LabStats by default includes a number of commonly used applications to make it easier to track what is being used in your environment. On computers that have the LabStats client installed, LabStats will scan common install locations of the computer for exe files and automatically add those to your application list. In some cases, you may have an application that has not been added to your list automatically. In cases like this, you can manually define your own application.
Track a Desktop Application
Open the Application Manager and search using the “Show Software Inventory” option.
Search
Use the Search feature to find specific applications in the Application Manager. Search is not case sensitive.
Show Software Inventory
When LabStats scans common install locations and adds exe files it finds to your application list, these applications are listed as “Inventory” applications for their source. These types of applications will not show up in the Application Manager or in your searches unless you click the Show Software Inventory button.
Show Ignored
View the applications that have been marked as Ignored by clicking the Show Ignored button. The Ignored applications will be shown alongside all other applications. To stop viewing Ignored applications, click the Hide Ignored button.
Save as XLSX
Use the Save as XLSX feature to export a list of all applications.
The Application Manager includes the following information about each application:
- Type—This icon identifies the application as a Desktop Application.
- Name—This is the name of the application. Clicking the name will load the Application Info page.
- Patterns—This is the Wildcard or Regular Expression pattern that the application matches (resulting in the application being tracked).
- Description—This is entered manually.
- Tracked—Tracked Apps are identified with a checkmark.
- Ignored—Ignored Apps are identified with a checkmark.
Application Info
In the Application Manager, click the application name to load the Application Info page. On this page, there are the following options:
- Edit Application—Click the Edit button to edit the details of the application, including the name, description, tags, whether or not tracking is enabled, and which executables relate to the application.
- Delete Application—Click the Delete button to delete the application’s definition.
- Usage Report—Click the Usage Report button to load the Application Summary Report. Choose the start and end dates, and narrow the results by Stations/Station Tags and Users/User Tags if desired. Once the report criteria has been selected, click the View button to see the results. The Application Summary Report lists the selected report criteria, a summary of the Total Usage Time and Total Focus Time, as well as a breakdown by login.
- Return to the Application Dashboard—This option reloads the Application Dashboard.
Stats
The Stats section of the Application Info page displays the average session length, average focus time, number of launches, and installed stations.
Current
The Current section of the Application Info page displays the users and station(s) currently using the application.
Installed Versions
The Installed Versions page shows different versions of the software that have been installed.
Installed Stations
The Installed Stations Tag will list all of the stations that have the software installed and which version.
View Recent
The View Recent section displays the most recent application launches, including the following information for each session:
- Station—The name of the station that launched the application.
- Login—The login name of the user who launched the application.
- Start—The day and time the application was launched.
- End—The day and time the application was closed.
- Focus Duration—The total length of time the application was in focus.
If you do not find the application you’re looking for by searching the Application Manager, you can manually create an application for tracking by following these steps:
How to Add a Desktop Application to Track
Navigate to Applications, then click Manager.
To manually add an application to the list:
- Click Define a Desktop App
- Next, fill out the following information:
- Name — Enter a recognizable name for your application.
- Description — Enter a brief description about the application.
- Tracked — Check the box to track the application.
- Tags — Enter tags that apply to the application.
- Pattern Types — Choose to identify the application name by Wildcard (*) or RegEx (Regular Expression).
- Executables — The executable name minus the .exe or .app (i.e winword)
- If creating a desktop application results in a “Patterns cannot be duplicated” error message, it means that the tracking pattern is already present in your Application Manager. You’ll need to find the existing listing for it and enable that for tracking.
Learn more about Web Applications or managing Tracked Applications.
Have questions? Contact support@labstats.com.
