friends know you don't think you've never been 'dominated'! BTW, that also explains your available time to work on some kind of "wagon"... [removed link to the now castly photobucket.com site]

Back to my stupidity...
I was writing a message to the Great WC Support Staff (aka; Stu) and decided to stick in an example on my Graphs page so he could see that CUSTOMGAUGES$ did not work. Sure enough, I typed in the simple line I stoleborrowed from Randall, changed the image number to match the custom gauge I had created, uploaded it, refreshed the page
and...

and...

and...

You guessed it! There was that one gauge! Actually, it was displayed twice! Once with the <img...> line, as expected, but the second time because I had typed in "<p>The broken image icon above is due to the CUSTOMGAUGE$5$ tag 'png' not being uploaded.</p>"

That was a significant clew!!! It's the old 'clever-developer-named-variable' SCAM! That's right! The true culprit is Stu!!! He droped the "S" in the names for CUSTOMGRAPHS and CUSTOMGAUGES!!!

Thanks a lot, Stu! [removed link to the now castly photobucket.com site]  The gauges are now all being uploaded normally. All I had to do was remove the "S" in the upload-movies-images.html file. Too bad my backs still sore from my patting myself on the back yesterday; I had used the 'plain-jane' dials/meters in my Graphs page, even making them double sized for better visibility on a desktop monitor.

Anyway, major problem solved thanks to the persistence and help from trixology readers! Thanks, again for your patience and fortitude!