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This is the StormPredator.com online help
file supplement for version 2.5
It is still under construction- but you can check
our:
Check the Software Status:
See our list of bugs, bug
fixes and known issues with SP
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Wondering about something? Chances are the problem
has been addressed before.
See
our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
to see if your question is answered there.
Version 2.5 Feature details:
How to use a third party emailer
program to replace the one supplied, or call an
external program on alert.
New in version 2.56
To use an external mail program:
Add a command-line option -mailer <program_path>
where program_path is a fully-qualified path
(enclosed in quotes if it contains embedded
spaces) to any executable program.
That program may be a mailer program, a batch
file, a perl script, or any executable file.
StormPredator will call that program when an
alert condition occurs.
StormPredator will pass the following
arguments to the program:
(I've used the batch file parameter calling
convention for this list, but the user will
use whatever is appropriate for the executable
file)
%1 -- The sender address
%2 -- The recipient address
%3 -- The subject line enclosed in quotes.
%4 -- The SMTP server address
%5 -- The SMTP server port
%6 -- The SMTP server user name
%7 -- The SMTP server password
%8 -- The path to the image to be sent
The user may use any and/or all of these
variables to call any mail program.
All of these variables are taken from values
the user has entered in the address dialog
in StormPredator.
Please note that these are space-delimited,
so if any of these are empty, then the
argument number will change
accordingly.
This only affects the optional variables:
server user name, server password, and
image.
The other variables are required and will
never be empty.
That means that if the server user name
and password are empty, the sixth argument
will be the image, if it is supplied.
The body of the message is left to the
user's discretion, you may customize it as
you wish.
The file is executed with a SW_NORMAL window
style, the command window will appear as the
file is being executed. This allows the user
to put a pause statement (or equivalent) in
the program and view the output for testing.
We may change this in the future if the
feature is incorporated into the product
permanently, so that the window is
optionally shown.
--- Custom markers ---
Feature description
The program allows the user to select a marker
icon for each marker. Just as with the marker
text, the program remembers what icon is used for
each marker and will display that icon when the
program is started.
To select a marker icon, right-click on the marker
well icon at the top of the options pane. A dialog
will appear that contains all of the available
marker icons. The current marker icon will be
highlighted (and usually centered) in the icon
display. Scroll left and right to view all of the
available icons. The user may select one of the
icons by highlighting it with the left mouse
button, then pressing the Ok button, or by
double-clicking on the icon with the left mouse
button.
Once an icon has been selected, any marker that is
created will be created with that icon. The user
may change the current marker icon at any time.
Adding Marker Icons
The user may add marker icons by simply adding
them to the marker icon storage directory. That
directory is a subdirectory of the StormPredator
installation directory (usually C:\Program
Files\StormPredator) and it is named data\markers.
The user may create or edit marker icons with any
icon editor. Please note that marker icons are
larger than the standard Windows icons. Marker
icons are 48 pixels wide and 48 pixels tall
(standard Windows icons are 23 x 32 pixels). Save
icons in TrueColor (24-bit) color depth, with an
extension of ".ico".
Notes for advanced icon editors: masks are not
necessary and are ignored, each icon must be
placed in a separate file, and transparency is
fully supported.
Viewing Marker Text
View marker text by clicking the left mouse button
down when the pointer is over a marker. The text
will appear in the selected marker text color.
Changing The Marker Text Color
Select the marker text color by pressing the
Settings button, then selecting Color Options.
Double-click the left mouse button while the
pointer is over the color box labeled "Marker Text
Color" to select a color. The marker text color
applies to all markers.
Changing Marker Text
Edit the marker text for any marker by
right-clicking when the pointer is over a marker
icon. A dialog appears that allows the user to
edit the marker text and/or delete the marker.
Moving A Marker
A marker may be moved by holding down the Alt key
then click-and-drag the marker with the left mouse
button. Release the mouse button to place the
marker at the new location
Deleting A Marker
Delete a marker by pressing and holding the Alt
key and right-clicking when the pointer is over a
marker icon. A dialog appears that allows the user
to delete the marker. As noted above, the user may
also delete a marker by using the Change Marker
Text dialog.
--- Autosave images ---
Feature description
This is for exporting images processed by SP to a
website using an FTP program such as TinyUploader
see:
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/tinyuploader.html
Up to 24 images are automatically
saved. The images are saved after processing by
StormPredator (including any overlays, markers,
and scan zones). These images are useful for
publishing to web pages and are the images that
are mailed to email addresses or cell phones if
that feature is enabled.
