Contacting Tetranet

Tetranet's Email Addresses:

•	Support or feature suggestions: support@tetranetsoftware.com

•	Sales: sales@tetranetsoftware.com

•	Marketing and business: marketing@tetranetsoftware.com

•	Mailing list for future upgrades and releases: upgrades@tetranetsoftware.com

•	General Information: info@tetranetsoftware.com

Tetranet's Telephone and Fax:

•	Phone: 1-613-599-3888, Sales Toll Free 1-888-245-5550

•	Fax: 1-613-599-3826

Tetranet’s Website:

•	Main Page: http://www.tetranetsoftware.com

•	Linkbot Information: http://www.tetranetsoftware.com/products/linkbot.htm

•	Linkbot Support: http://www.tetranetsoftware.com/support/

•	Purchasing Instructions: http://www.tetranetsoftware.com/buynow/

See also:

Purchasing or Upgrading Linkbot


Download a Linkbot User Manual

The Linkbot User's Manual is not included with the on-line version of Linkbot.  However, you can download an electronic copy from: http://www.tetranetsoftware.com/download

The manual is stored in Adobe PDF format. You must have an Adobe Acrobat reader to view and print this document. The Acrobat reader can be downloaded free from: http://www.adobe.com.

Other Sources of Linkbot Information:

•	On-line help: This on-line help system contains extensive information about Linkbot's functions and features.  You can access specific information about each dialog window by pressing the help buttons provided.

•	On-line Tutorial: An Linkbot tutorial (in HTML format) is included with this software. The tutorial will walk you through Linkbot's major functions. You should be able to access the tutorial from your "Start" menu button.

•	Tetranet Website: The Website contains the latest pricing, support and feature lists for Linkbot. You can access the Website at http://www.linkbot.com


Downloading the latest version
Downloading the Latest Version of Linkbot

A new version of Linkbot is released approximately once every four months. Minor upgrades are usually posted monthly.  The latest version of Linkbot can always be downloaded from Tetranet’s Web site (http://www.tetranetsoftware.com).

Upgrade Notification List

The Web site also contains information about what’s new with Linkbot and Tetranet.  You can receive notification of major upgrades by email if you add yourself to the Linkbot mailing list.  To do this, send an email to upgrades@tetranetsoftware.com with the subject: Add to list.  You can also remove yourself from the list by sending mail to the same address with the subject: Remove from list.


Linkbot Registration Notice
Linkbot Registration

You must fill out the on-line registration form if you want to qualify for free upgrades and notifications.

To register:

•	Press the YES button when asked if you would like to register. Linkbot will then open the registration page (http://tetranetsoftware.com/register.htm) into your default browser.

To turn off the registration notice:

•	Check the box that reads "don't warn me about this again" and press the No button. Note that Linkbot will not automatically turn this notice off for you, even if you have already registered.


Registering Linkbot
Purchasing Linkbot

Once your 15 day trial has expired you must purchase Linkbot to continue using it.  Linkbot can be purchased directly from Tetranet or through an authorized reseller. For the latest pricing and payment information:

•	Call: 1-888-245-5550 or 1-613-599-3888

•	See the Web site at: http://tetranetsoftware.com/

When you purchase Linkbot you will be given a code that will activate the software. If you purchased the boxed copy of Linkbot 3.6 or greater, your activation key should be on the inside cover of your manual.

See also:

How to contact Tetranet


Upgrade Notice

To use this updated version of Linkbot you must purchase an upgrade. Your upgrade will include one year of free updates. For more information:

•	Call: Toll Free 1-888-245-5550 or 1-613-599-3888

•	See the Web site at: http://www.tetranetsoftware.com/

See also:

How to contact Tetranet


Linkbot Standard Limitations

By upgrading your copy of Linkbot Standard to Linkbot Pro, you will gain the following features:

•	Increased Speed: Linkbot Standard can only check 5 URLs at the same time. Linkbot Pro can check 30 at the same time giving it much faster performance.

•	Orphan checking: Linkbot Pro can scan your Web server for files that are no longer being used in order to recover wasted space and clean up your server.

•	Filters: Linkbot Pro allows you to specify URLs that will be ignored during the analysis.

•	Password protected pages: Linkbot Pro allows you to check links that are protected by password authentication.

•	Built in scheduling: Automate your site maintenance by scheduling reports at regular intervals.

•	Missing attributes report: find images missing alt, height and width tags.

For information on how to upgrade to Linkbot Pro, See How to purchase or upgrade Linkbot .


Linkbot Order Form
Ordering Linkbot

See: http://www.tetranetsoftware.com/buynow/  for ordering information.


Linkbot Support

Before reporting a problem, please check the on-line support site at: http://www.tetranetsoftware.com/support/.  If the answer to your problem is not listed there, you can:

1.	Best option: Fill out the support request form at the support section on the Web site.

2.	Send your support question to support@tetranetsoftware.com or

3.	Call technical support at 613-599-3888.

If you email or call please make sure to include the following information:

•	Company or personal name.

•	Telephone or email address where you can be reached.

•	Detailed problem description and any error messages.

•	Instructions for how we can replicate the problem.

•	Version number and system information. To get this: Choose System information from the help menu. Copy the data displayed there into your email message.

See also:

How to contact Tetranet

Purchasing or Upgrading Linkbot


What's New in Linkbot 2.0
What's New in Linkbot

Linkbot contains all the tools you need to maintain an error-free Website. Here's a few of features we've added since Linkbot 3.0:

•	Support for anchors

•	Report that lists links missing attributes

•	embedded Web browser

•	customizable HTML reports

•	improved report printing

•	support for multiple option configurations

•	dial-up support for scheduling

•	command line interface

•	report that lists pages with missing titles

•	report that lists problems grouped by author

•	ability to publish an alphabetical HTML index for your site

•	improved filter options

•	support for robots.txt

•	support for cookies

•	improved performance

•	ability to edit remote HTML files

•	ability to turn off case sensitivity option

See also:

Complete list of features.


System Requirements

Linkbot requires:

•	Windows 95, 98 or NT.

•	16 MB RAM, 5 MB hard disk space.

•	32-bit standard Winsock 1.1-compliant Internet connection.

•	Any Web browser for viewing HTML reports.

•	Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) recommended for viewing Web pages within Linkbot's Browse Tab  (optional). If you do not have IE installed, Linkbot will still function but you will not be able to use this feature.


What is Linkbot
What is Linkbot and How Does it Work?

Linkbot is an award-winning suite of site management utilities that help Webmasters maintain, test and organize their sites. Linkbot contains all the tools you need to maintain an error-free site.

1. Locate broken links, missing images, stale content, missing titles and images with missing attributes.

The quality of a Web site is a direct reflection of the company that produced it. Web site bugs like broken links and stale content project a negative impression about a company's products and services. Linkbot helps keep a site error-free by weeding out problems like dead links and stale files, and allowing you to make the necessary changes to the HTML text directly within the Linkbot interface.

