WebSite-Watcher 4.42

1  WebSite-Watcher HELP

1.1  Welcome to WebSite-Watcher

WebSite-Watcher allows you to monitor your favorite websites for updates and changes with a minimum of time and online costs. This prevents you from visiting each page manually looking for changes. When changes in a page are detected, WebSite-Watcher saves the last two versions to your hard disk and highlights all changes in the text.

Many features give you control, when and how a page should be checked for updates. For example to get only an update notification when a specified keyword is within the changed content.

WebSite-Watcher works as client on your computer, similar to an e-mail client. All bookmarks and configurations are stored locally on your hard disk, other than online monitoring services you don't need our server to check pages for updates.


Main features

• Monitors websites with a minimum of time and online costs
• Monitors password protected pages behind logins
• Monitors and converts RSS feeds to a readable format
• Saves changed pages to your hard disk
• Highlights changes in pages that have been modified
• Highlights specified words in a page
• Many more powerful features to stay up-to-date!

1.2  Overview

1.2.1  The main window

The main window of WebSite-Watcher is divided into 3 panels.

1. In the folder tree on the left side you can find some predefined folders (for example AutoWatch, HotSites or Trash) and user defined folders which can be created by the user.
   
   
2. The panel on the top lists all bookmarks in the selected folder. For each bookmark you can define bookmark properties which can be opened with the right mouse menu.
   
   
3. The bottom panel is the internal browser where the selected bookmark is displayed. After starting WebSite-Watcher, this panel is closed and will automatically be opened when you double click/open a bookmark. The internal browser can optionally be placed at the bottom or on the right side.

1.2.2  Main menu

WebSite-Watcher has the following menus:

• File
  
  The File menu contains all related commands for opening, saving and creating new bookmark files. Bookmark files have the extension *.wsw and contain all folders, bookmarks and settings.
  
  The command "Optimize local cache" scans all downloaded pages, css files, images, etc. for dead files which are no longer used. Usually these files are deleted automatically as soon as they are identified as such, so this command must normally not be started manually. This command is also executed automatically after WebSite-Watcher has crashed during a bookmark check. Running this command will not improve the performance, it will only delete dead files and keep the local cache as small as possible.
  
  
  
• Bookmarks
  
  This menu contains all commands for managing bookmarks.
  
  The commands "Find" and "Find next" let you search for text in all bookmarks of the selected folder. WebSite-Watcher will search the entered Find-text only in the bookmark configuration, not in downloaded files.
  
  With the "Replace" feature you're able to change text in the bookmark configuration. You have to select in which settings WebSite-Watcher should perform a replace.
  
  
  
• Check
  
  This menu contains all commands to check web pages.
  
  The command "Check Hotsites" selects the "Hotsites" folder and checks all bookmarks in it. The command "Check bookmarks (Extended options)" gives you the possibility to check bookmarks which are flagged as disabled or have some time restrictions.
  
  
  
• Navigation
  
  This menu contains all basic commands to open the next unread bookmark or to jump to the next change within a page.
  
  
  
• Tools
  
  The Tools menu offers the following features:
  
  
  • Im/Export
    The Im/Export menu contains four types of Im/Export features:
    
    
    1. Im/Export bookmarks from/to an internal format which can be used to exchange bookmarks between bookmark files.
       
       
    2. Import all/new bookmarks from your browser, from a text file or RSS feeds from an OPML file.
       
       
    3. Export all bookmarks to Internet Explorer's Favorites where the exported bookmarks will be placed into a new folder. To export bookmarks to Firefox, Firefox or Opera you have to use the "Report/Export" feature, predefined templates for these browsers are available in the "examples" directory.
       
    
    
  • Synchronize
    The Synchronize feature lets you keep two bookmark files with all bookmarks, settings and downloaded files in sync. WebSite-Watcher can optionally add new bookmarks, update changed bookmarks or delete no longer available bookmarks.
    
    
  • Backup / Restore
    The Backup feature creates archives of your bookmarks, downloaded files and your program configuration.
    
    
  • Extended Search
    The "Extended Search" feature gives you more advanced and powerful possibilities to search for information in downloaded files.
    
    
  • Report/Export
    The Report/Export feature lets you create reports to html, text or xml files. The report works with templates where you can define the fields you want to export. Some predefined templates can be found in the "examples" folder.
    
    
  • Export to CHM file
    This feature compiles your bookmarks and downloaded files to a Windows HTML Help file (which has the extension .chm). This requires the free "HTML Help Workshop" which can be downloaded from the Microsoft website.
    
    
  • Archive
    This menu entry starts the third party tool "Local Website Archive". WebSite-Watcher always stores the last two versions of a web page while Local Website Archive can archive them permanently for future reference. WebSite-Watcher can export pages to Local Website Archive automatically and manually. Local Website Archive is available as a freeware and as a professional version and can be downloaded from http://www.aignes.com/wsarc/
    
    
  • MiniBrowser
    And last but not least, the add-on MiniBrowser offers you many possibilities to analyze web pages, determine necessary parameters for the POST command or to record macros. That sounds all very technical yet, but these operations can be done interactively, for example to record a Check-Macro for password protected pages.
    
  
  
  
• Script
  
  WebSite-Watcher includes a simple, internal scripting language which lets you automate many things. For example: check bookmarks, generate a report, send the report by e-mail, wait a specific time and start the same procedure from beginning.
  
  
  
• Options
  This menu contains all options and settings to configure WebSite-Watcher.
  
  
  
• View
  This menu contains several entries which let you quickly change the look and feel of WebSite-Watcher, for example a stay-on-top command, the ability to show/hide the folder panel, to maximize the internal browser or to show the log files of the last check.
  
  
  
• Help
  Help topics and of course the About box.
  

1.2.3  Toolbar

Main Toolbar

	Open a bookmark file. Bookmarks are saved in files with the extension *.wsw, downloaded files in the related directory *_WSW
	Wizard to add new bookmarks
	Add new bookmark
	Check all bookmarks in the selected folder
	Abort check
	Show info window with bookmarks which are currently checked
	Goto previous bookmark
	Goto next bookmark
	Goto next changed bookmark (changed bookmarks are displayed in bold and red)
	Open/Close internal browser
	Open a window with extended search features
	Turn AutoWatch on/off
	Move WebSite-Watcher to the tray bar
	Exit WebSite-Watcher

Browser Toolbar Buttons

	Browse back
	Browse forward
	Abort
	Reload page in internal browser
	Find text in internal browser
	Additional page settings and features
	Edit bookmark properties
	Create an Auto-Filter (Ignore highlighted changes)
	Restore previous version
	Open next changed bookmark (changed bookmarks are displayed in bold and red)
	Goto next change within the opened page
	Open online version of the bookmark
	Open new version of the bookmark
	Open old version of the bookmark
	Open version with highlighted changes
	Open both, version with highlighted changes and old version
	Maximize internal browser
	Open current page with external browser

The toolbar can be configured in the Options menu.

