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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 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.
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 ["|"].
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