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The cumulus.ini [[:Category:Configuration Files| configuration file]] is a text file containing initialization parameters used by the Cumulus application.
[[Category:Configuration Files]]
This page has been renamed from "Cumulus.ini" to preserve the early history of that page.
It is located in the directory in which you installed Cumulus and is updated whenever you change any configuration parameters from the application configuration pages. Cumulus also re-writes the file when it shuts down, so if you want to edit the file yourself, make sure Cumulus is stopped.

The information that was on this old Cumulus.ini page has been moved into separate pages for Cumulus 1, MX early releases, and MX latest releases.

=History of this page=

This page has proved the most complicated of all those in the Wiki to maintain:
# Settings change extremely often
#* Therefore it is a lot of effort to keep the documentation up to date
#* It is obviously easiest if an update is made here as soon as the settings change, sometimes that happens (perhaps by developer doing an update here)
# The design of configuration menus/screens/pages to edit the settings periodically changes
#* This means information about how to change settings often depends upon which release someone is using
#** In turn that means, either Cumulus users of latest release, or those using an earlier release, will struggle with the documentation
# Developers often provide limited information about settings,
#* Sometimes new settings are mentioned in an answer in a forum post, and do not get mentioned as a change in release announcements
#** This means that finding accurate information to update this page requires an awful lot of research that is very time consuming

The above observations applied for the legacy software, when Cumulus 2, and then 3 (MX), came along the documentation was originally split. When MX started (in 2019 to early 2020) to try to replicate much of what Cumulus 1 offered, it made sense to reuse what was written on this page for Cumulus 1, instead of duplicating it on a second page.

Then from mid 2020 to early 2021, there was rapid development of MX by the new developer, and MX began to increasingly diverge more and more from the legacy configuration, this page reflected that by introducing sub-sections (Cumulus 1 only, MX only, and both).
From early 2021 onwards that 3 sub-section design for this page failed because new MX releases began to diverge from earlier MX releases. In other words, parameters that had existed at an early MX release, were no longer used by later releases. It was possible, but increasingly more and more difficult, to track new parameters to add that were added at particular releases, so the documentation got more and more obsolete.

To sum up, it was impossible for this page to show information for the legacy software, for early MX releases, and for later MX releases. The response was to move off this page anaything not relevant to the latest MX release, and to restructure this page based on how MX settings are altered, rather than where a parameter appears in the file.


==Steve Loft Era==

<big>The configuration file content relating to the legacy software (e.g. 1.9.4) has been moved to [[Cumulus.ini_(Cumulus_1)|legacy page]]</big>


{| class="wikitable" border="1"
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
|-
!style="width:150px" | INI Line Entry
!style="width:400px" | Legacy Software 1.x.y releases
!style="width:600px" | Function
!style="width:200px" | Beta builds of legacy software
!style="width:200px" | Cumulus 2 alpha releases
!style="width:300px" | MX beta 3.0.0
|-
|-
| This page was created for the legacy Cumulus 1 software (up to 1.9.4). If you look at the history tab of this page, user‎ '''Shamrockspider''' created this page at 12:55 on 27 August 2009 for the purpose of '''Documenting the cumulus.ini file content and its function.'''
|[Station]
|Section name - the following parameters relate to the station location.
|-
|Type=-1
|Station Type as set by the checked radio box in the [[Cumulus_Screenshots#Configuration_Menu_Screens|Station Configuration Screen]], Station Type block


Back in 2009, the file was fairly simple, and therefore documentating it was also fairly easy.
*0=Vantage Pro
*1=Vantage Pro2
*2=WMR-928
*3=WM-918
*4=EasyWeather (using .dat file)
*5=Fine Offset/Watson/MyDel etc
*6=WS2300
|-
|Model="yourModel"
|Whatever you have entered for Station Model on the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
|-
|Port=0
|Com port in your computer which is connected to your weather station if connected via a serial port. Defaults to port 0.
|-
|Latitude=0
|Latitude in Decimal Degrees based on what you have entered for Latitude Degrees, Minutes, Seconds in the Station Configuration Screen Location block
Positive for North, Negative for South
|-
|Longitude=0
|Longitude in Decimal Degrees based on what you have entered for Longitude Degrees, Minutes, Seconds in the Station Configuration Screen Location block
Positive for East, Negative for West
|-
|LatTxt=
|Latitude in text string format of hemisphere degrees minutes and seconds. HTML ampersand codes are used for spaces and DMS characters.
|-
|LonTxt=
|Longitude in text string format of hemisphere degrees minutes and seconds. HTML ampersand codes are used for spaces and DMS characters.
|-
|Altitude=0
|your station altitude as entered in the Station Configuration Screen Location block.
|-
|AltitudeInFeet=1
|Altitude measurement unit as set in the Station Configuration Screen Location block.
*0 = meters ASL
*1 = feet ASL
|-
|Humidity98Fix=0
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, humidity displayed and recorded as 100% if your sensor registers a relative humidity of 98% or greater. Normally only useful for Oregon Scientific stations.
|-
|Wind10MinAverage=0
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will calculate and display a 10-minute average wind speed instead of using the value supplied by the station.
|-
|CalculatedDP=0
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will calculate the dew point instead of using the value supplied by the station. This avoids the restriction in the Oregon Scientific stations where the dew point can never be below freezing point.


Some settings were in [[Cumulus_Screenshots#Configuration_Menu_Screens|configuration screens]], and the file was arranged so that those settings were stored under a heading that generally (not in every case, for historic reasons) reflected the screen name. Documenting these was comparitively easy, the setting could be found easily and its allowed values could be easily tested.
|-

|CalculatedWC=0
A lot of extra settings were added to the file, but not added to the configuration screens. Documenting these was particularly difficult as only some got mentioned in release announcements, so the others were hard to discover, and allowed values were not always clear.
|Selected in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
| Each time a beta version of Cumulus 1 was available, any parameters specific to that beta appeared in [[Cumulus.ini_(Beta)]], and only moved to the main page when that beta finished, and became the main release.
*0 = Disabled
| The same beta page, [[Cumulus.ini_(Beta)]], was briefly used for Cumulus 2.
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will calculate the wind chill instead of using the value supplied by the station. Note that some stations (Fine Offset, for example, do not supply a wind chill value anyway, so Cumulus always calculates it). You should set this if you have specified any calibration values for wind or temperature, so that Cumulus can also apply those values to the wind chill.
| Finally, that beta page, [[Cumulus.ini_(Beta)]], was used for all the changes in Cumulus 3 (the MX beta):
|-
*Some of the parameters for Cumulus 1 were not used by MX beta
|RolloverHour=0
*Some of the parameters for Cumulus 1 were used by MX beta
|Log roll over time as selected on the Station Configuration Screen
*Beta MX only added 3 new parameters
*0 = midnight

