Automatically batch link checker

[Peter Marchert]

Hello,

I would appreciate a feature that runs as a service and checks links on a website periodly on Windows startup once (maybe daily or weekly, should be changeable by the user). The activity could be signaled as a tray icon (yellow = working, green = no bad links, red = bad links). If you right click on that icon you have options to setup the link checker or view a report.

I wish only reports/messages for bad links. Good would be an option to automatically check bad links again before they will be reported as bad links (e. g. check bad links in 2 hours again because the server may be down temporarily).

Alternatively is a batch instead of a service ok too, but not as now with a lot of settings to make and an userinterface. I read something about cmdlineprocessor.exe -b. To use a parameter for a configuration file too, would be save a lot of time:
cmdlineprocessor.exe -b -c "c:\mysite.xml". In this file all settings are available (made by the help of the userinterface or by an editor) e. g. report bad links only etc.

Do you think there is a chance to get such a feature or does some similar still exist and I have not figured out it yet?

Thank you and best regards
Peter Marchert

[Albert Wiersch]

Hi Peter,

For scheduling, this may help:
http://www.htmlvalidator.com/htmlval/v9 ... scheduling

You can use a scheduling program to run a Batch Wizard job using cmdlineprocessor.exe. See the above link for more help on that too.

You can use the -veofile option to specify an options file that you can export in the Validator Engine Options.

To report only bad links, you can check/uncheck the relevant options in the Links tab of the Batch Wizard Options, but unfortunately you can not change these options via the command line. The "veofile" command line option only affects the Validator Engine Options, not the Batch Wizard Options.

I don't think there is enough demand to support and justify development of a service application.

Knowing the above, is there still something you'd really like to see added to a future version?

[MikeGale]

Hi Peter,

I've moved away from automated checking (on my desktop machine), but I used to do it.

Two approaches come to mind.

1) The approach suggested by Albert. Invoke batch processor from the command line, using the task scheduler in Windows. After the check you could put in code to send you an email with a hyperlink to the batch report. Not a live indication like you were thinking of, but, from my experience, it would handle the rate at which links go bad if run weekly or less often. (Your situation may differ.)

2) You can hook into the CSE DLL quite easily and then do whatever you want from code. I've done that from .NET. You could then run rechecks, report in the system tray, use emails, publish it on a web site, graph it all... whatever you wanted. Depends on whether you want to program and it will take longer to get started. (Heck you could even scratch directly accessing the DLL, and run the batch processor from your code, "screen scrape" the reports and do all of the above if that approach appeals more!)

I once used a third party system service written in VB classic that ran these sorts of checks (not using CSE), so you can use the programming system of your choice.

[Peter Marchert]

Thank you Albert and Mike!

I think with the link to the help I can figure it out to do it with a windows task. This should be fine for me.

Peter