Section 1
Introduction

Section 2
Configuring for First Use

Section 3
Changing Admin Password

Section 4
Creating Accounts

Section 5
Global Component Settings

Section 6
Backups

Section 7
Log Files

Section 8
User Interface Settings

8.1 Preparing LISTSERV

8.2 Default Tracking URL

Section 9
Database Connections

Section 10
Non-Standard Ports

Section 11
Firewalls

Section 12
SSL

Section 13
Tracking and Recipient Profiles

Section 14
Editing INI Files

Section 15
Distributed Components

Section 16
User Interface Branding

Section 17
Evaluation Mode

Section 18
International Character Sets

Appendix A
Standard Default Ports

8.2 Setting the Default Tracking URL

Before a user can send mail with open-up or click-through tracking, the administrator first has to configure the host name and port that LISTSERV Maestro will use for the tracking URLs generated for the message. The global default setting is used for all accounts that do not have single user or group settings. The default settings, single user settings, and group settings can be combined to offer separate tracking URL settings for different accounts and groups so that the administrator has greater flexibility in terms of customizing the tracking URL for certain accounts or groups.

When LISTSERV Maestro tracks open-up or click-through events, it does so by inserting special tracking URLs into the messages that are delivered. A typical click-through tracking URL looks something like the example below:

http://hostname/trk/click?ref=z4bx39x&

In this URL, the “hostname” points to the server where the Maestro Tracker component is installed. If the Maestro Tracker component is configured to use a non-standard HTTP port, then the tracking URL has to include the HTTP port, like the example below:

http://hostname:port/trk/click?ref=z4bx39x&

All account holders that do not have separate single user or group tracking URLs configured use the default tracking URL. The administrator can also define the tracking URL host and port on an individual account level (for accounts that are not part of a group) or on group level (in which case the settings are shared by all accounts in the group).

To define the tracking URL host and HTTP-port:

  • Default Tracking URL – For all accounts and groups that do not have individual settings, click Global Component Settings, then Maestro User Interface and then Default Tracking URL. The settings defined here will affect all accounts that do not have a tracker host or HTTP-port configured on a single user or group level.
  • Single User Tracking URL – For an individual account that is not part of a group, click Administer User Accounts. Click on the user name of the account to be configured (must be an account without a group) then click on Maestro User Interface. The settings defined here affect only the selected account.
  • Group Tracking URL – For all accounts in a group, click Administer User Accounts and then click on the group name of any account that is a member of the group to be configured. The settings defined here affect all accounts in the selected group.

For all three choices, there are two possible settings selections to make:

  • Tracker Host: Enter the host name to be used in the tracking URL. Leave empty to accept the default (if any). If left empty with no default given, users of this account or group will not be able to send e-mail messages with tracking.
  • HTTP Port: Enter the HTTP port to be used in the tracking URL. Leave empty to accept the default.

8.2.1 Multiple Tracking URLs

There are many uses for setting up multiple tracking URLs. One use of multiple tracking URLs is to customize the look of the tracked URL within the message. Another use of separate tracking URLs would be in the case of using a proxy where the host name of the tracker host used in the internal network is different than the host name that external users would have to use.

Customization is useful in an environment where the same LISTSERV Maestro setup is shared between several distinct groups that want to differentiate themselves in the tracking URL that is merged into the messages they send. For example, the fictitious organization “MyCorp” has two divisions, one for consumer electronics and one for home appliances. The administrator of MyCorp sets up a single LISTSERV Maestro and creates two groups “electro” and “homeapp”. These group accounts are created in order to be used by the members of the two divisions (which can also employ team collaboration inside of each group).

The name of the server where the Maestro Tracker component is installed is “tracker.mycorp.com”, but the users do not want this host name to appear in the tracking URL in the messages that are delivered. Therefore the administrator also sets up two DNS names “electro.mycorp.com” and “homeapp.mycorp.com” as aliases for the same server. Next, the administrator uses the procedure described above to set the tracker host name of the “electro” and “homeapp” groups to the corresponding aliases. As a result, even though both divisions are sharing the same LISTSERV Maestro installation, the tracking URLs generated for the e-mail they send are “customized” to contain a host name that matches each division’s name.

Another example is if LISTSERV Maestro is installed behind a proxy, where URLs for external access need to use the proxy’s host name and port, which then transparently forwards the requests to the actual tracker host behind it. In this case, the administrator would set the proxy’s host name and the proxy-port that is forwarded to the HTTP port on the tracker host as the default “Tracker Host” and “HTTP Port” setting, to be used by all accounts.

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