Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a log file?
2. Where are my log files?
3. Which log file formats can Web Log Explorer handle?
4. Can Web Log Explorer run on a Macintosh or on Unix?
5. Why Web Log Explorer don't the reports list referrers, browsers, operating systems?
6. How does the Web Log Explorer determine users' countries?
7. Can Web Log Explorer join more than one log file in a report?
8. Time Zone Adjusting
9. Can Web Log Explorer handle uncompressed log file formats?
10. Does Web Log Explorer need to be installed on my Web server?

What is a log file?

A log file is a list that is kept by your Web server which details all the files it was requested to send and whether it was able to send them successfully. When a visitor clicks a link to your Web site, the visitor's browser sends a request to your Web server and your Web server sends the page back to the visitor's browser. Since a single HTML page can include many graphics and other associated files, a single page view can result in several entries in the log file.

Web Log Explorer uses the information in the log file to analyze your Web site traffic.

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Where are my log files?

Your Web administrator or hosting company should be able to tell you where your log files are located. You will need to enter this information in Web Log Explorer when you set up a new profile.

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Which log file formats an Web Log Explorer handle?

Web Log Explorer can handle most popular log file formats.

Supported Log File Formats:

• Apache Extended log file format
• Apache Common log file format
• Microsoft IIS W3C Extended log file format
• Microsoft IIS NCSA Common log file format
• Microsoft IIS log file format
• Sun ONE Web Server (iPlanet) log file format
• Netscape Web Server log file format
• WebSTAR Common Log Format (CLF) log file format
• WebSTAR Extended Log Format (ExLF) log file format
• NCSA Common log file format
• NCSA Combined log file format
• CERN Common log file format
• CERN Combined log file format
• Standard Common log file format
• Standard Combined log file format
• Windows Media Services W3C log file format
• FastHosts log file format
• H-Sphere log format format
• Microsoft Web Proxy Server 2.0 log file format
• Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server log file format
• Microsoft Internet Connection Firewall log file format
• Microsoft Windows Firewall log file format
• Squid log file format
• Novell iChain Web Security Services log file format
• Netscape Proxy log file format

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Can Web Log Explorer run on a Macintosh or on Unix?

No, Web Log Explorer can only run on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000 and XP.

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Why Web Log Explorer don't the reports list referrers, browsers, operating systems?

In order for the Web Log Explorer to produce statistics for user agents (browsers) and referrers, that information needs to be in the log files produced by the web server. Most servers by default only produce CLF logs, which do not include the extra information. The way you have your server include this information depends on what server you are running.

For apache, you need to edit the httpd.conf file (in the servers /conf directory) and...

For apache 1.2, add the line:

LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b \"%{Referer}i\" \"%{User-agent}i\""

 
CustomLog /var/lib/httpd/logs/access_log combined

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How does the Web Log Explorer determine users' countries?

If a log file contains IP address of user's host the program determines user's country using the IP to country geolocation database. If the log file contains already resolved IP address (domain name) the program determines country by the top-level domain. In most cases log files contain unresolved IP addresses. Determining country by IP using the geolocation database is more accurate than using domain names.

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Can Web Log Explorer join more than one log file in a report?

Yes.

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Time Zone Adjusting

You can adjust the time zone of your log files to your time zone. Some log files are generated in Greenwich Mean Time (0 GMT) and you might want to see it in your time zone.

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Can Web Log Explorer handle uncompressed log file formats?

It can even read GZip(gz) compressed logs so you won't need to unpack them manually.

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Does Web Log Explorer need to be installed on my Web server?

No, it is not necessary.

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Please send us an email support @ exacttrend . com if you have a question not answered in this FAQ.