101 You can run your first report just by selecting a report from the main window and clicking Run. Hit List will automatically load your log file(s) into the database.\n\nSubsequent reports will run faster because your data will already be in the database.
102 There's a 'How To' section in Help that answers common questions, explains how to get more information from your web server, using Hit List on intranets and even shows you how to make your reports run faster.
103 You can use the Report Scheduler to automatically run reports every day.\n\nSelect Report Scheduler from the Tools menu of the main window.
104 You can share report designs with other people by importing from someone else's database into your own.\n\nSee Import on the Report menu in the main window.
105 You can ensure that your reports are using the latest data by checking 'Update the database before running' in the Outline tab of the Design window.
106 By combining the Report Scheduler with the 'Update the database before running this report' checkbox, you can fully automate the process of updating the database and creating a daily report. For example, you could schedule the Yesterday report to run at 2am every morning and send a report via email.
107 You can make your reports more attractive by using the Format tab in the Design window. If you're using Netscape 3.x or Microsoft Internet Explorer, you can even add cell colors and fonts.
108 If you manage multiple virtual servers, you can make any report automatically run once for each of those servers simply by checking the 'Run this report for each virtual server' box in the Outline tab of the report's Design window.
109 In addition to HTML, you can output reports as Microsoft Word documents with embedded graphics. Word documents can be automatically sent via email.\n\nSee the Output tab in the Design window for more information.
110 You can use substitution fields to add dates and times to your reports. You can even use them to date-stamp reports. For example, you can set the output HTML file name as Daily@yyyy-mm-dd@.htm. \n\nSee 'Substitution Fields' in Help for more information.
111 If you always want to 'mask-out' requests from your own site, you can tell Hit List to not bother adding requests from your IPs to the database. This eliminates the need for filtering, making your reports run faster. See the Updates tab of the Options dialog for details.
112 You can see weekly trends for any report element (such as Total Number of Requests, Number of Visitors, etc.) by changing that element's Group by setting to Weekly and changing the Time Consolidation to Similar Times.\n\nSee Grouping in Help for more information.
113 You can display lists of HTML pages as just URLs, as more-friendly page titles or even both.\n\nSee the Options tab of any Design window for more information.
114 If you need to occasionally import old log files, you can check the 'Allow old data to enter the database' option in the Updates tab of the Options dialog box. Be sure to turn it off when you're done to ensure that duplicate data doesn't later enter the database.
115 If your web server is currently resolving IP addresses into site names, you can reduce its load considerably by turning that feature off and turning on the 'Look up site names' feature in Hit List.\n\nSee the Options tab in the Design window for more information.
116 If you're using multiple virtual domains, you may improve performance by putting each domain into its own database rather than one master database.\n\nSee the Database tab of the Design window for more information.
117 You can use the built-in report elements as a basis for creating new ones. Select the element, click Copy then click Properties.
118 In addition to the pre-defined Site Name Groups for AOL, Compuserve, etc, you can add your own new ones. Since Site Name groups can be based on either the resolved site name (e.g. test1.marketwave.com) or the IP address, you can also create different groups for an intranet site where different regions of the country or world use different IP ranges.\n\nSee the Site Name Groups tab of the Database Manager for more information.
119 If you don't see a standard report that shows you what you want, you can often use a Crosstab report to do it yourself.\n\nSee the Definition tab of the Properties dialog box for details.
120 You can see how visitors use your site by looking at the Path thru the site, Previous pages and Jumps within the site reports.
121 You can trace jumps from your site to other sites by using the REDIRECT.EXE/DLL program. If you have advertisers, this makes it easy to see how each is doing.\n\nSee 'Tracking Jumps to Other Sites' in Help for details.
122 You can measure how effective your site is at keeping visitors by comparing the number of total visits to the number of single-page visits. A high percent of single-page visits may indicate that improved entry pages could make visitors stay longer.
123 If you have very large files because you manage several virtual servers, you can use the Database tab of a Design window to split your logs into multiple databases, making your reports run much faster.
124 You can see how your site has done in the last few time periods by sorting by time and choosing 'Bottom' in the Options tab of the Properties window. The 'Top' choice would show how the site did at the beginning of the period.
125 You can add arbitrary text such as detailed explanations or comments anywhere on a report by adding Text elements from the Toolbox.
126 You can learn more about the Professional Edition of Hit List by selecting 'Upgrading to Hit List Pro' from the Help menu.
127 If your database is getting very large, you can use the 'Compact the Database' option in the Tools tab of the Database Manager to shrink it -- often by as much as 40%.
128 If you're running Microsoft Windows NT, you can run Hit List as a Service so it can run scheduled reports without the need for anyone to be logged in.\n\nSee the Advanced tab in the Options dialog.
129 You can use the 'Display as' field to give several report elements the same apparent name.\n\nSee the General tab of the Properties dialog box for details.
130 You can change the number of items that list-based report elements produce by using the Options tab of the Properties window.
131 We'd love to hear from you if you have any suggestions or comments about Hit List or about any other way we can help you use the Internet or your intranet site. You can send email to support@marketwave.com, call us at +1 206 682 6801 or visit our web site at http://www.marketwave.com/
