Thank to the creator for a great utility!
I am novice (non-coder) so please be patient. I am trying to create dummy epg guide data for 50+ 24/7 channels. I can get the fixed.ini siteini to generate a guide.xml with single day programme data for all the channels. But I cant figure out how to get it to create 30 days worth of data.
Also I searched but can't find help with usage of showicon. I would like to add a line to the code to add a generic icon (show poster) for each program (from a local folder) but have had no luck.
Thanks in advance to anyone who is kind enough to help out!
Attachments:
change the timespan setting in ur wgconfig.xml
its zero based so a setting of 0 means 1 day,30 would be 31 days.
showicon has not been added to the fixed.ini
just add this at the end of all the other elements
index_showicon.scrub {single|##showicon:||##|##}
Thank you so much Blackbear! Got 30 days of data working - and got showicon working.. is awesome.
If you are near or ever in the Chicago area.. I owe you a beer or two. Thanks again.
Hi
I'd like to expand on this new 30 day feature of the fixed.ini with setting different programs for different days. On the time section
channel update="f" site="fixed" site_id="
00:00-23:50
if I added a date would this work?
channel update="f" site="fixed" site_id="
2019052300:00-23:50
Cheers
Hello, I saw this post so I thought I would ask a question. I'm new to grabbing and I have been working on a guide.xml for a 24/7 channel using the info provided in the fixed_info.txt file. What I would like to see when I get this configured correctly is my EPG guide showing the program info for this 24/7 channel hourly, instead of 1 show a day. I have used other "dummy" xml links/files that display "24/7 Programming" every hour on the hour. I would like my guide.xml to display the name and details of the program as I have entered it, but every hour on the hour for 7 days. Is this possible and if so, how do I edit the config file? Thank you.
The fixed info txt file explains it.
Look at the examples for one and 2 shows per day.
U want 24 shows per day so repeat the pattern 24 times.
Pay attention to the start/stop times for every show and make sure it's correct.
There is also dummy.ini
Open Ini in editor to see examples.
The number of days is set in your webgrab config timespan setting.
It's a zero based setting.
0 is one day epg
6 is 7 days epg
Ect.
So are you saying to repeat this line 24 times but with hourly start/stop times? Thank you.
<channel update="f" site="fixed" site_id="01:00-02:00##title:Game Of Thrones##subtitle:Game Of Thrones##description:24/7 Programming##category:TV#_#entertainment##presenter:HBO#_#myself#_#Irene####" xmltv_id="dummy001">dummy001</channel>
You don't repeat the channel line.
You repeat the site_id="xxxx" value.
Look at the 2 shows per day example in the txt file.
Thank you for your help. I followed your suggestions along with the info in the fixed-info.txt file suggesting we can split the lines since this is for 24 hours and with the exception of misplaced quotation marks and forgetting the </settings> at the end... it's working perfectly! This Is So Awesome! Yes, its a lot of work but when it's completed, my EPG guide looks much better! Thank you again!!
One last question please... when I run the grabber it saves the guide.xml file in the WG Plus folder. Is it possible to change the location of that download to another folder location when running the grabber? Thanks again!!!
Just add the path in config see:
https://webgrabplus.com/documentation/configuration/webgrabconfigxml#con...
here's a modified version of the fixed.ini file thats easier to use.
as u have no doubt noticed adding 24 shows to the channel line site_id="xxxx" value makes a huge mess,especially if you are doing many of theese entries.
open the ini and read the remarks section but its pretty much the same format as a fixed.ini show entry with a added parameter...the number of shows per day you want.
using you example above this would do 24 1 hour programs per day.
<channel update="f" site="fixed_variable" site_id="24@@@@title:Game Of Thrones##subtitle:Game Of Thrones##description:24/7 Programming##category:TV#_#entertainment##presenter:HBO#_#myself#_#Irene" xmltv_id="dummy001">dummy001</channel>
the ini will create 24 1 hour shows.
again read the remarks as u can create 1,2,3,4,6,8,12,24 shows per day.
Edit:
Updated 22 July 2025
This is totally awesome, thank you! I will work on this later this evening and let you know how it goes!
Much Appreciated!
I ran the grab and I saw an error message (see Capture.jpg)... was the grab successful or was it reverted back to how it was the way I did it last night?. Capture2.jpg is how I entered the string per your suggestion removing the info I didn't need. Did I miss something from your fixed_variable file? Thank You.