2. Identify unused (orphaned) files

Is it safe to delete that old file from the Web server? Linkbot can answer this question for you by scanning your Web server for files that are no longer being used. This will help you recover wasted disk space and have peace of mind while you're doing it.

3. Find large pages with slow download times

About 70% of Internet users connect at speeds of 28.8 Kbs or less.  Are you losing visitors because of slow download times?  Linkbot can scan your site and identify bloated pages which could use slimming.

4. Visualize the structure and organization of the site

Explore the structure of your site in Linkbot's intuitive "Explorer style" interface. View the links in and out of any page. Get critical information at a glance about every file on your site.

5. Isolate subsections of the site using customizable filters

As sites get bigger and bigger, they become harder to organize and maintain. Linkbot's powerful filters allow Webmasters to isolate and act upon smaller subsections of the site.

6. Schedule Web site analyses to automate routine maintenance

Linkbot gives Webmasters the power to completely automate maintenance by scheduling regular analyses of the site.

6. Produce HTML based reports of the key problem areas

When Linkbot finishes its scan, it will prompt you to generate an HTML report. The HTML based Site Report outlines the key problem areas for your site.

How it Works

After you enter a starting URL, Linkbot will traverse through your entire site checking the links between every URL it encounters. Linkbot will branch down every local link but it will only verify the integrity of external links. Linkbot will not branch onto an external site and check its links too.  The search will continue until:

1.	The user terminates the analysis

2.	There are no more links to check

3.	The search depth stopping criterion have been met

Linkbot gives you two ways to view the results of its analysis: 1) in the explorer style interface or 2) in an HTML report.

Also See:

Complete list of features.

What's New in Linkbot?

Types of links Linkbot can check

Types of  link statistics Linkbot gathers


Summary of Features
Features and Benefits

Linkbot contains all the tools you need to maintain an error-free site:

•	Find and repair broken links.

•	Find bloated pages that may be slow to download.

•	Find out-dated pages that haven't been updated recently.

•	Find pages with missing titles and images missing attributes.

•	Find un-used orphan files that may be wasting space on your Webserver.

BASIC FEATURES

•	Uses a high performance, multi-tasking engine.

•	Supports HTTP, HTTPs and FTP protocols.

•	Checks internal and external links.

•	Checks for broken anchors.

•	Checks for unused (orphan) files.

•	Checks for stale content.

•	Checks for slow pages.

•	Checks syntax of mailto URLs.

•	Filters groups of URLs from the analysis.

•	Works from local disk or remote server.

•	Supports password protected proxy servers and authenticated page requests.

MAPPING AND ORGANIZATION

•	Maps out the structure of site in an Explorer style interface.

•	Shows links in and out of a selected URL.

•	Sorts the site’s URL list by title, description, author, size, last modified date and type.

•	Provides advanced filters for viewing subsets of a site's contents.

MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

•	Provides built in HTML editing.

•	Re-checks specific subsets of URLs on a site.

•	Exports results to a delimited file.

HTML REPORTS

•	Creates a comprehensive HTML report made up of 12 integrated sections.

AUTOMATION

•	Automates maintenance with customizable scheduling options.

Also See:

What's New in Linkbot ?

Types of links Linkbot can check

Types of  link statistics Linkbot gathers


Types of links that can be checked

This version of Linkbot will check links to all HTTP, HTTPs and FTP resources. Linkbot also checks links to password protected pages.  Linkbot will check the syntax of mailto references but it can not determine if the mail address is valid or not.

Linkbot supports all standard HTML 3.2 tags. It will also check references to Java classes.

Also See:

Type of statistics Linkbot can gather

Complete list of features.

What's New in Linkbot?


Types of link statistics Linkbot gathers

Linkbot can gather 8 statistics about each URL.  Each of these statistics is shown as a new column in the Child and Parent tabs.  Note that not all these statistics will be available for each URLs.  Some statistics don’t apply to specific kinds of links and some Web servers do not supply them.  If a statistic is unavailable, it will appear empty in the report.

Explanation of link statistics:

•	Link URL: The URL of the link being verified.  Each type of URL will be identified with a different icon.

•	Link Status: Indicates whether the link is broken and what the error message returned by the server was.  'Good' means the link is OK.  'Error' means the link is broken. Warnings can be generated for a variety of reasons.  Warnings with the message "Not checked"  indicate that Linkbot did not check this link because it was an external site or it doesn't have the capability to check this link type.  To make Linkbot check external links, see setting search depth options.

•	Type: The link type (HTTP, FILE, Mailto, News, FTP etc..)

•	Description: The descriptive text associated with a URL.  In Web pages, this text appears underlined.

•	Document Title: The document title of the link in question. Note that Linkbot will not gather document titles for external links.

•	Last modified: The date the document was last modified.  Not all HTML authors include this information.

•	Author: The name of the author that created the HTML document.

•	Link Size: The size, in bytes, of the HTML document or image.

Also See:

Types of links Linkbot can check

Complete list of features.

What's New in Linkbot?


Overview of the interface

The Linkbot interface closely resembles that of your Windows 95 file explorer.  To start an analysis of your site, enter a starting URL in the 'address' field on the toolbar, then press the return key.

Linkbot gives quick access to all the information a Webmaster requires. The left side of Linkbot's report window can be toggled between one of six views:

1.	URL Tree: Shows the site structure in a collapsible tree diagram. Useful for interactively exploring the site. For example, selecting the "All Links" icon in the URL Tree will display all the site's URLs in the Child Tab. The Webmaster can then use filters to view a subset of the site's objects.

2.	Broken Links: Lists all the broken URLs on the site. By selecting a URL in this list and then clicking on the "Parent Links" tab, you can see all pages that reference the bad link.

3.	Pages Referencing Broken Links: Lists all pages that contain one or more bad links. By selecting a page and then clicking on the "Child Links" tab, you can see all the bad links within that URL.

4.	Old Pages: Lists pages that have not been modified in a specified time interval.

5.	Slow Pages: Lists pages that may be slow for visitors to download.

6.	Orphaned Pages: Lists unused files that are taking up space on the Web server.

You can also toggle the right side of Linkbot's report windows between one of four tabs:

1.	Children Tab: The Child Links tab displays the URLs inside the page selected on the left side of the report window. It details the features of each URL: status, description, title, author, file size and last modified date.  The URL list can be sorted by feature by simply clicking on the heading of each feature column.

2.	Parents Tab: The Parent Links tab displays the URLs that reference the object selected on the left side of the screen.

3.	HTML Tab: The HTML Text window is used for editing and repairing the actual HTML code. See the Repairing Links section below for more information.

