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RadarLoop20x
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Control Bar And Menu Functions:
(RightTo Left, Generally)

....Dist/Dir/Speed/ETA (Text Box, Upper-Right Corner) ..Displays Distance, Direction Headings, Speed, ETA's When Images Are Clicked (See Details, Below).

....Map....(Button) ..Show/Hide The National Weather Service's - "National Doppler Radar Sites" - Map Selector Web Page In RadarLoop20x's Web Browser Window. . .Click On This Page To Select A Radar Site To Load In RadarLoop20x. (See Before Navigating, Below).

....Click....(Check Box) .. If Checked Will Automatically Click The Tab When The Next Image Is Loaded During An Auto-Refresh Process.

....+ and -....(Buttons). Increment Or Decrement By One Minute, The Image File Dates, Displayed in The File Date TextBox Below Them. The File Dates Usually Vary From The Real, ImageTime Stamp. . This File Date Is Used For Speed And ETA Calculations.

....(Arrow)....(Buttons) .. You Can Click The Tabs With Thes Buttons.

....Black, Image Time Stamp.. This Is The Real, ImageTime Stamp, Extracted From Each Image.

Note: Both The "File Date" TextBox And The Black, Image Time Stamp Show The Date-Time For The Image-Tab Currently Selected.

.....Thin Auto-Hide Button .... Clicking This Thin, Unlabeled Button, Located Beneath All Of The Buttons On The Control Bar, Will Hide The ControlBar And The Status Bar . Then, When Hidden, If You Click The Thin Button At The Top Of The Window, The Control Bar And Status Bar Will Become Visible Again.
.....If The Window Is Very Small You Can Right-Click This Button To Move The Control Bar To The Left In Steps, And Then All The Way Back To The Right.

.....Distance/Direction/Speed/ETA.... (Not A Visible Control)
.....Distance/Direction ... Click A Radar Image, Then Click Another Place On The Image. The Distance In Miles And The Heading 0-359 degrees clockwise (0 deg. = Due North) Will Be Displayed In The Text Box In The Upper-Right Corner Of The Main Window.
.....Speed/Distance/Direction ... Click A Radar Image, Then Click Another Place On A Different Radar Image. The Speed And The Distance And Heading Will Be Displayed In The Text Box In The Upper-Right Corner Of The Main Window.
.....ETA/Speed/Distance/Direction ... After You Have A Speed Value, Click The Image And The ETA (estimated time of arrival) Of A Storm Will Be Displayed In The Text Box. . .You May Click Repeatedly And Get Additional ETA's Until You Right-Click The Image To Clear Values. In The Default One-Click ETA Method The Beginning Point For The ETA Calculation Will Be The 2nd Speed Click Point, The Beginning Time Will Be The Same, Unless You Are Running The Loop, In Which Case The Time Of The Last Image In The Set Will Be Used. . . In The Optional Two-Click Method (configurable in the Options window)..After You Have A Speed Value The ETA Is Calculated Between The Next Two Points Clicked. . You May Also Get Additional ETA's By Clicking Additional Pairs Of Points. The Times Used Are The Same As In The One-Click Method.
.....Right-Click The Image To Clear Values From Prior Clicks, Before Beginning A New Calculation.
.....Note: You May Configure In The Options Window To Create A List In A Separate Window, Instead Of The Default In Which Only The Last Calculation Results Appear In The TextBox In The Main Window.

Before Navigating:

........(Type Of Site)....(Combo Selector) ..(Before Navigating) Select The Type Of Radar Images You Want. "Base Reflectivity" Is The Default, But You May Select .."Composite Reflectivity", "1-Hour Rainfall", Or "Storm Total", Types Of Images. Read More About The Radar Images On NWS Radar Info Page.