1.2.4  Symbols in Bookmark list

Each bookmark can have one or more of the following icons:

	Each bookmark can be assigned a flag, similar to several e-mail clients. Main purpose is to be a marker for better bookmark visibility and has only small other functionalities, for example the "Don't auto-delete bookmarks with flags" in the folder properties. You can assign a flag with a double click on the first column or via the context menu where flags with more colors are available.
	This icon appears when notes have been entered in the bookmark properties. If you double click that icon, you will get into a separate "Notes" dialog without having to open the bookmark properties.
	Bookmark is a HotSite. Each bookmark can be marked as a Hotsite. All bookmarks with that flag are listed in the folder "Hotsites".
	Bookmark is a Master-Bookmark (Follow-Links feature is enabled in the bookmark properties).
	Bookmark is part of a follow links bookmark set (but not a Master-Bookmark).
	Bookmark is queued for checking
	An error occurred while checking the page, bookmark is queued for a second check
	Bookmark is currently checked
	An error occurred while checking the bookmark, WebSite-Watcher checks the page a second time

1.2.5  Symbols in Browser-Tabs

Each Browser-Tab has one of the following icons:

	Page is loading.
	Page fully loaded.
	Page fully loaded, Tab has been selected.

1.2.6  What can be checked

WebSite-Watcher can monitor a lot of different file types and pages listed below:

• Any kind of web page with textual content, independent from the file extension. That means both, static pages (pages with file extension .htm or .html) and dynamic pages (pages with file extension .asp, .php, etc). WebSite-Watcher will also highlight all changes in the text.
  
  
• RSS/Atom feeds: RSS/Atom feeds are converted to a readable html format and can be handled as normal web page.
  
  
• Pages behind a login: For password protected pages you can record a Check-Macro which is executed when the page is checked for updates.
  
  
• Forums: Forums are handled as normal web pages with several optimizations, for example a special technique to highlight changes.
  
  
• Pages with Javascript: For pages where the content is displayed with Javascript, WebSite-Watcher supports a separate and more complex technology to convert the dynamically generated page content into a static content.
  
  
• Images: If you monitor an image, WebSite-Watcher is able to detect if an image has been updated. Changes within an image are not highlighted.
  
  
• Binary files: WebSite-Watcher is able to detect updates of binary files (for example zip or exe files) by comparing the file date, the file size and/or parts of the content (binary files won't be downloaded completely when they are checked for updates).
  
  
• PDF and Flash files: PDF files and Flash animations are handled as binary files. WebSite-Watcher is not able to highlight changes in the content.
  
  
• FTP files and directories: WebSite-Watcher supports monitoring of FTP files and directories. FTP files can be checked by file date/size or by content.
  
  
• Intranet: All pages in an intranet can be checked like normal web pages.
  
  
• Locally saved files: WebSite-Watcher can monitor each file on your local hard disk.
  
  

1.2.7  Useful Shortcuts

Navigate through changed bookmarks
F12	Open next changed bookmark
Ctrl+F12	Goto next change
Enter	Open selected bookmark (if the bookmark list has the focus)
Shift+Enter	Open selected bookmark and maximize internal browser (if the bookmark list has the focus)
Ctrl+Enter	Set the focus to the bookmark list
Ctrl+Shift+Enter	Set the focus to the folder tree
Ctrl+Alt+Enter	Open selected bookmark in external browser
Internal Browser
F11	Maximize internal browser
Space	Scroll down the internal browser
Shift + Click on	Open version in new browser tab
Shift + Click on a link	Open link in new browser tab
Shift+Ctrl + Click on a link	Open link in new browser tab. The new tab will be opened in foreground if the option "Open new tabs in background" is enabled and vice versa.
Ctrl + Alt + Click on	Open version in external standard browser
Ctrl + Alt + Click on a link	Open link in external browser
Ctrl+Tab	Select next browser tab
Ctrl+W	Close selected browser tab
Ctrl+Shift+W	Close all opened browser tabs

1.3  Add new bookmarks

1.3.1  Using the Wizard

To add a bookmark with the Wizard, you have to use the Wizard button in the main toolbar. In several steps you can make some basic settings, the wizard also helps you to choose the best settings dependent from the page type.

On the Wizard's first page you have to decide, if an URL can be accessed directly or if a page is placed behind a web based login.

• Page can be opened directly
  Simply said, a page can be accessed directly when you can open it in your browser without any further actions. In that case you can enter the address into the URL field. If the address is in the clipboard, it is pasted automatically.
  
  
• Page is password protected
  If a page is password protected and located behind a login page, then you have to record a Check-Macro. A macro contains all steps of the login and is executed when you check the page for updates.
  
  
• Page is the result of a search query
  If a page can only be displayed after filling out a form (for example after performing a search query), you have to record a Check-Macro, too. Technically said, in many cases the result of a search query is displayed using the POST command instead of the GET command. A macro saves all these steps and POST commands.
  

After clicking the Next button, WebSite-Watcher performs a check and initializes the page. As next step you have to choose the page type which is the base for all further actions within the wizard. If WebSite-Watcher cannot determine the page type correctly, you have to choose it manually. Dependent from that page type, the Wizard helps you choosing the best options and settings for the bookmark.

Click the Wizard button in the main toolbar Enter the URL you want to monitor (or create a Check-Macro in case of password protected pages) Click "Next" to initialize the page Select the page type (if not detected automatically) Follow the next steps dependent from the page type

1.3.2  Add bookmarks manually

Alternatively to the Wizard you can add bookmarks manually by clicking the Add button in the main toolbar (or by pressing the Ins key).

You have only to enter the address to the URL field and press the 'Check Now' button to initialize the page, all other settings have typical default values. If you leave the bookmark name empty, WebSite-Watcher will assign it automatically with the page title.

Click the Add button in the main toolbar (or the Ins key) Enter the URL you want to monitor Click the "Check Now" button

1.3.3  Add bookmarks directly from your Browser

A further and comfortable method to add new bookmarks directly from your browser is WebSite-Watcher's browser integration:

• WebSite-Watcher button in the window caption of your browser
  If WebSite-Watcher is running, then a small button in the window caption of your browser is displayed. Pressing this button pops up a menu from where you can add the currently opened page to WebSite-Watcher. This method works with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera and many other Internet Explorer based browsers.
  
  
• Right-click menu in Internet Explorer
  If you are using Internet Explorer (or another Internet Explorer based browser), then you can add the currently opened page via the document's right-click menu. WebSite-Watcher must not be running in that case. If WebSite-Watcher is closed, then the context menu entry 'Add to WebSite-Watcher' will start it automatically.
  
  
• Drag&Drop browser tabs to folder
  A quick and comfortable way to insert new bookmarks is to drag&drop browser tabs from the internal browser to the folder list.
  