4.	Browse Tab: The Browser Tab displays the selected URL in an embedded Internet Explorer Browser.

5.	Properties Tab: The Properties Tab provides a single view summary of the statistics of the URL selected in the left side of the window. This includes: status, description, title, author, file size and last modified date.

See Also

Complete list of features.

What's New in Linkbot?

Explanation of report fields

Getting started checking links

Viewing your results in an HTML site report


HTML Reports
HTML Site Report

At the end of each run you will be prompted to create an HTML Site Report. The Site Report is an integrated set of nine HTML reports that summarize different problem areas on your site:

•	Site Summary: two tables listing the breakdown of errors by URL type.

•	Warnings: warnings include temporary and permanent redirects and other miscellaneous, non critical problems.

•	Broken URLs: a detailed listing of all URLs that are not functioning.

•	Broken Pages: a listing of all pages that contain bad URLs summarized by author .

•	What's New?: A listing of all documents that have been modified in a specified time period. You can customize the time period covered in the what's new? page in the options.

•	What's Old? A listing of all documents that have not been modified in a specified time period. You can customize the time period covered by the what's old? page in the options.

•	What's Slow? A listing of all documents that will be slow for visitors to download. You can customize the definition of what's slow in the options.

•	Orphaned URLs: A list of all files that are found on the Web server but are not referenced by the actual web site. This feature is useful for cleaning out unused files from your server.

•	Pages Missing Titles: Lists pages that are missing the title tag.

•	Missing Attributes: Lists images that are missing ALT, height and width tags.

•	Image Catalog: A thumb nail gallery of all the images on your site.


Tips for sites with many different authors

If your site contains more than one author, you may wish to create custom reports for each author which detail the problems in pages that each author is responsible for.  There are two ways to accomplish this:

1.	Using meta tags

2.	By scanning subdirectories of the site instead of the whole site

Using Meta Tags

If you embedded meta tags into your documents that identify the author of the page, Linkbot will create a report that groups the problems on your site by author. To specify a page's author enter the following hidden meta tags into the head area of the HTML page:

<HEAD>

<META NAME="Author" content="John Smith">

</HEAD>

To view the errors grouped by author:

•	Create an HTML site report.

•	Select the broken pages report from the menu. Linkbot will then display the desired report in the right hand frame of the Site Report.

Scanning Subdirectories

If each author on your site is responsible for a directory on the Web server, you can have Linkbot analyze this directory and all its subdirectories. The report Linkbot creates from this analysis will only reflect the individual author's problems, not the entire Web site's.

To create an analysis of a subdirectory:

1.	Choose Options from the Tools menu.

2.	In the Search Tab, check the box labeled "only check the starting directory and subdirs".

3.	Start the analysis by entering the URL of the author's subdirectory e.g. http://tetranetsoftware.com/bob/

If there are many authors on the site, you may wish to automate the generation of these reports using the Linkbot scheduler.  This will enable you to configure the analysis for each author once, then repeat the generation of the customized reports each time Linkbot is started.

Also See

Scheduling Linkbot


Maintenance of Large Sites

If your site is very large, you may wish to subdivide Linkbot's analysis by directory instead of checking the entire site at once. Using this method, you can create reports for subsections of your site instead of one enormous report for the whole site.

To create an analysis of a subdirectory:

1.	Choose Options from the Tools menu.

2.	In the Search Tab, check the box labeled "only check the starting directory and subdirs". This will restrict the analysis to a specific directory and subdirectories.

3.	Start the analysis by entering the URL of the author's subdirectory e.g. http://tetranetsoftware.com/bob/

If there are many directories on the site, you may wish to automate the generation of these reports using Linkbot's scheduler.  This will enable you to configure the analysis for each directory once, then repeat the generation of the customized reports each time Linkbot is started.

Also See

Scheduling Linkbot


Password Protected Pages

Linkbot can access password protected pages. However, each page or directory on the site must use the same user id and password.

To specify the default user name and password:

1.	From the Tools menu, choose Options

2.	Select the Connections tab

3.	Check the box labeled "Use the following user name and password for authenticated pages"

4.	Enter your user name and password in the spaces provided


Checking Links One Page at a Time

By default, Linkbot will scan all Links on your site that are connected to the starting URL. If you need to check the links one page at a time:

1.	From the Tools menu, choose Options.

2.	Select the Search tab.

3.	Select the options to "Check current domain to a depth of 1". Press the OK button.

4.	Start Linkbot running by entering the URL of the page you wish to check.


Creating Additional Option Files

By default, all of Linkbot's options are stored in a file called linkbot.ini. If necessary you can create additional option files and use them to control how Linkbot checks specific sites.

To create a new options file:

1.	Modify the options as desired.

2.	From the File menu, Select "Save Options As".

3.	Enter a file name for your new options file.

Note: once you save a new options file, this file will be used as the new global options configuration.

To load a previously saved options file:

1.	From the File menu, Select "Load Options".

2.	Select the options file and choose open. This will now be the new default options file.

For more information on how to use different options files while starting the program or while running an analysis, see Using Command Line Parameters .


Explanation of Errors and Warnings

For each URL on your site, Linkbot will assign one of four status levels:

•	Good: the URL is working.

•	Warning: the URL has been temporarily or permanently redirected or contains a syntax error.

•	Error: The URL is broken.

•	Unknown: Linkbot does not support this URL’s protocol or the analysis was stopped prematurely and Linkbot could not test the link.

Warnings

Warnings are generated for several reasons:

1.	Linkbot can’t check this type of URL because it is unsupported or it was disabled in the search options window.

2.	The link has been re-directed to a new location but is still functioning.

3.	The link was a mailto URL. Linkbot is warning you that it can’t determine whether the email address is valid or not. Linkbot can only check whether the syntax of the email address is OK.

Errors

Error messages can also be generated for several reasons:

1.	Not found. The file referenced by the URL can’t be found on the server. It is either deleted or moved.

2.	Can't Connect. The base address of the URL may not be correct or the server is not longer functioning.

3.	Time-out. The server failed to respond to Linkbot’s request within the time limit specified in the search options.

4.	Unauthorized.  The page requires a user name and password.

Note: If Linkbot produces "can't connect" or "timeout" errors for links that you know are working, try reducing the number of connections in the Connections Options window. It may be possible that your server is not able to handle the load.

Also See

Explanation of statistics Linkbot gathers.


Getting started checking links
Getting Started

Start Linkbot the same way you start using your Web browser - just enter a starting URL into the address box and press Enter.

Linkbot will traverse your Web site, branching at all the links that are connected to the initial starting document.  By default, Linkbot will scan your entire site. The depth of the search can be customized by modifying the search options feature which is accessed through the tools menu.

To begin scanning your site:

1.	Enter at URL into the address box in the toolbar.  You can also select a local file by pressing the button with the three dots on the toolbar.