*9 = 9am
This was the position when Steve Loft ceased his involvement with Cumulus. This page contained all parameters used for Cumulus 1, some of these were used by MX beta too.
|-
|Use10amInSummer=1
|Daylight saving correction for 9am roll over
*0 = Use 10am in summer not checked on Station Configuration Screen
*1 = Use 10am in summer selected on Station Configuration Screen
|-
|ConfirmClose=0
|Confirm you wish to close Cumulus application after telling it to close
*0 = Disabled, application will close immediately
*1 = Enabled, application will prompt for confirmation that you wish to close it
|-
|CloseOnSuspend=1
|If this is selected, Cumulus will close if you suspend/standby/hibernate your computer. You should not select 'Confirm shutdown' if you use this option.
*0 = Disabled, application will not close if you suspend/standby/hibernate your computer
*1 = Enabled, application will close on suspend/standby/hibernate of your computer
|-
|RestartIfUnplugged=0
|Cumulus will restart if it detects that a Fine Offset station is unplugged.
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|SyncDavisClock=0
|When set, at start-up, Cumulus will set the Davis VP/VP2 clock to the same time as the PC
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|DataLogInterval=2
|Data log interval as selected in the Station Configuration Screen Data log interval block
*0 = 1 min
*1 = 5 mins
*2 = 10 mins
*3 = 15 mins
*4 = 20 mins
*5 = 30 mins
|-
|WindUnit=0
|Wind measurement unit Cumulus records in as selected in the Station Configuration Units block
*0 = m/s
*1 = mph
*2 = km/h
*3 = kts
|-
|PressureUnit=0
|Pressure measurement unit Cumulus records in as selected in the Station Configuration Units block
*0 = mb
*1 = hPa
*2 = in
|-
|RainUnit=0
|Rain measurement unit Cumulus records in as selected in the Station Configuration Units block
*0 = mm
*1 = in
|-
|TempUnit=0
|Temperature measurement unit Cumulus records in as selected in the Station Configuration Units block
*0 = Centigrade
*1 = Fahrenheit
|-
|LocName=
|Location Name as entered on in the Station Configuration Screen
|-
|LocDesc=
|Location Description as entered in the Station Configuration Screen
|-
|StartDate=13/08/2009
|The date at which your records commenced. By default this will set to the date of initial installation of the application.
|-
|WindComp=1
|Original way of doing wind speed calibration, so it's basically the same as the wind multiplier. Deprecated, use the calibration settings instead.
|-
|LastLoggerDownload=13/08/2008 12:48:52
|The date/time of the last down load from your weather station (note: no longer used)
|-
|YTDrain=0
|Year to date correction if starting part way through year as entered in the Station Configuration Screen. Default is 0.
|-
|YTDrainyear=0
|The year for which the YTDrain is to be applied. Default is 0
|-
|EWInterval=0
|Easyweather interval in minutes as entered in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
|-
|EWFile=
|Easyweather.dat file path/name as entered in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
|-
|UseDataLogger=1
|If selected, at start-up, Cumulus will download data from the stations data logger (if it has one) to catch up from the point where Cumulus was last shut down.
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled (Default)
|-
|UseCumulusForecast=0
|From the Station Configuration Screen Forecast block, if selected Cumulus will generate a simple weather forecast, if your station does not supply one, or as an alternative to the one supplied by your station. See the [[Forecast webtag]] for more information.
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled
|-
|UseCumulusPresstrendstr=0
|Set in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block. If selected Cumulus will generate the name for the current pressure trend, e.g. "Falling", "Rising quickly" etc, instead of the one supplied by your station. The names used are those in the UK Shipping Forecast. Note that some stations do not supply this anyway, so setting this has no effect (Cumulus always generates the names for those stations).
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|FCpressinMB=1
|Forecast pressure unit as selected in Station Configuration Forecast block
*0 = inches
*1 = mb
|-
|FClowpress=950
|Low Pressure extreme limit as entered in the Station Configuration Forecast block. Default is 950mb
|-
|FChighpress=1050
|High Pressure extreme limit as entered in the Station Configuration Forecast block. Default is 1050mb
|-
|ForceVPBarUpdate=0
|Set this in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block. Select to force the Vantage Pro (and Pro2) barometer to update once a minute instead of the default 15 minutes. Note that you may not need this, more recent stations already update every minute
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|UseZeroBearing=0
|Set this in the Station Configuration Screen Settings block.
*0 = Disabled, Cumulus displays the current bearing read from the station (i.e. the last direction the wind was blowing from before it became calm). Note that the average wind bearing will always display zero bearing if there has been no wind for the last 10 minutes, as the average bearing takes wind speed into account.
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus display a bearing of zero (and '---' for the compass point) when the wind is calm
|-
|VP2ConnectionType=0
|Weather station connection type as selected in the Station Configuration Screen VP type block
*0 = serial
*1 = usb
*2 = TCP/IP
|-
|VP2TCPPort=22222
|Comunications port used if VP type has TCP/IP selected. Default is 2222
|-
|VP2IPAddr=0.0.0.0
|Weather station IP address if VP type has TCP/IP selected. Default is 0.0.0.0
|-
|WarnMultiple=0
|Multiple Instances of Cumulus running on PC
*0 = Disabled, (default) Multiple instances allowed.
*1 = Enabled, prevents multiple instances of Cumulus from running. Requires a Cumulus restart to take effect.
|-
|CloudBaseInFeet=1
|Cloud base measurement unit
*0 = meters
*1 = feet (default)
|-
|EWTempdiff=x.y
|Enter this line in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini to filter erroneous temperature readings from your sensor. Replace x.y with the maximum difference in degrees C you are prepared to accept between successive data readings
|-
|WMR928TempChannel=N
|To use an 'extra' channel as your main temperature sensor, set N to the required channel
|-
|RTdisconnectcount=60
|Option periodically disconnect the realtime FTP connection, the theory being that it will not get stuck if the servier dies, and wil keep trying to reconnect.
Enter this line in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini
The '60' is an example; it represents the number of realtime ftp uploads between disconnections - so 60 would give an hour if 1 minute realtime interval selected.
|-
|EWpressureoffset=x.y
|Got a pressure problem? This can occur on startup when the pressure 'offset' that Cumulus reads is garbage, so Cumulus just uses zero (so effectively you end up with your absolute pressure being recorded instead of relative pressure). There's a work around for this by telling Cumulus what offset to use, rather than reading it from the station. You specify it in cumulus.ini by adding a line to the [Station] section: where x.y is the difference between your station (absolute) and sea-level (relative) pressures, in mb/hPA.
|-
|UseWindChillCutOff=1
|Calculate [[Wind chill]] only if temperature less than 10&#176;C rule.
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, this line needs to be added in the [Station] section of the Cumulus.ini
|-
|Logging=1
|Add to cumulus.ini [Station] section to have Cumulus start with [[debug]] logging on
|-
|VP2SleepInterval=x
|where x is sleepinterval in milliseconds
tests revealed that VP2SleepInterval = 1100 seems to work the best. It updates every two seconds with few exceptions.
|-
|WS2300Sync=1
