This is a FAQ for the AI-WX Weather Door.

Q: What should the command line look like to run the door?
A: The door only requires the path to a door32.sys file be passed to it using the -D
command line parameter. So under Linux this may look like ./wxdoor -D<path to door32.sys>
and it would look like lwsweather.exe -D<path to door32.sys> under a Windows distribution.
Remember under Linux you must give the wxdoor file execute permissions by running chmod +x wxdoor.

Q: How is the door being distributed?
A: The door is being distributed under the Shareware licensing concept. You are free to 
share the door with others and put it up for download on your BBS or website. The 
door will work forever and will not cease to work in the future. There are some
features, like Live Radar, that will no be fully functional until the door is registered.

Q: How do I register the AI-WX Weather Door?
A: You can register and get a PRIVATE key by going to my website at firesidebbs.com.
The cost is less then the price of a fancy cup of coffee. Registering would be very much 
appreciated and would go a long way towards encouraging me to continue updating the 
AI-WX Weather door and also in creating useful doors for our BBS hobby in the future. 
Please keep in mind that PIRACY is a crime and is not cool. Please support the BBS
community and the developers that create the software that we all enjoy.

Q: What is the difference between the free and registered versions of the door?
A: The free version of the door is fully functional and will work forever. The registered version
of the door will unlock the Live Radar feature and also remove the registration prompt that
appears when the door is run. The registered version will also display your BBS name in the
door and will allow you to customize the door with your BBS name.

Q: Once I register the door, how do I activate it?
A: As part of the registration process online at firesidebbs.com, you will be asked to
supply the name of your BBS as you would like for it to be displayed in the door. A reg
key will be generated and sent to you via email. This reg key is unique to your BBS and
based on the BBS name you provide. It is very important that you enter the BBS name
correctly as it will be used to generate the reg key. Once you have the reg key, you
will need to edit the lwsdoor.ini file and enter your BBS name in the BBSName= field
and reg key in the RegKey= field and then save the file. The door will then be registered
and all features will be unlocked.

Q: How does the door get its data?
A: The door queries several different APIs on the web to gather its weather data. These sources
exist all around the globe and are compiled and pulled in through four seperate central APIs 
that the door makes requests to. The data is then analyzed by the door and presented in a
easy to read ANSI graphical format.

Q: Building the ANSI basemaps (other towns diplayed on radar) is a tad slow, can I speed that up?
A: By default, the door queries the OpenStreetMap API to build it's ANSI basemaps. This API only
allows one request per second and the basemaps require 8 requests. You can limit the basemap to only
to only 4 ground points in the lwsdoor.ini file, or turn the basemaps off completely. Or you can
request an API key from www.bigdatacloud.com and switch to this API instead. The Big Data Cloud 
API does not force a wait between requests and is therefore very fast at building the basemaps and is
the preferred API. You can then edit the lwsdoor.ini file with your API Key and also change 
ReverseGeocodingApi=O to ReverseGeocodingApi=B and you will see a huge improvement in the speed
in which the basemaps are built.

Q: What is the difference between the OpenWeatherMap and BigDataCloud APIs?
A: The OpenWeatherMap API is a free API that provides weather data for the entire globe. The
BigDataCloud API is a free API that also provides weather data for the entire globe. Both APIs
are used to reverse-geo the current location to build the basemap of surrounding cities when 
viewing ANSI radar. The OpenWeatherMap API does not require an API key, however the BigDataCloud API
does. The BigDataCloud API key is free to obtain at bigdatacloud.com, no credit card info is required.

Q: How does the door get it's SIXEL basemap data?
A: The door queries the GeoApify API for the SIXEL basemap data. The GeoApify API also requires an API
key that free and easily obtained by going to geoapify.com and requesting an API key. No credit card info
is required The API key is then entered into the lwsdoor.ini file and the door will then use the GeoApify
API to build the SIXEL basemaps.

Q: How hard is it to aquire the API key and what does it cost?
A: The API keys are free to obtain and only take about 5 minutes to get. You will need to go to the
websites of the API providers and sign up for an account. No credit card info is required. Once you
have an account, you will be able to generate an API key that you can then enter into the lwsdoor.ini
file. The API keys are free and will allow the door to function properly.

Q: Can I change the location of the weather data?
A: Yes, you simply search for a new location on the Main Menu and the door will remember that location
for all of the Main Menu options.

Q: Can the data be returned in another language besides English?
A: Yes, you can edit the lwsdoor.ini file and change the language parameter to whatever you
wish. Currently the default is "en" which is the ISO 639-1 standard for the english language 
code. Search the ISO 639-1 Standard for more language codes. You will only want to enter the
Language Code portion (prefix) and not the Country Code portion (suffix). For example en-US, would
be entered as just en. Please note that currently only the weather data will change its language, 
the prompts in the door itself will not change at this time.

Q: Why do the ANSI graphics look all jumbled up on a Linux system?
A: You may be missing some packages that the door requires to display the ANSI correctly.
The *Nix version of the AI_WX door is written as native code and requires the "ncurses" package
be installed on a Debian based system and "termcap" or "terminfo" be installed under Slackware.
Also under WWIV (and possibly others), you may need to add the following to the front of your 
chain's (door) command line. For example, instead of the command line just being 

./chains/weather/wxdoor -D%E

you would instead enter

export TERM=pcansi && ./chains/weather/wxdoor -D%E