  
• Add RSS/Atom feeds
  When you see a or a image in a web page, WebSite-Watcher can add the underlying feeds by clicking these images. RSS/Atom feeds are usually defined with the feed: protocol, addresses with that prefix can be handled with the default RSS feed aggregator functionality.
  

1.3.4  Import bookmarks

Bookmarks can be imported from different locations, the import commands can be found in the Tools menu.

• Import all/new bookmarks from your Browser
  This feature imports all bookmarks from Internet Explorer, Firefox, Firefox or Opera. WebSite-Watcher imports only new bookmarks, if a bookmark already exists, then it is not inserted twice.
  
  
• Import bookmarks from a Text file
  WebSite-Watcher can import URLs from a text file which is saved in a specific format (for example one URL per line). More information about the file format can be found in chapter Import from Text file.
  
  
• Import RSS feeds from OPML file
  If you want to import RSS/Atom feeds from an OPML file, you have to use this feature. The OPML file can be located locally on your disk or somewhere in the web.
  

Click Tools the main menu Select "Im/Export" Select the menu entry from where you want to import bookmarks

1.3.5  Import URLs from Text file

WebSite-Watcher can import URLs from text files which have one of the following formats:

• One URL per line
  
  Each URL must be placed in a single line, for example:
  
  

  http://www.website-watcher.com http://www.mounteverest.net/ http://www.ftp-uploader.de/

  
  
  
• One Name and URL per line
  
  Each line contains Name and URL which are separated by a tabulator, for example:
  
  

  WebSite-Watcher{TAB}http://www.website-watcher.com Mount Everest{TAB}http://www.mounteverest.net/ FTP-Uploader and Client{TAB}http://www.ftp-uploader.de/

  
  The tabulator character is displayed as {TAB} in that example.
  

Click Tools in the main menu Select "Im/Export" Select "Import all/new bookmarks from Text file" Select the location and the format of the text file Press OK

1.4  Check bookmarks

1.4.1  Check pages manually

After startup WebSite-Watcher is in idle mode and you have to check the bookmarks manually or turn on the AutoWatch mode. With AutoWatch you can check bookmarks periodically with predefined time settings.

The following methods can be used to check bookmarks manually:

• Check all bookmarks in the selected folder
  
  

  Select the folder you want to check Press the Check button , or use the shortcut F9 (Shift+Click on a folder will also start the check)

  
  
  
• Check all bookmarks in ALL folders
  
  

  Select the folder "All bookmarks" Press the Check button , or use the shortcut F9

  
  
  
• Check selected bookmarks
  
  

  Select the bookmarks you want to check Right click the selection and choose "Check Bookmarks", or use the shortcut Ctrl+K

  
  
  
• Check all Hotsites
  
  

  Use the Shortcut Ctrl+Shift+H

  
  The shortcut Ctrl+Shift+H selects the folder "Hotsites" and checks all bookmarks in it.
  

When you start a check, the bookmarks are placed in a check queue and a grey earth appears on the left side of the bookmark. If a bookmark is actually checked, a blue globe is displayed. If the check has finished, the earth will be removed.

1.4.2  Check pages automatically (with AutoWatch)

Alternatively to the manual bookmark check, WebSite-Watcher supports an automated check where bookmarks can be monitored with predefined time settings (called AutoWatch). Working with the AutoWatch mode consists of two steps:

1. Enable AutoWatch in the bookmark properties
2. Start the AutoWatch mode

There are several ways how AutoWatch can be enabled

1. Right click a bookmark, open the bookmark properties and select the AutoWatch tab. In that tab you can enable the AutoWatch feature and optionally some time settings when the bookmark should be checked.
   
   You can do the same for more bookmarks at once: Select all bookmarks for which AutoWatch should be enabled and right click them. Then choose the menu entry "Set properties in all selected bookmarks..."
   
   
2. Drag&Drop bookmarks to the AutoWatch folder. This will enable the AutoWatch flag for the dragged bookmarks. As time setting WebSite-Watcher will use the predefined time from the general options.
   
   
3. In the general program configuration you can pre-define AutoWatch settings for new bookmarks (button "Assign bookmark properties"). This can also be done per folder via the folder properties.
   

All bookmarks with enabled AutoWatch flag are listed in the AutoWatch folder.


Start the AutoWatch mode

Click the AutoWatch button in the main toolbar to start the AutoWatch mode. Bookmarks are only monitored automatically when this button is checked.

1.4.3  Check disabled bookmarks

Each bookmark can be disabled in the bookmark properties, that means it will be skipped when you try to check it. A bookmark can also be skipped when you have defined some time settings, for example if you have enabled the option "Check only once a day" and check that bookmark a second time within the same day.

The feature "Check bookmarks (Extended options)" offers you a way to ignore these restrictions.

Select the bookmarks you want to check Press Ctrl+F9 Click the OK button

1.4.4  Status- and Error messages

The status column in the bookmark list displays the result of the last check. If there was an error, the status is displayed in blue.

Successful check

• OK
  If "OK" is displayed, then the check was successful. OK can also be displayed in combination with other infos and warnings.

Successful check with infos/warnings

If at least one of the following messages appear in the status column in combination with the "OK" message, then the page could be checked correctly, but you could probably optimize some settings.

• Initialized
  When a bookmark is checked the first time, it gets initialized. WebSite-Watcher downloads the page and collects all data which are necessary to detect updates with each further check.
  
  
• Warning: Frameset
  The checked page has a frameset and WebSite-Watcher must download all frames which are defined in that frameset. That slows down the check, and mostly you are only interested in a specific frame instead of all frames of the frameset. It is only a warning and indicates that it would be more efficient when you check only the frame you are interested in. On the other side it doesn't really matter if that's not possible and you check the whole frameset. This warning can be turned off in the bookmark properties.
  
  
• Redirection
  A redirection happens when you enter an URL into your browser and it redirects to another page. That means that the address in the URL field of your browser is changed automatically. If that happens in WebSite-Watcher, this warning message is displayed.
  
  
• Warning download size
  A typical web page has an approximately size between 10 and 50 KB. If WebSite-Watcher checks and downloads a page with a very large file size (for example 1 MB), it could be possible that the page redirects to a binary file which would be handled as normal web page then. If the transferred amount of data is larger that a predefined size (entered in the general option) you get such a warning. Then you can decide if you are checking an unwanted file or if the page has really such a large size. Please note that this is only a warning which won't abort the check.
  
  
• Skipped
  The bookmark was not checked due to some time restrictions in the bookmark properties. The reason why the bookmark was skipped is displayed in brackets. You can use "Check Bookmarks (Extended options)" to check such a bookmark.
  
  
• Disabled
  The bookmark has been disabled with the "Don't check" option (bookmark properties). You can use "Check Bookmarks (extended options)" to check disabled bookmarks.
  

Check with failures

If at least one of the following messages appear in the status column, then the page could not be checked.

