If the CSV file contains a "date" column, elogd tries to interprete the date to the internal format. Now a date can be written in a huge number of variations, and I'm sure I did not cover all. So please send me your CSV file and I will fix the crash. 

 Wildcards are not implemented for that purpose. But a "Allow New = admin1, admin2" implicitly denies this command for all other users, I guess that's what you want. There is also the possibility to use "Guest Menu Commands" to allow everybody to read entries, but only logged in users to write and modify them.

I tried it in a global group configuration

[global monitoring]
Allow Edit = admin1, admin2
Allow New = admin1

But I as admin2 am still able to create new entries in the corresponding log books.

Is this configuration only for logbooks?

 I just tried myself with following config:

[global]
port = 8080
password file = passwd
Allow New = joe

[demo1]
Theme = default
Attributes = Author, Subject

and it jus worked fine. When I'm not logged on as "joe", the "New" command even does not appear. If you would have supplied your correct ELOG version, I could have checked if you have an old version. In that case you could upgrade.

OK, I see that $date can work in a different way; if the Thread display uses $date,
then the present timestamp is substituted into the thread display line, rather than the 
date that the entry is entered.  So, for example, in a whole list of entry and replies, the present
date shows on each entry of the thread.  However, the format is still that as defined by
'Time format' rather than 'Date format'.

If nothing else, I cannot really see the point of the 'Date format =' in the way that this all works.

> Hi,
> 
> I hope I'm not missing the blindingly obvious here, but I have an issue with time and date formats
> 
> Extract from my elog.cfg file:
> 
> 
> Time format = %a %d %b %y
> Date format = %d %b
> Thread display = $Ticket: $System, $entry time. ($message id). $status
> Preset text = [$date]
> Prepend on reply = [$date] \n
> 
> I can point to places in the syntax doc where each of these lines are given.
> 
> As for the results, the thread display is (for example):
> 
> T00001: Computer, Wed 29 Aug 12. (1). Problem
> 
> However, what I get at the top of the text box in starting a new entry or replying to a previous one is
> 
> [Wed 29 Aug 12]
> 
> whereas I expected to get
> 
> [29 Aug]
> 
> Putting $date instead of $entry time in the Thread display line makes (the by now expected) no difference
> 
> I cannot see where I'm going wrong.  
> 
> TIA 
> 
> David.

Unfortunately you have to name these top groups differently, because they are internally used for the database name.

So both Top Group names and Logbook names should be unique inside one .cfg file, is that correct?

That's correct.