Microsoft Site Server Express enables you to publish content, manage content, and analyze usage on your Web sites. For performing these functions, Site Server Express relies on its components, Content Analyzer, Usage Import and Report Writer, and Posting Acceptor.
Using the Content Analyzer component of Site Server Express, site administrators can visualize how their sites are laid out, identify broken links, and create comprehensive HTML reports containing detailed information on the content of the site.

  • The Usage Import and Report Writer components enable you to analyze imported Microsoft Internet Information Server version (IIS) log files, and organize this information using any of 21 pre-defined reports.
  • Posting Acceptor is a server add-on tool that Web content providers can use to publish their content using HTTP Post (RFC 1867).

Content Analyzer provides comprehensive site visualization, content analysis, link management, and reporting capabilities for managing Web sites. Web masters, content authors, and Web server administrators can use Content Analyzer to find broken links, analyze site structure and object properties, manage local and remote sites, and perform a variety of other Web site management tasks.

When you start Content Analyzer, you're prompted with the option of rendering a WebMap of a selected Web site. These WebMaps show your entire site in an easy-to-understand, visual format. WebMaps include graphical representations of the resources in your site, such as HTML pages and graphic images; audio, video, and program files; Java, Portable Document Format (PDF), or Microsoft Word files; Internet services, such as Gopher and FTP. WebMaps also store information about all the objects and links on a site, such as a file size and date last modified. They act as a unifying hub for examining all of a site's resources.

You can quickly scan a WebMap through two graphical representations, the Tree view, and the Cyberbolic view.

The Tree view shows a hierarchy of objects. It will look familiar to users of Microsoft Windows NT Explorer. The Tree view is very easy to read but displays a limited amount of information on the screen at a time.

Icons that Represent Objects

An icon and its text label represent each object in the Tree view. The Home page icon is at the top of the Tree. The icons that represent Level 2 resources— resources linked directly to the home page—are indented beneath the home page icon. Level 3 icons—representing resources two links away from the home page—are indented beneath the Level 2 icons. The result is very much like the outline of a document.

Control Icons

Control icons are small gray squares that may be marked with a plus sign, minus sign, or question mark. They are found to the left of the icons that represent various objects. Click unmarked gray squares to make the object the focal point of the Cyberbolic view when both tree and Cyberbolic views are visible. Click the plus sign control icon to expand the view and show the objects that are directly linked to that object. Click a minus sign control icon to collapse this expanded view and shorten the visible Tree to its original state. A question mark means that a particular page has not yet been examined to determine if there is a level of linked objects below it. Pages without control icons have been examined and have no links to any other page.

The Cyberbolic view is a dynamic nonlinear picture of a site. Its strength lies in helping you to immediately grasp the layout of an entire site.

Shows Relationships among Web Objects

The Cyberbolic view shows the relationships among Web objects starting with any object you choose as a point of focus. When you click on an object in the Cyberbolic view, that object will move to the left or center of the view. Two toolbar buttons control left/right or center orientation.

Default Cyberbolic View

The default Cyberbolic view shows only Web pages, as opposed to other resources, and main routes (the quickest routes to the home page). This reduces clutter and allows ample room for page labels. Use the Display Options box accessed through the View menu to determine which objects to display.

Object Labels

In the Cyberbolic view, all objects have a short label by default. A longer descriptive label will appear when you place your mouse over the object.

No Expanding or Collapsing Levels

Since all objects are always available to be viewed, there are no expanding or collapsing levels as in the Tree view.