First thanks for the great software! My only question would be how to implement audit trail feature. I know you can control who edits and that's great but in regulated environments like mine there's a requirement that the original record, the one edited, is not deleted or overwritten. If not possible right now the only thing I could think of is a mechanism, maybe possible thru configuration, that when the record is edited it is copied to an audit trail logbook (i.e. if logbook name is 'test' it's audit logbook will be named 'test-audit' which is read only) and have a link to the audit trail of the record (show only changes of the current record).

I'm more than aware that it's possible thru configuration but I'm short on that dept. Any help/idea?

Thanks in advance!

You can achieve this via replies. First you disable any edits on the original message by removing the Edit command via 'Menu commands' or by using 'Restrict edit time' appropriately. If someone wants to edit an entry, she or he makes a reply. If the original entry is formatted with ELCode, it will be enclosed by a [quote] tag, which can be easily removed. Then the text can be edited and submitted. This way you get the history of an entry in a chain of replies. That's the only way I see to accomplish this functionality.

I automatically install software on 3 machines in our lab, and at the end of the process, use eLOG to record relevant information for each machine (all running Windows XP) via the command line program elog.exe.  2 of the machines log their info correctly, but on third machine, I get the following error:

    Cannot retrieve host name: No error

The error is not very clear (i.e., the error is "no error"?), and furthermore, operationally, the error makes no sense to me, for the three machines are supposedly configured the same.  Additionally, the elog.exe used is stored on a network drive, as are the other batch files that all3 machines use, so it is not as a problem could creep in due to differing versions/configurations of files.

Just in case I am overlooking something, here's the command line invocation (I've X'd out sensitive information):

C:\>x:\@adat\tools\elog.exe -h max13 -l "Maxtee" -u xxxxxxxxxx xx1234   -a Tester=AULS_xxx_y    -a M
achine="Mercury 99"   -a "Module Type"=Controller   -a "Action Description=Configuration Change"   -
a Title="AULS upgraded to 1.2.7344 from [1.1.7343]."   -a "Card Count=998352"   -m X:\@ADAT\InterimP
F\MERCURY29.Blat_Msg1_PostBoot.TXT 1>X:\@ADAT\InterimPF\MERCURY29_eLog_CmdLineOutput1_(PostBoot).txt

Cannot retrieve host name: No error

Obvoiusly, there *must* be some configuration difference between the 2 working and 1 non-working machine, but I am at a loss to figure it out.

I am not sure which version of eLOG is being used, but the size of the elog.exe is 139,264. 

I suggest a new option be added to display the version information, or display the version info whenever eLOG is execute, or display the version info when "-?" option is used.

The error is produced by the C routine "gethostbyname". This routine tries to obtain the IP address of your host max13 and fails. The error "no error" is the error passed to elog from the underlying operating system, so please blame Windows for that. I guess you have a problem that on the machine you get the error you have some DNS problem, so this machine does not know max13. Try to "ping" max13 or do a "nslookup max13" to verify this. Maybe you have to add your domain after max13, or put this machine explicitly into \Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts.

I added some version information being displayed with the "-?" option. This feature will be contained in the next release.

Stefan:

Thanks for the analysis and information.  Why am I not surprised that the "No error" came from Windows!? 

I tried some of your suggestions with the following results:

1.  Ping ==>= works as expected on the failing machine; that is, can successfully ping "max13"  I also can ping successfully in the reverse direction; that is, from "max13" to my "client" machine.

2.  NSLookUp ==>does not work on any of the 3 machines.

3.  Added the computer name "max13" to HOSTS file; ==> observed no change in behavior (i.e., still fails)

I did notice that on the 2 machines that function as desired that there is no anti-virus software installed, while on the non-funcational machine there is A-V SW installed.  I am able to bring up eLOG via the browser on the non-functional machine, so am unsure if the A-V SW is a factor; that is, why does ELOG via browser work as expected, but not via command line. 

QUESTION:  does command line ELOG connect differently than ELOG through the browser?

I ask this question for perhaps the A-V SW *is* blocking some port or whatever, and I will need to ask our IT department how to remove such a restriction.

ELOG connects in the same way as the browser, but it is a different program. I have seen some firewalls which explicitly exclude browsers in firewall rules. So it might well be that yours blocks ELOG but not your browser. So give it a try and disable it.