VISUALWEATHER Weather Station Software

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1. What is the best way to move the VisualWeather software to a new computer?

   Note: The original VisualWeather CD with the key code is needed to install VisualWeather on the new computer.

   The recommended method for moving VisualWeather has four steps:

   1. Back up the VisualWeather network on the old computer.
      1. On the main VisualWeather screen, click the Network menu and select Backup/Restore Network….
      2. The Backup/Restore window will appear. The default name of the backup file appears in the Backup File: field. To change the file name or location, either edit the field, or click the browse button on the right to select a new location.
      3. To create the backup, click the Backup button. VisualWeather will back up all of the present weather station settings, including the database. When the backup file is created, a message will display indicating the name of the backup file.
      4. The backup file may be very large. Copy the file to a flash drive or burn it to a CD so that it can be easily copied to the new computer.
   2. Install VisualWeather on the new computer using the original CD and key code.
   3. Restore VisualWeather on the new computer.
      1. Copy the VisualWeather.bkp file to the new computer.
      2. Run the VisualWeather program. From the main screen, click the Network menu and select Backup/Restore Network….
      3. The Backup/Restore window will open. The default name of the backup file appears in the Backup File: field. Change the file name or location to match the backup file that was moved from the old computer. Edit the field, or click the browse button on the right to browse to and select the backup file.
      4. To restore from the backup, click the Restore button. VisualWeather will restore the network from the backup file. When the restore is completed, a message will display indicating that the network was loaded.
   4. Close VisualWeather down, and restart it to initialize the database. Run some reports to make sure the data is intact. It may be necessary to edit the communications configuration if the new installation of VisualWeather will use different COM port numbers or different dialing strings than on the old computer.
2. Are there any plans to offer a version of VisualWeather that is Apple compatible?

   Not at this time. Customers have, however, reported using Campbell Scientific software on OSX computers using XP running in Boot Camp, as well as on other computers in a virtual environment (such as Parallels).

   To test whether VisualWeather will work in a particular environment, download the 30 day trial version in the Downloads section of the VisualWeather product page.

3. Can a trial version of VisualWeather be upgraded or unlocked to become a purchased version?

   No. The purchased version is separate from the trial version. However, any files created using the trial version are stored in the C:\Campbellsci\VisualWeather folder and will be available for use when the purchased version is installed.

4. What should be done in the VisualWeather program if the website data is not updating?

   Make sure that the station is set up to collect data automatically:

   • From the main VisualWeather screen, select the Collection Status link, and verify that automatic collection is set up.
   • Verify that the Pause Scheduled Data Collection for All Stations box is not checked.

   If data collection needs to be set up, edit the station using the Weather Station Network link on the main VisualWeather screen.

5. Using VisualWeather version 3.1, is it a bug if a remote computer cannot connect to the VisualWeather communications server?

   No, but this feature has been enabled with the release of the VisualWeather 3.1.3 patch. To view and download software patches for VisualWeather, go to the Downloads section of the VisualWeather product page.

6. If VisualWeather reports are filling up a hard drive, what can be done?

   If the computer’s hard drive is filling up, check the C:\Campbellsci\VisualWeather\sys\bin\ogs folder. This folder contains the communication logs created by VisualWeather, which can grow quickly. All of the files in this folder can be deleted. To delete the files, it may be necessary to stop VisualWeather temporarily to prevent some files from remaining open.

   If the VisualWeather Reports folder (typically C:\Campbellsci\VisualWeather\Reports) is filling up with old reports, delete any reports that do not need to be saved.

   To prevent automatic report creation, follow these steps:

   1. On the main VisualWeather screen, click the Reports menu and select Batch Reports….
   2. The Batch Report Schedule window will open. The batches listed here can be either manually run or run on a schedule. Batch reports are often used to add additional reports to a website generated by VisualWeather.
   3. The far right column of the table is labeled Next Report Time.
   • If there is a time stamp in the cell of this column, then the report is being run automatically.
   • If Manually Generated is displayed in the column cell, then the batch is only run when the Run button is clicked.
   4. For each listed batch report that is automatically run, select the report by clicking it.
   5. Click the Edit… button.
   6. The Batch Report Selection window will open. In the middle on the bottom, there is an area labeled Output As. These are the output options for the batch reports.
   • The batch reports that have the Web option checked are transmitted to the designated website.
   • The batch reports with the .bmp or .jpg boxes checked are created in the VisualWeather Reports folder. To prevent the batch from creating these reports when it is run, clear the .bmp and .jpg checkboxes.
   7. Click the Save Batch button.

   If all the .bmp and .jpg checkboxes are cleared, no reports should be saved in the VisualWeather Reports folder unless a batch is manually run.

7. The maximum temperature pointer seems to be stuck on a web page. How can it be reset in VisualWeather?

   There are maximum pointers on three values on the standard VisualWeather screen: Rain Fall, Air Temperature, and Relative Humidity. The pointers can be reset by following these steps:

   1. In the VisualWeather program, close the RTMC Run-Time (passive monitoring) screen.
   2. Restart RTMC Run-Time using either of these methods:
      • Click the Station Data link on the main screen.
      • On the main screen, click the Tools menu, select Web Output Options…, and click the OK button.
   3. On the RTMC Run-Time (passive monitoring) screen, right-click the control, and select the Reset Max Pointer option.
8. What's new in VisualWeather 3.1?

   VisualWeather 3.1 includes the following enhancements from VisualWeather 2.3:

   • Compatibility with the ET107 and Toro T107

   • Enhanced station data screens

   • Improved web output compatibility

   • Improved FTP compatibility

   • Enhanced Station Status window

   • Changes to the database for faster report generation

   • Global Units option, which controls output units for reports and station data screens

   • Ability to set the units used for barometric pressure and wind speed
9. With VisualWeather 3.1, when web output is enabled, is it possible to put any variable from any data table into the XML file that gets created and transferred via FTP?

   No. The contents of the XML file created for web output are only there for backward compatibility and cannot be controlled by the user. 

10. After purchasing a VisualWeather upgrade from 2.2 to 3.1, what is the best way to migrate to the newer version and put it on a new machine?

    In the “Backup/Restore Network” entry of VisualWeather Help, it states the following: “Note: Beginning with VisualWeather 3.0, a restore cannot be performed from a backup file created using a version of VisualWeather prior to version 3.0.”

    If a 2.2 backup is restored to a version 3.0 or later, the network structure (that is, station information) will be saved, but the database or historical data will not be saved. The following process, however, can be used to resolve this issue:

    1. Back up the VisualWeather installation using one of two methods:
       • Copy the entire C:\Campbellsci\VisualWeather folder.
       • Use the Network | Backup/Restore Network… option to create a backup file.
    2. Run a 3.0 or later install (trial or standard) over the top of an existing 2.2 install. The install will update the database information to the new format.
    3. Back up the VisualWeather installation using the Network | Backup/Restore Network… option to create a backup file.
    4. Install the VisualWeather program in the new location.
    5. Copy the backup folder onto the new computer. Restore using the Backup/Restore Network… option.