Counter FAQ

First of all, thanks for reading the FAQ!!

I do my best to make this counter as reliable and as cool as I have time for. I would love for you to use my counter. This is not a pay service, please be kind.

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Help with Cut and Paste
What if I get lots of hits (> 10000/day)?
Can the counter not count me?
How do I create my own counter?
Can it count over 100,000?
Why did the counter stop working?
How do I set the counter to a certain value?
Why didn't it pick up the reset value?
Why can't I get the source?
Why does the count seem lower than the real number of hits on the page?
Why doesn't it work on Windows 3.1?
Why does the counter go up and down, or why is the number so high?
I get the error counter.class not found. What happened?
The applet only appears after a long time or hit reload. Why?
The applet doesn't work on my page. Why?
Does the counter server keep track of hits when the server is down?
Keep track of multiple pages?
What about different images?
Why does it flash??
Counter options
I want lots of counters, do I have to keep re-registering?
How do I insert HTML with xxx?
How do I tell if my browser is Java Enabled?
How do I tell if I am behind a firewall?
I upgraded to XP, and it doesn't work

What if I get lots of hits (> 10000/day)?
The new servers are located in what can only be described as awesome facilities. We have more bandwidth and power than you can poke a stick at! But, if you'd like, you can download the software to your machine.
Can the counter not count me?
Sorry, at this time, there is no way for the counter to restrict counting you.
How do I create my own counter?
- Just register for one.
If the counter works on my pages, and doesn't work on yours DON'T SEND ME MAIL. I absolutely guarantee you, that there is something wrong on your side. Usually a typo, or a missing space, and don't forget that it is case sensitive.
Can it count over 100,000?
But of course! I've been getting lots of these requests! Even, had one for over 1million. Anyway .. just change the width=75 to width=90
Why did the counter stop working?
Sorry, but it happens occasionally. Usually it's not a problem at my end, but sometimes it is. The server has detection software to tell if it's down, but this has happened in a very long time. I also have an "assistant", so that if it does go down, it will restart the server itself. In extremely rare cases, it will take human intervention.
Usually it is a problem at the other end, such as a firewall, or your ISP is slow, or maybe you added lots of images to your page..
How do I set the counter to a certain value? Add the following line between <applet ..> and </applet>
```
    <APPLET ...
    <PARAM NAME="reset" VALUE="999">
    </APPLET>
```
eg
```
<table border=4><tr><td>
<applet ARCHIVE=http://counter.bloke.com/Counter.zip CODEBASE=http://counter.bloke.com/ CODE=Counter.class WIDTH=75 HEIGHT=20>
<param name=URL value="xxx">
<param name=reset value="nnn">
</applet></td></tr></table>
```
where nnn is the value you want the counter to say. and xxx is your URL. This must be the *REAL* url. If it is not exactly correct, the reset will not work. Check the Java console for a message telling you what it should be.
The most common mistakes here are using
```
<param name=URL value="http://somewhere.com">
```
When you really need to use:
```
<param name=URL value="http://somewhere.com/">
```
And the other is frames: You need to use the URL of the sub frame, not the parent frame to get it to reset.
The database will only reset the counter if the value changes. To reset the counter back to zero use "1" and not "0", this is because I treat "0" as if you don't want to reset. If you want to re-reset the counter back to zero, you will need to pass a different value and then set it back to "1" again.
Why didn't it pick up the reset value? You can't reset the counter to zero. Also you can't reset the counter to the last known reset value. If the reset doesn't work, try a different number (not 0 or 1). If that doesn't work check the Java Console. It will contain all the information on why the value did not reset. It is most likely that the URL you specified did not match exactly. A good URL to use is what you see in the location: bar of your browser when you are viewing your home page.
Why can't I get the source? Because I'm stingy. No well that can't be true, I'm providing this service free for anyone who wants it. So deal with it :-). Well the main reason is that people will just take the counter, put their name on it and redistribute it as theirs. Yeah, yeah I know, you just want to learn, and you promise not to do that. Well if you really want to learn, write it from scratch! If you want the counter on your server for extra speed, you can download the java version.
How do I make the counter the most accurate? Actually, the counter is quite accurate. But the following can decrease the effectivness: If you have lots of images (especially animated ones) on your page (true for all cgi-hosted counters, even image ones). It's best to have the counter so that it appears on your page without having to scroll down the page to see it. In general image counters tend to be a little more accurate (as long as the service provider doesn't run into CPU/network problems), but are not nearly as cool :-). For complete accuracy, you will have to use a server side include (SSI), or check your web server logs.
Why doesn't it work on Windows 3.1? Make sure that you have the IE or Netscape versions that are Java enabled.
Why does the counter go up and down, or why is the number so high? Make sure that you enter a URL in the param field. If you have:
```
<PARAM name=URL value="http://">
```
This is Wrong. Please re-register, and type in your URL!
I get the error counter.class not found. What happened? Typo! It is called Counter.class. If you get class not found or some other java error then you have a typo. Make sure codebase is set to http://counter.bloke.com/ and code=Counter.class (or code=Counter).
The applet only appears after a long time or I hit reload. Why? If you use a lot of images, or other fancy stuff on you page, the counter is not likely to be as fast (cause the browser is doing other stuff). Animated Gif's are the usual cause. Try the counter on a page by itself, and go from there.
The applet doesn't work on my page. Why? Well there could be a billion reasons why, but other people got it to work, so therefor, so can you! However, one really wierd problem I found was if you set <BASE HREF=http://myhost.mydomain.com/mypath/myfile.html> , the counter doesn't work in some browsers. Why? Beats Me, but if you are having this trouble try it.
If you use a lot of images, especially animated images, the browsers don't give much time to the java applets on the page. In such a case the counter may not work very well. If you are having this kind of trouble, put the counter on a page by itself to check that it works and go from there. (ie remove the animates images, and see that the count works)
If the counter doesn't work on my page, then you probably have java disabled (or possibly it is not installed on your computer). Of course there is the possibliity that my counter server is down (but that doesnt't have very often).
Does the counter server keep track of hits when the server is down? - No. Its not really possible for a program to work when it's not running :-)
Keeping track of multiple pages. Simply use the same URL param on all the pages. Then any hit on one page will be reflected in all the other pages.
What about different images? Well glad you asked. But I'm going to have to be quite explicit here, cause adding new images to the server is a lot of work for me, so if you can do the following things to make life easier for me, I'm more likely to insert the image into the database.
- The image should contain 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0 from top to bottom. Notice that 0 is there twice. Click for an Example
- The GIF should be small. Optimally it would be under 1k and definately it should be under 2k. If you make exceptionally cool digits, I may make exceptions.
- The GIF should be available on a web page somewhere. Just send the URL of the GIF image, and please check the URL before you send it to me. Please also send me the width/height of the image (eg 15x220). The image height should be exactly divisible by 11.
- The digits should line up when they are split out. what this means is if I break the numbers out of the images and align them left to right, they line up. Getting this to be true can be a little tricky.
- The digits should be aligned vertically as well.
- Transparency will not make the applet transparent, and look very wierd.
- Animated gifs also won't work.
- Well that's an aweful lot, but if any of the above conditions are not true, the digits will not look good when it is placed in the applet, I appreciate your effort, and appreciate any images that you would submit.
  On-line submission of images is available. If you fit all of the above, submit your image here
  Check out the already Submitted Images (images submitted are not checked for correctness).
  Also note that you need to be using www1.counter.bloke.com and not www2-www10.

