Cumulus.ini (preserving history)
This document is 'Work In Progress' so content may not be complete.
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Please be aware that information on this page may be incorrect.
History of this page
From release 3.10.1, the way that settings are changed, and the settings available have changed so much, that information previously on this page was misleading.
Anybody using an earlier MX release (3.0.0 to 3.9.7) should now go to this page
Anybody using the legacy software (e.g. 1.9.4) should now go to this page
The past history for both those two new pages remains available via the history tab on this page.
Content of this page
This page has been emptied ready for new content to reflect how MX works from 3.10.1 onwards.
The biggest change in 3.10.1 was to revise where settings are changed, and how the web pages used to change settings can vary what they show based on an earlier selection on that page. A related change is that all settings are made via the Admin interface. (In earlier releases, "read-only" settings were made directly in the "Cumulus.ini" file, while "read-write" settings were made either in the file or via the interface).
Settings are now arranged according to the menu selections, as that is the way you change them.
Consequently, the revised tables have to explain which section settings are in the file.
The Cumulus.ini file
Cumulus.ini is a text file containing initialization parameters used by the Cumulus MX software application.
When Cumulus MX is run for very first time, the file does not exist, as it is not included in the release distribution.
When MX is restarted, it reads the Cumulus.ini that now exists. The settings it finds tell it what options you have selected and which sections of the MX code apply for your selections of weather station type (input) and for your selections of what processing it should do, and where you want it to send weather data to (output).
The file is a simple text file. It is divided into sections with section names in square brackets (e.g. [Station]). These sections can appear in any order, by default new sections are appended after all previous sections.
Within each section, there are parameters. Each parameter is in format Attribute=Value, and appears on a line to itself. The parameters, within a section, can be in any order, by default new parameters are appended at end of the relevant section.
If a new release of MX adds new parameters, then they will be automatically added to Cumulus.ini when you access that setting.
Some parameters have a default value, and you need to find the appropriate setting to change that value. However, others have an initial illegal value, and you are forced to give these parameter a valid setting before MX will allow you to save settings (and these "missing" values will stop MX doing any weather data processing).
The settings pages in admin interface
Please see MX_Administrative_Interface#Changing_Settings for basic information, including how to load the admin interface.
Program settings
Accessibility
| Section | Parameter Line Entry | Label on Settings page | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Program] | EnableAccessibility=0 | Enable accessibility features | 0 (disable) | Set to 1 to make this (and other pages) appear in a layout that is more friendly on an accessibility basis. Leave it at zero for a legacy look. |
Program Start-up Options
| Section | Parameter Line Entry | Label on Settings page | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Program] | StartupPingHost= | Host to PING on program start-up | None (disable) | Add a hostname or IP to address to ping at startup. Cumulus waits until the ping is successful before trying to read from your station. Leave blank to disable |
| [Program] | StartupPingEscapeTime=999 | PING escape time (mins) | 999 (minutes) | Specify a time after which if no ping response is received carry on starting Cumulus MX anyway |
| [Program] | StartupDelaySecs=0 | Start-up Delay (secs) | zero (disable) | Add a delay before the Cumulus tries to start reading the station. |
| [Program] | StartupDelayMaxUptime=300 | Max system uptime to apply the start-up delay | 300 (seconds) | The time that has passed sice MX was started (up-time) is compared against the (max delay time) figure here.
|