Installation and Use Guide

VWscroll is a JAVA written program which will automatically scroll weather watches , warnings, and other alerts for Vermilion County across the bottom of the users computer screen. These alerts are all issued by the National Weather Service and can be found on the website http://nws.noaa.gov . VWscroll updates every minute, and the easy-to-use Options interface makes the scroll customizable. Allowing the user to change which alerts to be scrolled, and the speed at which the text is scrolled. The background color, coordinated with the official watch or warning colors from the National Weather Service, makes it easy to determine the type of watch, warning, or alert which is issued. Added features such as radar, local forecasts, local observations, National Advisory map, link to Vermilionweather.com and much more are located with buttons on the right side of the scroll.

1. Download and Installation

● Save the VWscroll zip file to your “Program Files” folder, C:\Program Files. Unzip the folder and there will be a few files there including...

• Readme.doc - instructions
• VWscroll.jar – the actual program
• VWscroll.jar shortcut – program shortcut icon
• VWscroll.ico – Leave this alone
• Settings.txt – this saves your Advisory types settings. Leave alone.

Right-click on the VWscroll.jar shortcut icon and select “Send to”. Click “Desktop (create shortcut”). Now, go to the Desktop and double click the VWscroll icon to start the program.

● To have VWscroll automatically load during startup for your computer, right click (on your Desktop) and “Copy” the shortcut icon. Now we need to move this shortcut to the Startup folder.

Windows XP

usually C:\Documents and Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Vista

Click the Start button, click All Programs, right-click the Startup folder, and then click Open.

Right click in the folder and the click “Paste”. Your shortcut icon should paste itself inside the folder. Close the box.

The next time you start Windows, the program will run automatically.

2. Setup and Use Guide

● Double-click the VWscroll.jar icon. This will open up the Options window.

○ Selecting Size and Speed

■ Using the appropriate sliders, select the size and the speed you would like the

message to be scrolled.

○ Selecting Displayed Watches/Warnings

■ By clicking the check box next to a certain watch or warning, this will hide or show the scroll. A checked box indicates the text will be scrolled, while an unchecked box means the text will not be scrolled.

It is recommended to have Tornado & Severe Thunderstorm Warning and Watches selected as a minimum.

To confirm all changes, click the “OK” button at the bottom of the options screen

3. Changing Settings While Program is Running.

● Opening the Options Window

○ Right click on the VWscroll icon to display the menu. Select “Options...” to display the Options menu.

● Disabling/Enabling the Audio Alert

○ Clicking the audio alert will disable or enable an audio beep which is played

when a watch or warning is issued or changes.

● Hiding the Scroll

○ Right click on the VWscroll icon in your system tray (near the clock on the bottom right of your screen) to display the menu.

Click “Hide” to toggle between hiding and showing the scroll. A check mark

next to “Hide” means the scroll is hidden. No check mark next to “Hide”

means the scroll will be shown. When you “Hide” the program, you will get no pop up notices. You are actually suspending it’s use.

4. Using The VWscroll Buttons

■ To use the scroll buttons, click on which icon you would like to make visible. To hide the button windows, just click on the button once again.

1. Advisories Map- Link to Vermilionweather.com Advisories page for more information on any Advisories.

2. Vermilionweather.com- Link to main “Live Weather” page of Vermilionweather.com

3. Acknowledge --- Clicking this button will “acknowledge” the displayed warning/watch/advisory and then minimize the scroll to the system tray until a new warning/watch/advisory is issued.

4. Radar – Displays the current local radar of our area from Vermilionweather.com.

5. Text – Full text of watch/warning/advisory being scrolled.

6. Observations – Current observations for our area.

7. Forecast Maps – Build forecast maps from the NWS.

8. Forecast – Current NWS forecast for current area

9. Sound – Mute or unmute the scrolling alert.

10. Hide – Hide the scroll (using the “acknowledge” button would be better).

11. Options – Open up the options frame.

12. Exit – Exit the program completely.

Hints & Tips:

• If you “Acknowledge” an Advisory or other notice and later want to open up the scroll again, just right click the VWscroll icon in the system tray and uncheck the “Acknowledge” option.
• It is far better to “Acknowledge” a scroll advisory or notice than to ‘Hide” it. Clicking the “Hide” button will actually suspend the VWscroll program and you may miss an important warning or advisory.
• Yes, I know that there are many advisory types in the options that we will never see here in Central Illinois. However, all of those advisories are actually in the National Weather Service code for issuance. Therefore, they are there.
• Don’t forget to set the scroll speed faster if desired. The default is kind of slow. It is that way because some older monitors may have a problem with a faster scroll.
• If you do not have a sound card in your computer, uncheck the “Audio Alerts” option. During testing, some computers without audio cards experienced problems during alerts due to the program searching for an audio source.
• For those with multiple monitors, in the Options, select which monitor you want the scroll to run on.

• Feedback is welcomed. Use the “Contact Us” link at the bottom of any page on the Vermilionweather.com website.
• Of course, donations are also always welcomed. Click the “Donate” button at the top of any Vermilionweather.com page for details.