other links ...
superkaramba ...
linux ...
weather ...
installation ...
- first make sure you've got the latest version of superkaramba installed.
- Please note that liquid weather versions >=4.0 require superkaramba >=0.36; and liquid weather versions >=7.0 require superkaramba >= 0.37; and liquid weather versions >=12.0 REQUIRE superkaramba >=0.39 - otherwise you'll get strange behaviour, or it will just not work.
- liquid weather versions >= 9.0 REQUIRE PyQt >= v3.13 and ImageMagick.
- The export to email/printer options in versions >= 14.0 require reportlab.
- Also, make sure that, if you've installed a binary version of superkaramba, it's been compiled against the exact version of python that you have installed - if you can't find a suitable binary then install superkaramba from source.
- If you've got an AMD64 processor, then you'll need to use python v2.4, as there are some strange bugs with superkaramba, AMD64 and python 2.3.
- Then get the liquid weather .skz file. You can do one of two things with this file. If you double click it, and it should open automatically. Alternatively, you can unzip the .skz file using the unzip tool (although it's got an .skz extension, it's just a zip file. Please note that you should unzip it in a new directory otherwise you'll get files scattered everywhere - the zip file doesn't have its own root directory.
- That's it. It's installed. Then run it as you would any other superkaramba theme.
basic usage ...
the main icon ...
is at the top left of the theme. If you left click on this icon, a panel showing the current weather details will appear. Left click again, and it will disappear. Middle click on this icon to get the current moon phase. Middle click again to return to the main icon. If you put your mouse over the icons in the hourly forecast, a tooltip will display the sky conditions.
day icons ...
are the five icons along the bottom of the theme. If you left click on one of these icons, then a panel showing the weather forecast details for that day will appear. Left click again, and it will disappear again. Middle click on the first icon to get the hourly forecast for the next 6 hours (only works if you get weather data from weather.com - not available with BBC or Accuweather data source). Middle click twice again, and the hourly forecast for a further 6 hours will appear. Middle click again, and the hourly forecast will disappear.
the globe icon ...
is the small left hand icon near the top right of the theme that looks like the earth. Left click on this icon to get a list of regions for which maps are available. Choose your region, and then you should get a list of available maps. Click on one of the menu items, and the relevant map will drop down. Left click on the button again and the map will disappear again. If you middle click on this button while the map is being displayed, then the fullsize image will open in a separate window. Sometimes, this icon will change to a yellow triangle with an '!' in it. See below for details on what this means/does.
the webcam icon ...
is the small right hand icon near the top right of the theme that looks like a photo. Left click on this icon to get a list of the webcams available to view. Click on one of the webcams, and the picture will drop down. Left click again and it will disappear again. If you middle click on this button while the webcam image is being displayed, then the fullsize image will open in a separate window.
the yellow triangle icon ...
is a warning that there is a major storm (ie hurricane/cyclone) in the area of the location that you are getting weather data for. This will replace the globe icon if there is a storm in the vicinity. To find out more, middle click on the triangle icon, and a web page will be opened, where you can find out more detail about the storm. If you left click on the icon, it will operate in the same way as the globe icon.
the main temperature text ...
is the large temperature readout at the top middle of the widget. If you left click on this temperature, the layout is toggled between the basic and detailed layouts.
right clicking ...
on the theme provides the usual superkaramba menu. Clicking on the "Configure Theme" gives you a submenu that is separated into 4 sections. At the top is the item "Configure theme" which opens the configuration dialog. The next section down contains a list of locations that you have set in the configuration dialog. The third section contains forecast export options - you can choose to print or email forecasts in various configurations. The bottom section gives information about liquid weather ++.
authors ...
