183 lines
8.8 KiB
HTML
Executable File
183 lines
8.8 KiB
HTML
Executable File
<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<TITLE>ELOG FAQ</TITLE>
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<LINK REV="made" HREF="mailto:fredp@mygale.org">
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<META NAME="generator" CONTENT="NoteTab Light 4.86c">
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<META NAME="author" CONTENT="Fred Pacquier">
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<META NAME="description" CONTENT="Home of the Electronic Logbook (ELOG) package">
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<META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="ELOG MIDAS PSI RITT">
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<LINK REL="stylesheet" TYPE="text/css" HREF="elog.css">
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</HEAD>
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<BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#800080" ALINK="#FF0000">
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<div class=title> ELOG FAQ </div>
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<p>
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<div class=menu> Site map :
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[<a class=nav href="index.html">Home</a>]
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[<a class=nav href="userguide.html">User's Guide</a>]
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[<a class=nav href="adminguide.html">Administrator's Guide</a>]
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[FAQ]
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[<a class=nav href="http://midas.psi.ch/elogdemo/">DEMO</a>]
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[<a class=nav href="download.html">Download</a>]
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</div>
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<p>
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<div class=Sub><i>Frequently Asked Questions about usage and administration</i></div>
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<hr>
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<UL>
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<LI><b>How does one configure elog to display a listing of all messages by default instead the last message</b>
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<p>
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Starting from version 2.2.0 on, a page with the last messages is displayed by default. To display
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something else, one can use the <b><code>Start page</code></b> option in elogd. The entry:<p>
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<code>
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Start page = 0?cmd=last
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</code><p>
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shows the last entry by default (pre-2.2.0 behaviour). To show all messages, one can use:
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<code><p>
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Start page = ?cmd=Search&mode=summary&all=1<p>
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</code><p>
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This shows all messages from all logbooks (<i>all=1</i>). To have the described behaviour for
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all logbooks, the above statements can be placed in the <b><code>[global]</code></b> section.
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<p>
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<LI><b>Are there any plans to implement a MySQL back end?</b>
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<p>
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No. The idea behind <b>ELOG</b> is that it is a <I>simple to use, simple to install</I> application. Many people use <b>ELOG</b> under Windows, and they even don't know what MySQL means. Other people like the flat file database format, because it's simple, easily accessible from other programs, and it's easy to backup certain days or months of the database (since the filenames contain the date). Since <b>ELOG</b> should be independent of any other package, some "switchable" backend between native <b>ELOG</b> format and MySQL would be needed, which is lots of work and not planned right now.
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<p>
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<LI><b>Can I run the ELOG daemon from inside Apache or any other Web server?</b>
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<p>
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No. The <b>ELOG</b> daemon was designed as a standalone server and it will stay like that in the future.
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The reason for that is that <code><b>elogd</b></code> should not rely on any other software. This is for
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example important for many people running <code><b>elogd</b></code> under Windows, and they have no clue
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how to install Apache for Windows. The installation and maintenance for <code><b>elogd</b></code>
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therefore becomes much simpler. To run <code><b>elogd</b></code> in parallel to an Apache server on
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port 80, use Apache as a proxy, following the instruction on the installation page
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("Running elogd under Apache").<p>
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<LI><b>I can access my logbook without any password, isn't that a security problem?</b>
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<p> By default, no password is used in <b>ELOG</b>. This can be useful for public directories etc. that
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anybody should be able to read. To add password security, read the documentation under <a href=
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"config.html#access">Access control</a>. The recommended setup is password file security with
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guest access.
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<p> Note that passwords are transferred over the network in plain text and therefore not secure. If this
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is a problem, a <a href="adminguide.html#secure">secure</a> network connection should be used. <p>
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<LI><b>I want a bookmark pointing to the last page where an attribute has a certain value</b>
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<p>
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Use the URL:
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<p>
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<code>http://<your.host>/<logbook>/?cmd=Last&<attribute>=<value></code>
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<p>
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This executes the "<I>Last</I>" command using a filter with <attribute>=<value>. The following command displays the same page, but also locks the attribute (checks the box next to <attribute>) so that browsing (next, previous, first, last) only shows pages with that attribute value.
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<p>
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<code>http://<your.host>/<logbook>/?cmd=Last&<attribute>=<value>&l<attribute>=1</code>
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<p>
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Note the "l" before the second attribute, as in "<I>lAuthor=1</I>".