As I wait for your response to the error post earlier, I have one last question for the night. If I can use this to run 24 hours of one show (24/7 channel) for 3 days (I shortened it from 7 as I have a windows task running once a day at 9 am to grab update the info (I'm pausing that until I hear back from you). Would I eventually be able to grab 24 hours of multiple 24/7 shows (channels) in one config webgrab++xml file? I've been working on multiple channels but getting "Name cannot begin with" errors when I test it and I'm splitting each channel in the xml file to keep it clean. I'm going to have a beer and relax until I hear from you. I really appreciate your help on this project. Thanks!
in your webgrab config change the site="fixed" to site="fixed_variable"
this value tells webgrab which ini to use.
the different site_id="xxx" value will only work with the fixed_variable.ini above.
not sure what u mean by the 3 days thing?
u want it run run a show for 3 days then change to a different show?
u can run multiple shows 24/7,add a channel line for each.
no idea about the "Name cannot begin with" error.
upload your webgrab log file is it still happens after above fix.
also include a channel line that gives the error.
Hello, I made the changes and I'm getting errors? I'm trying to get 24 hours of six different 24/7 Programs. Here is my config file without my credentials and my last log file. I'm probably over-thinking this or just making newbie mistakes... I'm trying, lol. Thanks
remove the leading space at the beginning of the site_id="xxx" value.
site_id=" 24@@@@..."
should be
site_id="24@@@@.."
Made the changes, had a few errors and corrected them, last one is: Unexpected end of file has occurred. The following elements are not closed: xml. Line 59, position 14. Please view the attachments. Thanks
the first line in your config should be
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
your missing the ? at the beginning and end.
or delete the entire line.
Ok, looks like its fixed. Here is the log. I changed the timespan from 7 days to 3 since I will be using a windows task to run the grabber daily.
<!-- timespan 0 is one day -->
<timespan>2</timespan>
I'll now load guide.xml into my player and assign these channels. I'll post again with the results. Then I'll need to create another task to copy the updated xml to my SMB Network folder so my player will see it.
Thank you very much!
Hello, I'm getting another error:
[Error ] Unable to update channel dummy001
[Critical] See log file for details
[Critical] Exception.Message: Exception of type 'System.OutOfMemoryException' was thrown.
I see in the license Log which I attached a screenshot, "Next update, first run after : 2025/07/24 17:43". Is this due to my 'registered_user' limits?
Whatever your running webgrab on ran out of memory or disk space.
License update message is normal.
Okay, so I installed everything on a desktop computer and it worked Friday and yesterday, today I get this error when running the config file we worked on here. So the first PC is saying memory issues and the desktop is saying this.... this went from good to bad to worse, lol?
You didn't copy the fixed_variable.ini to the desktop pc.
Okay, copied the fixed_variable ini file and ran the config file on the desktop PC and got out of memory issues for all 6 dummy channels? In the config file, I changed the timespan from <timespan>2</timespan> as it was originally entered to <timespan>9</timespan> and that's when I started getting the memory issue error messages. I changed it back to 2 and the grabber ran fine. So, does this mean I need to add more memory to my PC's in order to grab more days in my EPG? Thank you
sorry,there was a small error in the ini causing it.
files updated in post #13 above.
ok, I downloaded the updated INI file and over-wrote it on both computers, thank you. I'm not sure if this is an issue with my player, but in the screen shots, there is "No Information" for 5pm to 6pm (pic1). In pic 2, I advanced to 6pm and at the end of the program description there is00:00-01:00? Otherwise everything works great. Thank you.
site_id="xxx" value for these channels.
Here is my config file. I would like to add more channels soon. thanks
thats looks fine.
i am unable to duplicate your results.
delete your guide.xml
webgrab will create a new file.
problem may be from corrupt data from when the ini was broken,
I'll do this as soon as I can and report back, thank you.
One question, in the line: xmltv_id="dummy001">dummy001</channel>, can I replace dummyXXX with the name of the program and do this for every program?
example: xmltv_id="Game Of Thrones">Game Of Thrones</channel>
u can replace the dummy values with anything you want.
they dont have to match.
the xmltv_id="xxxx" value doesnt have to be the same as the display name.
just remember that all xmltv_id="xxxx" values in your webgrab config have to be different.
if there are duplicates webgrab will crash with a error saying so.
your example is ok.
other examples
xmltv_id="game.of.thrones">Game of Thrones<
or
xmltv_id="dummy001">Game of Thrones<
ect.
Excellent! One more question and then I need to get back to work, lol. Can I place a space between programs to make it easier to read?
Example:
<channel update="f" site="fixed_variable" site_id=
"24@@@@title:Game Of Thrones
##subtitle:24/7
##description:Nine noble families fight for control over the lands of Westeros, while an ancient enemy returns after being dormant for millennia"
xmltv_id="Game Of Thrones">Game Of Thrones</channel>
"24@@@@title:24
##subtitle:24/7
##description:Counter Terrorism Agent Jack Bauer races against the clock to subvert terrorist plots to save the United States from ultimate disaster"
xmltv_id="24">24</channel>
yes u can have spaces between the channel lines.
u can also put everything on a single line
Hello, the fixed_variable INI file is working great now but I found one small glitch. The time for 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM is off by one minute. The guide shows 4:00 PM - 4:59 PM per the attached screenshot. Other than that, its all good! I will assume you will update the INI file and save it again in post #13? Thank you for doing this, much appreciated!
