Advertising Sales Information System (ASIS) User's Guide

Document Revision 0.2 Date: 8/2/01

Contents
CHAPTER 1

Introducing ASIS ..........................................................................1

Accessing ASIS ....................................................................................... 1 Logging Into ASIS................................................................................... 1 Available Reports .................................................................................... 2 Getting Started ......................................................................................... 2

CHAPTER 2

Running a Report..........................................................................3
Selecting Placement Options ................................................................... 8 Selecting URL Options............................................................................ 10 Selecting Run Options ............................................................................. 12

CHAPTER 3

Reading a Report ..........................................................................14

Understanding Line Items ....................................................................... 17 Understanding SKU#s ............................................................................. 19 Understanding Creatives.......................................................................... 20

CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5

Printing a Report ..........................................................................21 Saving a Report .............................................................................22

Saving an HTML Report ......................................................................... 22 Opening a Saved HTML Report.............................................................. 22 Saving an Excel Report ........................................................................... 23 Opening an Excel Report......................................................................... 23

CHAPTER 6

Batching a Report .........................................................................24

Batch Reporting ....................................................................................... 26 Viewing a Batched Report....................................................................... 27

CHAPTER 7

Getting Help ..................................................................................29

CHAPTER 1

Introducing ASIS

Advertising Sales Information System (ASIS) is a web-based reporting system that enables internal and external people to monitor impression and click-through performance of partners advertisements through customized reports. You can customize a report by defining the: date range; advertiser, contract(s); and placement, click-through URL, and demographic options. The placement and click-through URL options allow you to focus your reporting on creative performance, screen performance, channel performance, URL performance, or a combination of these.

Accessing ASIS
ASIS is a secure web site that protects our advertisers. User IDs and passwords are required for all ASIS users. Each password is system generated and cannot be customized. Contact the Ad Systems Help Desk for your ASIS user name and password. ASIS was designed to be viewed in Internet Explorer (IE) because it supports the .art graphic files used for many ad creatives. We recommend using IE to view all reports. While it is possible to access the site through the AOL browser, it is not recommended. You should use the IE browser already on your desktop or download the latest IE browser to your desktop.

Logging Into ASIS

1. Launch Internet Explorer from your desktop. 2. In the Address field, type: https://asis.web.aol.com and press <Enter>. 3. In the Enter Network Password dialog, type your ASIS User Name and Password in lower case, then click OK. 4. In the ASIS Reporting Menu page, click the Usage Menu folder to access the ASIS reports.

Advertising Sales Information System (ASIS)

Available Reports
You will always receive current information in ASIS because each report is created ad hoc, meaning that the reports generated are based on the most current information in the database according to your search criteria. Contract Performance Report The Contract Performance Report displays the impression and click-through counts of each advertisement for the selected advertiser and contract during the specified date range. This report is used by Account Services, Sales, and Advertisers to name a few. Audit Report The Audit Report delivers the same information as the Contract Performance Report but the information has been audited. The Audit Date Selection page will identify the dates that audited data is available for reporting (usually a quarter of a year behind the current month) .The page also identifies the servers where data is currently being audited. Those servers are the Ad Server and the Web Server; AIM is currently not being audited.

Getting Started
Before running your initial reports, we suggest taking the time to read through this document. The document covers how to run, read, print, and save reports; frequently asked questions; and how to get help. It should answer most, if not all, of your questions.

Advertising Sales Information System (ASIS)

CHAPTER 2

Running a Report

1. From the Reporting Menu page, click the Usage Menu folder. 2. From the Usage Menu page, click the report to run. 3. In the Report Date Selection page, select the month, day and year from the drop-down menus to designate the beginning date and ending date of the date range for the report in the Select Date Range section. NOTE: There is a one-day lag time on reporting data; and usually the End Date field will display thelast day of available data. For the Audit Report, the available audited data is usually a quarter of a year behind the current month. Be sure your End Date is no later than the ending date in the Available Dates section.

4. Select the entity in the Select Entity list box. Only one entity can be selected.
NOTE: The Select Entity option is only available if you have access to report on advertisements running on other entities (e.g., CompuServe US).

5. Click the Submit button at the bottom of the page.

Advertising Sales Information System (ASIS)

6. In the Advertiser Selection page, select the advertiser from the list box. Only one advertiser can be selected.

NOTE: Advertiser options are determined by your access rights in ASIS.

7. Click the Submit button. 8. In the Report Selection page, select the placement data and sorting options for the report in the Placement Options section. NOTE: At least one option must be selected. More than one option can be selected. Each option selected creates a section or report within the report. Each section is reporting on the same total impression and click-through numbers but is displaying the counts differently. Also, each section or report displays a grand total and some sections display subtotals. For instance, the Channel/Line Item/ Creative Summary report subtotals by Line Item then displays a grand total at the end of the section. See Section 2:1 Selecting Placement Options for more detailed information on each option.