........Back Date....(Check Box) ...(Before Navigating)... If Checked, RadarLoop20x Will Begin Loading With The 10 Most Recent Images, From The Last 45-60 Minutes, From The NWS Java Loop Page.
....Note: .. Some Problems Can Occur With The "Back Date" Process Which Involve Screening The Dates-Times Of Each Image And Comparing Them To Your Existing Set Of Images And Their Dates-Times, And Also Comparing To Your Refresh Interval Setting And The Current Date-Time. . . The Process Works Good Sometimes, But Sometimes, Particularly When Restarting Results Can Vary. . .Still, This Process Is Useful, And It Has Been Improved In Newer Versions.
See New Options Setting, Below, Don't Compare File Dates To Select "Back Date" Loop Files (load all).
....Note: .. If You Have Set Your Computer's (Internet Explorer) Security Settings To High, Or To Disable Java Script Web Pages, Then You Should Not Check "Back Date". . . You Can Still Get The Single Images, And In 30 Minutes Or So, Have A Good Beginning Set Of Images Loaded In The RadarLoop20x Window, Without Java Script Being Enabled.

........Long Range....(Check Box) ...(Before Navigating)... If Checked, The Images Downloaded Will Be The Long Range, 286 Mile Radius Images (248 nm radius) (572 mile diameter)... If Unchecked, The Images Will Be The Short Range, 143 Mile Radius Images (124 nm radius) (286 mile diameter).

Note: Some Sites Are Not Accessible, Occasionally, For Unknown Reasons, Maintenance, Etc., And In This Case, When RadarLoop20x Begins Aad The Navigation Fails, It Will Display One Or More Message Windows. . You Can Try Again, A Few Minutes, Later, And The Site May Be Up Again. . Occasionally A Site Or All Sites Will Be Down For Several Hours, Or A Particular Site May Be Down For Several Days. . Very Rarely, A Particular Site May Be Inaccessible For Weeks, Or Even Months.

Additional Controls:

....Loop Controls.. Run/Stop Button, Loop/Rock Button, Delay Loop Speed Arrow Buttons . Use These To Control The Radar Loop Animation Display. You Can Also Check Any Image's Checkbox, Located Below The Tab Numbers, And It Will Be Skipped During A Loop Animation.
.....Note: When You Are Running A Loop Animation, And Especially If You Have Zoomed In (Large Images), If You Move The RadarLoop20x Window So That Part Of The Radar Image Is Off Your Computer Screen, The Loop Will Probably Slow Down, and The Images Will "Paste" Slowly, With Visible Rippling. . This Is Unavoidable. . Solution: Keep RadarLoop20x's Image Window Completely Within Your Visible Computer Screen.

...Refresh Controls.. After Navigating, Which Begins The Auto-Refresh Process, Use These To Control The Refresh Process. Shut-Down/Restart Button, Interval Text Box, Set Interval Arrow Buttons, Timer Count Text Box, Pause Button.
.....Note: The National Weather Service Creates New Images On Each Site, Typically, At 5 or 6 Minute Intervals. This Interval May Vary And May Also Be Longer, Sometimes 10 Minutes, Or More, Regardless Of Mode. . Occasionally, On Some Sites, Interruptions Occur For Longer Periods, And A Black Image Is Sent.
.....Note: When You Set A Refresh Interval And The Count Reaches 0, RadarLoop20x Attempts To Get A New Image, But If The NWS Does Not Have A New Image Yet, No Image Will Be Added To The RadarLoop20x Window. . RadarLoop20x Will Keep Trying To Get The Next New Image At About 75 Sec. Intervals, Until It Gets It, And At Each Attempt It Will Reset The Minute Count.

...Zoom Controls.. Whenever You Have Radar Images Loaded, Use These To Control The Image Sizes. . .Zoom Arrow Buttons, Zoom Factor Text Box, Fit Check Box.

Menu Functions:

...."M" Button.... Menu Button Shows The Main Menu With The Following Items:

.........Reload Last Current Image Set.... Will Reload The Last Set Of Images Which Were Displayed In RadarLoop20x. ..The Set Will Be Reloaded In The "Shut-Down" State, So If You Want To Continue Getting New Images From The NWS Web Site, Click The "Restart" Button, After You Reload The Set. . . (Reloading Can Be Useful If You Close RadarLoop20x Or Turn Off Your Computer For A While, And Then Restart It).