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<p>
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<LI><b>I want a logbook with public read access (no password), but restricted write access</b>
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<p>
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In an old version of the FAQ it has been stated here that one has to use two logbooks pointing to
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the same data directory. From Version 2.0.6 on, this can be accomplished much easier by the usage
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of the <b>"Guest menu command"</b>. Use a logbook with user level access (password file), and add
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menu lists like in the following example to the configuration file:<p>
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<code>
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Menu commands = New, Edit, Reply, Find, Last 10, Change password, Logout, Help<br>
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Guest menu commands = Find, Last 10, Login, Help<br>
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</code><p>
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If users access the logbook without supplying a user name, they are treated like "guests" and see
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the "Guest menu commands", with which one cannot submit or edit logbook entries. If one hits the
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"login" button, a user can login with a user name/password and sees the normal menu commands, with
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which one can submit new logbook entries.<p>
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An optional self registration is possible by specifying<p>
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<code>
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Self register = 1
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</code><p>
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in the configuration file. New users can then create their own accounts.<p>
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<LI><b>I have many loogbooks with password files, so if I add a user or want to change
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a password I have to do this for all logbooks which is painful.</b>
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<p>
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You can have several logbooks point to the same password file. So if you change a user or
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password in that file, it becomes automatically available in all logbooks which use that file.
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<p>
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<LI><b>By default, ELOG displays the last entry from a logbook. How can I configure it to
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display the last 10 messages instead?</b>
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<p>
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There is a simple trick. You use the <b>"<I>Welcome page</I>"</b> option in the <code><b>elogd</b></code> file
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to redirect the start page to the <b>last 10</b> command. Put the statement:
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<p>
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<pre>
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Welcome page = redir.html
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</pre>
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into <code><b>elogd</b></code> and create that file with following contents:
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<p>
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<pre>
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<head>
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<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; URL=/logbook/last10">
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</head>
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</pre>
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This causes the welcome page being redirected to <b>/logbook/last10</b>, where <b>logbook</b> must be replaced by the current logbook name. Following other redirections are possible:
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<p>
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<pre>
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/logbook/last20 for the last 20 messages and so on
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/logbook/past1 for the last day
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/logbook/past2 for the last two days and so on
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/logbook?cmd=New for the new message entry form
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/logbook?cmd=Find for the "find" page
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/logbook?cmd=Search&<attrib>=<value> for a search with <attrib>=<value>
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</pre>
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<LI><b>What new features are planned for future releases ?</b>
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<p>
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Here are some "<I>wishlist</I>" items requested by users. I will work down the list as time permits. If you find
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a feature you find useful on the list, there is a good chance that it will appear in a future release. You can vote for a feature, or suggest one, by sending me an email.
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<p>
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<center>
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<table border=1>
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<tr><th>Feature<th>Votes</tr>
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<tr><td>Get message from standard input in elog submission program<td>1</tr>
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<tr><td>Implement groups of users<td>1</tr>
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<tr><td>Implement new listing mode in between "summary only" and "full listing"
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where a few text lines are displayed below the attribute fields<td>1</tr>
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<tr><td>Display the last logbook entry date and author on logbook selection page<td>1</tr>
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<tr><td>Multiple templates for "Preset text"<td>1</tr>
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<tr><td>Conditional attributes<td>2</tr>
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<tr><td>Remove HTML tags for summary tags for "summary only" search mode<td>1</tr>
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<tr><td>Use "and" and "or" operands in queries<td>1</tr>
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<tr><td>Password expiration, email forgotten password upon request<td>1</tr>
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<tr><td>Require entered attribute must be date, number, alpha, certain length<td>2</tr>
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<tr><td>Collapse/Expand threads<td>1</tr>
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<tr><td>Search substring in <i>all</i> attributes (not only text body)<td>1</tr>
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<tr><td>Have a hierarchy of logbooks<td>2</tr>
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<tr><td>Search substring in <i>all</i> attributes (not only text body)<td>1</tr>
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<tr><td>Expand/Collabse threads in threaded display, possible with text<td>1</tr>
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<tr><td>Switch threaded/summary/full display with single button<td>1</tr>
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</table></center><p>
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</UL>
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<HR>
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<div class=footer>
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Content by <a class=nav href="mailto:Stefan.Ritt@psi.ch">Stefan Ritt</a>,
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Web pages by <a class=nav href="mailto:fredp@mygale.org">Fred Pacquier</a>
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- last modified on 19/12/2001
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</div>
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</BODY>
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</HTML>
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