Here's my "need" - I have a user opening a window with a document displayed, I need to log the amount of time the user has that window "in focus" or "opened"... IF the user views another window, I want to stop logging the time - and resume logging if they re-focus on that page... basically I want to "know" how long it took a user to read the page.
this is a review type scenario, where the users is a 'trusted' member who needs to log their time... I want to keep a 'running total' for reference only - so if the user says that spent 10 min, on the page, but my log shows the window was only open for 2min, I know I've got a problem...either with my code or my people.. ;)
My thought was to keep a js counter going when the page was in focus, pause on blur or on close, and Ajax the data back to my db... and add any subsequent time to that record if the user returns...
onUnload doesn't seem to work, at least when i try - plus it doesn't catch a closing of the browser... so I was thinking I could launch a NEW window, when the document window is closed (not to be annoying - but to make the logging call to the server, and then close itself).
Does anyone have a solution for this? I know this all smacks of 'poor' design, but if someone has a 'correct' way to handle this scenario - please tell me. (BTW- IE is a requirement- it's intranet based IE7 req.)
Thx
======== sample code below - that is 'not' working...kinda ============
When i say it's NOT working, this is what I mean... The "XMLHttpRequest" Is being made, i assume because the response is the message I'd expect - HOWEVER the log isn't changes (I know you'll say it's the php page, but if I call the url directly - it works fine... so it's no the logging page, IN ADDITION the 60 second setInterval() seems to fire randomly, because my response alert just pops up, sometime 10 in a row with no time between, certainly not at 'regular' 60 sec intervals... THOUGHTS?
<script type="text/javascript">
var closeMe = 0;
var logMe = 0;
//the window doesn't have focus, do nothing or something that let's them know we're not logging at the moment
function onBlur() {
//after 2 min of non focus, close it.
closeMe = setInterval('window.close()',120000); //after 2 min of non focus, close it.
};
//the window has focus... keep logging.
function onFocus(){
//stop the close counter - in the event to 'blurred' sometime
clearInterval ( closeMe );
//run the AJAX on a schedule - we're doing it every minute - bu tyou can do it as often as you like
logMe = setInterval('logTime()',60000);
};
//call a script that logs another minute...
function logTime() {
var xhReq = new XMLHttpRequest();
xhReq.open("GET", "ajax-on-time-interval.php", false);
xhReq.send(null);
var serverResponse = xhReq.responseText;
alert(serverResponse);
}
// check for Internet Explorer... IE uses 'onfocusin/out" - everything else uses "onfocus/blur"
if (/*#cc_on!#*/false) {
document.onfocusin = onFocus;
document.onfocusout = onBlur;
} else {
window.onfocus = onFocus;
window.onblur = onBlur;
}
</script>
I've have thought that a regular Ajax based "heartbeat" that updates the underlying database data every 'n' seconds (depending on the granularity you require, I'd have thought every minute would be sufficient) would be a neater solution than a pop-up and also avoid the fact that not all browsers handle onunload, etc. gracefully.
That said, I'm presuming that JavaScript will be enabled on these machines. (Seems fair based on your question.)
window.onfocus and onblur are documented in the MDC, but they're not standards. Evidently IE has document.onfocusin and .onfocusout :
if (/*#cc_on!#*/false) { // check for Internet Explorer
document.onfocusin = onFocus;
document.onfocusout = onBlur;
} else {
window.onfocus = onFocus;
window.onblur = onBlur;
}
I haven't tried it. I just read about it here.
http://www.thefutureoftheweb.com/blog/detect-browser-window-focus
One somewhat sloppy solution that partially resolves the issue with the browser closing/crashing is to have an ajax function that pings the server DB at a set interval while the document is in focus. This way, if the client crashes, you will be accurate within 30 seconds of how how long the document was open.
Related
For some days now I've been trying (without success) to open new window with delay without Chrome blocking it most of the time. Delay is crucial for my task, because some animation must take place before window is opened and I can not afford browsers to block new tabs from opening. Here is sample from my code:
element.on("click", function(e){
e.preventDefault();
var self = $(this),
url = self[0].href;
window.setTimeout(function(){
window.open(url);
}, 1000);
});
element is jQuery object (anchor element to be more precise). I have noticed that I have bigger success rate if I pass string directly like this
window.open("http://example.com");
I've tried this solution in Explorer(no problem), Chrome(problem), Firefox(no problem) and Opera(problem). I am loosing my mind, because I've tried everything I can remember. Synchronous ajax calls, artificially triggering click, creating fake anchor elements and artificially triggering click event. Nothing works fine.