|This makes Cumulus check the time that the station is going to communicate with the sensors, and synchronises all of its reads to be 2.5 seconds after that. Experiments have shown that this does not help the bad data situation.
|-
|VPClosedownTime=x
|where x is the number of seconds after the start of the re-connect attempts that you want the program to close itself.
|-
|APRSHumidityCutoff=1
|Add to [Station] section For Scientific technical It doesn't report humidity to [[APRS]] when the temperature is below -10&#176;C
|-
|EWduplicatecheck=0
|Add this line to cumulus.ini [Station] section if application gets stuck in the download stage.
|-
|LCMaxWind=X
|To use the cumulus.ini setting for the La Crosse max wind speed add to the [station] section, where X is the maximum (uncalibrated) wind speed you want to allow. (V1.8.8 Build 874 on)
|-
|[Web Site]
|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your website
|-
|ForumURL=<nowiki>http://sandaysoft.com/forum/</nowiki>
|Your website URL
|-
|WebcamURL=<nowiki>http://www.sanday.org.uk/webcam/webcam.php </nowiki>
|URL for your Webcam
|-
|[FTP site]
|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your website FTP parameters
|-
|Host=
|This is the name (or the IP address) of the ftp server which you connect to when you upload pages to your web site
|-
|Port=21
|Port used for FTP upload, default =21
|-
|Username=
|your web site FTP login Username as entered in the Internet Configuration Screen
|-
|Password=
|your web site FTP login password as entered in the Internet Configuration Screen (note: this is not encrypted)
|-
|Directory=
|Directory (including path)on your server to which FTP will upload the files
|-
|AutoUpdate=0
|Set in the Internet Configuration Screen Web Settings block.
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will automatically upload your updated web pages to your web site at regular intervals (as specified by the 'Update Interval')
|-
|ActiveFTP=0
|Set in the Internet Configuration Screen Web Settings block.
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will use 'active' FTP mode instead of the default 'passive' mode. You should only select active mode if you are having problems with FTP uploads.
|-
|EnableRealtime=0
|Set in the Internet Configuration Screen Web Settings block.
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled, Cumulus will upload a file called [[realtime.txt]] to your web site, at the interval specified by Realtime Interval (see below). This file contains various weather parameters and is used by the CumulusRealtime.swf real time wind gauges (as on the supplied 'gauges' web page. If you don't have this option selected, but do have the 'auto update' option set (and a suitable interval configured), Cumulus will still create the realtime.txt file at the specified Interval (not the Realtime Interval) so that you can specify it as an extra file to upload during the 'normal' upload, or use it for any other purpose on your PC.
|-
|RealtimeInterval=3000
|Set in the Internet Configuration Screen Web Settings block. The time in seconds between uploads of the realtime.txt file.
|-
|UpdateInterval=15
|Set in the Internet Configuration Screen Web Settings block. The interval in minutes at which you wish auto updates to occur.
|-
|IncludeSTD=1
|Selected in the Internet Configuration Files Tab screen
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled, (default) the standard web files provided with Cumulus will be processed and uploaded at each web update.
|-
|IncludeSTDImages=1
|Selected in the Internet Configuration Files Tab screen
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled,(default) the standard image files generated by Cumulus (graphs, etc) will be uploaded at each web update.
|-
|FTPRename=0
|Selected in the Internet Configuration Files Tab screen
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled,
|-
|DeleteBeforeUpload=0
|Selected n Internet Configuration Screen Sites/Options tab Web Settings block
*0 = Disabled default
*1 = Enabled, files are deleted from sever before the new update is loaded
|-
|ResizeGraphs=0
|Selected in the Internet Congfiuration Screen Web graphs block.
*0 = Disabled (default) Cumulus uploads the default 750 x 300 pixel graphs.
*1 = Cumulus resizes the large graph images when creating them for upload to your web site. Specify the required height and width in the corresponding boxes. Note that the images are simply scaled to the new size; there will be some loss of quality
|-
|GraphHeight=300
|Graph height, default is 300 (pixels)
|-
|GraphWidth=750
|Graph width, default is 750 (pixels)
|-
|ImageFolder=
|Path and file name of folder to which the image files are copied at each web update interval, either the 'normal' interval, or the 'realtime' interval, depending on whether or not the 'realtime?' box is ticked.
|-
|ImageCopyRealtime=0
|Selected in the Internet Configuration File tab screen
*0 = files copied in 'normal' interval each web update (default)
*1 = files copied in 'real time' interval.
|-
|ExtraLocal0=
|Path and file name on local computer for alternate file #0. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraRemote0=
|Path and file name on web server for alternate file #0. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraProcess0=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file will not pass through the cumulus 'tag processor'.
*1 = Enabled, file will be passed through the 'tag processor' in Cumulus, in the same way that the standard Cumulus web pages are. This allows to you to create your own web pages into which Cumulus will insert the various weather parameters. See the "Web tags" section of the help file for a list of the tags which you can use. Cumulus will create a temporary file to hold the processed version of your file and then upload that.
|-
|ExtraBinary0=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = not binary (e.g. HTML file)
*1 = Binary (e.g. images)
|-
|ExtraRealtime0=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab. If you select this for any files, you will also need to select the Realtime option.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file uploaded as part of normal upload
*1 = Enabled, file uploaded during Realtime upload
|-
|ExtraFTP0=1
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, File copied to the location specified in the Remote Filename box.
*1 = Enabled, (default) File uploaded by FTP
|-
|ExtraLocal1=
|Path and file name on local computer for alternate file #1. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraRemote1=
|Path and file name on web server for alternate file #1. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraProcess1=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file will not pass through the cumulus 'tag processor'.
*1 = Enabled, file will be passed through the 'tag processor' in Cumulus, in the same way that the standard Cumulus web pages are. This allows to you to create your own web pages into which Cumulus will insert the various weather parameters. See the "Web tags" section of the help file for a list of the tags which you can use. Cumulus will create a temporary file to hold the processed version of your file and then upload that
|-
|ExtraBinary1=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = not binary (e.g. HTML file)
*1 = Binary (e.g. images)
|-
|ExtraRealtime1=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab. If you select this for any files, you will also need to select the Realtime option.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file uploaded as part of normal upload
*1 = Enabled, file uploaded during Realtime upload
|-
|ExtraFTP1=1
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, File copied to the location specified in the Remote Filename box.
*1 = Enabled, (default) File uploaded by FTP
|-
|ExtraLocal2=
|Path and file name on local computer for alternate file #2. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraRemote2=
