Copyright: Copyright Baribeau/Côté  -  InterLog© 2.2a
Citation: FreeWare -  InterLog© - rcote@inasec.ca


Contents
InterLog© - Internet LogMeter (v 2.2a)

Contents

This HELP file contains the installation procedures, a quick setup summary as well as more detailed information for those who are curious and want to find out more about InterLog.

Introduction

Installation

Setup

General

Normal Operation

Multiple Providers

How it Works

Uninstalling

Problems, bugs, suggestions...

This program is FREEWARE and may be freely distributed.


Introduction

InterLog is a small program that monitors your time on the Internet and gives you an instant readout of your actual session time, your remaining time (based on your monthly allowance) as well as a total usage time since your monthly renewal.  This is also recorded in a log file. This information is available even when the program is reduced to an ICON (Window 3.1) or a BUTTON on the taskbar (Windows 95).

The top display will indicate either your Present Session or Daily Session time depending on which option is selected from the the main dialog.

As well, an option is provided in the Setup dialog to have the ICON remain on top of your BROWSER if you so wish, allowing for a constant readout.

Version 2.2(a) now features adjustable timed backups that will maintain accurate on-line recording and logging in the event of a system crash while connected to the Internet.  As well, this revised version may now be called and activated from a script (i.e. from Trumpet Winsock Login script) and de-activated and removed from the Bye script for those who prefer not keeping it on the desktop.  See the installation menu for details on how to use this new feature.


Installation

InterLog needs to be installed and active before you connect to the Internet.  To ensure this, it should be copied to your STARTUP group; so that whenever you start Windows, it will be active and will appear as an icon at the bottom of your screen.  Exiting Windows will automatically close InterLog.

To install InterLog from a script, simply add the name "InterLog" in the login part of the script (before the dialing instruction) using the Exec or equivalent command.  To have InterLog remove itself at the end of a session add a delay of approximately 3 seconds following the Hangup command (to permit proper logOff) and then the name "InterLog Quit" at the end of the Bye script (using the Exec or equivalent command) Refer to your dialer manual for instructions on using  script language particular to your dialer.

Note: When InterLog is first called, (either directly or through a script) it loads normally.  Subsequent calls to InterLog are simply ignored.  If InterLog is loaded but called again with the word "quit" on the command line (without the ditto) it will close without warning, as if you were exiting Windows.  This feature makes it possible to close InterLog from a script, which otherwise would not be possible.


Setup

InterLog will default to using Carrier Detect only, to identify when you are connected to the Internet.

If your using Windows 3.1 ,3.11 or Windows 95 and Trumpet Winsock as your dialer, you can set Trumpet Winsock as a trigger to start counting your on-line time after detecting a carrier from your modem.  This can be changed using the Setup button in the main window and selecting the options under Triggers.  Selecting <NONE> in the trigger window will tell InterLog to start counting following a carrier detect only from your phone line.  If the Seek IP Address option is not selected, InterLog will wait 20 seconds after it detects a carrier before starting to count to compensate for the time it normally takes to obtain a valid address from your provider on the Internet.

If your using Windows 95, In order to prevent InterLog from counting your on-line time when you are using your modem for other purposes, select your DialUp application from the Drop List in the Trigger Group.  For example, if you are using the DialUp network from inside Windows 95, minimize InterLog, start up a normal Internet session and while you are connected, double click on InterLog, go to the Setup window and select the Drop List in Triggers to view all of the applications active at the time.  You will see a list of title such as Connect, Connect To and Connected To ??????? which indicates the name you have given to your Connection.  Click on this selection and minimize InterLog again.

The next time you will log on, InterLog will watch for a carrier detect and wait until it sees the Connect To ?????? before starting to count; this way, if you use your modem for fax or to connect to another BBS, InterLog will not count your logon time.

BACKUP Option

InterLog will default to making a backup of your on-line time every 5 minutes; to change this setting, select Backup Option from the setup menu and adjust the counter from 01 to 60 minutes (a setting of 00 will de-activate backups)

STATUS

From the Icon menu list (or right mouse button on the taskbar for Windows 95) select Status for a description of your present configuration.  Options are changed through the Setup dialog from the Main dialog.


General

DOUBLE CLICKING on the icon will get you the Main dialog for more detailed statistics as well as give you access to a Setup menu where various parameters may be entered to reflect the term of your Internet provider's contract.   A Status dialog shows your present configuration.

To program InterLog to remain on top select Stay On Top from the system menu that comes on when you SINGLE CLICK on the ICON, or from inside the Setup window.  In Windows 95, click the right mouse button to view the System menu.  The Stay On Top feature is somewhat redundant in Windows 95 since the whole taskbar can be programmed to remain on top.  InterLog also maintains an on-going log (INTERLOG.DAT) of each call made to your Internet provider.   Selecting the Stay on Top feature from the Setup dialog will be remembered internally.as the default on subsequent use of InterLog

To access the Log, press the Readlog button. The LOGON line shows the time you were given access to the Internet as well as the address that your SLIP or PPP connection assigned to your request if that option was selected in the Setup screen under Seek IP Address.