• Warning: whole content filtered (please verify your filter settings)
  Normally WebSite-Watcher compares the filtered textual content of the new version with the filtered textual content of the old version of a page. If the whole content is filtered, then WebSite-Watcher has nothing to compare and is not able to detect updates. In such a case this error message is displayed. Open the bookmark properties and verify/change your filter settings to fix that behavior. With the feature "Test filter" you can see the content which is compared to detect updates.
  Related topic: What are filter settings (Overview).
  
  
• Redirection failed
  This message indicates that WebSite-Watcher was redirected to another URL, but for some reasons WebSite-Watcher could not follow to the new address. In that case you should open the URL in your browser and use the address of the browser's URL field after the page has been loaded completely.
  
  
• Redirection via HTML commands not followed
  A special technique of redirections can be defined in the source code of a HTML page. These redirections are supported, but not enabled by default. If that message appears, you can try to change the bookmark URL to the address of the redirected page, or you enable HTML redirections in the bookmark properties. In rare circumstances HTML redirections are required, for example when a static URL of a News page redirects with that technique to an URL which contains the daily date.
  
  
• Page not available?
  The page was not available when it has been checked. The question mark indicates that WebSite-Watcher is not absolutely sure if it is a permanent failure or if the page was temporarily not available.
  
  
• Access forbidden?
  You need username and password to access the page. Normally a page is protected with Server Authentication if you receive this error message. In that case you can enter username and password in the bookmark properties. See also chapter Server Authentication.
  
  
• Timeout
  The page could not be checked within the given time frame. This can happen when a page is temporarily not available or when you check a large page which cannot be transferred within the given time. The timeout value can be changed in the general program settings or individually for each bookmark in the bookmark properties.
  
  
• Error: Page or file not found
  The page was not available for an unknown reason. For example due to server problems, problems of your provider, etc.
  
  
• Connection refused
  There was an error while connecting to the page.
  
  
• Error: protocol
  The protocol of the entered bookmark is not supported.
  

1.5  Open changed bookmarks

1.5.1  How are changed bookmarks displayed

WebSite-Watcher use several places to show, which and how many bookmarks are marked as changed:

• Changed bookmarks are displayed in bold and red. They are also automatically sorted to the top of the list. Opening a changed bookmark will change the status back to "read" and the bookmark will be displayed in black and normal font.
  
  
• Folders with changed bookmarks are marked with a red square. On the right side of the folder name the number of changed bookmarks are displayed in brackets.
  
  
• All updated and unread bookmarks are displayed in the special folder "Changed Bookmarks".
  

1.5.2  How to open (changed) bookmarks

WebSite-Watcher's tabbed web browser is used whenever you open a bookmark or a web page within WebSite-Watcher. Technically said, WebSite-Watcher uses an embedded Internet Explorer to open bookmarks and web pages.

Two common ways to open bookmarks are:

F12 - opens the next unread bookmark Double click a bookmark - opens the selected bookmark

After a check the following shortcuts are very useful and efficient to walk through the list of changed bookmarks:

F12 - opens the next unread bookmark Ctrl+F12 - jumps to the next change within the opened page Space - scrolls the opened page down

If you prefer working with your mouse, you can click the button to open the next changed bookmark, and the button to jump to the next change within the opened page.

1.5.3  Internal Tabbed Browser

When you open a bookmark with a double click or the next changed bookmark with F12, WebSite-Watcher will always use the first (left) tab. Links from that page can be opened in a new tab by pressing the Shift key while clicking a link.


Pages will be opened in a new Browser-Tab when:

Holding the Shift key while clicking a hyperlink Via the context menu when right-clicking a hyperlink Holding the Shift key while clicking one of the following buttons in the browser toolbar: Opening a new, empty Browser-Tab manually with the shortcut Ctrl+T

Open new Browser-Tabs in foreground/background

New browser tabs can optionally be opened in foreground or in background. That means, that if a new browser tab is opened in foreground it will be activated automatically. If you open new browser tabs in background, the active browser tab stays in foreground. The foreground/background setting can be changed as follows:

Method #1 Open menu "Options" Select "Program configuration" Select the "Internal Browser" tab Enable the option "[x] Open new tabs in background"   Method #2 Click the "WebSite-Watcher-Eye" toolbar button of the internal browser Select "Browser Tabs" Select "Open new tabs in background"   Method #3 If more tabs are opened then right click a tab and select "Open new tabs in background"

TIP - Individual handling with the Ctrl+Shift key:
If the Ctrl+Shift keys are pressed, then the new tab will be opened in foreground if the option "Open new tabs in background" is enabled and vice versa.


Opened tabs can be closed with:

Right clicking a browser tab Using the shortcut Ctrl+W All opened Browser-Tabs can be closed with Ctrl+Shift+W

The button opens the page of the active Browser-Tab in the system's default browser, for example Internet Explorer.

If you hold the Shift+Alt key while clicking one of the buttons , the page will also be opened in the default browser.


Icons in Browser-Tabs:

	Page is loading.
	Page fully loaded.
	Page fully loaded, Tab has been selected.

1.6  Filter: Ignore / Watch specific parts of a page

1.6.1  What are filter settings (Overview)

To detect updates, WebSite-Watcher compares the content of the new version of a page with the content of the old version of a page. If these contents are different, WebSite-Watcher alerts an update. If a page contains changing parts (for example a daily date, some kind of ad, ...), an update would be reported with each check. With a filter you can ignore specific parts of a page to prevent false update notifications.

If a filter is defined, WebSite-Watcher will compare the filtered content of the new version with the filtered content of the old version of a page to detect updates.

Filter settings are defined in the bookmark properties where you can also see the button "Test filter". This button opens a dialog which displays the filtered content of the new version and the filtered content of the old version.




Filter definitions can be divided into four categories

1. Automatically created Ignore filters (Auto-Filter)
   The Auto-Filter system is a self learning filter system and provides an easy and comfortable way to create a set of Ignore filters automatically based on highlighted changes. You should call this filter only when you get a false positive (for example caused by a changing date, a changing visitor counter, etc.), but not if a page contains any other highlighted news or changes.
   
   
2. Manually defined an Ignore filters (Ignore userdefined strings)
   This filter ignores a specified part of a page, for example a text with changing numbers ("You are visitor number 8234"), a daily date or everything from the page beginning until the text "Daily News".
   
   
3. Manually defined a Watch filters (Watch userdefined strings)
   This filter watches a specified part of a page instead of ignoring it. It is a watch-and-ignore-everything-else filter and can be used to watch for example only the version number of a software.
   
   
4. Special Filters
   WebSite-Watcher has also some predefined filter options which must only be checked or unchecked. These filter options work for the whole page and not for specified parts like Ignore/Watch filters.
   

In most cases it works best to define a set of Ignore filters, either with the Auto-Filter system or manually via the Filter-Wizard.


How are Ignore/Watch filters defined

1. Using the Auto-Filter system
   The Auto-Filter system is a self learning filter system and provides an easy and comfortable way to create a set of Ignore filters automatically based on highlighted changes. You should call this filter only when you get a false positive (for example caused by a changing date, a changing visitor counter, etc.), but not if a page contains any other highlighted news or changes.
   