2.	Press the Enter key.

Linkbot will now start checking your site for links. A search can be terminated at any time by pressing the stop button.

See Also

Setting the search depth options

Viewing the results

Re-checking some or all links


Working with Filters

Use the filter buttons on the tool bar to limit the number and type of URLs shown in the Child and Parent lists.  Filters are useful for several reasons:

•	They make it easier to find or display information.

•	They allow you to select a subset of URLs to re-check, print, export to HTML or text file.

Note: Filters only effect the Parent and Child lists.  They will not affect any of the other views.

Each of the filters can be used one by one, or in combination.  Here is an explanation of each:

See Also

Printing the contents of the Child or Parent List.

Exporting to HTML.

Exporting to a text file.

Re-checking some or all links


Setting the search depth options
Customizing Linkbot

Linkbot contains many options for customizing each of the program’s functions. Options can be used to:

•	Limit the depth and speed (the number of links checked simultaneously) of a search.

•	Filter specific URLs and directories from a search.

•	Configure proxy and password settings.

•	Customize the "What’s New", "What’s Old" and "What's Slow" reports.

•	Specify external applications for HTML and image editing.

To access Linkbot's options, choose Options from the Tools menu. Linkbot will then display a tabbed window listing all the program's options.

See Also:

Search depth options window

Types of links Linkbot supports


Viewing the results

Once a search is initiated, Linkbot will begin displaying the results in the report window.  The report window is divided into 2 panes:

•	The left side is a tree view that shows the structure of your site.

•	The right side shows a series of tabs that display information about the URL selected in the tree.

Note: The filter buttons on the toolbar will only affect the Child and Parent tabs.

Tree View

A Web site consists of documents, images and other objects and the hyperlinks (URLs) that connect them. The tree view displays all objects in the site and how those objects are linked to each other.

The tree begins with the starting document for the site and branches at every URL it encounters.  If an object has already been displayed at a higher level in the hierarchy, it will be shown in the tree but it will not branch any further.  This eliminates the problem of circular references.

You may have noticed that there is a special icon at the top of the tree called ‘All Links’.  When you select this icon, every URL in your entire site will be displayed in the Child tab list.

Child Tab

This window displays all the URLs contained inside the selected object in the tree view. Each row in the table refers to an individual URL.  The report can be sorted by any of the columns by selecting the button at the top of the column.

Contents of the Child or Parent Tab can be filtered by selecting one or more of the filter buttons on the toolbar.

To display all the bad links in your site:

1.	Select the ‘All Links’ icon at the top of the tree view.

2.	Select the Child tab.

3.	Press the Bad Link filter on the toolbar.

Parent Tab

This window displays all the URLs that reference the selected object in the tree view.  This feature is useful for identifying all the documents that will need to be edited to repair a bad URL.

HTML Text

This window displays the HTML text of the selected document in the tree view.  The HTML text can be edited directly within the window.

Properties Tab

The properties window displays detailed information about the selected object.

TIP:  You can also view the results in HTML format by creating a site report when the analysis is complete.

See Also:

How to save and open a report files

Printing the contents of the Child or Parent List.

Exporting to HTML.

Exporting to a text file.

Working with filters


Creating a Site Report

You can create a site report by choosing "Publish Site Report" from the Tools menu.

The Site Report offers an alternative way to explore Linkbot's results. The Site Report details the status of a Web site in nine informative categories:

1.	Summary: provides a quick overview of the site's major problem areas.

2.	Warnings: lists all non-critical problems like re-directed URLs and syntax problems.

3.	Broken Links: shows each broken URL and all the pages that reference it.

4.	Broken Pages: shows all pages that contain broken URLs.

5.	What's New?: lists all URLs that have been changed in a specified time interval.

6.	What's Old?: lists all URLs that have not been changed in a specified time interval.

7.	What's Slow?: shows all pages that will take too long for users to download.

8.	Orphans: lists all files that are on the Web server but are not in use.

9.	Pages Missing Titles: Lists pages that are missing the title tag.

10.	Missing Attributes: Lists images that are missing ALT, height and width tags.

11.	Image Gallery: a list of all images on your site.

Note: A sample site report can be found in the directory where you installed Linkbot.

Also See

Viewing your results.


Printing the results

To print the contents of the Child, Parent, HTML text or Properties windows:

•	Press the print button on the toolbar or select Print from the File menu.

To print a site report or site map:

1.	Create an HTML site report by choosing Site report from the Tools menu.

2.	Once the Report is loaded into the browser you can print it using the browser's print features.

Note: You can filter the contents of the Child and Parent lists before printing by selecting one or more of the filter icons on the toolbar.

See Also:

Exporting to HTML.

Exporting to a text file.

Working with filters


Exporting the Results to an HTML File
Exporting to an HTML File

To export the contents of the Child or Parent list to an HTML file:

1.	Select either the Parent or Child tab.

2.	Choose ‘Export to HTML’ from the file menu.

You can change the appearance of the exported HTML file by modifying the HTML option settings.  These options can be accessed from the tools menu.

Note: You can filter the contents of the Child and Parent lists by selecting one or more of the filter icons on the toolbar.  Only the URLs that are showing will be exported to HTML.

See Also:

Printing the contents of the Child or Parent List.

Exporting to a text file.

Working with filters


Exporting to a Text File

To export the contents of the Child or Parent list to a delimited text file:

1.	Select either the Parent or Child tab.

2.	Choose ‘Export to File’ from the File menu.

Linkbot will then create a text file with fields separated by commas. You can then import this list into a spreadsheet or database.

Note: You can filter the contents of the Child and Parent lists by selecting one or more of the filter icons on the toolbar.  Only the URLs that are showing will be exported.

See Also:

Printing the contents of the Child or Parent List.

Exporting to HTML.

Working with filters


Repairing Bad Links

There are three ways to display the broken links on your site:

1.	Select Broken Links from the drop down list on the left and the Parent Links tab on the right. Each of the Parent URLs listed must be edited to repair the offending link.

2.	Select Pages Containing Broken Links from the drop down list on the left and the Child Links tab on the right. Edit each page shown in the left-hand window to repair the problem.

3.	Publish a site report and select the bad links page.

Using Linkbot's HTML Text tab, you can view and edit the HTML code on the right for any URL or page that has been selected on the left.

Linkbot can alternatively be customized to allow you to edit your HTML code using an external editor. The desired editor can be specified in the External Apps Options window. Pressing the Edit button on the toolbar will then launch the selected editor when needed.

Also See

Exporting your results to a HTML file.

Working with filters

Viewing the results


Locating Unused (Orphaned) Files

Linkbot’s orphan analysis will scan your Web Server for files that are not in use.

How does it work?

Linkbot compares the files found in the directories of your web server to the URLs found by crawling the Web site. Any files that are on the Web server but can't be reached through the Web site are flagged as orphans.

