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20040810: McIDAS XP Install and configuration

>From: "Patrick O'Reilly" <address@hidden>
>Organization: UNI
>Keywords: 200408101815.i7AIFHaW014885 McIDAS-X XP datasets

Hi Patrick,

>I got McIDAS 2004 installed and "working" on a PC with XP, but I have no
>datasets configured.  There is no information in the install info about
>adding datasets, or any configuration of data location files or DATALOC
>commands to add datasets.

That is one of the differences between the Unidata release of McIDAS-X
and the SSEC.  The XP distribution is the SSEC portion of the release
only.  If I find that enough Unidata users want to start using the
Windows version in earnest, I will begin packaging the full Unidata
release for XP.

>When I type DATALOC LIST I get nothing.

This is correct. What you need to do is use the DATALOC command to
add "pointers" to ADDE servers.  The easiest way of doing this is
to use the copy of the Unidata McIDAS-X (Unix) distribution file,
DATALOC.BAT you are instructed to make in the Unidata McIDAS installation
web pages.  As a refresher, you:

<as 'mcidas' on Unix/Linux>
cd ~/data
cp DATALOC.BAT LOCDATA.BAT
<edit LOCDATA.BAT and set ADDE servers for the various datasets you
want to access>

If your site is not running an ADDE server on a Unix/Linux box (I believe
that it is), then the majority of ADDE servers will be located at
remote sites.  If you are running McIDAS-X and -XCD on a Unix/Linux
machine in your department, and if you have setup that installation
to act as a remote ADDE server, you can use that machine's fully
qualified hostname as the object of the DATALOC commands in LOCDATA.BAT.

>What have I missed?

Nothing except the Windows XP distribution is the unaltered SSEC
release, and it does not come with Unidata additions, bugfixes, or
modifications.

>Do I have to run DATALOC commands to get all the datasets
>added?

Yes, but this is most easily done using a McIDAS BATCH file as I
sketched above.  As a first step, below are entries for LOCDATA.BAT
that you could use to get going.  Please substitute the fully
qualified name of your own remote ADDE server (if it is up/running/configured)
for all datasets that it serves.  This will make data access as fast
as it can be on the Windows machine.

Finally, after you have created a LOCDATA.BAT, bring it down to the
Windows machine and put it in the mcidas/data subdirectory of the
account you are to run McIDAS from.  Then, from the McIDAS command
and text window, make the DATALOCs active:

BATCH LOCDATA.BAT

At this point, you will be able to access data on the remote machines.
You will also have to configure the SSEC GUI to know about these servers.

Here is an example LOCDATA.BAT file:

REM ? LOCDATA.BAT - Define ADDE server locations for various datasets
REM ?
REM ? File:     DATALOC.BAT
REM ?
REM ? Purpose:  Define ADDE server locations for various datasets
REM ? 
REM ? Invocation:  BATCH "DATALOC.BAT
REM ?
REM ? Notes:    Each site should make a copy of this file into LOCDATA.BAT
REM ?           in the ~mcidas/data directory.  LOCDATA.BAT then needs to
REM ?           be edited and change 'fully_qualified_host_identifier' to:
REM ?
REM ?           o IP address/hostname of your ADDE server IF IT CAN
REM ?             SERVE THE PARTICULAR DATASET
REM ?              or
REM ?           o fully qualified hostname of an ADDE server THAT CAN
REM ?             SERVE THE DATASET
REM ?              or
REM ?           o LOCAL-DATA
REM ?
REM ?           The RTNIDS dataset is reserved used for WSI NIDS imagery.
REM ?           Use RTNEXRAD for NOAAPORT NIDS (Level III product) imagery.
REM ?
REM ?           The RTNOWRAD dataset is reserved for WSI NOWrad (tm) imagery.
REM ?
REM ?           Typically, the TOPO dataset access is set to LOCAL-DATA
REM ?           since the images that comprise this dataset are distributed
REM ?           with Unidata McIDAS-X.  The get installed in the ~mcidas/data
REM ?           directory by the McIDAS-X installation process.  This
REM ?           directory should be accessible to all McIDAS-X users:  the
REM ?           directory should be in each user's MCPATH, and the directory
REM ?           should have read access for all users.
REM ?
REM  History:  19980727 - Created for Unidata McIDAS-X 7.40 release
REM            19981230 - Extended doc for 'fully_qualified_host_identifier'
REM            20000631 - Added entry for CIMSS products
REM            20001028 - Added entry for RTGINI products
REM            20010126 - Added entry for RTNEXRAD (NOAAPORT NIDS products)
REM                       Added entries for GINIEAST and GINIWEST
REM            20010801 - Added entries for AMRC and ME7
REM            20020823 - Added NEXRCOMP entry; moved RTNIDS and RTNOWRAD to
REM                         their own section and commented them out
REM ? ---------

