BBWeather v2.1
description
BBWeather is a Blackbox for Windows plugin that displays the weather for any area of your choice. It's fully customisable though, so I guess you could have it display any information you want as long as it's on a web page somewhere!

BBWeather v2.1 has been observed to work with Blackbox for Windows 0.0.92 on Windows 2000.

Have fun, you crazy monkeys. :P

Remember: if you're going through Hell, keep going.

Fatman

revision history
BBWeather v2.1 (2004-09-09) / Fatman
  • Upgrade to BBWrapper v3.2.1 baseline
  • All previous features implemented [I think?] plus:
  • Improved token classes and structures
  • Crappy token display
  • Border option
  • Menu redesigned
  • Double click to launch web browser
  • Edit settings menu item
  • Simplified download code
  • UPX'ed and AggressiveOptimized --> tiny binary

  • BBWeather v2.0.2 (2004-02-03) / Fatman
  • Style gets fonts too
  • Text aligns properly [thanks qwilk!]
  • Fixed Xoblite compatibility [qwilk again!] :D
  • Styles load properly
  • Removed unnecessary code

  • BBWeather v2.0.1 (2004-02-02) / Fatman
  • Better style handling
  • Style menu
  • Specify your own font
  • Legacy code rewritten
  • Open season on bugs! :D

  • BBWeather v2.0 (2004-02-01) / Fatman
  • Multiple windows!
  • Real slit support this time
  • Text inherits style face
  • Stomped file locking bug
  • New all-in-one update process
  • Alt-drag resizes window instead of Shift-drag
  • "formatString" changed to "format"
  • Smart menus in slit
  • Bro@m window identification
  • Updated docs
  • Basis for new features in place
  • Fitter, meaner code
  • And more!
  • known bugs
  • None!
  • All looks fine to me, but you might find something...
    future releases?
  • String swapping
  • Time sequence files
  • Transition effects
  • Weather icons/Graphical mode
  • SVC Creator Program [argh, what have I said? :P]
  • Format String Generator Program
  • Just better in general
  • Suggestions? Tell me!
  • license information
    Copyright © 2003-2004 Adam J Richardson [Fatman]

    initial setup

    To load BBWeather, just add the relative path of the plugin [from your Blackbox directory] to the Blackbox configuration file plugins.rc [located in the Blackbox directory]. For example, if you installed Blackbox into C:\Blackbox, and BBWeather.dll is located in C:\Blackbox\Plugins\BBWeather, you should add the line Plugins\BBWeather\BBWeather.dll to plugins.rc. Simple, eh? :)

    To allow BBWeather to use the slit, insert the "&" [ampersand] symbol before its entry in plugins.rc, eg. &Plugins\BBWeather\BBWeather.dll.

    By default, BBWeather now generates its own rc file and uses the included Yahoo! service, though you may choose a different SVC file from http://dreamtrack.dnsalias.com/bbweather.php#svc [or write your own!], and put it in the same directory as BBWeather.dll. Each different SVC file specifies settings for use with a different weather service.

    You must also find the name of the weather station you want to poll. You can do this by going to the weather service, finding the appropriate page, comparing the URL with the matching one of the two in the SVC file for the part of the URL represented by %STATION%, and putting that part in the BBWeather.rc file under the "station" entry.

    For example, I use the Yahoo!.svc file. The URL of the station I use is http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/UKXX0147_f.html. The URL in the BBWeather.svc file is http://weather.yahoo.com/forecast/%STATION%_f.html, and so the station entry must be UKXX0147. Sounds confusing? Well, load up the default Yahoo! service and double click on the plugin window. Then compare the URL you end up at with the "station" entry in the RC file and the "url" entries in the SVC file.

    More than likely you'll want to edit the "format" item in the BBWeather.rc file. Look in your SVC file for available tokens, there should be comments to indicate which does what.

    BBWeather.rc settings

    BBWeather will automatically create a BBWeather.rc file for you in the same directory as the plugin the first time it's run. There are several settings in BBWeather.rc which you might want to frob:

    bbweather.alpha: 160    Global alpha transparency setting
    bbweather.toggle: true    Toggle this plugin with the others?
    bbweather.font: Verdana    Override the current style's font
    bbweather.style: parentrelative | label | windowLabel | clock | button    Plugin style choice Those are the global settings. The rest are per-window.

    bbweather.object1.x: 307    Horizontal position
    bbweather.object1.y: 111    Vertical position
    bbweather.object1.width: 282    Width
    bbweather.object1.height: 77    Height
    bbweather.object1.interval: 60    Interval between updates in seconds
    bbweather.object1.slitted: true    In the slit?
    bbweather.object1.transparent: false    Transparent?
    bbweather.object1.alwaysOnTop: true    Always on top?
    bbweather.object1.snapWindow: true    Snap to edge?
    bbweather.object1.useImperial: true    Use imperial measures rather than metric?
    bbweather.object1.svc: Yahoo!.svc    The SVC file to use
    bbweather.object1.format: The temperature in $LOC$ is $CTMP$ degrees.    The format string
    bbweather.object1.station: UKXX0032    The station identifier
    bbweather.object1.clickable: true    Double click launches web browser?
    bbweather.object1.clickurl: [svc] | http://your.favourite.website/    The URL to launch

    In the example above, only "object1" is defined. If another window is required, it must be called "object2", otherwise it will be ignored. Further windows can be created: "object3", "object4" and so on. There is no limit, but the numbers must run in order with no gaps. Also, the criterion that decides if another window is created is the "svc" setting. If that's present and the numbering rule is obeyed, a window will be created.

    As of v1.3, BBWeather saves settings as they are changed. Furthermore there is a menu item that will reload your RC settings.

    The "clickurl" setting needs some explaining. Either you specify "[svc]" or an URL of your choice. Choosing "[svc]" means that the weather station's web page will be opened.

    additional notes

    You can create a BBWeather.svc file for your favourite weather service. Please send me your custom weather service file so I can post it for others' enjoyment. :) See the SVC Tutorial for more details.

    Error messages generated by BBWeather are documented in the Error Docs file, which includes suggestions for corrective action.

    Hold Ctrl to drag the BBWeather window. Hold Alt to resize the window [thanks, ZenLC!]. The resize handles are invisible and calculated on-the-fly. Whichever corner the mouse pointer is closest to is the one that will be activated.

    To put a newline in your format string, use the pipe symbol ["|"].

    acknowledgements
    Thanks to all the core BB devs, the denizens of Loose-Screws.com and #bb4win. Big hugs especially to NC-17, Tres'ni, Mortar, qwilk, maaneeack, and of course Tux for helping, hindering and heckling, in no particular order. :P