Note: the orphan analysis is not always 100% accurate. You must still use some caution when deleting files.  For example, if your Web site contains references to files in Java Script code, Linkbot will not find them in the URL tree because it doesn’t support Java Script.  Under these conditions, Linkbot may then presume that a file in not in use when it really is.

To setup an orphan analysis:

1.	Configure the orphan options window .

2.	Run a complete site analysis .

To view the orphaned files on your site:

•	In the left side of Linkbot's report window, pull down the menu and select "Orphaned Files". Linkbot will then display a list of all unused files.

•	Alternatively, you can view the list of orphaned files in the HTML Site Report. To create a Site Report, select Publish Site Report from the tools menu.


Locating Slow Pages

Linkbot's What’s Slow analysis lists files that may be slow to download for your users.  Slow page are calculated by summing the contents of all the pages URLs and text (HTML text + images + other URL objects that may slow the download). If the page's size exceeds a threshold specified in the options, Linkbot flags the page as slow.

To setup a What's Slow analysis:

1.	Configure the What's Slow options .

2.	Run a complete site analysis .

To view the slow pages on your site:

•	In the left side of Linkbot's report window, pull down the menu and select "Slow Pages". Linkbot will then display a list of all the Slow Pages.

•	Alternatively, you can view the list of orphaned files in the HTML Site Report. To create a Site Report, select Publish Site Report from the tools menu.


Locating Out-dated Pages

Linkbot's What’s Old? analysis lists files that haven't been modified recently. These pages may be out of date and should be checked for out dated information.

To setup a What's Old analysis:

1.	Configure the What's Old options .

2.	Run a complete site analysis .

To view the old pages on your site:

•	In the left side of Linkbot's report window, pull down the menu and select "Old Pages". Linkbot will then display a list of all the Old Pages.

•	Alternatively, you can view the list of old pages in the HTML Site Report. To create a Site Report, select Publish Site Report from the tools menu.


Finding Pages Missing Titles

Linkbot allows you to quickly locate pages on your site that are missing titles.  The title should be entered into the <HEAD> tag of your all your HTML pages. The title will be displayed at the top of the browser when the page is loaded. It will also be used to uniquely identify the results of a search engine query.

To view the pages missing titles on your site:

•	In the left side of Linkbot's report window, pull down the menu and select "Pages Missing Titles".

•	Alternatively, you can view the list of pages missing titles in the HTML site report. To create a site report, choose Publish Site Report from the Tools menu.


Finding Images Missing Attributes

Linkbot allows you to quickly locate images on your site that are missing ALT, Height or Width tags.  The ALT tag is a text alternative that will be displayed in browsers that have images turned off.  Height and Width tags are also important as they make images load faster in the browser.

To view the images missing attributes:

•	Create a site report by choosing Publish Site Report from the Tools menu.

•	Select the images missing attributes link from the menu.


Re-Checking Some or All URLs

Linkbot should be run in regular intervals to see if your links are still operational.  When you re-check your site, you have the option of:

1.	Re-checking a subset of links.

2.	Updating the whole site.

Re-checking a subset of URLs

You can have Linkbot re-check some or all of your links.  For example, you could have Linkbot only re-check external links and not internal ones.  Only the links displayed in the Child or Parent tab will be checked when the re-check operation is started.

To re-check a subset of Links:

1.	Select the ‘All Links’ icon from the tree view

2.	Select the Child tab

3.	Select one or more filters from the toolbar (e.g. external links filter)

4.	Press the re-check links button on the toolbar or select ‘Re-Check Links’ from the Tools menu.

To re-check the entire site:

•	Select Check entire site from the tools menu.

Also See

Working with filters


Saving or opening a report file

You can save the results of Linkbot's analysis in a report file (*.bot).  All the configured options will also be remembered in this file. Note the Report .bot file is not the same as an HTML Site report file.

To save a report:

•	Choose Save from the File menu.

To open a previously saved report:

•	Choose Open from the File menu.


Scheduling Runs - Overview

Linkbot's scheduling features allow you automate the routine maintenance of your site. For example, you can tell Linkbot to analyze http://tetranetsoftware.com/ every Sunday night at 12am. When you come in on Monday morning there will be an HTML report waiting for you. The scheduling features are not restricted to only one site. If you manage several sites you can have Linkbot analyze an unlimited number of sites at once.

There are two ways to schedule runs:

1.	Use Linkbot's built in scheduler.

2.	Use a third party scheduler like the one built in to Windows NT or IE 4.0.

If you use Linkbot's internal scheduler, you must leave Linkbot loaded before the scheduled run initiates. When using a third party scheduler, you can have Linkbot load, analyze your site and shut itself down all at once.

To use Linkbot's built in scheduler:

1.	Select Schedule Runs from the Tools menu.

2.	Enter one or more sites in the Site to Check tab.

3.	Select the Run Schedule tab and enter the time when you want Linkbot to begin analyzing your site(s).

To use a third party scheduler:

1.	Select Schedule Runs from the Tools menu.

2.	Enter one or more sites in the Site to Check tab.

3.	Select the Run Schedule tab.

4.	Select the Run when Linkbot is Started option from the frequency field.

5.	Exit the Linkbot program.

6.	Using your third party scheduler, specify a date and time when you want to load Linkbot. Next time Linkbot is started, it will begin analyzing the sites you specified.

Note that you can also specify a scheduled run to begin using a specific option.ini file. See the command line parameters for more information.

Also See:

Sites to check setup window

Run schedule setup window


Linkbot Command Line Parameters
Linkbot’s Command Line Parameters

Linkbot’s command line parameters allow you to specify the options (ini) file to use when starting the program or a run.  Also, these parameters can be used to start Linkbot with a specific URL.

Linkbot allows you to use command line parameters when you are:

1.	Starting the program

2.	Starting a run

3.	Starting a scheduled run

To Start the Linkbot Program using a specific ini file:

•	Type linkbot.exe -i option_file_name.ini

To Start Linkbot Program using a specific URL file:

•	Type linkbot.exe http://www.yoursite.com

To Start a Linkbot run using a specific ini file:

•	Type http://www.yoursite.com -i option_file.ini

To use associate a specific options file with scheduled run:

1.	Choose Schedule Runs from the tools menu

2.	Type http://www.yoursite.com -i option_file.ini in the starting URL field


Creating Multiple Option Files

The configuration of Linkbot's options such as filters and proxy settings are stored an options file. The default file name is linkbot.ini and can be found in the directory where you installed the program. Linkbot allows you to create multiple option files and to associate them with a particular run.

To create a new options file:

1.	Configure the options by selecting Options from the tools menu.

2.	Choose Save Options As from the File menu.

3.	Enter a file name and choose the OK button.

Note: The file you created will now be your default options file.