.......Load A Saved Image Set,....Save Current Image Set As, ... And ... Delete A Saved Image Set....These Next Three Menu Items Allow You To Save, Reload, And Delete Image Sets.

.........Replace (refresh) Last Image.... If You Have Several Images Loaded, And Have An Auto-Refresh Process Running, This Click Will Replace The Last Image Loaded With The Most Recent Image From The NWS Web Site.

.........Reset Selected Tab As Last Image..... If You Have Several Images Loaded, And You Want To Delete And Clear All After The Selected Tab.

.........Delete Checked Images (and pack)..... If You Have Several Images Loaded, You Can Selectively Delete Any Of Them By Checking Their Check Boxes, Located Below The Tab Numbers. Then, Click This Menu Item. . The Remaining Images Will Be Packed Down To Fill The Empty Tabs.

.........Status Bar.... Check Or UnCheck To Show Or Hide The Status Bar.

.........Options >>

Options Settings (This App).... Opens A Window With Settings For RadarLoop20x.

.....................General Tab:
.....................National Radar Map URL .... Web Address Of The Main Selector "Map"
.....................Disable ToolTips....Disable/Enable Tips Which Are Displayed When You Hover Your Mouse Over A Button Or Box.
.....................ReEnable All Delete & Warning Messages....Some Of The Pop-Up Messages In RadarLoop20x Can Be Disabled By Checking The "Don't Show Just This Message" CheckBox On The Message Window. . You Can ReEnable All Messages Which You Have Disabled With This Button.
........ ............Additional Loop Delay....Modify The Amount Of Additional Delay Applied To The First And Last Image In A Set, During A Loop Animation.
........ ............Navs Go To Page URL (Default Is Image URL)...Each Navigate Or Refresh To Get Another New (Single) Radar Image Will Use Either The Entire Web Page URL Or Just The Radar Image File URL (default), According To This Setting. (new settings will apply the next time RadarLoop20x opens). . Currently, the default setting is best, but if Navs To The Image Fail Repeatedly
........ ............Don't Compare File Dates To Select "Back Date" Loop Files (load all)....If Checked, When Beginning A Refresh Process Or Restarting With "Back Date" Checked, The 10 Loop Files Downloaded Will Only Undergo Overall Range Checks, And RadarLoop20x Will Not Attempt To Select Files From The 10, Based On Your Refresh Interval Setting. .. Reason, Sometimes The Selection Process Misses Wanted Files Or Includes Unwanted Ones. . You Can Delete Unwanted Images After They Are Loaded Using The Menu Function, Delete Checked Images (and pack).

.....................Dist/Dir/Speed/ETA Tab:
.....................Adjust Image File Modified Time-Stamp .... File Dates Of The Image Files Usually Vary From The Real, Image Time Stamp. . The File Date Is Used For Speed And ETA Calculations.This Setting Allows A Default Adjustment To Be Applied To This Date-Time.
.....................Don't Show (Black) Time-Stamp Image Box On Main Window.(Check Box) ...If Checked, This Item Will Not Be Displayed.
.....................Adjust Map Scale .This Is Preset, And Should Not Require Any Adjustment. It Is The Scale Factor RadarLoop20x Uses In Distance, Speed, And ETA Calculations.
....................Consider Direction (0-359 deg.) In ETA Calculations.(Check Box) ...If Checked, ETA's In The Past Can Be Calculated, If Your Clicks Are In Reverse Direction. (ETA Clicks Must Be Within + or - 30 degrees Of The Course Heading Clicked During The Speed Calculation.
...................Use Two-Click ETA Selection.(Check Box) ...If Checked, Allows A Different Start Point For Each ETA.
...................Use Pop-Up Window To Display ..ETA List And Distance/Direction List.(Check Boxes) ...If Checked, These Calculation Results Appear Listed In A Separate Window, Instead Of The Default In Which Only The Last Calculation Results Appear In The TextBox In The Main Window.
This Window Contains A Menu With Several List Management Functions Which Appears When You Right-Click The List.
...................Use... Miles - Kilometers - Nautical Miles ... In Calculations.(Option Buttons) ...Determines Whether Miles, Kilometers, Or Nautical Miles Are Used In Distance Speed/ETA Calculations.

