Date, Time, and Animation

The Date dialog enables you to change the date used by products on a map or graph. Once you have added the specific products you want to view (for example, a map of air temperature with wind barbs), modifying the date displays the measurements collected for each product at the new date. To view archived data, enter the date into the Date dialog.

To set the date on a map:

Choose Map > Date...
Double-click on the date in the legend

Change the date by either entering the numbers manually or clicking the directional arrows
Change the time by either entering the numbers manually or clicking the directional arrows
Click OK or see below for Animation Help

This dialog also allows the creation of animation loops. The default setting in the Date dialog is 0 hours Before the Date with an Interval Step of 15 minutes. "Before Date" means the animation will loop for the specified amount ending at the set date. "After Date" means the animation will loop for the specified amount beginning at the set date. Animation is not currently available for graphs.

To set the animation using menu options:

Choose Map > Date...
Choose an increment to loop:
- Select the drop-down menu and choose minutes, hours, or days
- Select the drop-down menu and choose "Before Date" or "After Date"
To set up a loop, choose one of the following two options:
- To loop based on a specific product's update interval:
  1. Select the drop-down menu for the interval and choose "Sync To"
  2. Select the drop-down menu and choose which product you want to sync to
- To loop based on a fixed time interval:
  1. Select the drop-down menu for the interval and choose "Step By"
  2. Type in a numerical time interval (for example, 5, 10, 24, etc.)
  3. Select the drop-down menu and choose to step by minutes, hours, or days
Click OK

Note: The map will not begin to animate until you press Play on the Animator or choose Map > Play

To turn on animation using the legend:

Click once on the loop icon in the legend

Note: Another way to access the date dialog is to right-click with the mouse on the date in the legend. A contextual menu will appear; choose Date.

When you enable animation from the legend, the loop time will default to 1 hour if you have not modified these choices in the Date dialog. The other options will remain the same. If you have modified the animation options but turned off the animation feature, WeatherScope will use your modified animation options when you choose to turn on animation from the legend.