- Original Karamba theme on which this theme is based by Rodion
- "Pythonised", feature enriched and most coding by Matt
- BBC parsing code by Elad Tsur, as well as providing more detail for BBC daily forecasts
- Weather data processing engine and original BBC parsing code by Heikki
- Threading code by David
- Other original gui configuration ideas by Adam Geitgey
- Umicons by Mattahan and used with permission. See Mattahan's websites: Mattahan.Web1000.com and Mattahan.deviantart.com
- Flat backgrounds provided by Andrew Crouthame
- Cynapses background by gladiac. Go here to get the cynapses system monitor theme
- Flat Desktop Style backgrounds and icons provided by Danny Allen. You can get the rest of the Flat Desktop Style here
- Crystal background provided by Skeezo
- PostIt Note background provided by PitocheUrla
- Clear background provided by ljogerst
- Grzanka's iconset drawn by Wojciech Grzanka and used with his permission. Check out his website.
- Translators: Andi Schwelling, Arnoud de Heus, Esa Aho, Frederik Dannemare, Jan Krajicek, Lindon Johnson Monte, Dmitry Maruschenko, Matteo Pettenuzo, Michal Slusarczyk, Michel Blankleder, Onodi Lorant, Pim van den Berg, Silmarys, Slobodan Simic, The Stick, Vincenzo Reale, kreten1, Timo Ruppell, Petri Damsten.
frequently asked questions ...
Please note that from version 9.0, only the full configuration gui is available. I am no longer maintaining references to the older style configuration menu.
If the question you have is not answered here, have a look on the forums.
How do I tell Liquid Weather ++ to get the weather report for my local area...
The layout is really cluttered. Can I make it simpler ...
How do I add a webcam picture ...
How do I remove a webcam picture ...
I hate the cheesy text animations. How do I turn that stuff off ...
Can I change the background image ...
I want to use a 24 hour clock. Can I ...
I live in a modern country that uses the metric system. How do I get rid of that imperial rubbish ...
I have set my location in the configuration dialog, but it doesn't change to my location. What can I do ...
I want to change the fonts that are used in the theme. Can I ...
I want to see the webcam picture full-size. How do I do this ...
The wind arrows point to where the wind is coming from, rather than where it's blowing to. What right thinking person does it that way?. How do I fix it ...
Those sure are perty icons, but I'm getting bored with them. Got any others ...
Even though I've set certain options on the configure menu, when I restart the theme, the settings have gone back to the default. How to I make the settings stick ...
The theme found my city, but when I display the details for today, it shows a nearby city. How do I make it show my city ...
If I'm using imperial measures, the wind speed in the hourly forecast still shows as kph. What's up ...
I'm not a native English speaker, and would like to run the theme in my native language. Can this be done ...
I find it difficult to see the text of the theme against my desktop background. Can I change the font colour ...
I used to put all the downloaded iconsets in liquid_weather_plus/icons. Now, they don't show up in the iconset selection dialog. How do I get them to show ...
I want to export the current conditions and forecast information to show other people, or take with me when I go outside to actually enjoy the weather. Can I ...
How do I change the mail client that is used to email forecasts ...
Where can I find the file that contains the exported forecast ...
I really like this theme. How can I help ...
Open the configuration dialog and go to the Location tab. At the bottom of that tab, there are three more tabs. Choose the data source from either weather.com, BBC, or Accuweather. Enter the city name (just enter your city name, not the country as well), and press "Search". You will be presented with a list of cities to choose from in the "Search Results" panel. Choose the location you want, and click "Add To List". This will add the location to the list that's available on the configure menu of the main theme. If there is no forecast available on the service you are searching, then you'll get a message to this effect.
Yes. Left click on the main temperature readout at the top middle of the widget, and the layout will toggle between the detailed layout, and the simple layout. You may need to change the background to suit the simple layout a bit better.
Open the configuration dialog, and go to the "Webcams" tab. Enter the URL for the webcam image in the "Add Webcam" panel, and also add the label that will appear in the selection menu. Make sure that the URL points to a static image. This means that you probably can't use a webcam that uses java, or some other fancy-dan protocol to stream its images. If the URL doesn't point to a static image, or a bad URL, the theme should spit an error at you. If it points to a valid image, you should get a preview in the "Preview" panel.
