How to keep track of downloads ?

[Nicky21]

Hi there.

I've come across a problem. I want to keep an exact track of my downloads, so i know precisely how many are each day and so on....

How do i do this in html + php?

I mean how do i do this so:
- it won't need an aditional page, with just a huge link on it that says "click here to begin"
- the stuff won't be stopped by popup blockers
- when the user clicked the link or button or whatever, the download will start and a php file will be called immediately so i can add the click to a database

Any idea guys?

[jarvi]

Not sure if this is what you mean, however, I use Download Pro (http://www.explodingpanda.com/scripts.php) which tracks the IP and date of each download. Also masks the download URL so people can't go to it directly.

[Nicky21]

I think i figured it out, thanks. You can check it out here:

http://www.crea-soft.com/jigsaw-puzzles-lite/download.html

The download button then sends the user to a "download.php" page that contains along with the code for tracking the download a 302 redirect using the header to the actual .exe file.

Are you sure it's a good idea to hide the URL to people?

[jarvi]

The main reason I see for hiding the URL is if you wish to get people to see something like the terms and conditions before they download. Useful if they have the tick a box confirming acceptance before going any further.

[Nicky21]

Oh. That might make sense for you. In my case the more downloads, the better....

[mnemtsas]

I don't think there's an easy answer to this. If you take a look at your weblogs (like I do) you'll see people using download accelerators, and doing multiple downloads because the first one failed.

I was counting clicks on the download button initially but this ended up giving numbers much higher (about 20%) than what was actually done. What I do now is use a ballpark estimate by dividing file bandwidth by file size and reducing the result by about 10% or so.

[Nicky21]

I used to calculate using the weblogs too, but i wanted a metric to show when i changed stuff on my site. SO when i make some text or layout upgrades i see how they effect on downloads the very next day. THIS is the only reason i need the counter.....

[johncr]

What you need is ClickTracker (cgi script) by focalmedia.

[Nicky21]

I'll take a loo at it. It should be interesting for any of my future developments, but i think i have it figured out using php.....