|Path and file name on web server for alternate file #2. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraProcess2=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file will not pass through the cumulus 'tag processor'.
*1 = Enabled, file will be passed through the 'tag processor' in Cumulus, in the same way that the standard Cumulus web pages are. This allows to you to create your own web pages into which Cumulus will insert the various weather parameters. See the "Web tags" section of the help file for a list of the tags which you can use. Cumulus will create a temporary file to hold the processed version of your file and then upload that
|-
|ExtraBinary2=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = not binary (e.g. HTML file)
*1 = Binary (e.g. images)
|-
|ExtraRealtime2=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab. If you select this for any files, you will also need to select the Realtime option.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file uploaded as part of normal upload
*1 = Enabled, file uploaded during Realtime upload
|-
|ExtraFTP2=1
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, File copied to the location specified in the Remote Filename box.
*1 = Enabled, (default) File uploaded by FTP
|-
|ExtraLocal3=
|Path and file name on local computer for alternate file #3. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraRemote3=
|Path and file name on web server for alternate file #3. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraProcess3=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file will not pass through the cumulus 'tag processor'.
*1 = Enabled, file will be passed through the 'tag processor' in Cumulus, in the same way that the standard Cumulus web pages are. This allows to you to create your own web pages into which Cumulus will insert the various weather parameters. See the "Web tags" section of the help file for a list of the tags which you can use. Cumulus will create a temporary file to hold the processed version of your file and then upload that
|-
|ExtraBinary3=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = not binary (e.g. HTML file)
*1 = Binary (e.g. images)
|-
|ExtraRealtime3=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab. If you select this for any files, you will also need to select the Realtime option.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file uploaded as part of normal upload
*1 = Enabled, file uploaded during Realtime upload
|-
|ExtraFTP3=1
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, File copied to the location specified in the Remote Filename box.
*1 = Enabled, (default) File uploaded by FTP
|-
|ExtraLocal4=
|Path and file name on local computer for alternate file #4. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraRemote4=
|Path and file name on web server for alternate file #4. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraProcess4=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file will not pass through the cumulus 'tag processor'.
*1 = Enabled, file will be passed through the 'tag processor' in Cumulus, in the same way that the standard Cumulus web pages are. This allows to you to create your own web pages into which Cumulus will insert the various weather parameters. See the "Web tags" section of the help file for a list of the tags which you can use. Cumulus will create a temporary file to hold the processed version of your file and then upload that
|-
|ExtraBinary4=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = not binary (e.g. HTML file)
*1 = Binary (e.g. images)
|-
|ExtraRealtime4=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab. If you select this for any files, you will also need to select the Realtime option.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file uploaded as part of normal upload
*1 = Enabled, file uploaded during Realtime upload
|-
|ExtraFTP4=1
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, File copied to the location specified in the Remote Filename box.
*1 = Enabled, (default) File uploaded by FTP
|-
|ExtraLocal5=
|Path and file name on local computer for alternate file #5. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraRemote5=
|Path and file name on web server for alternate file #5. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraProcess5=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file will not pass through the cumulus 'tag processor'.
*1 = Enabled, file will be passed through the 'tag processor' in Cumulus, in the same way that the standard Cumulus web pages are. This allows to you to create your own web pages into which Cumulus will insert the various weather parameters. See the "Web tags" section of the help file for a list of the tags which you can use. Cumulus will create a temporary file to hold the processed version of your file and then upload that
|-
|ExtraBinary5=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = not binary (e.g. HTML file)
*1 = Binary (e.g. images)
|-
|ExtraRealtime5=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab. If you select this for any files, you will also need to select the Realtime option.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file uploaded as part of normal upload
*1 = Enabled, file uploaded during Realtime upload
|-
|ExtraFTP5=1
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, File copied to the location specified in the Remote Filename box.
*1 = Enabled, (default) File uploaded by FTP
|-
|ExtraLocal6=
|Path and file name on local computer for alternate file #6. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraRemote6=
|Path and file name on web server for alternate file #6. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraProcess6=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file will not pass through the cumulus 'tag processor'.
*1 = Enabled, file will be passed through the 'tag processor' in Cumulus, in the same way that the standard Cumulus web pages are. This allows to you to create your own web pages into which Cumulus will insert the various weather parameters. See the "Web tags" section of the help file for a list of the tags which you can use. Cumulus will create a temporary file to hold the processed version of your file and then upload that
|-
|ExtraBinary6=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = not binary (e.g. HTML file)
*1 = Binary (e.g. images)
|-
|ExtraRealtime6=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab. If you select this for any files, you will also need to select the Realtime option.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file uploaded as part of normal upload
*1 = Enabled, file uploaded during Realtime upload
|-
|ExtraFTP6=1
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, File copied to the location specified in the Remote Filename box.
*1 = Enabled, (default) File uploaded by FTP
|-
|ExtraLocal7=
|Path and file name on local computer for alternate file #7. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraRemote7=
|Path and file name on web server for alternate file #7. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraProcess7=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file will not pass through the cumulus 'tag processor'.
*1 = Enabled, file will be passed through the 'tag processor' in Cumulus, in the same way that the standard Cumulus web pages are. This allows to you to create your own web pages into which Cumulus will insert the various weather parameters. See the "Web tags" section of the help file for a list of the tags which you can use. Cumulus will create a temporary file to hold the processed version of your file and then upload that
|-
|ExtraBinary7=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = not binary (e.g. HTML file)
*1 = Binary (e.g. images)
|-
