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|
<sect2 id="tickastat">
<title>Tick-a-Stat Applet</title>
<para>
<application>Tick-a-Stat</application> applet, shown in <xref
linkend="tickastat-applet-fig">, watches various aspects of your
system and delivers information when certain events occur. For
example, it can watch the CPU load and warn you when the CPU is
being overloaded with concurrent processes. To add this
applet to a <interface>Panel</interface>,
right-click on the <interface>Panel</interface> and choose
<menuchoice>
<guimenu>Panel</guimenu>
<guisubmenu>Add to panel</guisubmenu>
<guisubmenu>Applet</guisubmenu>
<guisubmenu>Utility</guisubmenu>
<guimenuitem>Tick-a-Stat</guimenuitem>
</menuchoice>.
</para>
<figure id="tickastat-applet-fig">
<title>Tick-a-Stat Applet</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Tick-a-Stat Applet</screeninfo>
<graphic format="png" fileref="figures/tickastat_applet"
srccredit="muet">
</graphic>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<!-- ============= Usage ================================ -->
<sect3 id="tickastat-usage">
<title>Usage</title>
<para>
After you have configured <application>Tick-a-Stat</application>,
it will run continuously and does not require any input.
General configuration of <application>Tick-a-Stat</application> is
explained in <xref linkend="tickastat-prefs">. There are several
modules which can be used. Their function and configuration is
described in <xref linkend="tickastat-modules">.
</para>
<para>
Right-clicking on the applet brings up a menu containing the
following items:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
<guimenuitem>Properties…</guimenuitem> —
opens the <link linkend="tickastat-prefs">
<guilabel>Properties</guilabel></link> dialog.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<guimenuitem>Event Log…</guimenuitem> —
opens the <link linkend="tickastat-eventlog">
<guilabel>Event Log</guilabel></link> dialog.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<guimenuitem>Help</guimenuitem> —
displays this document.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
<guimenuitem>About…</guimenuitem> —
shows basic information about <application>Tick-a-Stat
Applet</application>, including the applet's version and the
author's name.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</sect3>
<!-- ============= Customization ============================= -->
<sect3 id="tickastat-prefs">
<title>Customization</title>
<para>
You can customize <application>Tick-a-Stat</application>
applet by right-clicking on it and choosing
<guimenuitem>Properties…</guimenuitem>. This will open the
<interface>Properties</interface> dialog(shown in <xref
linkend="tickastat-settings-fig">), which allows you to
change various settings.
</para>
<figure id="tickastat-settings-fig">
<title>Properties dialog</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Properties dialog</screeninfo>
<graphic format="png" fileref="figures/tickastat_settings"
srccredit="muet">
</graphic>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<para>
The <guilabel>Modules</guilabel> tab lists the various modules
you can enable. Select a module from <guilabel>Module</guilabel>
list on the left to configure it in the pane on the right. Each
module and its configurable properties are described in <xref
linkend="tickastat-modules">.
</para>
<para>
The properties in the <guilabel>General</guilabel> tab are:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Enable logging of events — If this button is
checked, a log of each event detected by an enabled module
will be written to the file named in the <guilabel>Log
path</guilabel> entry.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Log Path — This is name of the file which will be used
to store the event log.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
The properties in the <guilabel>Display</guilabel> tab are:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Smooth scroll — Selecting this button causes old events
to slowly scroll upwards when new events occur, instead of
quickly moving up to make room.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Smooth type — Selecting this button causes new text to
be slowly typed across the applet as if somebody is typing it,
instead of appearing very quickly.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Delay when wrapping text — This is the time delay (in
tenths of a second) that it pauses when it wraps a message
around the right edge of the applet (ie. for a carriage return).
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Scroll speed between lines (Smooth scroll) — This is the
speed at which lines are scrolled upwards.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Width — This is the width(in pixels) of the applet.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Use all room on panel — Selecting this button expands
the applet along the <interface>Panel</interface> to fill all
space (up to any neighboring Panel objects if they exist.)
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Height — This is the height(in pixels) of the applet.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Use panel size hint — Selecting this button causes the
applet to try to size itself to fit the
<interface>Panel</interface> height.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
After you have made all the changes you want, click on
<guibutton>OK</guibutton> to apply the changes and close the
<interface>Properties</interface> dialog. To cancel the changes
and return to previous values, click the
<guibutton>Cancel</guibutton> button.
</para>
</sect3>
<!-- ============= Modules ============================= -->
<sect3 id="tickastat-modules">
<title>Modules</title>
<para>
<application>Tick-a-Stat</application> has several modules.
Each module watches a certain part of your system and responds
to different evens. Multiple modules can be run enabled at once.
The standard <application>Tick-a-Stat</application> modules are
described below.
</para>
<sect4 id="tickastat-testmodule">
<title>Test Module</title>
<para>
The Test module is a simple module that just prints
<quote>Testing line from test module :)</quote> in the applet
every few seconds.
</para>
</sect4>
<sect4 id="tickastat-coredumpmodule">
<title>Core Dump Catcher Module</title>
<para>
The Dump Monitor module monitors a certain path for core dumps.
If it finds one, it time stamps it and logs the backtrace. It also
displays a core dump logo and message in the main applet, as
shown in <xref linkend="tickastat-coredump-fig"> and optionally
will open a dialog displaying the backtrace.
