This on-line manual describes the St James Software jLogBook application from a System Administrator point of view. It is intended to support System Configuration Engineers. The general usage of the application is not covered here since it is covered in detail in the jLogBook version 4 Users Manual.
This version only covers Version 4 (the web enabled version of the software.) For more information on the client server version (Version 3), please contact St James Software here.
There are two versions of web server supported by jLogbook. I.e. the Apache version and the jLogbookserver version. To find out more about how these two versions differ, please see the section on web server choice.
This section provides a brief background of the application.
This section describes how you install jLogBook onto a server machine. It is assumed that the database has already been set up and that a schema and user has been assigned to the application. The main sections include.
This section provides information on how you start up jLogBook (both the server and the clients).
No two Industrial Process Plants have the same logging requirements and each control room will have different needs both from a data storage and a data presentation standpoint. The jLogBook application provides a series of facilities to enable the logbook to closely match the requirements of the control room. The configuring of the jLogBook application is typically only carried out by the system administrator. If you do not have the authorization to modify the format of the logs then you must see your administrator to see if the changes you want are in fact possible to incorporate.
The configuration of the system can be broken up into a few major areas as follows:
The configuration of system parameters such as the title appearing in the jLogBook banner, the start time of the shift and the shift period. Generally, system parameters relate to the application as a whole.
The
configuration of the fields or categories to be used
in the application. Each category will have characteristics
that relate to:
- the storage in the tables (e.g. the storage format),
- the grid (e.g. the column position in the grid) and
- the form (e.g. the column and row position of the category
in the form.)
The configuration of the options for the categories which will appear in a list in the combo boxes in the form and
The configuration of the users who will be using the system. The information here will include information such as the user password, the various permissions given to the user, and the areas in which the user may view and write information.
Some of the categories you create will have several options that the operator will be able to choose from. You set up these options in the Combo Options List Grid on the main configuration screen. To set up the options for a particular category, first click on the column for that category in the main category configuration grid. Then click on the <name of category> options link just below the category form. The existing options will then be displayed in a new page. You can now add new elements to the list or modify the existing elements or delete elements that you no longer require.
For more details, please see the section on Combo Options.
System Parameters refer to parameters that relate to the jLogBook system as a whole. E.g. The Window Size, the Application Title etc. These parameters are stored in the SystemConf table.
For more details, please see the section on System Parameter Configuration.
The operator logs represent one of the most useful sources of plant information. It is therefore most important that access to the information is controlled. At the same time, it is important that the information gets to the people who really need it. The jLogBook system incorporates an extensive user management system designed to manage the different requirements of your many users and, at the same time, protect the information that is being accumulated.
For more details on how to configure the different characteristics of each user, please see the user configuration section.
This section describes all the properties that relate to the users. These include such parameters as Passwords, View, Write and Time scope filters as well as possibly the web reporting that is related to a user.
This section covers the support facilities such as Upgrades, Documentation, Backup Procedures etc. Please see this section.
You may manipulate the logbook tables directly (with care) using standard SQL statements. This section shows how this can be done.
There are many ways that the various
classes in jLogbook can be overridden to achive special functions. Some of these
modules are documented here:
The Rolling
Category Module: Support for categories that roll through from one log to
the next.
The On Login
Module: Ability to redirect to a custom screen when the user logs in.
The Mail Message Module:
Linking your logbook to the email system.
The Dynamic
Fields Module: Ability to specify fields that appear or disappear in the
form
We have included some important information in the appendices. Including the Date Formatting functions and Useful Colors that you can use for your jLogBook. There is also a section on the prefs file and config.py file formats. Finally, there is a section on how you can create menu pages in html to log in to your applications.
Finally, there is a tutorial, which takes first time users through the most likely operations that they are likely to perform. This tutorial is highly recommended.