|ExtraRealtime7=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab. If you select this for any files, you will also need to select the Realtime option.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file uploaded as part of normal upload
*1 = Enabled, file uploaded during Realtime upload
|-
|ExtraFTP7=1
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, File copied to the location specified in the Remote Filename box.
*1 = Enabled, (default) File uploaded by FTP
|-
|ExtraLocal8=
|Path and file name on local computer for alternate file #8. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraRemote8=
|Path and file name on web server for alternate file #8. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraProcess8=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file will not pass through the cumulus 'tag processor'.
*1 = Enabled, file will be passed through the 'tag processor' in Cumulus, in the same way that the standard Cumulus web pages are. This allows to you to create your own web pages into which Cumulus will insert the various weather parameters. See the "Web tags" section of the help file for a list of the tags which you can use. Cumulus will create a temporary file to hold the processed version of your file and then upload that
|-
|ExtraBinary8=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = not binary (e.g. HTML file)
*1 = Binary (e.g. images)
|-
|ExtraRealtime8=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab. If you select this for any files, you will also need to select the Realtime option.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file uploaded as part of normal upload
*1 = Enabled, file uploaded during Realtime upload
|-
|ExtraFTP8=1
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, File copied to the location specified in the Remote Filename box.
*1 = Enabled, (default) File uploaded by FTP
|-
|ExtraLocal9=
|Path and file name on local computer for alternate file #9. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraRemote9=
|Path and file name on web server for alternate file #9. Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
|-
|ExtraProcess9=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file will not pass through the cumulus 'tag processor'.
*1 = Enabled, file will be passed through the 'tag processor' in Cumulus, in the same way that the standard Cumulus web pages are. This allows to you to create your own web pages into which Cumulus will insert the various weather parameters. See the "Web tags" section of the help file for a list of the tags which you can use. Cumulus will create a temporary file to hold the processed version of your file and then upload that
|-
|ExtraBinary9=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = not binary (e.g. HTML file)
*1 = Binary (e.g. images)
|-
|ExtraRealtime9=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab. If you select this for any files, you will also need to select the Realtime option.
*0 = Disabled, (default) file uploaded as part of normal upload
*1 = Enabled, file uploaded during Realtime upload
|-
|ExtraFTP9=1
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Files tab.
*0 = Disabled, File copied to the location specified in the Remote Filename box.
*1 = Enabled, (default) File uploaded by FTP
|-
|[Display]
|Section heading - the following parameters affect the way things are displayed.
|-
|Heading=My Weather
|Title Heading on the Main Screen. Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
|-
|MinimizeToTray=0
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, causes Cumulus to appear as an icon in the system tray when it is minimized. The icon will flash if a record is broken or an error occurs. Double click on the icon to restore the main window (or right click on the icon and use the pop-up menu).
|-
|ForecastCentred=0
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block.
*0 = Disabled, (default) Forecast appears left justified on main screen
*1 = Enabled, Forecast appears centred on main screen
|-
|FontColour=4227327
|Decimal code for the screen font color
|-
|BackColour=12632256
|Decimal code for the application background color
|-
|HeadingColour=10485760
|Decimal code for the screen heading color
|-
|ClockColour=-16777201
|Decimal code for the main screen clock background color (
|-
|DisplaySolarData=0
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block.
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = causes Vantage Pro solar data (ET, UV and Solar radiation) to be displayed on the main screen (if supported by the station), or extra sensor data in the case of Oregon WMR-928 stations.
|-
|DisplayCloudBase=0
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block.
*0 = Disabled, (default)
*1 = Enabled, the calculated cloud base is displayed on the main screen. The calculation is a simple one; 1000 feet for every 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit difference between the temperature and the dew point.
|-
|TwelveHourClock=0
|Set by left click on clock on main screen
*0 = 24Hr clock mode
*1 - 12 Hr am/pm clock mode
|-
|WMR928Channel1Caption=Extra channel 1
|Set the captions on the main screen which are displayed along with the extra channel data for WMR928 stations.
|-
|WMR928Channel2Caption=Extra channel 2
|Set the captions on the main screen which are displayed along with the extra channel data for WMR928 stations.
|-
|WMR928Channel3Caption=Extra channel 3
|Set the captions on the main screen which are displayed along with the extra channel data for WMR928 stations.
|-
|WindGaugeRange=50
|Sets the default full scale deflection of the wind speed gauge
|-
|SnowUnitText=cm
|Snow measurement unit. Default is cm
|-
|DisplayHumidex=0
|Set in the Display Configuration Screen General block
*0 = Disabled (default) Heat Index displayed on main screen.
*1 = Enabled, calculated Humidex value to be displayed on the main screen instead of Heat Index. Note that Cumulus displays degrees C or F for Humidex, whereas strictly speaking it is unitless. This is for the convenience of those who use Fahrenheit but would still prefer to see Humidex displayed, where it might be confusing to show the unconverted value.
|-
|[Wunderground]
|Section Name - Parameters for your [http://www.wunderground.com/ Weather Underground] site
|-
|ID=
|Your Weather Underground station identifier (note: not your user name).
|-
|Password=
|Your Weather Underground password. (note: not encrypted)
|-
|Enabled=0
|Set if you wish to upload to your Weather Underground site
*0 = Disabled, (default) no Weather underground site
*1 = Enabled, data sent at the interval specified below
|-
|RapidFire=0
|'rapid fire' mode.
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, You should also tick 'Enabled'. Rapid fire updates occur every 5 seconds.
|-
|Interval=15
|Time in minutes between uploads to Weather Underground. (default = 15)
|-
|SendUV=0
|Current UV value
*0 = Disabled (default) no UV info sent
*1 = Enabled, UV value sent with the data
|-
|SendSR=0
|Solar Radiation
*0 = Disabled (default) no solar data sent
*1 = Enabled, Solar Radiation value sent with data
|-
|[Twitter]
|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your [[Twitter]] site parameters
|-
|User=
|your Twitter login username
|-
|Password=
|your Twitter login password ('''note:''' this is not encrypted)
|-
|Enabled=0
|Set in Internet Configuration Screen Twitter block
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, tweats sent at the specified interval.
|-
|Interval=10
|interval in minutes that Tweats will be sent.
|-
|[PWSweather]
|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your [http://www.pwsweather.com/ PWS] weather site parameters
|-
|ID=
|Your PWS Weather station identifier (note: not your user name)
|-
|Password=
|your PWS weather site login password ('''note:''' this is not encrypted)
|-
|Enabled=0
|Select in Internet Configuration Screen PWS Weather block
*0 = Disabled (default) no data sent to PWS
*1 = Enabled, data sent to PWS at the specified interval


