Install Foreca Weather add-on

The Foreca Weather add-on sets live tags based on Foreca UDC weather data. You can install it on the Windows Player and the Linux Player and configure which live tags should be set for which weather properties.

What are live tags?

Live tags are special tags that affect the spot playout at runtime. They’re activated and deactivated through (local) web services. This process is triggered by an attached external system that calls the player's web service. In the case of the Foreca Weather add-on, it’s a weather forecast system. You can configure the player to display specific spots that have live tags assigned to them which match the current conditions.

System requirements

Before you begin the installation and configuration process, note that there are two add-on versions. Each version has its own compatibility.

Ensure that you meet the following requirements:

Note

For information on having an update package installed on all your players, contact your Grassfish partner.

Install the add-on

If you want to manually install the add-on on the player, follow the instructions that match your player type.

Install the add-on under Linux

To install the add-on on a Linux Player, perform the following steps:

1. Put the add-on ZIP file into any folder on the player. Note that you need read and write access to the folder.

2. Open a terminal window.

3. To install the add-on, execute the following command: sudo /opt/grassfish/tools/current/gfBootstrap/gfBoostrap <archive.zip>

   The bootstrapper installs the files into: /opt/grassfish/addons/gfPlayer/forecaWeather

4. Restart the player service gfPlayer or restart the whole player.

5. Start the add-on. This creates the configuration file that you’ll use in the next step.

Install the add-on on Windows

To install the add-on on a Windows Player, perform the following steps:

1. Put the add-on ZIP file into any folder on the player. Note that you need read and write access to the folder.

2. Open a command prompt.

3. To install the add-on, execute the following command: C:\GVClient\tools\current\gfBootstrap\gfBootstrap.exe <archive.zip>

   The bootstrapper installs the files into: C:\GVClient\addons\gfPlayer\forecaWeather\

4. Restart the player service gfPlayer or restart the whole player.

5. Start the add-on. This creates the configuration file that you’ll use in the next step.

Configure your system

To use the add-on, you must configure the server, the IXM Platform, and the player. To do so, perform the following steps:

Copy and paste UDC importer files

The UDC plugin imports weather data from the data provider Foreca. To activate the UDC importer on the server, perform the following steps:

1. Stop the UDC service.

2. Access the UDC importer files located at \\gfstor002\gfrelease\Global\UDC\Grassfish\ForecaGenericWeatherTng\1.2.

3. Copy and paste the files from the UDC importer folder into the UDCService\Plugins folder on the server.

4. Restart the UDC service.

Add the UDC data importer

To import data via the UDC importer, you must add it in the IXM Platform. To do so, perform the following steps:

1. In the IXM Platform, go to Administration > Content > Data importer.

2. Click New. This opens the Create new data importer window.

3. In the General tab, specify your data importer information.

4. Switch to the Feeds tab and specify the following values:

   • As Path, specify https://pfa.foreca.com.

   • As Username, enter the username for the data source.

   • As Password, enter the password for the data source.

5. Click Save to save your changes.

Set the player location

You must set valid coordinates to load real weather data for a specific location. To configure the coordinates, perform the following steps:

1. In the IXM Platform, go to Channels > Location.

2. Select the location of the player.

3. Double-click on the player. This opens the Edit player window.

4. Switch to the Localization tab.

5. Specify the Latitude and Longitude of the location. Enter a latitude from -90 to 90 and a longitude from -180 to 180. You can use decimals for accuracy.

6. Click Save to save your changes.

Create live tags

You must create live tags in the IXM Platform that you’ll later match to the Foreca weather properties such as temperature ranges or wind speed.

Note

Wind speed is available from add-on version 2.1.

To create your live tags, perform the following steps:

1. In the IXM Platform, go to Administration > Content > Tags. 

2. To create temperature tags, select Tags and click on the + in the bottom right corner.

3. In the Create tag dialog, enter a name for the Foreca temperature tags. The Foreca default key is ForecaTemp. If you use a different name for the live tag, you must adjust the add-on configuration file later.

