ELOG FAQ  

Frequently Asked Questions about usage and configuration

  1. How does one configure elog to display the last message by default
  2. Are there any plans to implement a MySQL back end?
  3. Can I run the ELOG daemon from inside Apache or any other Web server?
  4. I can access my logbook without any password, isn't that a security problem?
  5. I want a bookmark pointing to the last page where an attribute has a certain value
  6. I want a logbook with public read access (no password), but restricted write access
  7. I have many loogbooks with password files, so if I add a user or want to change a password I have to do this for all logbooks which is painful.
  8. How can I configure ELOG such that it displays something else than the message list by default?
  9. I want to have additional commands specific to my lookbook
  10. How does one configure elog to disable editing of existing messages? I want a logbook where one can enter messages but not change them afterwards.
  11. How can I track various revisions of a message using the "edit" command?

  1. How does one configure elog to display the last message by default

    One can use the Start page option for that. The entry:

    Start page = 0?cmd=last

    shows the last message entry by default. To have the described behaviour for all logbooks, the above statements can be placed in the [global] section.

  2. Are there any plans to implement a MySQL back end?

    No. The idea behind ELOG is that it is a simple to use, simple to install application. Many people use ELOG 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 ELOG should be independent of any other package, some "switchable" backend between native ELOG format and MySQL would be needed, which is lots of work and not planned right now.

  3. Can I run the ELOG daemon from inside Apache or any other Web server?

    No. The ELOG daemon was designed as a standalone server and it will stay like that in the future. The reason for that is that elogd should not rely on any other software. This is for example important for many people running elogd under Windows, and they have no clue how to install Apache for Windows. The installation and maintenance for elogd therefore becomes much simpler. To run elogd in parallel to an Apache server on port 80, use Apache as a proxy, following the instruction on the installation page ("Running elogd under Apache").

  4. I can access my logbook without any password, isn't that a security problem?

    By default, no password is used in ELOG. This can be useful for public directories etc. that anybody should be able to read. To add password security, read the documentation under Access control. The recommended setup is password file security with guest access.

    Note that passwords are transferred over the network in plain text and therefore not secure. If this is a problem, a secure network connection should be used.

  5. I want a bookmark pointing to the last page where an attribute has a certain value

    Use the URL:

    http://<your.host>/<logbook>/?cmd=Last&<attribute>=<value>

    This executes the "Last" 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.

    http://<your.host>/<logbook>/?cmd=Last&<attribute>=<value>&l<attribute>=1

    Note the "l" before the second attribute, as in "lAuthor=1".

  6. I want a logbook with public read access (no password), but restricted write access

    In an old version of the FAQ it has been stated here that one has to use two logbooks pointing to the same data directory. From Version 2.0.6 on, this can be accomplished much easier by the usage of the "Guest menu command". Use a logbook with user level access (password file), and add menu lists like in the following example to the configuration file:

    Menu commands = New, Edit, Reply, Find, Last 10, Change password, Logout, Help
    Guest menu commands = Find, Last 10, Login, Help

    If users access the logbook without supplying a user name, they are treated like "guests" and see the "Guest menu commands", with which one cannot submit or edit logbook entries. If one hits the "login" button, a user can login with a user name/password and sees the normal menu commands, with which one can submit new logbook entries.

    An optional self registration is possible by specifying

    Self register = 1

    in the configuration file. New users can then create their own accounts.

  7. I have many loogbooks with password files, so if I add a user or want to change a password I have to do this for all logbooks which is painful.

    You can have several logbooks point to the same password file. So if you change a user or password in that file, it becomes automatically available in all logbooks which use that file.

  8. How can I configure ELOG such that it displays something else than the message list by default?

    There is a simple trick. You use the "Start page" option in the elogd file to redirect the start page to something else. Here are some examples:

    ?npp=5                                  for the last 5 messages
    ?last=7                                 show last 7 days (week)
    ?cmd=New                                show the new message entry form
    ?cmd=Find                               Show the "find" page
    ?cmd=Search&<attrib>=<value>            for a search with <attrib>=<value>
    
    The various URLs can be copied from the browser's address bar when doint various things there.

  9. I want to have additional commands specific to my lookbook

    New commands can be added for example with the "Bottom text = bottom.html" option. To display all messages from last week and month of with "category = info", one can put following HTML code in bottom.html:

    <center>
    <a href="?last=7&Category=Info">Info from last week</a> |
    <a href="?last=31&Category=Info">Info from last month</a> |
    </center>
    

    Note that the parameters "last=7&Category=Info" applies a filter on the display. You can learn how to make these filters by looking at the URL in your browser when you submit a find command with certain options.

  10. How does one configure elog to disable editing of existing messages? I want a logbook where one can enter messages but not change them afterwards.

    This works with the option Menu commands. By default, the menu commands Back, New, Edit, Delete, Reply, Find, Config, Help are dispalyed and allowed. To avoid editing (and deleting) of existing messages, one removes the two commands and puts following statement into elogd.cfg:

    Menu commands = Back, New, Reply, Find, Config, Help

    This prohibits the execution of the commands "Edit" and "Delete".

  11. How can I track various revisions of a message using the "edit" command?

    There are two ways:

    • Add an attribute which keeps the revision dates and names as follows:
      Attributes = Author, ..., Revisions
      Locked attributes = Revisions
      Subst on Edit Revisions = $Revisions<br>$date by $long_name
      
      The "Revisions" attribute cannot be modified manually (since it's locked). On each edit, the date and the current author is appedned to the previous revisions. The "<br>" puts a line break between the entries.

    • Create a thread for each entry. In addition of having the date and author of different revisions, the message content is kept. To revise and entry, one hits "Reply" instead of "Edit" (one can disable the "Edit" command for example). If one puts following option into the configuration file:

      Reply string = ""
      
      then the reply contains the original message without the usual "> " at the beginning of each line. One can then edit the message and submit it. In the threaded message list display, one sees then the different revisions as a message thread.