Also See:

Associating options files with runs


New Report Dialog

You can begin checking the links on your site by entering a starting URL into this dialog. Alternatively, select the browse button and start the analysis by selecting a file on your local hard disk.

Also See:

How Linkbot works


Over Write Warning Dialog

Linkbot warns you when you are about to over write the current report.  Each time you enter a new starting URL and press play, a new report will be produced.  The only exception is when you re-run a previously created report, then the old report will be over written.  If you want to keep the existing report, close it and then start the new analysis.  When this new analysis to completed, you should save the file with a new name.


Search Depth Options
Search Depth Options Window

In this window you can customize how Linkbot will analyze your links.  You can specify:

1.	How deep Linkbot should traverse into your site.

2.	Whether Linkbot checks external links.

3.	Types of links to check.

Note: these options should be set before you run an analysis.

Check all links in current domain

If this option is chosen, Linkbot will check all links in documents that have the same base address as your starting URL.  For example, if you start Linkbot by entering the URL: www.tetranetsoftware.com, then all documents will be checked that have the base address: 'www.tetranetsoftware.com'.  This includes external links if the 'check external links' box is marked with an x.

Check current domain to a depth of x

In the previous option, Linkbot will continue traversing your site until no more URLs with the same base address can be found.  If you wish to limit how deep Linkbot checks, then you can enter a depth number in this option field. For example, if you set the depth to one, Linkbot will only check the links in the first page of your site.  If you set the depth to two, Linkbot will check the first page and all links in the pages referenced by the first page.

Check external links

Check this box if you want Linkbot to verify links to Web sites outside of your site.

Only check links in starting directory and sub-directories

Check this box if you don't want Linkbot's search to branch into directories outside the starting directory and subdirectories.  For example, if your starting URL was http://www.netcom.com/~mysite/ then Linkbot would not branch into directories outside the /~mysite directory.

Look for robots.txt

Check this option if you want Linkbot to use the robots.txt instructions when checking your Website.

Accept Cookies

Check this option if you want Linkbot to accept cookies when checking your site.

Internal Links are Case Insensitive

Check this option if you want Linkbot to ignore the case of all internal URLs.  Internal URLs are URLs that point to documents on your Website.

Root location for local checks

This option is only relevant when checking your pages from a hard drive instead of a Web server. If you are running Linkbot on your local drive you may need to specify a directory that Linkbot should consider as the base address for the URL. All relative URLs will then reference this directory as the root from then on.

Default file name for local checking

This option is only relevant when checking your pages from a hard drive instead of a Web server.  Specify the default file Linkbot should look for when it checks URLs that point to a directory on your local hard disk. By default, Linkbot will assume the default file is index.htm.

See Also:

How to set the search options

How Linkbot checks links


Filter Options Window
Filters Options Window

Use filters to stop Linkbot from checking specific files and directories. Just enter a URL and press the Add button. Linkbot will then ignore all URLs that match or begin with the URL you entered. For example, by entering a filter "http://tetranetsoftware.com/download/", all URLs that started with this prefix would be ignored.

Note: To stop Linkbot from branching outside a specific directory, check the "only check starting directory" option in the first tab of the options.

Add

Adds a URL to the filter list.

Replace

Replaces the currently selected URL with a new one.

Delete

Removes the selected URL from the filters list.

Delete All

Deletes all the URLs from the filters list.

Tip: By using the filter options It is possible to prevent Linkbot from checking specific type of URLs.  For example, to stop Linkbot from checking all FTP URLs, enter the filter "ftp://".


Internal URLs Options Window

By default, Linkbot will only branch on URLs that have the same base address as the starting URL you used to start the run. All other URLs will be treated as external. They will be checked but Linkbot will not branch (check the Children) any further.

The Internal URLs list can be used to specifiy additional URLs that Linkbot should also branch out from. For example, suppose I want Linkbot to check www.linkbot.com and support.linkbot.com. I could do this by starting my run with www.linkbot.com and adding support.linkbot.com to the Internal list. Linkbot would then branch at all URLs that contained either www.linkbot.com or support.linkbot.com.

Add

Adds a URL to the internal list.

Replace

Replaces the currently selected URL with a new one.

Delete

Removes the selected URL from the internal list.

Delete All

Deletes all the URLs from the internal list.


Connection Options Window

Use this window to configure Linkbot’s network options.

Number of simultaneous connections

Linkbot Pro can check up to 30 links at once. Setting this value higher will make the run progress faster but it will also consume more of your PC’s resources and also increase the stress on your Web server.

With a dial-up connection it is unlikely that Linkbot will degrade your Web server’s performance significantly. However, with a direct Internet connection, a high performance PC and slow Web server, your users may experience some decrease in response time from the Web server while Linkbot is running.

Number of connections per server

Lowering this number will decrease the number of connections that Linkbot can open to any one given server at the same time.

Connection Time-out in x minutes

By default, Linkbot will time out after 1 minute of waiting for the server to respond.  You may change the default time-out but it must be between 1 and 60 minutes. Setting this value lower will speed up your run times.

Use PASV for FTP transfers

Some FTP proxy severs require that the client use Passive mode while access the proxy. If the orphan checking or FTP checking on your site it not working, try checking this box. Ask your system administrator for help if you're not sure about this setting.

HTTP User Agent

If your site has been customized for a specific user agent, you can select one from this list or enter your own. This will enable Linkbot pose as a specific browser when checking your site.

User name and password for authenticated pages

If your site contains pages that require a user name and password, you can enter them here. When Linkbot encounters a page that requires authentication it will automatically use the user name password you provided. Note that only one user name and password can be used for the entire site.

Email address for anonymous FTP checking

When Linkbot tests your site’s FTP links, it will log into the FTP server with the user name set to ‘anonymous’ and the password set to your email address. This is a standard protocol to use when checking anonymous FTP links.

Also See

Setting up proxy options


Orphan Analysis Options Window

Linkbot’s orphan analysis will scan your Web Server for files that are not in use. An unused or orphaned file is a file on the Web server that is not referenced by the actual site.

How does it work?

Linkbot compares the files found in the directories of your web server to the URLs found by spidering through the site. Any files that are on the Web server but can't be reached through the Web site are flagged as orphans.

Note: the orphan analysis is not always 100% accurate. You must still use some caution when deleting files.  For example, if your Web site contains references to files in Java Script code, Linkbot will not find them in the URL tree because it doesn’t support Java Script. Under these conditions, Linkbot may then presume that a file in not in use when it really is.  Linkbot may also flag your default files (index.htm, default.htm) as orphans when they are not because no URL actually point to the file, only a directory.

How to configure the orphans analysis

To check for orphans, Linkbot needs to do two things:

1.	Scan through the files on your Web server: this can accomplished by accessing a local drive or by FTP.

2.	Match up each file found on the server to an URL it finds by spidering through your Web site. The matching process is accomplished by specifying a base URL that can be added on to each file to make the Web site URL.

