Configuring Wusage 5.0

Wusage 5.0 supports a wide range of options. We have chosen a simple, understandable format for configuration files in order to make wusage as easy to set up as possible.

Every server analyzed by wusage will need a unique configuration file. Some sites may wish to use more than one in order to study different sections of a website in great detail.

A configuration file contains crucial information such as the name of the directory in which reports should be generated and the name of the file which contains the access log to be analyzed. A configuration file also indicates which documents, sites and domains are of interest to you, and which should be ignored. Last but not least, a configuration file describes the look and feel of your reports.

Creating a Configuration File with makeconf

You can get started with a basic configuration file by running the program makeconf (included in the wusage package). makeconf will ask you a series of questions, including the name of your access log directory and the name of the directory in which reports should be generated. makeconf will then produce a valid configuration file, which you can use immediately or edit further with the text editor of your choice.

To run makeconf, just cd to the directory where you untarred or unzipped wusage 5.0, and type makeconf (under DOS, OS/2, Windows 95 and Windows NT) or ./makeconf (under Unix) to start the program.

Important Windows, Windows 95 and Windows NT note:

Run makeconf and wusage from the DOS (or NT) console prompt, not by double-clicking on the program in file manager or on the desktop. You will have an easier time reading the output of the program if it does not immediately disappear after running. Do not have to shut down Windows to get to the DOS prompt; just select MSDOS in the main program group, or from the start menu in Windows 95.

"Does that mean makeconf is a DOS application?"

No, makeconf is an "NT console application." This means that, although it has a character-based user interface, it has access to the full 32-bit power and resources of the windows 95/NT platform and is not subject to the normal resource limitations of DOS applications.

Important OS/2 note: If you are using OS/2, run the programs from the OS/2 prompt, not from the DOS compatibility box prompt. Otherwise, the program will run in the less powerful MSDOS compatibility mode with short file names only.

(Important Unix note: Unix users may need to type ./makeconf to be sure that the program is found. If you get error messages when typing makeconf, the shell is probably finding a different program by that name. Type ./makeconf to avoid any conflict.

Working with makeconf

You will be prompted for all the necessary information. When makeconf displays text in brackets, that text is the default for the question you are being asked. In some cases, the default is just an example. These cases are clearly marked; for instance, you must type in the location of your server access log files in order to analyze them. Most of the time, however, you can press enter to accept the default and all will go well.

If you do not have the information you need to answer a question, just press control-C to exit the program, find the information you need and run makeconf again. Depending on your system, you may be able to find the information in another window without stopping the makeconf program.

Other Configuration Options

Wusage has many other useful configuration options not covered by makeconf, which aims for simplicity. Be sure to check out the configuration file reference guide to learn about additional options.

Moving On

Once you have finished working with makeconf, you are ready to move on to running wusage.

Upgrading from Version 3.2

If you are currently using Wusage 3.2, you will want to read this section. If you are upgrading from Wusage 4.0 or 4.1, you don't need to take any special steps. Just check out the What's New section to find out about new options you may wish to turn on in your configuration file.

Wusage 4.0 and up have a new, much improved and much friendlier format for configuration files. To use old version 3.2 configuration files, you will need to run the program upgrade (included in the wusage package). If you are not interested in converting old configuration files, skip ahead to the running wusage section.

Example:

upgrade oldusage.conf (or .con under DOS)

(Important Unix note: Unix users may need to type ./upgrade, not just upgrade, to be sure that the program is found.)

upgrade will convert your configuration file to the new format and save a backup copy of the original.

Taking Advantage of New Features

Keep in mind that version 5.0 includes many new configuration file options. Don't miss out; check out the configuration file reference and the what's new section. If you are using domain pie charts, you will also want to consider copying the new list of continents and national domains from the sample.conf (or sample.con) file. If you wish, paste the domaingroups section of that file into your upgraded configuration file, and delete the outdated list.

Converting wusage 3.2 Report Data

After converting the configuration file, upgrade will ask whether you want to convert your old report data as well.

Do you have all of your old access log data, perhaps in compressed form? If so, you may wish to skip this step and run wusage 5.0 once on all of your old logs at once to produce new reports. Version 5.0 produces more complete and attractive information than version 3.2.

If you decide to convert your data, keep four things in mind:

Keep a backup copy.: Make a backup copy of your usage directory if you want to run wusage 3.2 (the old version) again at some time in the future.
Old reports will be available, but not rewritten.: Wusage will rename the report files and create a database for use with wusage 5.0. However, it will not rewrite the reports themselves, so you will not see a dramatic change in the old reports. Reports for new weeks will take advantage of the new features of wusage 5.0.
You must run wusage 5.0 after running upgrade.: After you run upgrade, be sure to run wusage with your upgraded configuration file in order to create a new index page.
wusage 3.2 recorded overall totals only.: Once you have run both upgrade and wusage, the chart of total accesses over time will be available in the HTML page index.html or index.htm in the report directory. However, you will note that the chart of "Home Page Accesses" is blank. This is normal. This occurs because version 3.2 did not record that information. Once you have run wusage 5.0 for a few new weeks, you will begin to see useful data in this chart. Note that you can add additional charts in the totals section of the configuration file.

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