Wusage: Silly Name, Serious Stats!

Wusage 8.0 Manual

Configuring the Program in Advanced Mode

Wusage supports a wide range of options. Fortunately, a friendly graphical user interface is provided, making it easy for you to control the program. In Advanced Mode, you have access to all of the features of the program, and you are given the ability to directly manipulate many separate configuration files.

About Configuration Files

Every virtual server analyzed by Wusage will need a unique configuration file. Some users may use more than one per virtual server in order to study different sections of a web site 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.

In earlier versions of Wusage, the configuration file also determined the look and feel of your reports. In Wusage 7.0 and above, this is accomplished through the Report Macro Language .

The Main Menu Page

Each time you start the program in Advanced Mode, the first page you see will look like this:

Main Menu Page

First, select a recently used configuration file, and then click on the Open Configuration File button to proceed. Alternatively, you can use the Browse button to locate a configuration file, or use the New Configuration File button to create an entirely new configuration.
[- Pulldown List of Config Files -] [Open Configuration File]
Use this button to create a new configuration file.[New Configuration File]
Use this button to browse existing Wusage configuration files on disk. [Browse Configuration Files]
Use this button to indicate what is most important to you: saving disk space, saving time, or limiting the amount of system memory used by the program. [Change Optimization Settings]
Use this button to add, remove, or edit remote access accounts. [Change Remote Access Settings]
Use this button to shut off the program when you are through working with Wusage.[OFF (Exit Program)]
The first time you use the program, your first step will be to create your first configuration file. Click on the [New Configuration File] button to get started.

Creating a Configuration File

Step One: Locating Log Files

The next page you see will contain the following prompt:

Create New Configuration

Step One: indicate the location of your web server's log file, or a directory that contains one or more web server log files. Wusage must have a source of log data in order to produce a meaningful analysis.
Click on the Browse Log Files button to begin locating your log files. For complete instructions, please read the section of the manual before proceeding.

Step Two: Creating a Report Directory

The second step is easier: just choose a directory in which to keep your reports. The following prompt should appear when you are ready for the second step:

Create New Configuration

Step Two: pick a location and a name for the new report directory. Wusage must have a place to keep its reports. You may wish to choose a location which is visible through your normal web server, or you may prefer to view reports only through Wusage.

You may also select an existing report directory if you have already created the directory you want to use. This directory should not be in use by another configuration or a different application.

[Create NEW Report Directory]
[Select EXISTING Report Directory]

Most likely, you will want to pick Create NEW Report Directory. However, if you have already made a new, empty directory to keep your reports in, then pick Select EXISTING Report Directory instead.

The rest of step two is very similar to step one. Locate the parent directory beneath which you would like to create your report directory. You can do this by selecting directories from the list and clicking Change Directory until you reach the appropriate location. Then, add the name for the new directory to the end of the path that already appears in the text field next to the OK button, and click OK.

If you are selecting an existing directory, you will use the OK button to change directories and the Select This Directory button to choose the currently displayed directory as the report directory. Please note that your report directory should not be used for other purposes. Wusage will assume that it owns the files in the chosen directory.

Step Three: Specifying your Virtual Server Name (Domain Name)

After you indicate the name of your configuration file, you will be asked to enter the name of your web site. The prompt will look like this:

Create New Configuration

Step Three: enter the host name of your web server. EXAMPLE: www.mydomain.com

_____________________ [Next Step!]

Enter the name of your web site in the blank provided. DO NOT enter http:// or a trailing /. Just enter the name of the web site you will analyze, such as www.mydomain.com or www.myschool.edu.

Now click on the Next Step! button to proceed to the next configuration step.

Step Four: Name Your Configuration File

The fourth step is also easy: just pick a location and a name for the configuration file itself. Pick a meaningful name you can recognize later. It is OK to keep your configuration files anywhere you like, such as the directory in which you have installed wusage. (For safety's sake, the program will not let you overwrite an existing file.)

When you reach step four, you will see this display:

Create New Configuration

Step Four: pick a location and a name for the new configuration file.

[Create Configuration File]

Click on the Create Configuration File button to begin choosing a location.

The rest of step three is very similar to step two. Locate the parent directory in which you would like to create your configuration file. You can do this by selecting directories from the list and clicking Change Directory until you reach the appropriate location. Then, add the name for the new configuration file to the end of the path that already appears in the text field next to the OK button, and click OK.

Step Five: Deciding How Many Reports to Produce

You will need to make one more decision before you can begin to produce reports.

Wusage can produce daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual and summary reports. Of course, this requires memory and disk space. Web sites which produce more than 5 megabytes of log data per day should turn off the summary and annual reports. Web sites which produce close to 1 gigabyte of log data per day may need to turn off everything except for daily reports. Fortunately, historical information is still available; there are day-to-day charts which can be easily accessed from the "executive summary" for any particular day.

You will see a configuration page like this:

Select Reporting Frequencies

Step Five: Wusage can create daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual, and cumulative summary reports. However, turning on the longer-term reporting frequencies requires more memory. If your log files are large, you may wish to turn off quarterly, annual and cumulative summary reports. [X] Daily Reports
[X] Weekly Reports
[X] Monthly Reports
[X] Quarterly Reports
[X] Annual Reports
[X] Summary Reports
[Next Step!]

By default, all of the reporting frequencies are turned on. Decide which reports to turn off, if any, turn them off by clicking on the checkboxes, and click the Next Step! button.

Completing the Process

When you have correctly completed all five steps, you will see the following message:

Configuration Created

A configuration file which is compatible with typical web servers and preferences has been created. There are many, many additional features and settings which you can activate by using the configuration file editor on the next page.

[Continue]

Click on the Continue button to move on to the Control Page for this particular configuration file. You are now ready to generate your first reports.

Additional Configuration Options

Wusage has many other useful configuration options. Unless you look at these, you will probably never see many of the program's best features. You can access these options by opening your configuration file and clicking on the Edit Configuration button. Be sure to check out the topical configuration editor reference guide to learn about the many options available.

Moving On

Once you have finished creating your first configuration file, you are ready to move on to Working With Wusage: Generating Statistics .
Previous: Configuring the Program in ISP Mode
Next: Remote Access for One or Many Users
Table of Contents
Topical Configuration Editor Reference
Alphabetical Configuration Editor Reference
Alphabetical Configuration File Reference
Glossary of Frequently Used Terms

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