Bonus question (in case someone knows how to solve problem): is there a way to call window.open anytime & anywhere from code?
This is working for me in Chrome http://jsbin.com/wuqopukayuwi/4/
var $element = $('#link');
$element.on('click', function () {
var url= $(this).attr('href');
window.setTimeout(function(){
var windowObjRef = window.open(url);
console.log(windowObjRef);
}, 2000);
});
Things to check:
Obviously, double check you've enabled popups for your domain in Chrome (it prompts you the first time it tries to pop up a new window
It's because Chrome expects to be able to access that window again programatically, so wants you to declare the response to the method as a variable. At least, that's how I got it working...
As long as you know how long the animation runs then you sleep for number of seconds
Add sleep(), msleep() and usleep() to Node.js, via a C++ binding.
This is mainly useful for debugging.
These calls will block execution of all JavaScript by halting Node.js' event loop!
Usage
`var sleep = require('sleep');
sleep.sleep(n): sleep for n seconds
sleep.msleep(n): sleep for n miliseconds
sleep.usleep(n): sleep for n microseconds (1 second is 1000000
microseconds)`
Say I've a browser extension which runs JS pages the user visits.
Is there an "outLoad" event or something of the like to start counting and see how long the user has spent on a page?
I am assuming that your user opens a tab, browses some webpage, then goes to another webpage, comes back to the first tab etc. You want to calculate exact time spent by the user. Also note that a user might open a webpage and keep it running but just go away. Come back an hour later and then once again access the page. You would not want to count the time that he is away from computer as time spent on the webpage. For this, following code does a docus check every 5 minutes. Thus, your actual time might be off by 5 minutes granularity but you can adjust the interval to check focus as per your needs. Also note that a user might just stare at a video for more than 5 minutes in which case the following code will not count that. You would have to run intelligent code that checks if there is a flash running or something.
Here is what I do in the content script (using jQuery):
$(window).on('unload', window_unfocused);
$(window).on("focus", window_focused);
$(window).on("blur", window_unfocused);
setInterval(focus_check, 300 * 1000);
var start_focus_time = undefined;
var last_user_interaction = undefined;
function focus_check() {
if (start_focus_time != undefined) {
var curr_time = new Date();
//Lets just put it for 4.5 minutes
if((curr_time.getTime() - last_user_interaction.getTime()) > (270 * 1000)) {
//No interaction in this tab for last 5 minutes. Probably idle.
window_unfocused();
}
}
}
function window_focused(eo) {
last_user_interaction = new Date();
if (start_focus_time == undefined) {
start_focus_time = new Date();
}
}
function window_unfocused(eo) {
if (start_focus_time != undefined) {
var stop_focus_time = new Date();
var total_focus_time = stop_focus_time.getTime() - start_focus_time.getTime();
start_focus_time = undefined;
var message = {};
message.type = "time_spent";
message.domain = document.domain;
message.time_spent = total_focus_time;
chrome.extension.sendMessage("", message);
}
}
onbeforeunload should fit your request. It fires right before page resources are being unloaded (page closed).
<script type="text/javascript">
function send_data(){
$.ajax({
url:'something.php',
type:'POST',
data:{data to send},
success:function(data){
//get your time in response here
}
});
}
//insert this data in your data base and notice your timestamp
window.onload=function(){ send_data(); }
window.onbeforeunload=function(){ send_data(); }
</script>
Now calculate the difference in your time.you will get the time spent by user on a page.
For those interested, I've put some work into a small JavaScript library that times how long a user interacts with a web page. It has the added benefit of more accurately (not perfectly, though) tracking how long a user is actually interacting with the page. It ignore times that a user switches to different tabs, goes idle, minimizes the browser, etc.
Edit: I have updated the example to include the current API usage.
http://timemejs.com
An example of its usage:
Include in your page:
<script src="http://timemejs.com/timeme.min.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
TimeMe.initialize({
currentPageName: "home-page", // page name
idleTimeoutInSeconds: 15 // time before user considered idle
});
</script>
If you want to report the times yourself to your backend:
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
xmlhttp.open("POST","ENTER_URL_HERE",true);
xmlhttp.setRequestHeader("Content-type", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded");
var timeSpentOnPage = TimeMe.getTimeOnCurrentPageInSeconds();
xmlhttp.send(timeSpentOnPage);
TimeMe.js also supports sending timing data via websockets, so you don't have to try to force a full http request into the document.onbeforeunload event.