At LogOFF, the total session time is computed and recorded.  If your computer freezes (or crashes) during an Internet session, InterLog will use backup information (that it saves on a regular basis ) to determine your LogOff time to an accuracy dependent on the Time Between Backups as determined by your setup.

The log readout is in fact a small text editor from which you can cut and paste to and from the Clipboard.  The size of the log is limited to approximately 32K; a warning will appear when this limit is reached;  you may then elect to remove earlier entries (using Edit from the menu) or rename the ASCII file (interlog.dat) to save its content or else print it.  A new (interlog.dat) will automatically be created.

NOTE: Although interlog.dat is a pure ASCII file, if the file is read and subsequently saved under Notepad, line-feeds will be removed by Notepad making the reading difficult under ReadLog.  It is therefore preferable to make changes using ReadLog directly.


Normal Operation

InterLog will default to the date you install it for the purpose of  computing your monthly usage and will use a monthly allowance of 50 hours. You can change this using the Setup window and adjusting the parameters to reflect your particular situation.  If your are on a monthly schedule, InterLog will automatically reset your allowance at the end of the month and increment the start date to the new month.  Note that if you change the date, InterLog will reset the monthly total to the indicated monthly allowance unless you cancel the operation.  You may use the Preset function to adjust the Cumulative Time to a value other than zero if necessary.

If your Provider offers free access during a certain period, use the Option button in the Provider Services to access a secondary dialog, select Free Time and either the From/To or the Daily option (or both) and enter the time you want InterLog to stop and start counting using the incrementers.

 If your monthly allowance is unlimited, you may select Unlimited at which point the monthly hours will default to the maximum number of possible hours for the given month.  After a month, the usage time will revert to zero and start the upward count to the maximum again.

In the ICON mode, the top row indicates the session time in Hours:Minutes and the bottom row indicates your remaining monthly time in Hours:Minutes as well.  Should your monthly usage exceed your allowance, the readout will start counting up and colour will change to red to indicate a surcharge mode.  In Windows 95, the InterLog button on the taskbar will show the session time on the left and the remaining monthly time on the right; in the surcharge mode, a minus sign will appear next to the remaining time.

The Statistics window is a convenient way to see at a glance the percentage of time used versus the number of days left in the month.  It is particularly useful when you approach the end of the month and you realize that you have enough hours left to download those lengthy files that you have been wanting to do but kept putting off.  On the other hand, it will also tell you at a glance when your are down to 20% of your total allowance and you still have 25 days to go in the month...


How it Works

InterLog checks the carrier detect function of your modem (if selected) and, optionally, the presence of an active application that you use to connect to the Internet such as Trumpet Winsock or DialUp Network.  If Seek IP Address is selected, InterLog will send a call for your TC/IP address using your Host Name.and proceed to register your LOGON time, continue to monitor your session until you disconnect, at which time it will record your LOGOFF time, compute your total session time and record it the file InterLog.DAT.

Initially, InterLog scans your communication ports to detect a MODEM. Once detected, the location will be recorded internally.  If it cannot find your MODEM, it will warn you and ask that you go into SETUP to specify the location (Com port) of your MODEM.

Note that InterLog cannot test for a MODEM, using "TestModem" if the Com port is already in use; make sure TCPMAN or any other dialer are inactive before trying the test.

---------------------------------------------

(InterLog is written in C and includes in line assembly code.  It was compiled using the Turbo C++ 4.5 compiler.)


Un-installing
Uninstalling

Should you wish to uninstall InterLog, delete all the files in directory INTERLOG and the file INTERLOG.INI from the windows directory as well as the ICON in the INTERNET LOGMETER group. Other files used by InterLog are of the DLL variety and are only installed on your computer if they do not exist.  They are the standard BORLAND public domain DLLs and are most likely used by a good number of programs already installed on your computer; these files should not be removed unless you are certain that they are not used by other programs.

The following files are included in the ZIP:

readme.txt (this file in ascii format)

InterLog.exe (the executable)

gauge.vbx (used by the executable)

InterLog.hlp (the file you are reading now)

bivbx11.dll (borland VBX support)

ctl3dv2.dll (Microsoft 3d resources)

bwcc.dll (Borland resources)

The last three files will only be installed if they do not exist on

your computer already.


Problems
Problems, bugs, comments, suggestions...

Click here for a list of Frequently Asked Questions on Trouble Shooting.