4. As Type, select Live tag.

5. Click Save to save your changes.

6. Select the newly created tag and click on the + in the bottom right corner.

7. In the Create tag dialog, enter a temperature range in degree Celsius (°C) like -10-0 or 30-40.

8. Click Save to save your changes.

9. Repeat steps 6 through 8 to create a new temperature tag for each required temperature range.

10. To create weather type tags, select Tags and click on the + in the bottom right corner.

11. In the Create tag dialog, enter a name for the Foreca weather tags. The Foreca default key is ForecaWeather. If you use a different name for the live tag, you must adjust the add-on configuration file later.

12. As Type, select Live tag.

13. Click Save to save your changes.

14. Select the new tag and click on the + in the bottom right corner.

15. In the Create tag dialog, enter a weather type like Sunny or Cloudy.

16. Click Save to save your changes.

17. Repeat steps 14 through 16 to create a new weather tag for each required weather type.

18. To create wind speed tags, select Tags and click on the + in the bottom right corner.

19. In the Create tag dialog, enter a name for the Foreca wind speed tags. The Foreca default key is ForecaWindSpeed. If you use a different name for the live tag, you must adjust the add-on configuration file later.

20. As Type, select Live tag.

21. Click Save to save your changes.

22. Select the new tag and click on the + in the bottom right corner.

23. In the Create tag dialog, enter a wind speed range in meters per second (m/s) like 0-10 or 11-20.

24. Click Save to save your changes.

25. Repeat steps 22 through 24 to create a new wind speed tag for each required wind speed range.

Configure the add-on

For larger rollouts, you can configure the config.ini file and put it in the add-on folder before the rollout to apply the configuration to all players. To get the config file, install and start the add-on on one player.

The add-on sets live tags based on Foreca’s UDC weather data. You must configure the add-on to specify which live tags should be set for which weather properties. That means, you must assign a live tag to each return value from Foreca in the add-on’s configuration file. Typically, you’ll assign one live tag to multiple Foreca values.

For information on the Foreca weather symbols, see https://developer.foreca.com/resources.

To configure the add-on, perform the following steps:

1. Open the file config.ini file:

   • Under Linux, go to /opt/grassfish/addonConfigs/gfPlayer/forecaWeather. The add-on is located under $CONFIG_DIR.

   • On Windows: C:\GVClient\addonConfigs\gfPlayer\forecaWeather. The add-on is located under $CONFIG_DIR.

2. Under General, configure the following settings:

   Name	Type	Default	Description
   Loglevel	Loglevel (String)	Notice	Set the log level of the add-on to specify which notifications are collected: Error Warning Notice Info Debug
   LiveTagKeyWeather	String	ForecaWeather	This is the default key for the live tag that contains the weather. If you’ve specified a different name for your live tag, change the key accordingly.
   LiveTagKeyTemp Range	String	Foreca Temp	This is the default key for the live tag that contains the temperature range. If you’ve specified a different name for your live tag, change the key accordingly. The values for the possible temperature ranges are read directly from all spots of the currently active screen layout. Once you’ve stored the temperature values ​​as live tags in the IXM Platform, the add-on evaluates them automatically.
   LiveTagKeyWind SpeedRange	String	ForecaWind Speed	This is the default key for the wind speed range. If you’ve specified a different name for your live tag, change the key accordingly. The values for the possible wind speed ranges are read directly from all spots of the currently active screen layout. Note Note that wind speed available from add-on version 2.1.
   WeatherDataValid ForSecs	Integer	86400	Specify how long weather data is valid in seconds. If there’s no valid weather data, the live tags for weather and temperature range are cleared.

3. Under LiveTagMap, specify key-value pairs for mapping the Foreca weather symbols to live tag values. Proceed in the following way:

   • Key: specify a three-digit weather symbol code as described in https://developer.foreca.com/resources.

   • Value: specify the live tag value.

4. Save and close the config file.

Example key-value pairs

000=Sunny

100=Cloudy

210=Rainy

422=Snowy

Start the data importer

To finish the installation, you must start the data import in the IXM Platform. To do so, perform the following steps:

1. In the IXM Platform, go to Administration > Content > Data importer.

2. Select the data importer that you want to start.

3. In the lower-right corner, select Tools.

4. Select Start import to import the data.

5. Optionally, select Display data to check the imported data.

6. Click OK to close the window.