The Radar->Level II->Remote chooser allows for choosing Level II radar data from a remote THREDDS server. For more information on how to use this chooser, see Getting Started - Displaying Level II Radar Imagery.

The Radar->Level II->Local chooser allows for choosing Level II radar data from the local file system or a mounted drive. The Level II data is supplied as volume-scan files, each file having all data from one WSR-88D radar for all sweeps for one "time". Archived Level II radar files can be displayed through the Radar->Level II->Local file chooser. The files should be stored on the file system with each station's files in a directory (folder) whose directory name is the station 4-character ID (e.g., KTLX for Oklahoma City). In some cases, the data files do not have any location information in them, and McIDAS-V uses the directory name as a first guess at the station location. Archived Level II data is available from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Image 1: Level II Local Radar Chooser

• Station - Selects the radar station for the data. By default, McIDAS-V will use the folder name to determine the radar location.
• Look In - Allows for selecting folders to search for data files.
• Up One Level - Moves up one folder level in the local file system.
• Desktop - Opens the Desktop folder of the local file system.
• Create New Folder - Creates a new folder.
• List - Switches the view to a listing of all folders and files in the current path.
• Details - Switches the view to a detailed list of all folders and files in the current path.
• Show History Menu - Shows a list of the last 15 folders that data was loaded from.
• File Name - Represents the file name. Select a file to populate the entry box to show the full name of the file selected.
• Files of Type - Represents the file type. This narrows down the files shown in a folder to a specific data type.
• Times - Represents the times of the radar displays. These times can be individually set, or File Pattern can be used to display the images in specific intervals.
• File Pattern - Specifies the pattern for files to look for if Times is set to "Use most recent N files".
• Help - Brings up this help page.
• Refresh - Updates the Level II radar chooser with the most recent data.
• - Loads the selected radar data.

Image 2: Level II Radar Remote Chooser

• Catalog - Selects the catalog used to access the Level II radar data.
• - Connects to and queries the server for available radar types and stations.
• Collections - Selects the collection to use.
• Station - Displays the stations related to the selected catalog and selection. Select a station by clicking on the station displayed on the map. The Declutter checkbox allows for showing all stations (not checked), or only a limited number of stations that do not overlap each other (checked). Zooming in will be necessary in to see all the stations without overlaps. Use the Zooming and Panning options to locate a station, or the following buttons:
• Zoom In - Zooms in over the current map area.
• Zoom Out - Zooms out over the current map area.
• Home Map Area - Returns to the default map area.
• Move View Up - Moves the view up (map down).
• Move View Down - Moves the view down (map up).
• Move View Left - Click to move the view left (map right).
• Move View Right - Click to move the view right (map left).
• Times: Relative - Allows for adding any number of relative (most recent) times.
• Times: Absolute - Allows for choosing one or more absolute times. When choosing absolute times for the first time McIDAS-V needs to query the ADDE server for the times. This may take some time. To select more than one time use Ctrl+click or Shift+click. See the Timeline Controls section for details on its use. Click on the Select Day button to narrow down a large dataset to one day.
• Match Time Driver - Selects times that match the time driver, assuming one has been set. For more on this feature, see Time Matching. This option is only available if a time driver has been set in the session.
• Help - Brings up this help page.
• Refresh - Updates the Level II radar chooser with the most recent data.
• Cancel - Cancels the query of data and stations. The chooser will reset back to default.
• - Loads the selected radar data.