Do not check for orphan files

Check this option to disable the orphan analysis

Check against remote FTP site

Linkbot needs to access the directory where your Web site's files are located.  Check this option to check for orphans via FTP on a remote Web server.

Check against local directory

Linkbot needs to access the directory where your Web site's files are located.  Check this option to check for orphans on a local hard disk or network directory.

Remote FTP site

•	Base URL: the URL prefix that should be added to all files in order to reconstruct the actual URL. E.g. http://www.tetranetsoftware.com/. The base URL should be the same as the starting base URL you used to initiate the Linkbot run. See below for examples.

•	FTP host: the host name of the FTP site where your files are located.

•	User ID: the user name required to log on to the FTP site.

•	Password: the password required to log on to the FTP site.

•	Initial directory: the starting directory where your Web server files are located. E.g. .public_html/ or /ht-docs.

Example

Assuming that I start the Site analysis using the URL: http://tetranetsoftware.com/ this is what I would enter into the options:

Local Site

•	Base URL: the URL prefix that should be added to all files in order to reconstruct the actual URL. Linkbot fills this in for you automatically when you select an initial directory with the Browse button.

•	Initial directory: the starting directory where your Web server files are located. E.g. c:\my document\web pages\.

Example2

Assuming that I start the Site analysis using the URL:  "file:///C|/My Documents/web pages/index.htm" this is what I would enter into the options:

How do I know if the orphan analysis is working?

If the orphan analysis is working, you'll see a new entry on the status bar while Linkbot is running for Orphans. Note that the orphan counter on the status bar may increase at the start of the run and then slowly decline. This is OK, don't worry.

Having trouble getting the orphan analysis to work?

•	If no orphans are found: Linkbot may be having trouble accessing your Web server's file system. Check to make sure the login and initial directory is correct. Also, if you're using a proxy server, make sure that this is correctly configured in the Proxy options.

•	If all files are listed as orphans: the Base URL setting may not be correct. If you start the run with http://tetranetsoftware.com/ then your base address should also be http://tetranetsoftware.com/. If your starting URL is file:///C|/linkbot3/test.htm then your base address should be file:///C|/linkbot3/.

•	If some files are reported as orphans when you know they're not: This may happen for one of two reasons: 1) Your Web server is case insensitive.  Go to the Search options tab and check the case insensitive option, 2) You're running Linkbot on your hard disk not a Web server. If you're running on a hard disk and you have the "root location for local checking" option configured in the search tab, make sure that you start Linkbot's scan by entering the path of your first URL relative to the root. e.g. if the root location is c:\my documents\web\ then start your run using "file:///C|/index.htm" not "file:///C|/My Documents/web/index.htm".

•	Still having problems? See the support site on the Tetranet site at: http://tetranetsoftware.com/support.htm

Using the Orphan analysis with Linkbot's scheduler

If you are checking more than one site at a time with the scheduler and wish to check for orphans on each site, you'll need to create a new options file for each run. You can then associate a different options file for each run using the command line parameters. See the references below for more information.

Also See

Using command line parameters

Creating new options files


External Application Options

Use this window to specify external applications that should be launched when you select a URL and press the edit button on the toolbar. Note that this function will not work on remote URLs.

External HTML editor command line

Enter the path to your HTML editor.

External Image command line

Enter the path to your image editor.


HTML Index Preferences
HTML Export Preferences

You can print the results shown in the main table to a printer or to an HTML file. In this window you specify what fields you would like to appear in the HTML file.  By default, the file will always contain the title of the URL.  You can also include these fields:

Show Link

If this box is checked, Linkbot will include the URL of the link in the HTML page.

Show Last Modified Date

If this box is checked, Linkbot will include the last modified date of the link in the HTML page.

Show Parent Links

If this box is checked, Linkbot will include the parent URL(s) of the link in the HTML page.

Also See

Printing the results


Network Preferences
Proxy Options

If you have a firewall on your network you must configure Linkbot to work through your proxy server.

To configure Linkbot to work through a proxy server:

1.	Select the option "connect through a proxy server"

2.	Press the settings button

3.	Enter the appropriate proxy configuration. Select the help button in settings window for more detailed help.

Note: If you are checking an Intranet site with a proxy server or firewall, it is likely that you'll need to configure the proxy exceptions in the settings window.

Direct Connection

Disables the proxy server fields.

Connect through a proxy server

Press this button to configure your proxy settings.

Proxy requires user ID and password

Enter the user ID and password for your proxy server. Note that in many cases this is not required.

Also See

Connection options window


Proxy Settings

Use this window to configure your proxy settings. If you don't know what to enter here ask your network administrator or look in Netscape's or IE's proxy settings for an example.

Address for proxy use

In the 'Proxy Address' field, enter the IP address of your proxy server.  In the 'Port' field, enter the port number for the proxy server.

FTP Proxy is TIS FTP Gateway or CERN HTTP Proxy

If you are using a dedicated TIS FTP gateway for your FTP URLs, check the first option. If you connect to FTP URLs using an HTTP gateway check the second option. If you're unsure, ask your network administrator. You will know that the FTP proxy is not working properly if all FTP URLs are reported as "Error: Timeout" in Linkbot's report.

Exceptions

Use the list to specify sites that Linkbot should not use the proxy server for. Use wildcards to  filter out all addresses on your local network. For example, *.tetranetsoftware.com would create a proxy bypass for all hosts with the domain extension tetranetsoftware.com.  You may also enter IP numbers here instead of host names.

Having trouble getting the proxy to work?

1.	Check to make sure you've followed the instructions carefully.

2.	Check to see what you're browser's proxy options are and copy these into Linkbot's.

3.	Contact support@tetranetsoftware.com if you're still having trouble.

Also See

Connection options window


What's New and Old Setup Options
Reporting Options

Use this window to customize the What’s New, Old and Slow lists found in the Linkbot interface and in the HTML site report.  The What’s New page can be used to automatically generate a list of URLs that have been modified recently. The What’s Old page can be used to automatically generate a list of URLs that have not been modified recently.  The What’s Slow page lists files that may be slow to download for your users.

What’s New

Enter the time interval that will be used to construct the What’s New page in the site report. The default value is one month. This means that the What’s New page will list all URLs that have been modified in the last month.

What’s Old

Enter the time interval that will be used to construct the What’s Old page in the site report. The default value is 6 months. This means that the What’s Old page will list all URLs that have not been modified in the last 6 months.

Only include HTML files

Check this box if you only want HTML documents to appear in the What’s new and old pages.

Exclude External Links

Check this box if you only want internal URLs to appear in the What’s new and old pages.

What’s Slow?

•	Pages larger than: enter the file size in KB that Linkbot should consider slow. Note that this is the combined page size (HTML + images + other objects).

