WebCount - Web Page Access Counter For Website
Copyright (C) 1995 by Christopher J. Babb. All rights reserved.
Version 1.0.0 - July 28, 1995



WebCount - Overview
===================
Thank you for using WebCount - The Visual Basic CGI Counter for Website. 
After a grueling search of the Internet, looking for a decent counter 
application, I was able to determine that there was NOTHING available 
that was written in Visual Basic for Website. Hence, I wrote one myself. 
Before you is WebCount. The first Visual Basic Web Page Access Counter 
program that I know of.


Requirements
============
In order to use this program, you must be running the following:

Windows NT or Windows 95
Website Web Server V1.0 or later


Features
========
Completely written in Visual Basic
Single executable file supports unlimited users/pages
Server Side Includes are not required
Returns an x-bitmap image


Installation
============
One of the most important parts of the setup of Website is to make sure that 
the proper directories are referenced in the MAPPING section of the Website 
Server Administrator. If these are not correct, you will not be able to run 
COUNTER.EXE. The following instructions will demonstrate the proper installation 
and setup of this program.


1) Copy WEBCOUNT.EXE to <drive>:\WEBSITE\CGI-WIN

That's it. Now, make sure that you have the mappings correct. If you currently can 
run CGI scripts, you can skip over the next 2 sections.


MAPPING Example
===============
As an example, let's say that your web server is set up as follows:

Website Directory		- C:\WEBSITE
Web Pages Directory		- D:\WWW

Maximize the Website Server. 
Click on Control - Properties. 
Remember the Working Directory (C:\WEBSITE in this example)
Click on Mapping.
The List Selector will have Documents Selected. In the window, you should see at least 
2 entries.

Document URL Path	Directory (full or document relative)	
   /	                           D:\WWW	
   /wsdocs/	                   C:\WEBSITE\WSDOCS	


The first entry is the default directory of your Web Documents. The second line is necessary 
to run the CGI examples included with the program.

Select Windows CGI from the List Selector

Document URL Path	Directory (full or document relative)	
  /cgi-win	                   \cgi-win\	

Be sure that this entry matches the above exactly.

When you are finished with this, click on Apply and then OK.


Running the Website 32demo
In order to run the Website Demo, start your browser and use the following address:

http://<your.web.domain>/wsdocs/32demo/

You should now be able to run through the demo to verify that everything is working 
correctly. If it is, you should have no problem with running WEBCOUNT.EXE.


Using WebCount
=================
WebCount will keep track of new hits to whatever page it is put on. When the page is hit, 
the WEBCOUNT.EXE is run and uses 2 parameters from the reference in your HTML document. 
The first is the path to the count file. This file must be in an 8.3 character format 
due to the fact that Visual Basic does not yet support long file names and also must have 
an extension of .VAL. This file holds the actual number of counts. The second parameter 
tells the program whether to use normal or reverse lettering. Since the resulting image 
is an x-bitmap, you have no choice over the color. I have found that placing table commands 
around the reference will make it stand out better on your page. 

Another feature of this program is that the same executable can be used for any number of 
users. Only the count file names must be different for each page. I recommend using a single 
directory (8.3 character format) to hold all of the count files for your users. Be sure to 
devise a naming scheme that will prevent duplicates if you allow your users to access the counter.

Example reference in a document:

<TABLE BORDER=1>
<TR>
<TD><IMG SRC=" http://<your.web.domain>/cgi-win/webcount.exe/<drive>:\<path>\count.val?type=n"></TD></TR>
</TABLE>


http://<your.domain>/cgi-win/webcount.exe/
     the URL of the counter executable

<drive>:\<path>\count.val
     The path and unique file name of the file that holds the page hit count. Be sure that each count file 
     has a different name

?
     Separator. Must be included.

type=n
     n or r is accepted. n = normal   r = reverse


That is all there is to it.


Technical Support, Bug Reports and Suggestions
==============================================
Technical support questions, bug reports and suggestions should be addressed to:

chris.babb@aquila.com


Registration
============
There are currently 2 versions of WebCount available. Both work identically with the exception of the maximum 
number of hits that it will count.

Unregistered Version - Limited to a maximum of 500 hits.

Registered Version - Maximum count is 9,999,999.



Copyright And Warranty
======================
WebCount - Copyright (c) 1995 by Christopher J. Babb. All Rights Reserved


THIS INFORMATION AND EXECUTABLE ARE PROVIDED AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, 
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. 
IN NO EVENT SHALL CHRISTOPHER J. BABB OR AQUILA BBS/INTERNET BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING 
DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES.



Registration Form
=================
Payments can be sent Via E-Mail to chris.babb@aquila.com, Via Registration Form
on my WWW Page at http://www.aquila.com/webcount/, Via Fax at 708-820-8813
or Via Regular Mail at the Address below.

Aquila BBS, Inc. C/O Christopher J. Babb
4430 E. New York Street Suite #201
Aurora, IL 60504 USA

Please include your e-mail address with all subscription requests. Registered versions are sent via e-mail.


[ ] WebCount	  	  ($45) __________

                 Total enclosed __________


Name: _________________________________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________________________________

City, ST Zip: _________________________________________________________________

Country: ____________________  Phone: ____________________________________

Payment by:  [ ] Check   [ ] Money order  [ ] MasterCard  [ ] Visa [ ] AMEX

Card # _______________________ Exp Date: _______ Signature: ___________________


* Important!  Credit card orders must include the card's "expiration date"
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SURVEY QUESTION:
Where did you get this shareware program? _____________________________________