Internet Options (All Apps) .... Opens The Windows Control Panel "Internet Options" (Properties) Dialog Window Where You Can Select Options Which Will Affect Both, Internet Explorer And RadarLoop20x.

.........Help >>
.....................Help Page (local).... Shows This Help Page File, Located In RadarLoop20x's Install Directory, In Your Default Browser.
.....................About Window....Shows A Small, "About" Window With App. Version Number, Registered Status Or RegSoft Link Buttons Where You Can Register Your Copy Of RadarLoop20x.
.....................Updates Info Page....Navigates With Your Default Browser To The Updates Page Located On RadarLoop20x's Web Site. This Page Contains Info About New Versions.
Important Note: If The National Weather Service's Radar Web Sites Should Change Their Addressing Methods, The Current Version Of RadarLoop20x May No Longer Function Correctly. If Posible, A New Version Will Be Created To Deal With The Changes.
........ ............Suggestions & Bugs....Opens A Small Window, And Allows You To Send Pre-Addressed, eMail, Bug Reports To The RadarLoop20x Developer.

Unregistered Version Differences... The Unregistered Version Of RadarLoop20x Shows An "About" Window At the Open, Which Must Be Closed Before The Main Window Finishes Loading And Can Be Used. . . After 30 Opens, There Is A 10 Second Delay Before You Can Close The Opening "About" Window.

Additional Notes:

1. Navigate History: . RadarLoop20x Does Not Keep Or Use It Own Navigate History, But Its Web Browser Components Log History In MS Internet Explorer's History Files.

2. Navigation. . If You Click A Link On The NWS "National Doppler Radar Sites" - Map Selector Web Page In RadarLoop20x, Other Than The On-The-Map Radar Image Sites, The Navigate Will Be Passed Off To Your Default Web Browser, Which Should Pop-Up. . If You Have Microprose WeatherBrowser2xp Installed, And The Parent Directory Of WeatherBrowser2 Is The Same As The Parent Directory Of RadarLoop20x, For Example: C:\Program Files\WeatherBrowser2\ ... and ... C:\Program Files\RadarLoop20x\ ... Then The Navigate Will Be Passed To WeatherBrowser2xp.

3. Uninstall:. . RadarLoop20x Uses Microsoft's Install And Uninstall System. When RadarLoop20x Is Uninstalled Using Control Panel - Add/Remove Programs, It Will Only Remove The Directories And Files Which Were Installed During The Original Installation Process. For A Complete Uninstall, After You Use Control Panel Uninstall, You May Safely Delete Any Of The Following Which Control Panel Will Not Remove:
........a. RadarLoop20x Desktop Icon - Right Click It, And Then On The Pop-Up Menu Click "Delete".
........b. (In Windows XP) - In C:\Documents And Settings\(Each Username)\Application Data\ .... You Can Delete Each User's RadarLoop20x Subdirectory And All Of Its Subdirectories And Files.
........b. (In Windows 98) - In C:\Windows\Profiles\(Each Username)\Application Data\ .... You Can Delete Each User's RadarLoop20x Subdirectory And All Of Its Subdirectories And Files.
........c. If You Registered RadarLoop20x And Left The Register Key Text File In The Application's Install Directory, Typically, C:\Program Files\RadarLoop20x . . Control Panel Will Not Remove This RadarLoop20x Subdirectory. . You Can Delete The RadarLoop20x Subdirectory And All Of Its Subdirectories And Files.
........d. IMPORTANT: If, During The Control Panel Uninstall Process, You Are Prompted With Message Box Questions Regarding The Removal Of "Shared" Files. . Do Not Remove Them. . Several Of The Files In Question Are Windows Component Files And Should Not Be Removed. . When You Originally Installed RadarLoop20x These Files May Have Been Upgraded To Newer Versions.

Copyright 2004 Mike Messer