The start_time is when the user first request the page and you get the end_time by firing an ajax notification to the server just before the user quits the page :
window.onbeforeunload = function () {
// Ajax request to record the page leaving event.
$.ajax({
url: "im_leaving.aspx", cache: false
});
};
also you have to keep the user session alive for users who stays long time on the same page (keep_alive.aspxcan be an empty page) :
var iconn = self.setInterval(
function () {
$.ajax({
url: "keep_alive.aspx", cache: false });
}
,300000
);
then, you can additionally get the time spent on the site, by checking (each time the user leaves a page) if he's navigating to an external page/domain.
Revisiting this question, I know this wouldn't be much help in a Chrome Ext env, but you could just open a websock that does nothing but ping every 1 second and then when the user quits, you know to a precision of 1 second how long they've spent on the site as the connection will die which you can escape however you want.
Try out active-timeout.js. It uses the Visibility API to check when the user has switched to another tab or has minimized the browser window.
With it, you can set up a counter that runs until a predicate function returns a falsy value:
ActiveTimeout.count(function (time) {
// `time` holds the active time passed up to this point.
return true; // runs indefinitely
});
Morning all, I'm looking for some kind of Javascript event I can use to detect when a mobile browser window regains focus, after either a user closes/minimizes their browser (to go back to a home screen/different app), or if the device resumes from sleep (either the user powering it off, or it going to sleep after a screen timeout).
I'd like to be able to find a single event that works for everything, but I know that's unlikely! The pageshow event works for iOS devices, but it's rather sketchy for use with everything else. I've tried focus and DOMActivate but neither of them seem to have the desired effect.
The page may not always have form elements on it, and I don't really want the user to have to touch the page again to trigger the event.
The requirement for such an event is caused by our code periodically checking for new content by making XHR requests. These are never sent when the browser is asleep, so we never get new content to restart the timeouts.
Thanks for any help you guys may be able to provide!
We had a similar issue and solved it something like this:
var lastSync = 0;
var syncInterval = 60000; //sync every minute
function syncPage() {
lastSync = new Date().getTime(); //set last sync to be now
updatePage(); //do your stuff
}
setInterval(function() {
var now = new Date().getTime();
if ((now - lastSync) > syncInterval ) {
syncPage();
}
}, 5000); //check every 5 seconds whether a minute has passed since last sync
This way you would sync every minute if your page is active, and if you put your browser in idle mode for over a minute, at most 5 seconds will pass before you sync upon opening the browser again. Short intervals might drain the battery more than you would like, so keep that in mind when adapting the timings to you needs.
Better than an interval would be to add a window blur listener and a window focus listener. On blur, record current time. On focus, validate you are still logged in / sync'd / whatever you need to do.
Basically exactly the same thing but it runs only when necessary rather than slowing your entire page down with an interval.
Update
var $window = $(window),
$window.__INACTIVITY_THRESHOLD = 60000;
$window.add(document.body); //necessary for mobile browsers
$window.declareActivity = function () { $window.__lastEvent = new Date(); };
$window.blur($window.declareActivity);
$window.focus(function(){
var diff = (new Date()) - $window.__lastEvent;
if (diff > $window.__INACTIVITY_THRESHOLD) {
$window.trigger("inactivity");
}
});
$window.on("inactivity", "", null, function () {
//your inactivity code
});
Though that blur event seems sketchy if the phone is powering off and I don't know that I would trust it in all circumstances / mobile devices. So I'd probably throw in something like this:
$(document.body).on("click scroll keyup", "", null, $window.declareActivity);
so that my inactivity timer works for when the user just walks away as well. Depending on your site, you may want to adjust that exact event list - or simply throw in a $window.declareActivity(); into your existing scripts that respond to user inputs.
I have a web-application for iPhone, and I need to trigger a Javascript function when the web page is in focus, in other words, when Safari is open.
What I want to accomplish is to start a timer in some way when the user clicks on a tel-link and starts the call. When the call ends, Safari pops up again, and the timer ends.
Is there any way to do this?
Best Regards
Linus
try this:
if you trigger the link for the call set the actual time in a localStorage-item.
$("#yourButton").click(function() {
var actualTime = new Date().getTime();
window.localStorage.setItem('callStart', actualTime);
})
after that you need to read the Storage after user ends up the call.