The beta page contained some Cumulus 1 beta parameters that were still under development and the parameters that were only used by MX.
|}

== Mark Crossley era==

* Cumulus.ini content has changed drastically, and therefore the documentation page called "Cumulus.ini" has also had to change drastically
* There was a period when it was possible for one page to document both the legacy Cumulus 1.9.4 and all MX releases, but that has long gone.

{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
|-
!style="width:300px" | MX beta releases 3.0.0 to MX release 3.4.6
|Interval=15
!style="width:250px" | MX releases 3.6.0 to 3.7.0
|Interval in minutes that updates will be sent to your PWS weather site
!style="width:400px" | MX releases 3.8.0 to 3.9.7
|-
!style="width:200px" | MX releases 3.10.0 to 3.11.4
|SendUV=0
!style="width:250px" | MX release 3.12.0 onwards
|Current Ultra Violet level
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, UV level sent with normal data
|-
|SendSR=0
|Solar Radiation level
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled, Solar radiation reading sent with normal data
|-
|[APRS]
|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your [[APRS]] weather site parameters
|-
|ID=
|Your APRS identifier
|-
|pass=-1
|your APRS password (Note: not encrypted)
|-
|server=cwop.aprs.net
|The APRS server to use
|-
|port=14580
|The port number to use on the APRS server.
|-
|Enabled=0
|Select in Internet Configuration Screen APRS Settings block
|-
|Interval=9
|Time in minutes between uploads to the APRS server
|-
|[Graphs]
|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your graph settings
|-
|GraphHours=12
|The number of hours data (12 or 24) to be displayed in each graph
|-
|Background=12632256
|Decimal value for the Graph background colour.
|-
|WindColour=65535
|Decimal value for the 10 minute average wind speed plot colour
|-
|GustColour=8421376
|Decimal value for the Wind Gust plot colour
|-
|RainColour=9527753
|Decimal value for the Rain plot colour
|-
|RainTodayColour=9527753
|Decimal value for the Rain Today plot colour
|-
|TempColour=9527753
|Decimal value for the Temperature plot colour
|-
|HeatIndexColour=16711680
|Decimal value for the Heat Index plot colour
|-
|PressColour=9527753
|Decimal value for the Pressure plot colour
|-
|WindDirColour=255
|Decimal value for the Wind Direction plot colour
|-
|DewPointColour=255
|Decimal value for the Dew Point plot colour
|-
|WindChillColour=32768
|Decimal value for the Wind Chill plot colour
|-
|MinTempColour=16711680
|Decimal value for the Minimum Temperature plot colour
|-
|MaxTempColour=255
|Decimal value for the Maximum Temperature plot colour
|-
|AvgTempColour=32768
|Decimal value for the Average Temperature plot colour
|-
|DailyRainColour=32768
|Decimal value for the Daily Rain plot colour
|-
|InsideTempColour=0
|Decimal value for the Inside Temperature plot colour
|-
|InsideHumColour=255
|Decimal value for the Inside Humidity plot colour
|-
|OutsideHumColour=16711680
|Decimal value for the Outside Humidity plot colour
|-
|Graph3D=0
|3D or normal graph selection as selected in the Display Configuration Graphs block
*0 = normal graph selected
*1 = 3D graph selected
|-
|PlotLatestGust=0
| Plot Latest Gust selection as selected in the Display Configuration Graphs block
*0 = Disabled
*1 = Enabled
|-
|OriginIsSouth=0
|Wind Direction Graph Y Axis origin
*0 = North as Origin (default)
*1 = South as Origin
|-
|[Alarms]
|Section Name - the following parameters relate to your alarm settings
|-
|alarmlowtemp=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable low temperature alarm (default)
*1 = Enable Low temperature alarm
|-
|LowTempAlarmSet=0
|Setting for low temperature alarm point (degrees)
|-
|LowTempAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|LowTempAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name of sound file for Low Temperature alarm
|-
|alarmhightemp=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable high temperature alarm (default)
*1 = Enable High temperature alarm
|-
|HighTempAlarmSet=0
|Degrees above which alarm will occur.
|-
|HighTempAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|HighTempAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name of sound file for High Temperature alarm
|-
|alarmlowpress=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
|-
|LowPressAlarmSet=0
|Pressure below which you wish Low Pressure alarm to occur
|-
|LowPressAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|LowPressAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for sound file to play for Low Pressure Alarm
|-
|alarmhighpress=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable low High Pressure alarm (default)
*1 = Enable High Pressure alarm
|-
|HighPressAlarmSet=0
|Pressure above which you wish High Pressure alarm to occur
|-
|HighPressAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|HighPressAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Pressure Alarm
|-
|alarmhighraintoday=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable High Rain today alarm (default)
*1 = Enable High Rain today alarm
|-
|HighRainTodayAlarmSet=0
|Rain level above which alarm to occur
|-
|HighRainTodayAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|HighRainTodayAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Rain Today Alarm
|-
|alarmhighrainrate=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable High Rain Rate alarm (default)
*1 = Enable High Rain Rate alarm
|-
|HighRainRateAlarmSet=0
|Rain rate above which you wish alarm to occur
|-
|HighRainRateAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|HighRainRateAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Rain Rate Alarm
|-
|alarmhighgust=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable High Gust alarm (default)
*1 = Enable High Gust alarm
|-
|HighGustAlarmSet=0
|Gust speed above which you wish alarm to occur
|-
|HighGustAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|HighGustAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Gust Alarm
|-
|alarmhighwind=0
|Select in Edit Alarms Screen
*0 = Disable High Average Wind alarm (default)
*1 = Enable High Average Wind alarm
|-
|HighWindAlarmSet=0
|Average Wind speed above which alarm to occur
|-
|HighWindAlarmSound=0
|Alarm Action
*0 = Disable, (default) no sound on alarm
*1 = Enable sound on alarm
|-
|HighWindAlarmSoundFile=C:\Cumulus\alert.wav
|Path and file name for the sound file used for the High Wind Alarm
|-
|[Offsets]
|Section Name - the following parameters are the correction factors for your specific sensors
|-
|PressOffset=0
|Value by which Measured Pressure to be corrected (Add/Subtract)
|-
|TempOffset=0
|Value by which Measured Outdoor Temperature to be corrected (Add/Subtract)
|-
|HumOffset=0
|Value by which Measured Humidity to be corrected (Add/Subtract)
|-
|WindDirOffset=0
|Value by which Measured Wind Direction to be corrected (Add/Subtract)
|-
|InTempOffset=0
|Value by which Measured Indoor Temperature to be corrected (Add/Subtract)
|-
|WindSpeedMult=1
|Multiplier by which measured Average [[Wind_measurement|Wind Speed]] to be corrected. Officially wind speed is measured with sensors at 10m above ground level. If your sensor is not at 10m AGL then a correction multiplier should be applied using the following formula ''V10/Vh = 1/(0.233 + 0.656*log10(h+4.75))'' where "h" is your sensor height in meters.
e.g. if your anemometer is 5m off the ground, V10/Vh comes out at 1.134
|-
|WindGustMult=1
|Multiplier by which measured Wind Gust Speed to be corrected.
|-
|TempMult=1
|Multiplier by which measured Temperature to be corrected.
|-
|HumMult=1
|Multiplier by which measured Humidity to be corrected.
|-
|RainMult=1
|Multiplier by which measured Rainfall to be corrected.
|-
|[xAP]
|Section Name - the following parameters are used if you have enabled xAP in the Station Configuration xAP Settings block
|-
|Enabled=0
|When set, Cumulus will periodically send out xAP weather reports. See [http://www.xapautomation.org/ http://www.xapautomation.org/] for more details
*0 = Disabled (default)
*1 = Enabled
|-
|UID=4375
|Sets the UID for xAP messages. You should only need to change this if you have more than one instance of Cumulus running on a network.
|-
|-
|
|Port=3639
* Until MX release 3.4.6, people using MX needed to refer to the page now called [[Cumulus.ini_(Cumulus_1)]], which was called "Cumulus.ini" at the time, and the beta page, [[Cumulus.ini_(Beta)]], as MX still used most of the parameters that the legacy software used and just a few new parameters. The latter still contained information from the last Cumulus 1 beta relating to Proxies section of Cumulus.ini, as that had not been finalised.
|IP port your computer uses to send data to xAP
* When Mark Crossley brought MX out of beta, he started adding new features to MX:
** Some features represented functionality in the legacy software that MX had lacked, these used parameters that had been used for the legacy software
** For other new features, like interfaces with new weather station types and new sensors, he created new parameters, and the beta page began to rival the legacy page in the number of parameters it covered
* The information about MX on the beta page stayed there until April 2020
|
* Release 3.6.0 was when the functionality of MX first started to exceed the functionality of the legacy software
* Between April and June 2020, information on the beta page was slowly moved across to the main page, it took some time as it needed to be verified because as MX developed configuration file content was changing
* Suddenly, a lot of people were migrating from the legacy software to MX
* To help people migrating, from June 2020, all settings (for both the legacy software and MX) were covered on a single "Cumulus.ini" page
* As people migrated, they could see on that single page clearly which parameters in their '''Cumulus.ini''' file were still valid, and what new parameters were needed when they migrated
* For those using MX, the page was recording the new parameters that were being added to the file as MX developed
* Now the history of all the changes at that time can be viewed on this page, as this was originally the page that once held that combined information.
|
* From release 3.8.0, the pace of change in MX was so fast, and the contributors to the Wiki so few, the page then called "Cumulus.ini" (with its previous content) stopped being maintained.
*# The main problem was somebody needed to do a lot of research, and devote a lot of time, to track what the developer was changing.
*# There was a second problem, it was clear that it was too complicated to use the same page to describe configuration for the legacy software, older MX releases, and the latest MX release
* Consequently, the "Cumulus.ini" page had to change, and the first move meant accepting MX and the legacy software could not be documented any more on the same page
** A new page was created [[Cumulus.ini_(Cumulus_1)]], and all the information specific to the legacy software was split off from this page
* This still left the problem that this page, at that time called "Cumulus.ini", had information that related to a release that had been superseded
** Another new page was created, [[Cumulus.ini (MX_3.0.0_to_3.7.0)]], and all the MX information was moved there.
* Finally, this old "Cumulus.ini" paqe, with the attached history, but without any parameter information in the main page, was renamed to its current name, so it has preserved the history of the old page that had been split into two new pages, neither of which had the past history
|
* At release 3.10.0, the settings pages in the admin interface were given a significant makeover, and huge numbers of new settings were created, while many others became redundant
* It was clear the old [[Cumulus.ini (MX_3.0.0_to_3.7.0)|MX "Cumulus.ini"]] page was badly designed for the way 3.10.0 operated
* That old page was already out of date as it had not been updated for 3.8.0 changes
* It became obvious it was easier to start a new page that would would be based around 3.10.0 MX release, but would incorporate changes from 3.8.0 onwards, and would ignore anything that was now redundant
* The other change was a redesign of the page, so it focussed on explaining how to change the settings using the admin interface, rather than just documenting what each parameter in the file was used for
|
* As MX was developed, its settings pages were being redesigned, and so where you changed particular parameters in the file was modified making the documentation that already existed obsolete for people using latest release, but still valid for people who were using an older release.
* As release 3.12.0 was planned to add many, many more parameters to the Cumulus.ini file, and the Settings pages get another redesign, it was decided the documenting of the changes in 3.8.0, 3.9.2, and 3.10.0 would be delayed until it became clearer what might change in 3.12.0
* The new [[Cumulus.ini]] page to cover all these recent releases was created in June 2021, a year after the last big change to a page with that name.
|}
|}