If you find InterLog useful, or wish to report problems installing and using it, send an E-Mail to rcote@inasec.ca. or at rcote@sympatico.ca or on CompuServe at 74022.1303@compuserve.com

Robert Côté/Denise Baribeau

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

December 1995


Trouble Shooting

Frequently asked questions and possible solutions:

Q. When I start InterLog, I get a message saying that it cannot find the file "winsock.dll" or that one of its component is missing...

A. The file "winsock.dll" must be in a directory specified in the path specified in your autoexec.bat.  If you are using Trumpet Winsock (TCPMAN), either make sure that the directory where Trumpet Winsock resides (and winsock.dll) are in the path or move winsock.dll to the "windows\" directory.

Q. I get a Dynalink Error upon trying to load InterLog, what is causing this?

A. A dynalink error occurs when a function from within a DLL is called and the DLL cannot be found.  Make sure that the files: bivbx11.dll, bwcc.dll and ctl3dv2.dll are in Windows or Windows\system directories.  If necessary, delete these files and re-install InterLog .

Q. I get a message saying that ctl3dv2.dll is not properly installed, InterLog loads ok but looks funny!

A. This problem occurs because ctl3dv2.dll is in the same directory as interlog.exe.  It must be removed from this directory and moved to the Windows directory.  This is often the case if InterLog was started directly after unzipping INTLOG; the file Setup.exe must be called from Windows in order for InterLog to install properly and ensure that the DLL files are at the right location.

Q. When I am into Setup and call TestModem, I get a message saying that no modem was found on that port, why is this (I know my modem is on this port)?

A. There are a number of reasons for this; first, make sure your modem is On if its an external modem, second click on another port and try TestModem again, third, make sure that your dialer or another communication program is NOT using this port, InterLog cannot test the modem if another application is using the same port.

Q. InterLog does not start counting after I have connected to the Internet, what's wrong?

A. First, go the the main dialog and press Status.   Take a look at the Triggers and make sure that the application selected is actually the one you are using to establish contact on the Internet (e.g. Trumpet Winsock, Connected to ...., etc.) for your type of operation.

Second, look under options and if Yes appears following Seek IP Address, go back to Setup and disable the Seek IP Address option. (Under certain circumstance, InterLog may have problem obtaining your IP address from your provider and won't start counting until it receives a valid address).  Operating InterLog with Seek IP Address disabled only means that it will start counting as soon as a carrier detect is identified and (if trigger is different than <None>), when it detects that the application listed under Trigger is active.

As a final test, select <None> for triggers and disable Seek IP Address and Carrier Detect; InterLog will start counting immediately, logging on and off as if you were actually connected.  By enabling the triggers one at a time, you should find a configuration that will work with your particular setup.

If you are using the FreeTime feature, make sure the period selected does not coincide with actual time, thereby stopping InterLog from counting!

Q. InterLog counts my on-line time ok but does not stop counting when I disconnect from the Internet, what's wrong?

A. Check the Status screen; one possibility is that you are operating with no triggers (or a trigger that is always present i.e. Program Manager) and with the Carrier Detect unselected.  This combination causes InterLog to start counting correctly once it obtains a valid IP Address but since it does this check only upon starting, it has no means of knowing when to stop!

Q. InterLog starts counting when I send a FAX or when I call a BBS not related to the Internet, how can I prevent that?

A. This is where the Trigger becomes important; in order for InterLog to differentiate between a Carrier Detect from an Internet call or from a FAX or a BBS, it uses the Trigger identified in your setup.  Refer to Setup for more information about the Trigger option.


20 seconds
To change this delay, open Interlog.ini with notepad and modify the default entry under [Status], CdDelay =.  This value is expressed in miliseconds (a delay of 15 seconds would show as CdDelay = 15000)


Multiple Providers

Access to the Internet through more than one provider may be monitored separately by adding command parameters when calling InterLog.

This is accomplished by adding a name (up to 8 characters) following the "Interlog.exe" entry in the property box of the Icon used to call InterLog.  For example, let say you are connecting to a provider called "Star" and a copy of InterLog resides in a directory called c:\Interlog\interlog.exe.  Select properties for the InterLog icon, and at Command Line: add the word "Star" so that the command line now reads: C:\interlog\interlog.exe star.  Under Windows 95, right click the Icon, select properties, select shortcut and add the word "Star" to the Target so that it now reads: C:\interlog\interlog.exe star.

The name added to the command parameter will now appear in the title with the icon in the Taskbar when InterLog is inactive.

Note: A seperate .INI file will be maintained for every new services created and will take the name identified on the Command line.  The same holds true for the log file (.dat).  Multiple instances of InterLog can therefore be active as long as different Triggers are used for each application.

If you are using InterLog from a script, use the same command parameters but add "Quit" to the end of the command combination like this: <Exec "interlog.exe star quit"> (refer to the installation topic for more information on using script with InterLog.)