</para>
<figure id="tickastat-coredump-fig">
<title>Tick-a-Stat Showing a Core Dump</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Tick-a-Stat Showing a Core Dump</screeninfo>
<graphic format="png" fileref="figures/tickastat_coredump"
srccredit="muet">
</graphic>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<para>
The Core Dump module settings are:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Enable this module — Selecting this button activates the
module.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Show backtrace dialog on new core files — Selecting this
button will cause <application>Tick-a-Stat</application> to
open a dialog showing the backtrace each time a new core dump
is found.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Path to monitor — Enter the name of the directory you
would like the Core Dump module to monitor for core dumps.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</sect4>
<sect4 id="tickastat-loadmonitormodule">
<title>Load Average Monitor Module</title>
<para>
The Load Average Monitor module monitors the systems CPU usage
and warns you when the number of processes(programs) sharing the
CPU is too high. (This will cause poor performance of each
process and can be indicative of an errant program or daemon.)
When the CPU load is high it will display a warning, as shown in
<xref linkend="tickastat-loadmonitor-fig">. For even higher
loads, an alert is displayed.
</para>
<figure id="tickastat-loadmonitor-fig">
<title>Tick-a-Stat Showing a Load Warning</title>
<screenshot>
<screeninfo>Tick-a-Stat Showing a Load Warning</screeninfo>
<graphic format="png" fileref="figures/tickastat_loadaverage"
srccredit="muet">
</graphic>
</screenshot>
</figure>
<para>
The Load Average Monitor module settings are:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Enable this module — Selecting this button activates the
module.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Check every (Seconds) — Set this to the interval (in
seconds) between checking the load.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Show pop-up dialog for this event — Select this button
to have a pop-up dialog open each time a warning (or alert)
is issued. (This option occurs in both the Warning and Alert
sections.)
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Load average threshold — Set this to the load (the
average number of running programs which request use of the
CPU at any instant in time). (This option occurs in both the
Warning and Alert sections.)
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Text to display — Enter the message which should be
displayed when the load reaches the threshold level.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</sect4>
<sect4 id="tickastat-filetailermodule">
<title>File Tailer Module</title>
<para>
The File Tailer module shows any lines which are added to the
end of a given file. This is typically used to monitor the
output log files created by many programs.
</para>
<para>
The File Tailerr module settings are:
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para>
Enable this module — Selecting this button activates the
module.
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Path to tail — Set this to the name of the file you
wish to tail. (The term "tail" refers to watching the tail,
or end, of a file. In a shell, one can do this using the
<command>tail</command> command, typically with the "-f"
flag.)
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
Show pop-up dialog for new line — Select this
to have a pop-up dialog showing the new line open each time a
new line is added to the file.
</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
</sect4>
</sect3>
<!-- ============= Event Log ============================== -->
<sect3 id="tickastat-eventlog">
<title>The Event Log</title>
<para>
The event log is used to keep track of any events which register
in <application>Tick-a-Stat</application>. The file used for the
event log and whether event logging is enabled are specified in
the <guilabel>General</guilabel> tab of the <link
linkend="tickastat-prefs"> <guilabel>Properties</guilabel></link>
dialog. To view the event log, right click on the applet and
select <guimenuitem>Event log…</guimenuitem>.
</para>
</sect3>
<!-- ============= Bugs ================================== -->
<!-- This section should describe known bugs and limitations of
the program if there are any - please be frank and list all
problems you know of -->
<sect3 id="tickastatapplet-bugs">
<title>Known Bugs and Limitations</title>
<para>
This applet has no known bugs.
</para>
</sect3>
<!-- ============= Authors ================================ -->
<sect3 id="tickastat-authors">
<title>Authors</title>
<para>
<application>Tick-a-Stat Applet</application> was written by John Ellis
(<email>johne@bellatlantic.net</email>). Please send all comments,
suggestions, and bug
reports to the <ulink url="http://bugs.gnome.org" type="http">GNOME
bug tracking database</ulink>. (Instructions for submitting bug
reports can be found <ulink
url="http://bugs.gnome.org/Reporting.html" type="http">
on-line</ulink>. If you are using
GNOME 1.1 or later, you can also use <application>Bug Report
Tool</application> (<command>bug-buddy</command>), available in the
<guisubmenu>Utilities</guisubmenu> submenu of <guimenu>Main
Menu</guimenu>, for submitting bug reports.
</para>
<para>
This manual was written by Dan Mueth
(<email>d-mueth@uchicago.edu</email>). Please send all comments and
suggestions regarding this manual to the <ulink type="http"
url="http://www.gnome.org/gdp">GNOME Documentation Project</ulink>
by sending an email to <email>docs@gnome.org</email>. You can also
submit comments online by using the <ulink type="http"
url="http://www.gnome.org/gdp/doctable/">GNOME Documentation Status
Table</ulink>.
</para>
<!-- For translations: uncomment this:
<para>
Latin translation was done by ME
(<email>MYNAME@MYADDRESS</email>). Please send all comments and
suggestions regarding this translation to SOMEWHERE.
</para>
-->
</sect3>
<!-- ============= Application License ============================= -->
<!--
<sect3 id="license">
<title>License</title>
<para>
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the <citetitle>GNU General Public
License</citetitle> as published by the Free Software Foundation;
either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later
version.
</para>
<para>
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
<citetitle>GNU General Public License</citetitle> for more details.
</para>
<para>
A copy of the <citetitle>GNU General Public License</citetitle> is
included as an appendix to the <citetitle>GNOME Users
Guide</citetitle>. You may also obtain a copy of the
<citetitle>GNU General Public License</citetitle> from the Free
Software Foundation by visiting <ulink type="http"
url="http://www.fsf.org">their Web site</ulink> or by writing to
<address>
Free Software Foundation, Inc.
<street>59 Temple Place</street> - Suite 330
<city>Boston</city>, <state>MA</state> <postcode>02111-1307</postcode>
<country>USA</country>
</address>
</para>
</sect3>
-->
</sect2>
|