That because of the Ini time zone setting.
It's set to timezone=UTC
It looks like your local times one is utc-07:00?
West Coast North America?
What you need to do it edit the Ini and on the site {xxx} line change the time zone setting to the same time zone of the PC running webgrab.
It's a case sensitive setting.
U can use timezone=? And run webgrab.
It will exit with a error.
Check your webgrab log and there will be a list of valid timezones.
West Coast North America u can use
timezone=America/Los_Angeles
Again remember it's a case sensitive setting.
If unsure copy it from the list in webgrab log.
Setting like UTC-07:00 are acceptable but it's better to use a area setting like I used above for correct DST adjustments.
I have my WebGrab++.config file open in notepad, where is the timezone=? line, its not there? Where do I exactly add it? Thanks
It's in the fixed_variable.ini
Hi, I think you misunderstood me. In my EPG TV Guide, the time slot for 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM is off by one minute. The guide shows 4:00 PM - 4:59 PM per the attached screenshot... should it be 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM? Also, I'm in Arizona and we don't change time, should I be in timezone-07:00 not 08:00?
Sorry, I just refreshed my player. I changed the timezone to America/Los Angeles per your suggestion and now the one minute gap is 11:00 PM - 11:59 PM? So... will there always be a one minute gap no matter which timezone is entered in the fixed_variable INI?
heres what happens.
with timezone=UTC
the last show is 23:00-23:59
your epg viewer is detecting your local timezone(arizona,UTC-07:00)
your epg viewer take 23:00 utc and subtracts 7 hours from it so its 16:00
it does the same for 23:59 which becomes 16:59
this is so the time appears correct when you view the epg.
the setting for you is timezone=America/Phoenix
now when your epg viewer imports your guide.xml the start/stop times will have -0700 in the data rather than +0000(timezone=UTC).
your epg viewer will make no adjustments as the start/stop offset matches your local time offset.
the 23:00-23:59 program will now appear correctly in your epg viewer.
btw dont forget to delete guide.xml after making the timezone change.
to get rid of the one minute gap.
edit the fixed_variable.ini and change this line.
index_temp_1.modify {set("24")|00:00-01:00\|01:00-2:00\|02:00-03:00\|03:00-04:00\|04:00-05:00\|05:00-06:00\|06:00-07:00\|07:00-08:00\|08:00-09:00\|09:00-10:00\|10:00-11:00\|11:00-12:00\|12:00-13:00\|13:00-14:00\|14:00-15:00\|15:00-16:00\|16:00-17:00\|17:00-18:00\|18:00-19:00\|19:00-20:00\|20:00-21:00\|21:00-22:00\|22:00-23:00\|23:00-23:59}
to
index_temp_1.modify {set("24")|00:00-01:00\|01:00-2:00\|02:00-03:00\|03:00-04:00\|04:00-05:00\|05:00-06:00\|06:00-07:00\|07:00-08:00\|08:00-09:00\|09:00-10:00\|10:00-11:00\|11:00-12:00\|12:00-13:00\|13:00-14:00\|14:00-15:00\|15:00-16:00\|16:00-17:00\|17:00-18:00\|18:00-19:00\|19:00-20:00\|20:00-21:00\|21:00-22:00\|22:00-23:00\|23:00-00:00}
the only change is at the very end 23:00-00:00 rather than 23:00-23:59
the reason the text file says to use 23:59 is for a 1 show per day program(00:00-23:59).
if we used 00:00-00:00 webgrab thinks ths is a 0 second show and not a 24 hour show.
we can get away with this with and other setting because there is more than one show and webgrab wont get confused..
updated the files in post #13.
all you need to do is set the timezone to America/Phoenix
Done and I thank you again!
updated file in post #13.
i fixed the one minute gap for all number of shows per day options,full 24 hours epg per day.
okay, so I need to download and save the updated INI in post 13, change the time zone, save and run the grabber again, correct?
correct.
Hello, I download the revised fixed variable and it’s working perfectly! As we discussed, I’m putting spaces between each program. My IPTV player has a separate area to change the channel logo. Where would I place the link for the Channel logo or should I just do it manually when adding the EPG ID in my player? Lastly, it is possible to add a Program Logo and if so, where would I place that line? Is there documentation here that can show me how to write the line and where to place it? I appreciate everything you did, thank you!
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