Au Weather Help

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Category: Software
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Written by Will
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*Also see the Au Weather FAQ page for more information.

IMPORTANT: Version 1.40 requires that you remove any existing Au Weather widget form the home screen and add them again.  This is for the support of multiple widget locations.

Favourites

  • To add a favourite click the Add Favourite icon (bottom left) or select Add Station from the menu.
  • The default station is indicated with an asterisk (*) next to it.
  • The default station is used for the widget/status bar values (id used).
  • To set the default station, long press on a station name on the favourites list and select "Set default.
  • The nearest station is indicated with a plus (+) next to it - the nearest station is not a specific station but updates as your location changes.  To have the widget update with the nearest station info, set the station with the plus (+) next to it as default.  Remember network location must be enabled to use the nearest station functionality (see the FAQs).
  • To remove a favourite, long press its name and select remove. Note that the default station cannot be removed (set another station to default before removing the current default station).
  • Refreshing the favourites page updates all the favourites' data. Note that this will consume more data the more stations is on added to the favourites list.
  • If the station data is not refreshed, the temperature will disappear after the set update interval.  The forecast icon and min/max temperatures will disappear after 6 hours. This ensures that displayed info is current and not wasting data by retrieving if it's not required.
  • To view detailed information about a station, select it from the list.
  • The favourites list is displayed by default when the app is launched - the default station can be displayed instead by changing the initial view preference (see Preferences)
  • In the paid version the nearest radar and history graph for a station can be access by long pressing on a favourite and selecting radar or graph.

Detail Screen

The top half of the screen displays the current weather information while the bottom half displays forecast information of up to 5 days.  If the information is too much to fit on the screen you can scroll the detail information and/or forecast information up/down to reveal the rest of it:

Au Weather usage

Screen elements:

  1. Refresh button: click to refresh the weather station data.
  2. Status bar temperature: this is optionally displayed when the widget is placed on a home screen.  The colour can be set to either black or white in the application settings (depending on the colour of the status bar for visibility).  See below for more information.
  3. Radar button: if a radar is within ~550km (~250km free version) this button will be displayed.  Click it to see a radar loop for the nearest radar if available.  The paid version will display the 512km image by default, while the free version will display the 256km image.
  4. Depending on the device screen size all the information may not fit onto the screen.  In this case you can scroll up/down to reveal all the info.

To go back to the favourites list, press the back button.

Radar

The nearest radar loop for the currently selected station can be viewed by clicking the radar button from the summary screen (see above).  Alternately radar can be viewed by selecting the radar option from the menu.  The free version will always only show the 256km radar loop for the currently selected station.

The paid version allows for selecting 512km/256km/128km radar loops when the radar loop is displayed (from the menu).  You can also manually select by state and radar loop distance from the Radar menu on the summary screen.

Important: Note that all radar loops are not always available and are intermittendtly taken off-line by BOM.

About Weather Stations

All stations are not created equally: Some have limited or no readings (temperature, wind speed, rainfall etc.), while others have limited or no forecasts. Stations are also updated at different intervals: some stations are updated every 30 minutes while others are updated hourly or daily.  We have also observed some station activity cease for extended periods.  If you're unlucky enough to hit one of these, it is best to manually select a station that you can use for all you readings.  In these cases it is recommended that another station is manually selected.

The approximate location of the current weather station can be viewed in the Maps application by selection the "Approx Location" the menu.
IMPORTANT: Due to the implementation of the Maps application the location may initially show your current location for some reason, just go back and select it again to zoom to the station location.

Forecasts

Forecasts are displayed for the current weather station or the closest station with forecast information.  (Not all stations have forecast information available.)

Refreshing

The widget will update weather readings by default every 30 minutes. The update interval can be changed under Preferences (accessed from the favourites screen).  Weather readings can be manually updated by selecting the “Refresh” option from the menu or clicking the refresh button on the main page.

Preferences

Open the preferences screen from the favourites screen by selecting the preferences icon (next to the refresh icon) or by selecting it from the menu.  The following items can be configured:

  • Initial view: When the app is initially launched it can either show the favourites screen or open the default station directly.
  • Back button closes app: Setting this will make the app close when the back button is pressed instead of going back the favourites from the weather summary screen.
  • Update interval: Select the interval at which the weather should be checked. Notethat if the widget is not used, weather will only be updated once you open the app.
  • Default Radar Range (paid version only): Allow you to st the default radar range to display when the radar is opened. Choose between 128, 256 or 512km.
  • Temp in status bar*:The status bar temperature display can be enabled/disabled.Note that the temperature display in the status bar is only shown when the widget is used.
  • Status bar text colour: The colour can be set to either black or white - default is black. Gingerbread,  HTC Sense (for example Desire), Galaxy S etc. with a black title bar will need to set the status bar text white - else you will not see anything!
  • Widget text colour*: The widget text colour can be changed to suit you home screen background.
  • Widget background* (V0.92+ only): Select  a transparent (clear/original) or one of the defined various backgrounds for the widget.
  • Widget station name*: Show/hide the station name on the widget.

*From version 1.40 onwards these items can only be set from the Widget Settings screen that is displayed when an Au Weather widget is added to the home screen.