Manual Browser Configuration

Do you have a VPN active? If yes, be sure to perform the VPN configuration steps at the end.

Under the most common configurations, Web Performance software will automatically detect and configure the default browser for your platform (IE on Windows). When it does not, or the configuration is unusual, it may be necessary to configure the browser manually.

It may be possible to simply adjust the automatically detected browser settings in the Browser Settings and Proxy Settings preference pages. Additionally, unsupported browsers may be configured using those same preference pages. If this is not successful, then a fully manual configuration may be necessary. The following steps illustrate the process for IE and Firefox.

Step 1 - Configure recording ports

In order to manually configure the browser, Analyzer's internal recording proxy

must be configured to use fixed port numbers (it normally chooses them automatically).

Select the Preferences item from the Window menu
Select the Web Performance > Recording item in the tree on the left
Turn on the Manually select recording ports option
If a warning message is displayed beside the port numbers, than the default ports are not available - you must enter different port numbers (they are automatically checked for availability)
Remember the selected port numbers - they need to be entered in the browser configuration later
Press the OK button

Step 2 - Configure the browser

The browser must now be configured to use the selected ports.

The following browsers by default respect the Windows systemwide proxy settomgs:

Internet Explorer (8)
Firefox (3.6)
Safari
Google Chrome

For other browsers, these instructions can be loosely followed, but settings must be applied to the specific browser. Consult the browser documentation where required.

WARNING: these configuration changes will prohibit normal browsing when the Web Performance software is not running. These changes will need to be reversed to resume normal browsing. Be sure to write down or backup your settings to ensure they can be restored correctly.

Windows Systemwide Proxy Settings

Most browsers, will use Windows Systemwide Proxy Settings by default.

Open the Internet Options dialog by choosing the Start menu and opening the Control Panel item
Choose Connections and click on the LAN Settings button to view the screen below
In the Proxy Server section check the "Use a proxy server for your LAN" box

Turn off the Bypass proxy server for local addresses option
Turn off the Automatically detect settings option
Turn off the Use automatic configuration script option
Press the Advanced... button

In the Proxy Settings dialog, Windows must be provided with the address the analyzer is configured to listen to
In the HTTP fields enter "127.0.0.1" for the address and the HTTP port number configured in Step 1 for the port number
Under certain configurations, you may have to try substituting the machine name "localhost" for the address "127.0.0.1"
In the Secure fields enter "127.0.0.1" for the address and the SSL port number configured in Step 1 for the port number
Note that the Secure line may not always be the 2nd line
It is also important to clear any entries in the Do not use proxy server for addresses beginning with: field - these could prevent the browser from using the recording proxy
press the OK button

The final step in the browser configuration is to configure the HTTP connection for the browser for a proxy using the Advanced tab of the same Options Dialog. Make sure that the Use HTTP 1.1 through proxy connections option is turned ON.

Push the OK buttons until you return to the browser
Skip down to Step 3

Firefox (3.6.4 and later)

Newer versions of Firefox use Windows sytemwide proxy settings, so begin by following the instructions to configure the Windows proxy, above. Once you have done this, make sure that Firefox is actually configured to respect these settings.

Select the Options... item from the Tools menu (in some versions, select the Preferences item from the Edit menu)
Select the Advanced section icon at the top and select the Network tab.
Configure Firefox to Use system proxy settings.

Firefox (Before 3.6.4)

Select the Options... item from the Tools menu (in some versions, select the Preferences item from the Edit menu)
Select the Advanced section icon at the top and select the Network tab.

Select the Manual proxy configuration option
Enter the data as shown in the HTTP proxy and SSL proxy fields, substituting the port numbers from step 1
Clear the No Proxy for field
De-select the Automatic proxy configuration URL option
Push the OK buttons until you return to the browser

Recommendation - manually switching the proxy configuration can be cumbersome. There are several Firefox extensions that can switch between multiple proxies, available from the Firefox extensions page.

Google Chrome

Google Chrome respects the Windows systemwide proxy settings.

Safari

Safari respects the Windows systemwide proxy settings.

Opera

The most recent version of Opera we tested does not seem to respect Windows systemwide proxy settings. If you need to record using this browser, you will need to configure Opera's proxy settings manually.

Step 3 - Select proxy server

Finally, if a proxy server is required to access the applications to be recorded, it must be configured in the Proxy Settings preference page. If you do not know if a proxy is required - ask your network administrator.

When you have the necessary proxy information, use these instructions to add a new proxy configuration and make it the default setting.

Step 4 - Test the configuration

After these configuration steps are finished, press the refresh button in your browser to retry the diagnostic page. If the URL of the diagnostic page is no longer in the URL field, you may enter this:

http://webperformance.com/diagnostic/proxy_check.html

The browser should display a Welcome page indicating that the configuration is successful.

VPN and modem configuration

If your Windows computer is connected to the internet via an ISDN modem, phone-based modem or VPN there is an extra configuration step that must be completed. Unfortunately the normal Windows network settings are ignored when the internet connection is made via these methods and there is a simple change that must be made before and after using Web Performance Analyzer™.

To tell if your computer requires this extra step bring up Internet Explorer and bring up the Internet Options Dialog. (select the Tools->Internet Options menu item). Click on the Connections tab to examine the network configurations:

If extra configuration is needed you will see an entry in the Dial-up and Virtual Private Network settings. Select the dial-up or VPN connection you are using and push the Settings button:

Make sure the "Use a proxy server for this connection" is checked, and then click on the Advanced button:

If you are using the default settings use the loopback address 127.0.0.1 and the port numbers as shown in the Web Performance Preferences, in Step 1.