[SOLVED] Generate reports? Content > Files > download count?

BryanA. · 2018-08-07 10:42:46

Just a quick curiosity – is there a way to have Textpattern generate reports about specific Admin-side details whether regularly, nightly – for example, or triggered by changes, every 10 new downloads – for example?

I don’t need to track much else for the time being other than Download Count.

Last edited by BryanA. (2018-08-17 03:06:24)

gaekwad · 2018-08-07 10:56:53

BryanA. wrote #313314:

I don’t need to track much else for the time being other than Download Count.

Sounds like a job for web stats. There’s nothing that I know in core beyond the number of total downloads to date (which for podcasts can be wildly inaccurate if you factor in bots, iTunes, and the like).

Something like Matomo might be worth a look, lots of juicy stats in there.

BryanA. · 2018-08-07 15:49:44

Oh boy :) – the advantage to GoDaddy is a one-click Installatron gadget in CPanel. They had Matomo! But a 3.5 which I can upgrade I think when I want.

I wouldn’t have known what that was and probably paid $7.99 a month or something if success ever finds its way to the site. I appreciate the tip! I know that Download count can tick up unreliably, this helps.

colak · 2018-08-07 17:51:01

Hi Bryan,

Matomo is basically free and very easy to install if you opt to download it. It has auto upgrades through its back-end and it is recommended to install it on a separate database from txp as it has a tendency of bloating in size.

Re files stats. There is kuo_file_stats, listed there as “File access statistics (0.1).”

jakob · 2018-08-07 21:35:02

If I’m not mistaken, all files that are accessed via their …/file_download/123/… link will be counted, even when accessed from outside textpattern.

If a file is accessed directly via its actual location domain.com/files/filename.ext the file download is not counted and you need some other means of tracking such as server logs or a web stats package like matomo or google analytics.

gaekwad · 2018-08-08 09:02:10

jakob wrote #313330:

If I’m not mistaken, all files that are accessed via their …/file_download/123/… link will be counted, even when accessed from outside textpattern.

That’s my understanding, also. Renaming /files/.htaccess-dist to .htaccess will prevent direct downloads if the web server runs Apache.

JimJoe · 2018-08-13 13:51:52

Hmm. My domains’ cpanel already shows which files are downloaded. For my sites with downloads, I have a downloads article.

BryanA. · 2018-08-17 03:05:59

I’m still working out a lot of kinks in the site so it’s ready for “prime time,” but there’s a HUGE and I mean very big big disparity between Matomo which I really like, and the AWstats and Webalizer which I just found on the CPanel down low near the bottom of all sorts of stuff. Thank you JimJoe for making me look…

Matomo is like, ‘dude, remain calm, but no one likes your site or no one knows about it,’ which is cool, because I haven’t promoted it but to five or six friends and y’all Textpattern cowboys and girls.

awstats and webalizer are like, ‘DUDE! You’re a superstar! Holy sheep! You’re gonna be so rich!’ and it’s way too much for just robots and some passing RSS spiders or something. And the bandwidth is far more than my uploads (30MB a day per episode – 16th day this month, so, half a gig at most, right?) It says over 7 Gigabytes and thousands and thousands of visitors ?!?

So I appreciate the tips from you all! I’m terribly out of practice, not stupid, but never was a real whiz at this to begin with. So that’s my wrapping it up.

Solved (only to lead to other curiosities).

gaekwad · 2018-08-17 07:59:05

BryanA. wrote #313464:

Matomo is like, ‘dude, remain calm, but no one likes your site or no one knows about it,’ which is cool, because I haven’t promoted it but to five or six friends and y’all Textpattern cowboys and girls.

awstats and webalizer are like, ‘DUDE! You’re a superstar! Holy sheep! You’re gonna be so rich!’ and it’s way too much for just robots and some passing RSS spiders or something.

As a battle-hardened former podcaster from ~2006 onwards, your download stats will never be accurate. Spiders, previews, bots, the works. I remember when we used to gauge engagement with FeedBurner, and we’re going back many years. One morning I woke from obsessing over statistics the night before, and ended up poring over episode content instead. Numbers will drive you mad. Focus on the content (as I’m sure you are), make sure the usability of the site is top notch, and don’t look at the stats.

BryanA. · 2018-08-17 13:35:47

You’re totally right and I’ve had a good time listening again to the first episodes to create Show Notes and times in the episode when xyz is said or happens. It helps to keep me on track; it’s only been four weeks but it’s so tempting to get caught up in the wrong details instead of content.

That said – one final OP tidbit for anyone searching the Forums. In AWStats, you can enter CPanel and SkipHosts or exclude your own IP Address. It’s not intuitive but the directions at the following link were 100% spot on for me: Don’t count your visits in statistics. And it totally DOES include Download counts. :)

Now my measures will be far more realistic when or if I need them.

colak · 2018-08-17 14:53:10

Hi Bryan

I never installed AWStats in any of our websites but doesn’t it ask you to copy paste some code in your templates? If so just wrap the code in an <txp:if_logged_in> tag. With our analytics (excluding the cookie concent) I have .

<txp:if_logged_in>
<txp:else />
<script>
  script here
</script>
</txp:if_logged_in>

This means that the analytics scripts never load whenever I am logged in my site.

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#1 2018-08-07 10:42:46