Web based logins / Check-Macros

Web based logins are logins where the fields for username and password are placed within a web page (other than logins with Server Authentication where a small window pops up to enter username and password).

Most password protected pages use a web based login. These logins don't work with a standardized technology, it's dependent from the server and the webmaster how the login technology is implemented.

Unfortunately there is no generic way to automate web based logins. To handle web based logins, WebSite-Watcher supports a technique called Check-Macros.

A Check-Macro can be created interactively with the integrated tool MiniBrowser that records all your steps when you login and surf to the page you want to monitor. WebSite-Watcher performs all these steps when a bookmark is checked for updates.

To record a new macro, click the "Check-Macro" button in the bookmark properties and the following dialog will be displayed.

As there are so many different solutions how a login can work, WebSite-Watcher supports 3 different techniques which can be used to record a macro.

The dynamic method tries to save only entered form fields and use everything else from the web page when a bookmark is checked (for example dynamically generated Session-IDs).

This method works usually for pages without Javascript. If a page requires Javascript, you can check the option "Use Internet Explorer to access websites". When checking the bookmark, you can use the "Default" check technology or the "Internet Explorer/Browser" technology.

The static method stores everything as it is available while recording the macro. This method will not work for pages with Session-IDs or other dynamic values. You should use this method only when the dynamic method doesn't work.

This method goes a completely different way and records only the entered data and mouse clicks. When the macro is executed, the start url is loaded in a hidden Internet Explorer window and the recorded steps are performed. Use this method when the other methods fails or when a page requires Javascript.

When checking the bookmark, the check technology "Internet Explorer/Browser" is automatically used.

That sounds probably very technical yet, but here's a rule of thumb to simplify things:

If a method fails, simply try the next one.

Best way is to start with method #1, if it doesn't work, try method #2 and method #3.

In some cases a page inserts a dynamic Session-ID into the path of an URL which must be handled and identified manually by using a regular expression.

Do not use this feature for URLs with the following format (session id as parameter):

You have to know the syntax of the Session-ID, then you can define a regular expression which extracts the Session-ID from the URL. Don't add a leading and a trailing Slash, MiniBrowser will do that automatically.

•	\d[0-9,a-z,-]+ Session-ID with format 1sij9-13j8-1234 (leading number, then numbers, characters and/or minus characters)

For each URL that is opened during macro recording, a special dialog pops up and displays the used download technique (GET or POST), the URL and some additional parameters (for example the values after filling out a form). Usually you can simply press the GET/POST button to continue recording. Only if you are performing a logout, you have to check the appropriate checkbox in that dialog.

If a login is CAPTCHA protected and a user has to enter letters and/or digits from a distorted image, then you have to use the "Internet Explorer Macro" technology. When the macro is recorded, you have to check the box "This step is protected by a CAPTCHA" after entering the letters/digits.

While checking the page, WebSite-Watcher will show a separate browser window where you have to enter these letters/digits, after that WebSite-Watcher can continue checking the bookmark.

1.	Create a new bookmark

2.	Press the "Check-Macro" button in the bookmark properties

3.	A window pops up, enter the Start-URL of the macro

4.	Click the button "Start recording"

5.	Surf to the page you want to monitor

6.	Perform a logout if required (and check the appropriate check box to tell WebSite-Watcher that you are performing a logout)

7.	Click the OK button at the bottom of the dialog, this will stop recording and returns to the bookmark properties

8.	Click the "Check Now" button to check the page