Open the configuration dialog, and go to the "Webcams" tab. Choose the webcam you want to remove from the drop down list in the "Remove Webcam" panel, and it will disappear from the list.
Open the configuration dialog and go to the "Fonts" tab. Check the box labeled "Disable text animation".
Funny you should mention it, cos you can. Open the configuration dialog, and go to the "Appearance" tab. In the "Choose Background" panel, you can choose from the drop down list. You can also install additional backgrounds. Click on the "Get Backgrounds" button to be taken to this page, where you can download a tarball of backgrounds. Then press the "Install" button to install them. The background you have selected from the dropdown list will be previewed in the "Preview" panel.
Open the configuration dialog, and check the "Display 24 Hour Clock" option under the "General" tab.
Open the configuration dialog, and check the "Display Metric Units" option under the "General" tab.
Send me an email. You need to specify the location you are using, so I can see what the underlying weather data looks like.
Yes. Open up the configuration dialog, and go to the "Fonts" tab. Go to the "Select Fonts" panel, and have a play. You can use the "Apply" button to see how things look as you go. Bear in mind that the fonts in the config dialog are measured in point size, but are converted to pixel size in the theme, so they will look bigger than they actually are when you are selecting them in the configuration dialog.
When the webcam picture is displayed in the theme, middle click on the webcam button and the image will open full size in kview.
Open the configuration dialog and open the "General" tab. Go to the "Wind Arrow Direction" panel, and select to display arrows that show where the wind blows to. When I first did the theme, I thought it made more sense to have the arrows point to where the wind comes from. Others have said that is counter-intuitive. You choose which you prefer.
Yes. Yes, I have. Open the configuration dialog and go to the "Choose Iconset" panel. There's a drop down list of icons there. The theme only comes with two iconsets. However, if you want more, then I've got more. The biggest collection of weather.com compliant iconsets on the web is right here on this site. If you're in the configuration dialog, just click the "Get Icons" button, and you will be transported to here. Choose the icons you want and download them. Then press the "Install" button, and away you go.
Some parts of the config file are only updated when you close, reload, or quit the theme. If you exit the theme by just closing your KDE session, then those bits of the config file won't be saved.
Sometimes, the weather data is measured from a nearby city or town (even though weather.com says it's data for your town). If you want the theme to display your city name, open the configuration dialog, and under the "General" tab, check "Display Alternate City".
It's a known bug - I'm working on it ...
Open the configuration dialog, and go to the "Select Translation" panel under the "General" tab. Choose a translation from the dropdown menu. If there's no translation for your language, how about making one yourself, and then sharing with everyone? Just follow the instructions here, and email the results to me, so I can release it for the rest of the world to enjoy - it's nice to share.
Open the configuration dialog, and go to the "Fonts" tab. In the "Font Colours" panel, you can select the font color for the main part of the theme, and for any drop down panels.
Go here and read the blurb on how to install downloaded iconsets.
Version 14.0 adds some export functionality. Be warned, this requires the reportlab python modules. These should be available in your distributions repositories. If not follow the installation instructions on their website. If you've got reportlab installed, right click on the theme to get the Configure Theme submenu. In the third section, there should be various options to email and print either the current conditions, a 5 day forecast, or both. The file format used is .pdf for maximum compatibility.
Open the configuration dialog, and go to the "General" tab. At the bottom left, you can choose between kmail, evolution and thunderbird. I will add other email clients if there is demand for this feature.
This is the lwp.pdf file, which can be found at ~/.superkaramba/lwp/lwp.pdf
Bandwidth and hosting costs are becoming an issue. At an average of 400-500 downloads a day at 4.5MB a pop, it doesn't take a genius to work out that that's a lot of bandwidth. At this rate, I'm going to have to take out a second mortgage to afford it. If you like and use Liquid Weather ++, please make a small donation (by pressing the Paypal button) to assist with hosting costs and equipment, so that I can continue developing this application. If you can't afford to, or don't want to make a donation, please try and support the further hosting and development of Liquid Weather in other ways.