•	Download time: This is a read-only field that shows how long it would take to download a page of this size using the selected access speed.

•	Access speed: Change the access speed to test how long it would take to download the selected page. Note that a value of 64 Kbs is used to calculate ISDN access times.

•	Calculate time button: Press this button to calculate the download time required.

Also See

Creating a site report


Scheduling Setup Window

Linkbot's scheduling features allow you automate the routine maintenance of your site. For example, you can tell Linkbot to analyze http://tetranetsoftware.com/ every Sunday night at 12am. When you come in on Monday morning there will be an HTML report waiting for you. The scheduling features are not restricted to one site only. If you manage several sites you can have Linkbot run one then the other.

Starting URL

Enter the URL that you want Linkbot to check.

Site Report File

Enter the name of HTML Site Report file that Linkbot should create when it completes the analysis.

Scheduled Task List

Add all the sites that you want Linkbot to check to this list. After the first site has been checked Linkbot will begin working on the next one.

Add Button

Enter the URL and HTML file name and press the Add button to add this site to the Task list.

Also See:

Scheduling Linkbot - an overview


Scheduling Run Time Setup Window

Use this window to tell Linkbot when to turn itself on and start the scheduled analysis. You can tell Linkbot to run just once at a specific time or to run regularly at preset intervals.

Note: Linkbot must be loaded when the scheduling time occurs or the analysis will not be initiated.

Frequency

•	Off: turns all scheduling off.

•	Run when Linkbot is started: select this option if you want to use a third party scheduler instead of Linkbot's. Next time Linkbot is started it will begin analysis of the sites listed in the Site to Check tab.

•	Once: Linkbot will start just once at the time specified in the "Time to Start" field.

•	Every hour, day, week: Choose this option if you want Linkbot run at regular intervals. For example, every Sunday night at 12am.

Time to Start Run

Specify the time when Linkbot should start the scheduled run.

Create site report when run is complete

Leave this option checked if you want Linkbot to create an HTML site report when it finishes the run.

Load site report in the browser

Check this option if you want Linkbot to launch your browser with the site report when the run has completed. If you don't check this option, this site report will still be created but you'll have to load it into the browser manually.

Close Linkbot report window when the run is complete

If this option is not checked Linkbot will leave the Report window open when the scheduled run is complete. This may cause your PC to run out of memory if you enter many sites into the "Site to check" tab.  To stop this problem from happening, check this option and Linkbot will then close the Report window when the run is complete. Note that if you check this option, the contents of the report file will not be saved in a .bot report file.

Exit Linkbot when all scheduled tasks are complete

Select this option if you want Linkbot to close itself down after the scheduling is complete. Note that if you check this option, the contents of the report file will not be saved in a .bot report file, however, the HTML site report will be saved to the file specified in the Site to Check tab.

Also See

Site to check setup window

Scheduling Linkbot - an overview


Scheduling Dial Up Options

Check the box in this window if you would like Linkbot to automatically dial up your modem and establish an Internet connection when the scheduled run is initiated.

Entry

Select a dialup entry from the list available in your dialup networking folder.

Username

Enter the user name required to access your dialup connection.

Password

Enter the password required to access your dialup connection.

Also See

Site to check setup window

Scheduling Linkbot - an overview


Increasing Performance

Linkbot’s performance is control by five factors:

1.	Speed and memory for your PC

2.	Speed of your Internet connection

3.	Response time of your Web server

4.	The number of parallel connections setting

5.	The time out setting

Speed and memory for your PC

A Pentium PC with 16 MB of RAM as the minimum system configuration. More RAM may be required if you are checking sites with greater than 5000 URLs.  32 MB of RAM should be sufficient for checking sites with up to 20,000 URLs. For sites larger than this we recommend that you add more RAM or try running Linkbot on subdirectories of the site rather than the entire at once. Linkbot has been tested on sites with over 200,000 URLs however you will need at least 256 MB of RAM to scan a site this large.

Speed of your Internet connection

The minimum recommended connection speed is a 28.8 Kbs modem.  For small sites with less than 500 URLs, a 14.4 Kbs modem may suffice.

Response time of your Web server

In many cases Linkbot’s speed will be controlled by the response time of the server. Try running at off peak hours if you feel performance is lacking.

The number parallel connections setting

In the Connections tab of the Options window you will find a setting for number of simultaneous connections.  Here you can specify how many URLs Linkbot should check at the same time. The default value is 10. You may set this number  between 1 and 30.  Setting this value higher will make the run progress faster but it will also consume more of your PC’s resources and also increase the stress on your Web server.

With a dial-up connection it is unlikely that Linkbot will degrade your Web server’s performance significantly. However, with a direct Internet connection, a high performance PC and slow Web server, your users may experience some decrease in response time from the Web server while Linkbot is running.

The time out setting

By default, Linkbot will time out after 1 minute of waiting for the server to respond.  You may change the default time-out but it must be between 1 and 60 minutes. Setting this value lower will speed up your run times.


Frequently Asked Questions

For a current list of frequently asked questions see: http://tetranetsoftware.com/support/


Base Address/Domain Name

For the URL: http://www.tetranetsoftware.com/index.html, the base address is: 'www.tetranetsoftware.com' and the domain name is 'tetranetsoftware.com'


External Links

An external link is any link that does not have the same base address as the starting URL.  For example, if my starting URL was: www.tetranetsoftware.com and this document contained a reference to www.microsoft.com then the Microsoft link would be considered external.


URL

A URL is a universal resource location.  Still confused?  A URL refers to the address of the link (i.e. what site, host machine, directory and file to retrieve).


200 Unique URLs

Linkbot standard can't check more than 200 unique URLs. By unique, we mean that if there is several references to the same URL it will only be counted as one unique URL.

To determine how many URLs your site contains, run Linkbot and look at the status bar in the lower left hand corner.  The status bar will display how many unique URLs have been found.

If your site contains over 200 unique URLs, you will need to upgrade to Linkbot Pro.


Modify Tree Text

Use this drop down list to select what text you want displayed on the tree.  You can choose between: the URL name, URL description text, Title of the HTML document or the URL file path.


URL Type Filter

Select one or more of these buttons to filter the objects displayed in the parent and child tab windows.  Each of the filters can be used in combination to display a specific subset of URLs.  For example, by clicking on the document icon, Linkbot will only display documents.  Click on both the document and image icons and Linkbot will display document and images.


HTML Author Meta Tag

Linkbot can create a break down of errors by author if you use the standard author meta tags in your HTML documents. To specify a page's author enter the following hidden meta tags into the head area of the HTML page:

<HEAD>

<META NAME="Author" content="John Smith">

</HEAD>


Robots.txt

Robots.txt is a file that tells visiting robots what directories they are allowed to look in when traversing your Web site. Note that this can also be accomplished more easily by using Linkbot's built in Filter options.