=Original content of this page=
[[Category: Configuration Files]]

==How this page used to be laid out, and why==

For both [[Cumulus.ini_(Cumulus_1)|Cumulus 1]] and [[Cumulus.ini (MX_3.0.0_to_3.7.0)|early MX releases]], the content on this page was arranged assuming people were editing the file directly.

Therefore, the file was described by working through the sections on the file, and explaining the parameters that could go in each section.

For the longer sections, parameters might be split into separate tables to make it easier.

Before release 3.10.1, there were two types of parameters in Cumulus.ini.
#"read-only" settings were made directly in the "Cumulus.ini" file, there was no way to adjust these parameters using the settings screens/pages
#"read-write" settings could be changed in two ways, either by editing the file with Cumulus stopped, or by finding the parameter on a setting screen (for MX, these are in admin interface).

:You will see in the two pages split off from this page ([[Cumulus.ini_(Cumulus_1)]] and [[Cumulus.ini (MX_3.0.0_to_3.7.0)]]), how the parameters had to identify themselves as read-only or read-write.

==Why has this original "Cumulus.ini" page been renamed, cleared of old content, and made historic?==

#One big change in 3.10.1 is that (almost) all settings are now made via the [[MX Administrative Interface|Admin interface]].
#*Therefore it makes no sense any more to organise this page how someone editing the file directly might want.
#*The replacement [[Cumulus.ini]] page is now organised by how you change settings in the admin interface (i.e. similar to how settings have been explained in [[MX_Administrative_Interface#Changing_Settings]]).
#Another change is that some of the settings that used to be made on the “Station Settings” page, are now made on different pages in that interface.
#Yet another change is that what you pick in some settings can affect what settings are shown later on the admin interface page.
#*You could say the settings pages have become intelligent.
#*For example, when you select a weather station type it ensures only parameters that relate to that weather station type are shown.
#*As another example, you can opt in or out of the default web site design, so that determines which parameters relating to web sites are shown.
#A final change is that some parameters are grouped as “Advanced”, so that novices can avoid those.

Latest revision as of 07:20, 15 June 2021

This page has been renamed from "Cumulus.ini" to preserve the early history of that page.

The information that was on this old Cumulus.ini page has been moved into separate pages for Cumulus 1, MX early releases, and MX latest releases.

History of this page

This page has proved the most complicated of all those in the Wiki to maintain:

  1. Settings change extremely often
    • Therefore it is a lot of effort to keep the documentation up to date
    • It is obviously easiest if an update is made here as soon as the settings change, sometimes that happens (perhaps by developer doing an update here)
  2. The design of configuration menus/screens/pages to edit the settings periodically changes
    • This means information about how to change settings often depends upon which release someone is using
      • In turn that means, either Cumulus users of latest release, or those using an earlier release, will struggle with the documentation
  3. Developers often provide limited information about settings,
    • Sometimes new settings are mentioned in an answer in a forum post, and do not get mentioned as a change in release announcements
      • This means that finding accurate information to update this page requires an awful lot of research that is very time consuming

The above observations applied for the legacy software, when Cumulus 2, and then 3 (MX), came along the documentation was originally split. When MX started (in 2019 to early 2020) to try to replicate much of what Cumulus 1 offered, it made sense to reuse what was written on this page for Cumulus 1, instead of duplicating it on a second page.

Then from mid 2020 to early 2021, there was rapid development of MX by the new developer, and MX began to increasingly diverge more and more from the legacy configuration, this page reflected that by introducing sub-sections (Cumulus 1 only, MX only, and both). From early 2021 onwards that 3 sub-section design for this page failed because new MX releases began to diverge from earlier MX releases. In other words, parameters that had existed at an early MX release, were no longer used by later releases. It was possible, but increasingly more and more difficult, to track new parameters to add that were added at particular releases, so the documentation got more and more obsolete.

To sum up, it was impossible for this page to show information for the legacy software, for early MX releases, and for later MX releases. The response was to move off this page anaything not relevant to the latest MX release, and to restructure this page based on how MX settings are altered, rather than where a parameter appears in the file.


Steve Loft Era

The configuration file content relating to the legacy software (e.g. 1.9.4) has been moved to legacy page

Legacy Software 1.x.y releases Beta builds of legacy software Cumulus 2 alpha releases MX beta 3.0.0
This page was created for the legacy Cumulus 1 software (up to 1.9.4). If you look at the history tab of this page, user‎ Shamrockspider created this page at 12:55 on 27 August 2009 for the purpose of Documenting the cumulus.ini file content and its function.

Back in 2009, the file was fairly simple, and therefore documentating it was also fairly easy.

