Youless Desktop Gadget for Windows
==================================
Copyright 2012-2024 Postfossil B.V.
All rights are reserved for this software


Description
-----------
The Youless Gadget is an application for the Windows desktop, where the 
current and historical electrical power measured by the Youless is shown
on the desktop so that it can be viewed at a glance. The Gadget 
communicates directly with a Youless energy monitor over the network.


Requirements
------------
- Youless energy monitor model LS110 or LS120.
- A PC running Microsoft Windows 7/8/10/11.
- The PC must have direct network access to the Youless device.
- For Microsoft Windows 8 and up, the additional software package 
  8gadgetpack by Helmut Buhler is required in order to run Desktop Gadgets. 
  8gadgetpack can be downloaded freely from https://8gadgetpack.net. 


Installation
-----------
- For Windows 8 or above, download and install Helmut Buhler's 8gadgetpack 
  from https://8gadgetpack.net.
- If a previous version of the Gadget was installed, close all instances
  of the Youless Gadget first. 
- Open the file 'youless.gadget' which is in the Youless Gadget download 
  zip file. A new instance of the Gadget should appear on the desktop 
  right away. 

Note: Under rare circumstances, it can occur that the installation of 
      a newer version of the same desktop Gadget does not complete 
      succesfully. This manifests in the Gadget not appearing on the 
      desktop after opening the newer .gadget file, and the Gadget no 
      longer being listed in the Gadget galery. In those cases, the 
      installation will succeed after first rebooting the system.


Opening a new instance of the Gadget
------------------------------------
- Rightclick on an empty spot on the desktop and choose "Gadgets" from the 
  context menu.
- Select the Youless Gadget from the galery of available desktop Gadgets.
  A new instance of the Youless Gadget will appears on the desktop.
- If desired, drag the Gadget to a desired location by making use of the 
 'drag nubs' that appear below the 'wrench' control when the
  Gadget is pointed at with the mouse.
- Multiple instances of the Gadget can be active on the desktop 
  simultaneously.


Configuration
-------------
- Point the mouse pointer at the Youless Gadget
- Click the 'wrench' icon that appeart once the Gadget gets focus. The 
  configuration screen will appear.
- Enter the necessary settings. At minimum, the IP address of the Youless
  must be configured. 
- For model LS120, the main meter channel or the S0 input channel can be 
  selected.
- Click OK to save the settings.

If there is communication with the Youless, the color of the gadget will
change. If power is measured by the Youless, the needle on the dial will 
also move to indicate live measured power.

For explanation of the other settings, refer to the help text wich is 
displayed when configuration items are pointed at with the mouse.

Note: A 'demo mode' may also be selected for test or evaluation purposes.
      The Gadget will then use randomly generated measurement values.


Gadget Use
----------
The gadget displays the live Youless measured power. The scale on the dial
automatically adjusts to the measured power. The dial changes color when a
transition to a higher scale is made.

When power is exported/generated, the Gadget will be green and show the
power as a percentage of the Wp maximum capacity of the (solar) installation.
The Wp value can be configured in the settings.

When clicked on the gadget, a "flyout" window appears with a
chart of consumption over the last 10 minutes. The chart is continuously
refreshed and "scrolls" gradually from right to left. The scale of
the chart adjusts automatically in the same way as the scale on the dial. 
However, it is possible to manually override the automatic scaling and
choose another scale with the arrow buttons up and down, or by 
draging/swiping with mouse/touchscreen. By clicking on the circular icon, 
the automatic scaling is active again.

The time window over which the chart is reporting, can be altered by using
the arrow buttons left and right, or again by draging/swiping with 
mouse/touchscreen. 

The "flyout" chart is closed by pressing the [X] button in the right corner,
by pressing the escape key, or by clicking on the desktop.


Tips
----
If a reserved area for gadgets at the side of the desktop is desired, 
the 7 sidebar gadget from Helmut Buhler can be used. Gadgets can then be 
docked in a "Vista style" sidebar, so that they are always visible. 
7 sidebar is included with the 8gadgetpack software package.

However, a fixed sidebar comes at the expense of screen real estate. As 
alternative, the Gadget can also be set in "always on top" mode, so that
is always visible even when fully using the entire screen area. This mode
can be set from the context menu by clicking on the gadget with the right
mouse button. From the same context menu, a semi-transparancy can also be
chosen so that underlying windows are also visible through the gadget at 
all times.

When the S0 input of model LS120 is used as well, it is recommended to
instantiate 2 gadgets. One for the main channel, and the other for the S0
input. Both channels can then be monitored simulaneously. Use the 'caption'
setting of the gadget to make it easier to distinguish the 2 gadgets from
eachother.


Releases
--------
19-03-2024 v1.3.0:
- Gadget range increased from 18 kW to 60 kW.
- More intermediate zoom steps when changing the chart zoom level.

23-09-2020 v1.2.0:
- Green color exclusively reserved for energy generation, both on the gauge 
  and in the flyout chart. The lower consumption scale is now blue colored.
- The chart clearly colors consumed and generated power.
- The Gadget can be configurated to show the main channel or the S0 input 
  channel for model LS120.
- Enhanced chart resolution for model LS120.
- The flyout chart is now always big.

23-11-2015 v1.1.0:
- Added optional caption setting to override unit (Watt) caption.
- Added optional big flyout for more chart details.
- Added chart scaling using mouse/touch control by dragging/swiping over chart.
- Added gross production mode setting for solar panel users.
- Added latest version check on settings page.
- Fixed chart rendering artifacts when time between PC and Youless differs.
- Fixed rendering issue in settings page, which did not show elements properly 
  with desktop screen scaling higher than 100%.
- Fixed issue that gadget keeps attempting to login when wrong passport was 
  configured. The repeated attempts caused the Youless brute force attack 
  penalty time to cause other users to have difficulty with login.
- Fixed minor bug where flashing wrench could stay visible (but not flashing 
  anymore) when the flashing is no longer needed.
- Fixed minor bug of not correctly working arrow button highlighting.
- Improved inertia emulation in pointer movement so that it is less 'jumpy' 
  on big moves.
- Improved settings page layout, with the intention for it to have improved 
  usability.
- Improved history data sync and re-sync after temporary communications loss 
  or return from sleep mode.
- Improved behaviour regarding settings when multiple instances exist. 

21-07-2014 V1.0.2:
- Multi Language release with EN, NL and DE language support.

01-07-2012 V1.0.1:
- In case of meters constants greater than 1000, a change in measured power
  was sometimes reported after a small delay. This has been fixed.

15-06-2012 v1.0.0:
- Initial stable release