   
2. Using the Filter Wizard
   The Filter Wizard lets you create a filter interactively in a very comfortably way. Using the Wizard is an easy task and consists of two steps: firstly you have to select the text you want to ignore/watch and then, secondly, select the type of the filter you want to create (Eg. "the selected text is a text with changing numbers", or "the selected text is a date").
   
   
3. Create the filter manually
   Alternatively to the Auto-Filter system and the Filter Wizard, you can create an Ignore/Watch filter manually with simple Wildcards and/or Regular Expressions.
   
   

1.6.2  Auto-Filter

The Auto-Filter system is a self learning filter system and provides an easy and comfortable way to create a set of Ignore filters automatically based on highlighted changes.


When can the Auto-Filter system be used?

You should call this filter only when you get a false positive (for example caused by a changing date, a changing visitor counter, etc.), but not if a page contains any other highlighted news or changes.

Create an Auto-Filter if you have changes like:

Today is May 29th, 2006 - 13:41:56 am You are visitor number 8,736 Comments (7), Trackback (3)

DON'T create an Auto-Filter if you have changes like:

..... 02-May-2006 WebSite-Watcher 4.10 has been released. This major update introduces often requested Unicode support, many improvements to the user interface and lots of new features. 26-Apr-2006 AM-Notebook 4.0 has been released. This major update comes with many new formatting features, table support, formula based spreadsheets, multi-tab support, clips, predefined styles and much more. .....

How to create an Auto-Filter?

1. Directly in the internal browser of WebSite-Watcher:

Click the Auto-Filter button in the toolbar of the internal browser Click the button "Save learned items" in the Auto-Filter dialog

2. Within the Filter-Wizard:

Open the bookmark properties Click the "Filter-Assistant" button Click the button "Create filter automatically" Click the button "Create Auto-Filter (Ignore highlighted changes)" Click the button "Save learned items" in the Auto-Filter dialog Test your filter with the "Test filter" button (optional, but recommended)

The learning process

After clicking the Auto-Filter button you get the following dialog that shows the number of learned changes and the number of learned filters:



Sometimes a filter can be created immediately the first time you call the Auto-Filter feature, in other cases only changes are learned and a filter will probably be created after a few more learning processes. It's dependent from the type of the change if and when a filter can be created.


WebSite-Watcher cannot create a working Auto-Filter

If WebSite-Watcher isn't able to create a filter automatically, you have to use the Filter Wizard to create a filter manually. Manually created filters have more priority and are executed before Auto-Filters.


Automatically created filters are deleted automatically after some time when they are no longer used. There's no need to maintain these kind of filters manually.

1.6.3  Filter Wizard

The Filter Wizard can be launched in the bookmark properties (by clicking the "Filter-Assistant" button) and offers an easy and comfortably way to create Ignore and Watch filters interactively with only a few mouse clicks.

• Ignore filters are used to ignore a specified part of a web page, for example a daily date.
  
• Watch filters are used to watch only a specified part of a web page and ignore everything else, for example the title and version number of a software product or the last post date in a forum.
  

Creating a filter with the Filter-Wizard consists of two steps

• Step 1: Select the text you want to filter (for example: "Downloads: 11,406")
  
  The selected text should be a unique text which can easily be identified by the filter system. The more precise the selected text the better the chances that WebSite-Watcher can identify and filter it.
  
  If you would select only "11,406", then WebSite-Watcher would filter all numbers with thousand separators in the page, but in combination with the text "Download:" the selection can exactly be identified.
  
  
  
  
  
• Step 2: Select the filter type you want to create (in our case: Ignore selected text with changing numbers)
  
  First you have to decide if you want to create an Ignore or a Watch filter. Each of these two buttons pops up a list of typical filter types where you have to select the filter that suits your selected text. Furthermore you have to decide, if the selected text is a text with or without changing numbers.
  
  In our case the download counter changes frequently, so we have to choose the filter "The selected text contains changing numbers".
  
  
  
  

After you have selected the filter type, a window pops up where WebSite-Watcher displays the matching results. This can be zero results when WebSite-Watcher was not able to find the selected text, one result if the selection was a unique text, or more results if WebSite-Watcher was able to find more matches which are "compatible" with the created filter.

If WebSite-Watcher doesn't find a result, then you should try to make a more precise selection.


The order of filters is important!

Please keep in mind that filters are always executed from top to bottom. If the filter in the first line filters a part of the content, then this content is no longer available for filters in following lines.

Example:

You have defined the following two ignore filters:

   Watcher
   WebSite-Watcher

The first line filters "Watcher". The second line will never find a match since "Watcher" is no longer available after executing the first filter. The correct order for these two filters would be:

   WebSite-Watcher
   Watcher

Here the first line filters all words "WebSite-Watcher". The second line can filter all remaining words "Watcher".


Outdated filters

Outdated ignore filters are detected and deleted automatically after some time when they no longer find any matches. There's no need to maintain and delete these kind of filters manually.

Outdated watch filters are not deleted automatically, you have to maintain these kind of filters manually.


Don't forget to test your filter settings

The feature "Test filter" gives you always the possibility to verify your filter settings by comparing the filtered content of the new page with the filtered content of the old page.

Open the bookmark properties Click the "Filter-Assistant" button Select the text you want to filter/watch Click the button "Create filter manually" Click the button "New Ignore filter" (or "New Watch filter") Select the type of the filter A window is opened which shows the matching results. If the results are correct, then click the OK button to return to the Filter-Wizard Test your filter with the "Test filter" button (optional, but recommended)

1.6.4  Create Ignore / Watch filter manually

Alternatively to the Auto-Filter system and the Filter Wizard you can create all Ignore/Watch filters manually. Enter one filter expression per line. All filter definitions are case insensitive, they are converted to lowercase internally.



The button "New Ignore Filter" (or "New Watch Filter") opens a help dialog where you can enter and validate a filter expression. With the button "Test selected line" you can validate the active line. The "Test filter" button tests the whole filter by comparing the filtered content of the new page with the filtered content of the old page.


Each line can contain one of the following elements:

1. Static text phrase
   You can use that type if you want to ignore specific phrases in a page.
   
   
2. Text with a Wildcard
   Filters with Wildcards consist typically of a start text, an end text and any text between them. The * character (Wildcard) stands for the text between the defined start/end markers.
   
   
3. Regular Expression
   With Regular Expressions you can define complex search and filter expressions which must be placed in special function names, for example "regex(....)".