Some settings were in configuration screens, and the file was arranged so that those settings were stored under a heading that generally (not in every case, for historic reasons) reflected the screen name. Documenting these was comparitively easy, the setting could be found easily and its allowed values could be easily tested.

A lot of extra settings were added to the file, but not added to the configuration screens. Documenting these was particularly difficult as only some got mentioned in release announcements, so the others were hard to discover, and allowed values were not always clear.

Each time a beta version of Cumulus 1 was available, any parameters specific to that beta appeared in Cumulus.ini_(Beta), and only moved to the main page when that beta finished, and became the main release. The same beta page, Cumulus.ini_(Beta), was briefly used for Cumulus 2. Finally, that beta page, Cumulus.ini_(Beta), was used for all the changes in Cumulus 3 (the MX beta):
  • Some of the parameters for Cumulus 1 were not used by MX beta
  • Some of the parameters for Cumulus 1 were used by MX beta
  • Beta MX only added 3 new parameters

This was the position when Steve Loft ceased his involvement with Cumulus. This page contained all parameters used for Cumulus 1, some of these were used by MX beta too.

The beta page contained some Cumulus 1 beta parameters that were still under development and the parameters that were only used by MX.

Mark Crossley era

  • Cumulus.ini content has changed drastically, and therefore the documentation page called "Cumulus.ini" has also had to change drastically
  • There was a period when it was possible for one page to document both the legacy Cumulus 1.9.4 and all MX releases, but that has long gone.
MX beta releases 3.0.0 to MX release 3.4.6 MX releases 3.6.0 to 3.7.0 MX releases 3.8.0 to 3.9.7 MX releases 3.10.0 to 3.11.4 MX release 3.12.0 onwards
  • Until MX release 3.4.6, people using MX needed to refer to the page now called Cumulus.ini_(Cumulus_1), which was called "Cumulus.ini" at the time, and the beta page, Cumulus.ini_(Beta), as MX still used most of the parameters that the legacy software used and just a few new parameters. The latter still contained information from the last Cumulus 1 beta relating to Proxies section of Cumulus.ini, as that had not been finalised.
  • When Mark Crossley brought MX out of beta, he started adding new features to MX:
    • Some features represented functionality in the legacy software that MX had lacked, these used parameters that had been used for the legacy software
    • For other new features, like interfaces with new weather station types and new sensors, he created new parameters, and the beta page began to rival the legacy page in the number of parameters it covered
  • The information about MX on the beta page stayed there until April 2020
  • Release 3.6.0 was when the functionality of MX first started to exceed the functionality of the legacy software
  • Between April and June 2020, information on the beta page was slowly moved across to the main page, it took some time as it needed to be verified because as MX developed configuration file content was changing
  • Suddenly, a lot of people were migrating from the legacy software to MX
  • To help people migrating, from June 2020, all settings (for both the legacy software and MX) were covered on a single "Cumulus.ini" page
  • As people migrated, they could see on that single page clearly which parameters in their Cumulus.ini file were still valid, and what new parameters were needed when they migrated
  • For those using MX, the page was recording the new parameters that were being added to the file as MX developed
  • Now the history of all the changes at that time can be viewed on this page, as this was originally the page that once held that combined information.
  • From release 3.8.0, the pace of change in MX was so fast, and the contributors to the Wiki so few, the page then called "Cumulus.ini" (with its previous content) stopped being maintained.
    1. The main problem was somebody needed to do a lot of research, and devote a lot of time, to track what the developer was changing.
    2. There was a second problem, it was clear that it was too complicated to use the same page to describe configuration for the legacy software, older MX releases, and the latest MX release
  • Consequently, the "Cumulus.ini" page had to change, and the first move meant accepting MX and the legacy software could not be documented any more on the same page
    • A new page was created Cumulus.ini_(Cumulus_1), and all the information specific to the legacy software was split off from this page
  • This still left the problem that this page, at that time called "Cumulus.ini", had information that related to a release that had been superseded
  • Finally, this old "Cumulus.ini" paqe, with the attached history, but without any parameter information in the main page, was renamed to its current name, so it has preserved the history of the old page that had been split into two new pages, neither of which had the past history
  • At release 3.10.0, the settings pages in the admin interface were given a significant makeover, and huge numbers of new settings were created, while many others became redundant
  • It was clear the old MX "Cumulus.ini" page was badly designed for the way 3.10.0 operated
  • That old page was already out of date as it had not been updated for 3.8.0 changes
  • It became obvious it was easier to start a new page that would would be based around 3.10.0 MX release, but would incorporate changes from 3.8.0 onwards, and would ignore anything that was now redundant
  • The other change was a redesign of the page, so it focussed on explaining how to change the settings using the admin interface, rather than just documenting what each parameter in the file was used for
  • As MX was developed, its settings pages were being redesigned, and so where you changed particular parameters in the file was modified making the documentation that already existed obsolete for people using latest release, but still valid for people who were using an older release.
  • As release 3.12.0 was planned to add many, many more parameters to the Cumulus.ini file, and the Settings pages get another redesign, it was decided the documenting of the changes in 3.8.0, 3.9.2, and 3.10.0 would be delayed until it became clearer what might change in 3.12.0
  • The new Cumulus.ini page to cover all these recent releases was created in June 2021, a year after the last big change to a page with that name.

Original content of this page

How this page used to be laid out, and why

For both Cumulus 1 and early MX releases, the content on this page was arranged assuming people were editing the file directly.

Therefore, the file was described by working through the sections on the file, and explaining the parameters that could go in each section.

For the longer sections, parameters might be split into separate tables to make it easier.

Before release 3.10.1, there were two types of parameters in Cumulus.ini.

  1. "read-only" settings were made directly in the "Cumulus.ini" file, there was no way to adjust these parameters using the settings screens/pages
  2. "read-write" settings could be changed in two ways, either by editing the file with Cumulus stopped, or by finding the parameter on a setting screen (for MX, these are in admin interface).
You will see in the two pages split off from this page (Cumulus.ini_(Cumulus_1) and Cumulus.ini (MX_3.0.0_to_3.7.0)), how the parameters had to identify themselves as read-only or read-write.

Why has this original "Cumulus.ini" page been renamed, cleared of old content, and made historic?

  1. One big change in 3.10.1 is that (almost) all settings are now made via the Admin interface.
    • Therefore it makes no sense any more to organise this page how someone editing the file directly might want.
    • The replacement Cumulus.ini page is now organised by how you change settings in the admin interface (i.e. similar to how settings have been explained in MX_Administrative_Interface#Changing_Settings).
  2. Another change is that some of the settings that used to be made on the “Station Settings” page, are now made on different pages in that interface.
  3. Yet another change is that what you pick in some settings can affect what settings are shown later on the admin interface page.
    • You could say the settings pages have become intelligent.
    • For example, when you select a weather station type it ensures only parameters that relate to that weather station type are shown.
    • As another example, you can opt in or out of the default web site design, so that determines which parameters relating to web sites are shown.
  4. A final change is that some parameters are grouped as “Advanced”, so that novices can avoid those.
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