The file names have a number appended to the name,
from 01 to 24. The first file in that list is
always the most recent file, and the highest
number file is always the oldest file. When a new
image is saved, it becomes the first file in the
list and all of the others are moved to the next
highest number. If there are more than 24 images
in the list, the highest numbered one is deleted,
so that there is always a maximum of 24 images in
the list.
The directory also contains a file
named "current" that is always the most recently
saved image. It is a copy of the first file in the
list.
The files are saved in PNG or JPG format at the
user's discretion. These are web friendly formats.
The files are saved in a folder named AutoSave in
the StormPredator installation directory.
Selecting a file format
Choose either PNG (Portable Network Graphics) or
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) formats.
These are very common image formats and are
accepted by virtually all Internet devices and
cell phones.
--- Custom caption text for saved images ---
Feature description
The user may enter up to 80 characters that will
be displayed along the bottom edge of saved and
emailed images.
Entering caption text
Press the Settings button and select the Email
Options button. Enter the text in the Caption Text
field.
The user may enter up to 80 characters in that
field. If the user attempts to enter more than 80
characters, the program will beep a warning.
--- Emailing images ---
Feature description
The user may elect to send StormPredator images
via email to any computer, cell phone, or PDA that
is capable of receiving HTML mail.
When the selected device is a cell phone or PDA, a
portion of the image that surrounds the center of
the user's scan zone is mailed to the device.
Enabling HTML mail
Press the Settings button and select Email
Options. Enable HTML mail for email or pager/cell
phone notifications. For the latter, also choose a
screen size that is closest to the screen size of
your device.
Testing HTML mail
These messages are tested the same way that text
messages are tested, enter all of the desired
options and press the Email or Pager Test button.
--- Image Smoothing ---
Feature description
The user may choose to smooth the radar image. The
smoothing algorithm is a simple histogram matrix
blurring function similar to the "Soften" tool
that is employed by many common image and photo
editors. This provides a presentation that is
similar to TV news radars in that pixelated areas
at the edge of the radar range are smoothed to
give a consistent look.
Changing the smoothing amount
Press the Settings button, then select Display
Options. Change the Image Smoothing slider bar to
change the amount of smoothing. At the minimum
setting, no smoothing is applied to the image.
--- Verbose mode ---
Feature description
Verbose mode is a troubleshooting tool to be used
only when the user wants to isolate file transfer
problems. When Verbose Mode is enabled, the
program will display error messages if any trouble
is encountered during an Internet File Transfer
operation.
The program should not be left running unattended
while in Verbose Mode, because if an error message
appears and it is not acknowledged and dismissed,
the program may crash.
Enabling Verbose Mode
Right-click on the desktop icon or Start Menu
entry for StormPredator, and choose Properties
from the menu. In the dialog box that appears,
left-click in the text field labeled "Target".
Press the right arrow key until the blinking caret
(the blinking vertical bar) is all the way at the
right end of the text, outside the quotation
marks. Then press the space bar to add a space
after the quotation marks and type '-verbose'
(without the quote marks). Now click the Ok
button.
Start StormPredator by double-clicking on that
same icon or Start Menu item and the program will
start in Verbose Mode. Watch for error messages.
If you do see an error message, perform a screen
capture (hold down the ALT key and press Print
Screen, then open Microsoft Paint and press
CTRL-V). Send the image and a description of the
error to support@stormpredator.com.
--- SMTP Port ---
Feature description
This allows the user to select a port other than
the standard port (25) for SMTP server
connections.
Using the feature:
Do not change the SMTP port unless your server
explicitly states that another port is required.
Your SMTP server documentation will tell you what
port to use.
-- Full Screen Display ---
Feature Description
This will cause the program to display a
full-screen window containing the radar image. The
images may be commanded to loop through the
available history images or display the beam
sweep.
Using Full-Screen Mode
Press F4 to enter full-screen mode. Click the
mouse to exit this mode (or press F4 or ESC).
The display will continue to update with the
latest available images.
While in Full-Screen Mode, press ALT-L to toggle
looping, or press ALT-B to toggle the beam.
The user may elect to display or hide the DBZ/VIP
color key bar by making a selection in
Settings->Display Options dialog.
User can also choose to maintain the aspect ratio
in fullscreen mode or to allow SP to fill the
screen.
-- Options panel in Mini-window Mode ---
Feature description
The options panel may be collapsed or expanded in
Mini-window Mode.
Collapsing the panel leaves an aesthetically
pleasing circle display in the lower right corner
of the screen.
Using the options panel in Mini-window Mode
Just as in the full-sized window mode, press the
Space bar to expand or collapse the options panel
when the program is in Mini-window mode.
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