Wildcard filter

WebSite-Watcher supports 3 types of Wildcard filters with the restriction that only one Wildcard is allowed per filter expression:

• *EndText
  This form filters everything from the page beginning to the first occurrence of "EndText".
  For example: *Daily News
  
  
• StartText*EndText
  This form filters all text areas which begin with "StartText" and end with "EndText".
  For example: Downloads:*Publisher
  
  
• StartText*
  This form filters everything from the last occurrence of "StartText" to the end of the page.
  For example: Users online*
  

Regular Expressions

WebSite-Watcher supports PERL5 compatible Regular Expressions which can be used to define complex filter expressions. Regular Expressions must be placed in one of the following functions:

• regex( ... )
  Filters the given regular expression
  For example: regex(\d+ downloads)
  
  
• StartToRegex( ... )
  Filters everything from the page beginning to the first occurrence of the given Regular Expression
  For example: StartToRegex(\d+ visitors)
  
  
• RegexToRegex( ... , ... )
  Filters everything between two Regular Expressions
  For example: RegexToRegex(Downloads\: \d+,License\:)
  
  
• RegexToEnd( ... )
  Filters everything from the last occurrence of the given Regular Expression to the end of the page
  For example: RegexToEnd(\d+ users online)
  

The order of filters is important!

Please keep in mind that filters are always executed from top to bottom. If the filter in the first line filters a part of the content, then this content is no longer available for filters in following lines.

Example:

You have defined the following two ignore filters:

   Watcher
   WebSite-Watcher

The first line filters "Watcher". The second line will never find a match since "Watcher" is no longer available after executing the first filter. The correct order for these two filters would be:

   WebSite-Watcher
   Watcher

Here the first line filters all words "WebSite-Watcher". The second line can filter all remaining words "Watcher".


Outdated filters

Outdated ignore filters are detected and deleted automatically after some time when they no longer find any matches. There's no need to maintain and delete these kind of filters manually.

Outdated watch filters are not deleted automatically, you have to maintain these kind of filters manually.


Related topics

• Wildcards
• Regular Expressions

Open the bookmark properties Click the "Filter-Assistant" button (or the text "Manual text filter") Enter the filter expressions To test your filter, click the button "Test selected line" or the button "Test filter" to test the whole filter settings (not required, but recommended)

1.6.5  Special Filter

WebSite-Watcher supports some predefined filter options which must only be checked or unchecked, whether you want to use them or not. These filters work for the whole page and not only for specified parts as the Ignore/Watch filters do.

• Ignore all HTML Tags
  This filter is enabled by default and recognizes only the real, readable content of a page while all HTML tags are ignored. This filter should only be disabled under special circumstances, for example if you want to watch any changes in source code of a page.
  The source code excerpt [this is a <b>bold</b> word] contains the HTML-Tags <b> and </b> which let your browser display the word "bold" in bold. This filter removes the HTML-Tags, the result is the text [this is a bold word].
  
  
• Ignore Upper/Lowercase
  By default, all characters are case-insensitive, so changes in upper/lowercase do not cause an update notification. If you want to be notified on capitalization changes, then you have to disable this filter. This may for example be useful when you monitor local directories or mapped Linux drives.
  
  
• Sort words
  This filter sorts all words in a page and was designed for some special situations. If you watch for example a search result where the order of found items is changed each time, then WebSite-Watcher would alert an update with each check. This filter sorts all words in the page and you won't get an update notification when only the order of the found items is changed.
  
  
• Ignore removed elements (alert only if content has been added/changed)
  If this option is enabled, you will be notified only if a page content has been added or modified and not, when content has only been removed. This filter is disabled by default, in most cases you don't need it. If any content is added or modified, then the number of removals are counted to the total number of changes (for the predefined filter "Minimum number of changes"). This filter is used automatically for RSS/Atom feeds regardless it is enabled or not.
  
  
• Watch all changes in link addresses
  If you want to know if any link address in a page has been changed, then you have to use this filter. Link addresses are normally ignored by the filter "Ignore all HTML-Tags".
  
  
• Watch all changes in image addresses
  If you want to know if any image address in a page has been changed, then you have to use this filter. Image addresses are normally ignored by the filter "Ignore all HTML-Tags".
  
  
• Minimum number of changes
  Normally WebSite-Watcher makes an update notification, if at least one change is detected. With that setting you can increase the number of changes which must reached to get an update notification. The dialog "Test filter" displays the number of changes.
  

1.7  Page type dependent settings

1.7.1  RSS / Atom feeds

What is RSS?

RSS feeds provide a way to offer content outside of a web browser and are stored in a structured, uncomfortably readable format. A news page might have an RSS feed which contains only the headlines and links to the full stories. RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication".


WebSite-Watcher and RSS feeds

WebSite-Watcher will convert RSS feeds into a readable format and you can handle them as normal web pages.

Normally no special configuration is required for RSS feeds. If WebSite-Watcher cannot identify an RSS feed automatically and is unable to convert it to a readable web page, then you have to change the file type setting in the bookmark properties from "auto detect" to "rss".

1.7.2  Table based forums

WebSite-Watcher supports a special technique for table based forums, concretely for the pages that list the forum topics. Such a page must typically contain:

1. A table header
   The header tells WebSite-Watcher, where the topic list starts, for example the line:
   Topics | Replies | Author | Views | Last Post
   
   
2. A "Last Post" date
   
   
3. A table footer
   The footer tells WebSite-Watcher, where the topic list ends. The footer should be a static text, for example "Mark forum read" or "Page 1 of".

Typical forums that fulfill these requirements can be found at http://www.aignes.com/forum/.

If a forum fulfills these requirements, you can use the Forum-Wizard to configure all required bookmark settings (such as watch/ignore filters), no further configuration is required in that case.

Create a new bookmark Enter the forum address, for example http://www.aignes.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3 Click the "Wizard" button Select "Forum-Wizard" (this will initialize the page) and follow the steps of the assistant

See also chapter Highlight methods for more information.

1.7.3  FTP files and directories

FTP files and directories

FTP addresses can be monitored by entering the FTP address into the URL field of a bookmark.

If you want to check a single file, you have use the complete address with path and filename. WebSite-Watcher will check the file by file date and file size (entry in the directory listing), no content is transferred.

If you want to monitor a complete folder, the last character of the URL must be a Slash / (without a filename)!


How to check the content of a (text) file

With the checking method "automatic" a file is checked via the directory listing. If you want to check a file by content (for example a text file), you have to change the checking method to "check-by-content". Then the whole file is downloaded and checked by it's content.


Password protected FTP files / directories

By default WebSite-Watcher uses anonymous FTP logins. If an FTP server is password protected, you have to enter username and password in the bookmark properties (Advanced + Server Authentication).

1.7.4  Binary files

WebSite-Watcher will analyze the server log file and determine, how a binary file can be checked. Possible methods are:

• Check the file by file date
• Check the file by file size
• Check parts of the file content

Dependent from the server log, WebSite-Watcher uses one or a combination of these techniques. Binary files are not downloaded completely when they are checked for updates.

Normally no special settings are required for binary files. If WebSite-Watcher cannot identify a binary file (for example when a script redirects to a binary file), then you have to change the file type from "auto detect" to "binary".

