All monitored tasks are stored in TestList files (with the HML extension - HostMonitor List). Any number of HML files can be created, but only one may be loaded into the program at any given time. However, if you need to perform simultaneously multiple tests defined in different HML files, you can launch several instances of HostMonitor, each with its own HML file.

To open an HML file, either

• use the File -> Load TestList menu command;
• pick one of the recently used HML files listed under File -> Recent list
• specify a file to load in the HostMonitor command line using the parameter "/List=TestListFileName";
• or define a default TestList in the Options dialog on the "Startup" page.

By default, the last used file is loaded at program startup.
You can also load an HML file implicitly as part of an HMS script (see the LoadTestList command for more details). To run a script use the File -> Execute script menu command.

All commands for operations with TestLists are located in the "File" menu:

New TestList	-	Closes the current list (if opened) and creates a new empty list
Load TestList	-	Displays the Open dialog box for loading an existing TestList
Recent List	-	Follow the arrow to choose from the list of recently used TestList files
Append from HML file	-	Appends items from an existing HML file to the current list
Import from IP-Tools	-	Imports data from an IP-Tools HostList file and appends the items to the current list
Import from Text file	-	Imports data from a special format text file
Export to Text file	-	Exports the settings of all (or selected) tests into text file
Start HML Manager	-	Starts the HML Manager utility for manipulations with tests in HML files
Execute script	-	Executes an HMScript
Save	-	Saves the current file
Save as	-	Saves the current file under a new name
Print	-	Prints a report
Exit	-	Exits HostMonitor

All information relating to the tests defined in the current TestList, is displayed in the program's main window.

The main HostMonitor window is divided into five logical areas, each of which can be made visible or hidden in menu View (except the Test Detail Area, which is always visible):

• Folder Tree;
• Test Detail Area;
• Info Pane & Quick Log Pane;
• Folder bar;
• Status bar

This window is customizable to your personal preferences. You can change font style and font color, select color palette, change size or make some parts invisible, select style for test list, etc (Click here to see more screen shots).
For more information see Options->Interface and Options->Preferences.

First introduced in HostMonitor v. 3.0, folders help you organize your tests in logical groups presented as a tree-like structure. The folder tree is displayed in the left-hand panel of the main HostMonitor window. Each folder may contain tests and/or nested subfolders, and has a number of properties which you may change or edit in Folder Properties dialog. Those settings are located on the following pages:

• Columns: on this page you may define the list of visible fields (in other words the list of test attributes to display) and the list of attributes to sort tests by;
• Folder colors: on this page you may select a Color palette specific to the folder (by default all folders use the same palette, specified in the Options dialog);
• Reports: up to 6 individual reports can be associated with a folder;
• Statistics: settings on this page allow you to setup a schedule to reset statistical information for the tests;

• Comment: inheritable comment for the folder. It can be used for informational purposes; also comments can be used as parameters for actions. E.g. you may use 1st comment line as a destination e-mail address for alerts that send notification messages to responsible staff. Another comment line may be used as a name of the server that should be rebooted by "restart remote system" action. In this way you may use a single action profile for sending alerts to different recipients that are responsible for tests within the folder.
  You can access the whole comment or a particular comment line using macro variables %FolderComment%, %FCommentLineXX% (where XX is a number of the line). For more information, refer to macro variables section of this manual.

A new folder automatically inherits properties defined for the parent folder (the top folder inherits the common settings defined in the Options dialog). Once a folder is created, you can change its properties as needed, rename or delete the folder, create tests and nested subfolders, and so on.
For example. you can set up a folder representing your company, define a set of report profiles (for the administrator, IT manager, technical support crew, etc.), then create several subfolders, one for each of the company's offices, and you are done! HostMonitor will be automatically generating uniform reports for all company offices (each report will contain test results specific to the office).
In another example, folders can be created based on a test method (Ping, CPU Usage, etc.). For each folder, define a different set of visible columns, depending on the type of test. Thus, for a ping test folder a logical choice would include the "Reply" field, whereas for a CPU Usage folder catalog the "Average reply" field might make sense.
Folder properties are edited in the Folder Properties dialog available through the Properties command in the pop-up menu that appears when you right-click on a folder.

As you can see in the picture above, the editable properties on the Columns page are grayed out. This is because the "Use inheritable settings from parent" option is selected, which means the folder being edited does not define properties (visible columns in this case) of its own, but rather uses ones specified somewhere up the folder hierarchy. This way, changes made to an upper-level catalog are automatically propagated onto its descendent subfolders.

Similarly, the other folder properties, like Color Scheme and Reports, can be either inherited from the parent or set individually for any particular folder.
HostMonitor supports Drag & Drop operations, allowing you to easily move folders around, change their display order, and move tests from one catalog to another.

Appearing on the right side, the Test Detail Area displays, in table form, tests contained in the current (selected) folder and (if the Show tests in subfolders option is enabled) its descendent subfolders. As was mentioned in the Folder Tree section, display parameters for the Test Detail Area, like visible columns, color scheme, etc can be changed for the whole program or for the selected folders.

As you would expect, all tests defined in the working TestList are performed according to their schedules, regardless of whether they are currently displayed or not.
To perform the operations with a test or a group of tests you can use Toolbar, popup menu or a Test menu in the main window of the program. Tests and their parameters are defined in the Test Properties dialog.


Toolbar


The Test DetailArea toolbar is located right above the test grid, and contains six buttons accompanied by a pull-down menu:

Add button - brings up the Test Properties dialog to let you create a new test;
Add pull-down menu - lists all available test methods; choosing an item brings up the Test Properties dialog with the appropriate test method pre-selected in it.
Edit button - allows you to edit the properties of the selected test in the Test Properties dialog.
Remove button - removes the selected test.

Refresh button - refreshes status information for tests in the selected folder, by performing each of the tests immediately.
Refresh pull-down menu:

With the Info Pane made visible, information on the currently selected test is displayed in the resizable area at the bottom, right below the Test Detail Area, allowing you to grasp a test's details at one sight. The Info Pane comes in particularly handy when you choose to display tests in the Test Detail Area as small or large icons (see Options dialog -> Interface page for more information on display options).
Use menu "View" -> "Info Pane" to make this pane visible or to hide it.

Quick Log pane allows you to check the history of latest events for each test or folder. When you select menu "View" -> "Quick Log", HostMonitor opens a pane located at the bottom of the main window and displays last 10 events for selected test or 50 events for selected folder (folder's list includes last events for every test within the folder).
The term "event" means a log record that was added with every test status change. If logging mode for the test is set to "Reply" or "Full", HostMonitor will add a new record when test status changes or the value of "Reply" field changes.

The Folder Bar provides a convenient way of accessing the tree when you need it, so that you can hide the Folder Tree panel and free up some screen space for the Test Detail Area. The name of the currently selected folder appears in the text box inside the Folder Bar. To select a different folder, pick a folder in the folder tree dialog that pops up when you click the button to the right of the text box.

Depending on the mouse pointer position, the Status Bar provides you with some helpful information on where you are and what is going on.