How to Count Usage if PWB Always Open?

[hankallan]

Hi,

Our Library directory would like to collect statistics that include a count of the number of distinct uses of our Catalog. Because we run in kiosk mode PWB is always open to our main Catalog page. Is there a built-in or other clever way to count the number of times our catalog is used?

Using the TrackLogon=True only records 1 use per day - when PWB is initally started. I've used a script (Autoit) to parse and count the history.txt file and it works for our stations not in kiosk mode. Using an inactivity timer and restart would not tell us if the Catalog was used.

thanks,
Hank

[Scott]

You could use the PWB [Security] RestrartOnClose=, the Inacticity timer, and the [Files]ShutdownScript= to run a batch file that would add a tick to a file when PWB closes. This would approximate the usage.

The problem is, on computers that are not logged off, how do you tell when the first person ends and the next person starts.

If you can think of a way to determine the above, we can certainly add it to PWB.

--Scott

[VernM]

I cooked up a way of counting PWB uses back in 2003.

It may sound complicated, but it is actually simple.

The short story. Using the PWB StartupScript function, I run a batch file that sends an Email to a data collection account. At the end of the month, I sort and count the Emails using a tool called Eudora Automation. With this approach I know how many users I have of each of my Email, Internet, Youth Services and catalog Search stations.

The long story.

The StartupScript runs a simple but very efficient command line Email tool that sends an Email to a data collection account. The important part of the Email is the Subject line which identifies the individual station and says IPAC1 or IPAC2, or Email1 or Email 2 or Inet 4 and so forth.

The script runs after the user clicks on the Accept button in the Policy window, so nothing is recorded until a human interacts with the computer.

The Inactivity timer of PWB is set to 90 seconds on my catalog Search stations so PWB exits and restarts after 90 seconds of idle time. (I arrived at this time by a process of experimentation.) So each user is presented with the Policy screen (actually has a Welcome message)

I use Eudora as the Email client because its' sorting and counting capability is far superior to Outlook Express.

At the end of the month, I have 3500-5000 emails in the data collection account which I then use the Eudora Automation tool to sort and count.

It you want more details, contact me @v.mastel@mail.infolynx.org

Vern Mastel

[VernM]

I am very sorry, my brain failed to adequately parse your question and I supplied a solution that does not address your problem.

In my library we have 50 public access machines and segregate machines by function, 10 for Email, 10 for Internet (no Email allowed) 12 for catalog search (no anything else), 9 for Youth Services and 9 for wordprocessing/subscription database access.

This addresses the problem of all machines being tied up by any one class of user and trying to make one machine configuration fit all possible uses.

Best regards,

[hankallan]

Thanks for the hints Scott and Vern. It seems like the particular challenge with our setup is that the browser is always open (kiosk) to the Catalog screen. So the patron walks right up and clicks a button (Title, Author, etc.) to search the Catalog. If there was a way to trigger off a change in the web page address then I can write a script based on that trigger. But how can one "see" if the web page has changed - how to monitor the address?

[Scott]

You could use the History file with the URL tacking, and get the time from the next URL address after the "Home" page URL.

--Scott

[hankallan]

You could use the History file with the URL tacking, and get the time from the next URL address after the "Home" page URL.

--Scott

Scott,

That was just the hint I was looking for but could not come up with without your experience! The code I wrote just looks for our catalog url and then checks the next url to make sure its not identical - thus a search has been initiated. The result is we can count every search performed except the ones not initiated from the start page. That will be the next challenge!

Thanks !
Hank