You can set this in the document.ready on the opening page.
in $(document).ready(function() {})
// check for the localStorageItem
if (window.localStorage.getItem('callStart')) {
// get it
var timeStart = window.localStorage.getItem('callStart');
var now = new Date().getTime();
/*
Now calculate here the difference now - timeStart
and you will get seconds, minutes or whatever you want
*/
// !!! Dont forget to clear the localStorageItem
window.localStorage.removeItem('callStart');
}
This is what I would try. The Usage of the HTML5-localStorage gives you the possibility to store key/values and data isnt lost if user stops the app or device is automatically locked.
Hope this helps a bit.
ADDED: You even can store JSON as the value in the localStorageItem. So you can set an callID and implement a calling-history for your users.
I'm making a webpage with dynamic content that enters the view with AJAX polling. The page JS occasionally downloads updated information and renders it on the page while the user is reading other information. This sort of thing is costly to bandwidth and processing time. I would like to have the polling pause when the page is not being viewed.
I've noticed most of the webpages I have open spend the majority of their time minimized or in a nonviewed tab. I'd like to be able to pause the scripts until the page is actually being viewed.
I have no idea how to do it, and it seems to be trying to break out of the sandbox of the html DOM and reach into the user's system. It may be impossible, if the JS engine has no knowledge of its rendering environment. I've never even seen a different site do this (not that the user is intended to see it...)
So it makes for an interesting question for discussion, I think. How would you write a web app that is CPU heavy to pause when not being used? Giving the user a pause button is not reliable, I'd like it to be automatic.
Your best solution would be something like this:
var inactiveTimer;
var active = true;
function setTimer(){
inactiveTimer = setTimeOut("stopAjaxUpdateFunction()", 120000); //120 seconds
}
setTimer();
document.onmouseover = function() { clearTimeout ( inactiveTimer );
setTimer();
resumeAjaxUpdate();
}; //clear the timer and reset it.
function stopAjaxUpdateFunction(){
//Turn off AJAX update
active = false;
}
function resumeAjaxUpdate(){
if(active == false){
//Turn on AJAX update
active = true;
}else{
//do nothing since we are still active and the AJAX update is still on.
}
}
The stopAjaxUpdateFunction should stop the AJAX update progress.
How about setting an "inactivity timeout" which gets reset every time a mouse or keyboard event is received in the DOM? I believe this is how most IM programs decide that you're "away" (though they do it by hooking the input messages at the system-wide level)
I've looked at that problem before for a research project. At the time (2-3 years ago) I did not find a way to get information from the browser about whether or not you are minimized :(
First check when the window loses and gains focus.
window.onblur = function () { /* stop */ };
window.onfocus = function () { /* start */ };
Also, for various reasons, the user may stop reading the page without causing it to lose focus (e.g. he gets up and walks away from the computer). In that case, you have to assume after a period of inactivity (no mouse or keyboard events) that the users' attention has left the page. The code to do that is described in another answer.
I know you've already accepted an answer but I'd personally use a combination of several of the answers mentioned here for various reasons, including:
Using mouse events only alienates users proficient at keyboard based browsing.
Using blur/focus events don't allow for users who go make a cup of tea ;-)
I'd most likely use something like the following as a guideline:
var idleTimer, userIsIdle, pollingTimer;
document.onkeydown = document.onmousemove = resetTimer;
window.onload = function () {
pollingTimer = window.setTimeout(runPollingFunction, 30000);
resetTimer();
/* IE's onblur/onfocus is buggy */
if (window.navigator.appName == "Microsoft Internet Explorer")
document.onfocusin = resetTimer,
document.onfocusout = setIdle;
else
window.onfocus = resetTimer,
window.onblur = setIdle;
}
function resetTimer() {
if (userIsIdle)
setBack();
window.clearTimeout(idleTimer);
idleTimer = window.setTimeout(setIdle, 120000); // 2 minutes of no activity
}
function setIdle() {
userIsIdle = true;
window.clearTimeout(pollingTimer); // Clear the timer that initiates polling
window.clearTimeout(setIdle);
}
function setBack() {
userIsIdle = false;
runPollingFunction(); // call the polling function to instantly update page
pollingTimer = window.setTimeout(runPollingFunction, 300000);
}
You can listen for mousemove and keypress events. If one of those has been fired in the past X seconds, then continue with your updating. Otherwise, don't update.
It's not perfect, but I think it's the best you can do with pure JS.
If you want to venture into the world of Flash, Silverlight, or Java, you may be able to get more information from the browser.