1.7.5  Images, PDF- and Flash files

Images, PDF- and Macromedia Flash files are handled as binary files. Dependent from the server log file, one or a combination of the following checking methods is used:

• Check the file by file date
• Check the file by file size
• Check parts of the file content

The addresses of these file types can be inserted into the URL field of a bookmark, but it's not possible to highlight differences in PDF files nor to use the filter settings to ignore unwanted content.

Normally no special settings are required for these file types. If WebSite-Watcher cannot identify these files as binary (for example when a script redirects to a binary file), then you have to change the file type from "auto detect" to "binary".

1.7.6  Local files and folders

WebSite-Watcher supports monitoring local files and folders. Local addresses can be inserted directly into the URL field (eg. c:\projects\bookmark.wsw), or by entering the directory or file via the user interface (click the options button and select a file/folder from the popup menu).


Monitor a directory with subdirectories

If you want to check a folder and all files in subfolders, you have to use the Follow-Links feature. It's recommended to start with link depth 1 and increase that value if needed.


Directories and the modified date

If a file in a directory is changed, then the modified date of the corresponding directory is changed, too. This will probably give you redundant update notifications which can be avoided as follows:

1. Create an appropriate filter
   This can be done with the Filter-Wizard, examples see below.
   
   
2. Display the creation date instead of the modified date
   Alternatively you can display the creation date instead of the modified date for folders by entering the following line to the Tweak section or the program configuration:
   CheckLocalFolderUseCreationDate=1

Create Filter using the Filter-Wizard

A directory listing has the following format:

2005-02-20 23:12:16   DIR          FirstFolder 2006-03-20 13:11:26   DIR          AnotherFolder 2006-01-08 12:01:22   FILE   zip   MyZipFile.zip 1.187.673 Bytes 2006-03-12 13:12:31   FILE   zip   ZipFileName.zip 3.374.123 Bytes 2006-04-11 11:58:47   FILE   zip   FileName13.zip 2.342.234 Bytes

Ignore date changes of directories:

Open the Filter-Wizard Select "2006-03-20 13:11:26 DIR" Select "New Ignore Filter + Selected Text + The selected text contains changing numbers"

Ignore date changes of all zip files:

Open the Filter-Wizard Select "2006-04-04 17:22:06 FILE zip" Select "New Ignore Filter + Selected Text + The selected text contains changing numbers"

Ignore changes of specific files:

Open the Filter-Wizard Select a whole line, for example "2006-04-04 17:22:06 FILE zip ZipFileName.zip 1.187.673 Bytes" Select "New Ignore Filter + Selected Text + The selected text contains changing numbers"

1.8  Password protected pages

1.8.1  Server Authentication

Server Authentication is a special technique to protect pages from public access. You can identify that type of login, when a small dialog pops up where you have to enter username and password, as the following screenshot shows:



If you get such a dialog, you have to enter username and password in the bookmark properties (Advanced + Server Authentication)

If the fields for username and password are placed within a web page, then it is a web based login and you have to record a Check-Macro.

Open the bookmark properties Select the Advanced tab Select "Server Authentication" on the left side Enter username and password

1.8.2  Web based logins / Check-Macros

What are web based logins?

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 technique, it's dependent from the server and the webmaster how the login technique is implemented.


WebSite-Watcher and web based logins

Unfortunately there is no general way to automate web based logins. To handle web based logins, WebSite-Watcher supports a technique called Check-Macros. A Check-Macro can be recorded interactively with the integrated tool MiniBrowser and stores all steps you make when you login and surf to the page you want to watch. WebSite-Watcher repeats all these steps when a bookmark is checked for updates.

To record a macro, you have to click the Check-Macro button in the bookmark properties. This will start MiniBrowser and a dialog where you have to enter the Start-URL of the macro.



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.

• Record dynamic values
  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". In the bookmark properties you can use the internal check technology or the Internet Explorer/Browser technology to check the bookmark.
  
  
• Record static values
  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 works usually for pages without Javascript. If a page requires Javascript, you can check the option "Use Internet Explorer to access websites". In the bookmark properties you can use the internal check technology or the Internet Explorer/Browser technology to check the bookmark.
  
  
• Internet Explorer Macro
  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 played. 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 used.
  

That sounds probably very technical yet, but to make things easier to understand you have simply to try another record option if a macro doesn't work. Best way is to start with method #1, if it doesn't work, then try method #2 and method #3.


Session-ID which is located in the path of an URL

In some cases a page inserts a dynamic Session-ID into the path of an URL which is not available as a variable (from URL parameters or cookies).

For example http://www.aignes.com/download/00938-8837-8872/files/file.htm where 00938-8837-8872 is the Session-ID. If you have such a case, you need this feature to handle the dynamic Session-ID which is located in the path of the URL. Do not use this feature for URLs which have the format http://www.aignes.com/index.htm?sessionID=9987-2234123

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.

Typical examples:

• \d+\-\d+\-\d+
  will find a Session-ID with format 123-456-789 (exact two minus characters)
  
  
• \d[0-9,a-z,-]+
  Session-ID with format 1sij9-13j8-1234 (leading number, then numbers, characters and/or minus characters)
  
  
• files/\d+
  Session-ID with numbers after the path "files", eg. files/123666354
  

GET / POST dialogs during macro recording

For each URL which is opened during macro recording, a dialog pops up (only for the methods "Record dynamic/static values"). This dialog contains the used download technique (GET or POST), the URL and some additional parameters (for example the values after filling out a form). Normally you can press the GET button to continue recording (or the POST button in case of the POST command). Only if you are performing a logout, you have to check the appropriate checkbox in that dialog.


Demos and Videos

To make things more understandable, you can find some videos at http://www.aignes.com/support.htm. These videos show how Check-Macros can be used to login to a password protected page or how a search query can be performed

Create a new bookmark Press the "Check-Macro" button in the bookmark properties A window pops up, enter the Start-URL of the macro Click the button "Start recording" Surf to the page you want to watch (for each step a dialog pops up where you can normally continue by clicking the GET or POST button) When you have reached the page you want to watch, press the OK button at the bottom of the MiniBrowser window (if you want to perform a logout, you have to do this before. You have to select the "logout" checkbox in the dialog that pops up for each URL) The OK button at the bottom of the dialog will stop recording and return to the bookmark properties Click the "Check Now" button to check the page

1.8.3  Password protected FTP files

By default WebSite-Watcher uses anonymous FTP logins.

If an FTP server is password protected, you have to enter username and password in the bookmark properties (Advanced + Server Authentication).

Open the bookmark properties Select the Advanced tab Select "Server Authentication" on the left side Enter username and password

1.9  Highlight changes

1.9.1  Highlight methods

If WebSite-Watcher detects an update, the changes in the text will be highlighted. WebSite-Watcher supports several methods to highlight textual changes.