Why does it flash? I added the flashing text after 15 seconds to attract more people to my counter .. if you don't like it .. or want it .. It's easy to remove it! Just before the </applet> insert:

  <param name="showString" value="false">

For example:

  <table border=4><tr><td><applet
  ARCHIVE=http://counter.bloke.com/Counter.zip
  CODEBASE=http://counter.bloke.com/ CODE=Counter.class
  WIDTH=105 HEIGHT=20>
  <param name=URL value="http://counter.bloke.com/">
  <param name="showString" value="false">
  </applet></td></tr></table>
  <font face=arial size=1>Powered by <a TARGET="_top"
  href=http://counter.bloke.com/>counter.bloke.com</a></font><br>

sorry for any inconvenience to current counter users..

Counter Options - reset, images.

Image sets...

    <param name=img value=/c/default.gif>

System images - /c/default.gif, /c/default-white-black.gif, /c/default-black-blue.gif, /c/default-black-green.gif, /c/default-black-green2.gif, /c/default-black-red.gif, /c/default-black-cyan.gif, /c/default-black-magenta.gif, /c/default-black-yellow.gif, /c/default-black-orange.gif, /c/default-black-teal.gif

User Submitted Images

    <param name=img value=/auto/filename.gif>

I want lots of counters, do I have to keep re-registering? - Strickly speaking, you do not need to re-register, you can just change the URL. But don't ask me questions about it, if you have trouble, then just register each counter.

How do I insert HTML with xxx? Sorry but I don't know. I don't use any of the HTML editors. (I use vi, it's kinda like notepad, but good for development work). However, a we now have the cut and paste faq.

How do I tell if my browser is Java Enabled?

Goto: http://www.clockbot.com/
If you see a clock your java is working. (and so you are probably behind a firewall)
If you don't see a clock, then there is something wrong with your java. Either install a new browser (painful) or check all the options to make sure that java is turned on.
Just for the record, my counter has worked in every java enabled browser since Netscape 2.0.

How do I tell if I am behind a firewall?

In netscape choose the menu Communicator->Tools->Java Console

Now visit Counter.bloke.com.
If you see a message that says: Can't connect or Firewall, then you are probably behind a firewall.
In rare cases, you may get this message when the counter is not working.
Firewalls are not common for normal ISP's (ie what you use at your house).
Firewalls are most common in the workplace.

I upgraded to XP, and it doesn't work Microsoft no longer include Java in XP, so you can download it directly from http://java.sun.com/getjava/installer.html

Tip: Prepend your email messages to me with: "I read the FAQ" - and then like .. read it!!. It is *HIGHLY* unlikely that you should need to send me mail, except to report a problem. Actually, I have enhanced the server to notify me straight away if the server is down, but I have a real job etc, and only check the server about once a day, thanks for understanding.

So you want to send me mail? I get lots of email every day about a range of things. Be sure to specify what you are talking about, and most importantly always include the URL (I rarely visit them, but occasionally I do) I also don't remember context, So if you are replying to my reply, please leave comments some reference to what we are talking about, thanks! Contact Me.

I reply to all my mail (sometimes it takes a while). if you don't hear from me, it is probably because your email bounced (ie your "Reply-to" or "return-path" was incorrect). Please fix and email again!

If you don't put "I read the FAQ" somewhere in your mail, and I send some short message like: "read the FAQ" , or just the URL, no worries, I just get way too much email to custom reply to all the questions that are already answered here!

And most of all: Thanks for using my counter!

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Cameron Gregory
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