REM
REM Locate the datasets:
REM
REM CIMSS    - CIMSS products in the Unidata-Wisconsin broadcast
REM GINICOMP - GINI images from NOAAPORT channels 1 or 2
REM GINIEAST - GINI images from NOAAPORT channel 1
REM GINIWEST - GINI images from NOAAPORT channel 2
REM GOESEAST - GOES-East images from the University of Wisconsin-Madison SSEC
REM RTGRIDS  - NOAAPORT model data decoded by McIDAS-XCD
REM RTIMAGES - GOES-East/West imagery in the Unidata-Wisconsin broadcast
REM RTNEXRAD - NOAAPORT NEXRAD Level III products
REM RTPTSRC  - NOAAPORT model data decoded by McIDAS-XCD
REM RTWXTEXT - NOAAPORT textual data (bulletins, etc.) from McIDAS-XCD
REM TOPO     - topographic imagery distributed with Unidata McIDAS-X
REM AMRC     - Antarctic products from the AMRC program at SSEC/U Wisconsin
REM ME7      - METEOSAT-7 images from the Universite du Quebec a Montreal
REM

REM
REM Note: if you do not have each kind of data on your system, you will
REM       need to specify the hostname/IP address of a site that is willing
REM       to serve you this data.  Please contact Unidata User Support
REM       <address@hidden> for more information.
REM

DATALOC ADD CIMSS     atm.geo.nsf.gov
DATALOC ADD GINICOMP  pscwx.plymouth.edu
DATALOC ADD GINIEAST  atm.geo.nsf.gov
DATALOC ADD GINIWEST  adde.ucar.edu
DATALOC ADD GOESEAST  unidata2.ssec.wisc.edu
DATALOC ADD NEXRCOMP  papagayo.unl.edu
DATALOC ADD RTGRIDS   adde.ucar.edu
DATALOC ADD RTIMAGES  papagayo.unl.edu
DATALOC ADD RTNEXRAD  adde.ucar.edu
DATALOC ADD RTPTSRC   atm.geo.nsf.gov
DATALOC ADD RTWXTEXT  atm.geo.nsf.gov
DATALOC ADD TOPO      adde.ucar.edu

REM
REM Special purpose sites
REM

DATALOC ADD AMRC      uwamrc.ssec.wisc.edu
DATALOC ADD ME7       io.sca.uqam.ca

REM
REM Data that you have to subscribe to from WSI
REM
REM RTNIDS   - WSI NIDS products
REM RTNOWRAD - WSI NOWrad (tm) composite base refectivity products

REM DATALOC ADD RTNOWRAD  fully_qualified_host_identifier
REM DATALOC ADD RTNIDS    fully_qualified_host_identifier

REM
REM Locate the McIDAS Learning Guide "Storm of the Century" dataset on the
REM Unidata server
REM

DATALOC ADD BLIZZARD adde.ucar.edu

REM
REM Locate the dataset MYDATA locally
REM

DATALOC ADD MYDATA LOCAL-DATA

REM Done

>From address@hidden  Mon Aug  9 14:15:57 2004

>Hi there,

>I just installed McIDAS 2004 on a XP Pro system, with the Tools for Unix and
>Cygwin/X.  When all is installed, and I run an X-server and open McIDAS, the
>McIDAS session opens, then I get the McIDAS command window, OK, then the
>main McIDAS GUI Toolbar window "tries" to open, but all I get is a quickly
>flashing McIDAS window that is unclickable, and a horror to look at.  I then
>have to do a Ctrl-alt-del to close it.  I did see a seemingly rapidly
>repeating error in an xterm that said:
>
>WinTopLevelWindowProc - BitBlt failed: The handle is invalid.
>
>I searched on this but came up blank.  Does anyone have any clues as to what
>this could be?  It definitely seems to be a problem with the X-server
>settings somehow, but I haven't a clue what to do next.

Can you let us know what you did to get around this problem?  It will
help complete the entry for our inquiry tracking system.  Thanks...

>Thanks!

No worries.

Cheers,

Tom
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