• Standard
  The standard method is a general purpose method which should work with nearly all types of pages. It has been designed to ignore changes in the page structure (for example when content is moved between table columns) and works very well for news pages. It is a general purpose method while the other methods are optimized for special situations or page types.
  
  
• Forum (table based)
  This highlight method is optimized for table based forums and tries to highlight whole topic lines when a new topic or reply has been posted. To use that highlight method, you have to assign a Forum-Template which can be done interactively with the Forum-Wizard. This wizard will also configure all other important options (such as ignore/watch filters), no further bookmark configuration is required in that case. This is the most efficient way to monitor table based forums. The topic list must list the time of the last post, otherwise this method will not work.
  
  
• Table based (highlight whole, changed rows)
  You can choose this highlight method if you want to highlight whole lines of a table when at least the content of single cell has been changed. To prevent highlighting a whole line when only columns with a single number have been changed, you can select the option "Cells with a changed number don't highlight the whole line".
  
  
• Exact
  The exact method uses a more detailed analysis to detect changes. It may work well with pages where only some details are updated, for example single numbers within a table. It's dependent from the page if that method works better than the Standard method.
  

Open the bookmark properties Select the Advanced tab Select "Highlight changes" on the left side Configure the highlight settings

1.9.2  Highlight images

WebSite-Watcher can optionally put highlight-borders around changed images.


How are changed images detected?

That's dependent from the image configuration. WebSite-Watcher supports three different configurations to download or images:

1. Download all images
   If an update is detected, then WebSite-Watcher downloads all images immediately and save them to your hard disk. With that option WebSite-Watcher will use the image content to determine if an image has been changed. This is the most reliable method to put highlight-borders around changed images.
   
   
2. Use absolute image addresses
   With that setting, WebSite-Watcher downloads only the html page and loads the images from their server as soon as you open the page in your browser. If you use absolute image addresses, then WebSite-Watcher will compare the filenames of the images to determine, if they have been changed or not.
   
   
3. Display grey boxes instead of images
   It's the fastest method to check and open pages, but you will see grey boxes instead of the images when you open a page in your browser. With that option WebSite-Watcher is not able to highlight images.
   

Please note, that a web page is only marked as changed, when a textual change in a page has been detected, and not when only an image has been changed!
If you want to watch a concrete image, you can put the image address into the bookmark's URL field.

Open the bookmark properties Select the Advanced tab Select "Highlight changes" on the left side En/Disable the "Highlight images" option

Related topics

• Image configuration

1.10  Newsgroups

1.10.1  Newsgroups

The newsgroup functionality of WebSite-Watcher provides an easy way to monitor newsgroups for specified keywords or to stay updated with low traffic newsgroups.

The newsgroup module doesn't replace a real newsreader, it has also some limitations for high traffic newsgroups where a typical newsreaders supports better and more advanced functionalities (for example filters, scoring, etc).

The newsgroup functionality works only in the internal browser of WebSite-Watcher, it's not possible to open newsgroup in the external browser.

1.10.2  Server

Use this dialog to add, remove and maintain the available list of news servers.

For each server you can define a descriptive name, the server address and an identity (for posting articles). The server name and the port number must be entered, default port is 119.

The identity section contains some pre-defined fields which are used when you post new articles or replies. If no identity is defined, then it must be entered each time you post an article.

1.10.3  Add Newsgroups

Select the server

In a first step you have to select a newsserver from the drop-down box. If no newsserver is listed, then click the "News-Server..." button to add and configure a server.

If you haven't already downloaded the available newsgroups for the selected server, then this list is downloaded automatically. Downloading the available newsgroups can take up to several minutes. Usually you can let the option "Download available newsgroups" unchecked, re-downloading the list is only required if you are looking for new newsgroups on the server.


Subscribe to groups

After pressing the "Next" button you will see all available newsgroups for the selected server. Click the checkbox in the left column to subscribe to one or more newsgroups. To search for specific groups, you can enter one or more search terms into the search field. For example "music rock" (without quotes) will list all newsgroups which contain "music" and "rock", eg. the newsgroup alt.music.modern.rock


Monitor only headers or full articles with bodies

After you have selected the newsgroups, you are asked in a last step if you want to download newsgroup bodies immediately. Otherwise only the headers (author and subject) are monitored and the bodies (the text of the articles) will be downloaded on demand.

You should only download bodies immediately if you want to monitor the text of articles for specific keywords. In all other cases it doesn't make really sense since the check takes longer and more data must be transferred. Using that option means that you also download bodies for postings you aren't interested in.

If you only want to monitor a newsgroup for new postings and replies, then you should not use the "download bodies" option. The check is faster in that case and bodies can be downloaded on request when you want to read them.

1.10.4  Threads

This dialog shows all postings for the selected thread.

Shortcuts

Esc - close window
Space - Scroll down the body text

To open the next unread posting or to go to the next/previous posting, you can use the same optional shortcuts as in the WebSite-Watcher main window.


Replies

If you want to post an answer to a message, simply click the Reply button in the toolbar.

Quotes in replies:

• If no text is selected in the original message, then the whole body is inserted as quoted text.
• If a text is selected in the original message, then only the selected text is inserted as quoted text.

1.10.5  Post articles

WebSite-Watcher contains a basic posting functionality, you can enter all fields which are required to post an article. Name, e-mail and the signature can be predefined in the server configuration dialog.

Quotes in replies:

• If no text is selected in the original message, then the whole body is inserted as quoted text.
• If a text is selected in the original message, then only the selected text is inserted as quoted text.

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1.11  Report / Export

1.11.1  Overview / Templates

The Report/Export feature lets you create reports in your own text, html or xml format. To export bookmarks to a user defined format, you have to work with templates. A report template is a HTML file (for HTML reports) or a text file (for text exports) which contains several predefined datafields. These datafields will be replaced with real values when the report is created.

Reports are always written in the UTF-8 character set!


What to do in WebSite-Watcher?

Create a new report by clicking the "New..." button Select a report template Select the output file into which the report should be created Select the "Bookmarks" tab where you can choose the bookmarks you want to add to the report

General structure of a HTML report template (without folders)

<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <title>your title</title> </head> <body> Your header text {wsw_begin_url}   <a href="{wsw_url_url}" target="_top">{wsw_url_name}</a><br>   {wsw_url_text}<br>   date: {wsw_url_date_changed}<br> {wsw_end_url} <br> <br> report date: {wsw_report_date}<br> </body> </html>

General structure of a HTML report template (with folders)

<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <title>your title</title> </head> <body> Your header text {wsw_begin_folder}   Folder: <b>{wsw_folder_name}</b><br><br>   {wsw_begin_url}     <a href="{wsw_url_url}" target="_top">{wsw_url_name}</a><br>     {wsw_url_text}<br>     date: {wsw_url_date_changed}<br>   {wsw_end_url} {wsw_end_folder} <br> <br> report date: {wsw_report_date}<br> </body> </html>

1.11.2  Datafields for bookmarks

The following datafields are related to bookmarks and can