9. Select the click-through data and sorting options for the report in the URL Options section. This is an optional section. More than one option can be selected. Each option selected creates a section in the report, thereby, making the report longer. NOTE: At least one option must be selected. More than one option can be selected. Each option selected creates a section or report within the report. Each section is reporting on the same total impression and click-through numbers but is displaying the counts differently. Also, each section or report displays a grand total and some sections display subtotals. For instance, the Creative/URL Summary report subtotals by Creative then displays a grand total at the end of the section. See Section 2:2 Selecting URL Options for more detailed information on each option.

Advertising Sales Information System (ASIS)

10. Select the placement data and sorting options for any demographic data on the report in the Demographic Options section. This is an optional section. More than one option can be selected. Each option selected creates a section in the report, thereby, making the report longer. NOTE: This section should only be used if the selected advertiser ran demographic ads during the specified date range. If a contract is a demographic buy only, deselect all placement options; if a contract is a placement and demographic buy, select demographic options in addition to placement options - selecting only placement options will not display demographic ads. Demographic data appears at the bottom of the report.

11. Select the report date format in the Select Date Options section. Only one option can be selected. Summary Select Summary to view overall totals of each advertisement for the specified date range. Daily Select Daily to view daily totals of each advertisement for each day in the specified date range.

12.

Select Contract Cumulative in the Miscellaneous/Custom Options section, when necessary. NOTE: Select Contract Cumulative to view an impression and click-through summary of advertising data. On the report, Reporting Period refers to data generated during the specified date range for the selected advertiser and contract(s); and Total Contract To Date refers to data generated from the start of the selected contract(s) to date (due to the 24-hour lag time in data availability, to date refers to the day before the current date).

Advertising Sales Information System (ASIS)

13.

Select the output view and file type in the Select Report Format section. Only one option can be selected. HTML Select HTML to open or save the report in HTML format. The HTML report format displays the creative graphics and creative filenames. NOTE: The HTML report format displays the ad for Flash, Wave, HTML, and Third-Party ads if we have a copy of the ad on our servers. Excel/HTML Select Excel/HTML to open or save the report in Excel format. The Excel/HTML report format has the same lookand-feel as the HTML report format but does not display the creative graphics (only the creative filenames). NOTE: If you are using Excel 2000, the Excel/HTML report format displays the following creative graphic file types: .jpg and .gif. Also, you must provide your ASIS username and password in order to view the Excel/HTML report in Excel 2000. Excel/CSV Select Excel/CSV to open or save the report in Excel spreadsheet format. The Excel/CSV report format does not display the creative graphics (only the creative filenames), click-through rates, or subtotals and grandtotals. NOTE: The Excel report formats are recommended when the data/report requires manipulation (e.g., calculations, reordering of data, deletions).

14.

Select the language in which to display the report from the drop-down menu in the Report Language section. NOTE: You can also change the displayed language in the left frame of the ASIS Reporting Menu page (the main ASIS page).

Advertising Sales Information System (ASIS)

15. Select the contract(s) from the Select Contract list box. More than one contract can be selected by pressing the <Ctrl> key while selecting additional contracts. NOTE: Contract options are determined by the specified date range and the selected advertiser. We do not recommend selecting more than one contract for your report because ASIS does not display the data for each contract separately. The counts for the contract summary and the individual line items are combined into one report.

16.

Select the report run time in the Run Now or Schedule section. Only one option can be selected.

NOTE: See Section 2:3 Selecting Run Options for more detailed information on each option. 17. Click the Submit button at the bottom of the page.

18. In the Selected Report Options page, review the selected report options then click the Run Report button at the bottom of the page. Also, any selection errors (e.g., selecting a demographic option when there are no demographic buys in the selected contract) or warnings are displayed in red at the top of the Selected Report Options page. If you need to change any of the options, click the Back button to the appropriate page and make the change. NOTE: The report is displayed in your browser if you selected the report format of HTML. If you selected one of the Excel options as your report format, the File Download dialog is displayed. Select Open this file from its current location to automatically launch Excel and view the report now or select Save this file to disk to save the report and view later. If you selected a scheduling option for the report output (e.g., Recurring), the ASIS Batch Reporting page is displayed containing the following message: The request was successfully submitted to run. Also, an email is sent to your AOL account when the report process is complete.

Advertising Sales Information System (ASIS)

SECTION 2:1

Selecting Placement Options

Select the placement data and sorting options for the report in the Placement Options section. At least one option must be selected. More than one option can be selected. Each option selected creates a section or report within the report. Each section is reporting on the same total impression and click-through numbers but is displaying the counts differently. Also, each section or report displays a grand total and some sections display subtotals. For instance, the Channel/Line Item/Creative Summary report subtotals by Line Item then displays a grand total at the end of the section. NOTE: The more Placement Options selected, the longer the report. Channel Select Channel to view counts for each channel. The Channel option is recommended for advertisements across several channels. The Channel Summary report displays the following data: Channel, Delivered Impressions, Click-Throughs, and ClickThrough Rate. This report displays a grand total at the end of the section. Channel/Line Item Select Channel/Line Item to view counts for each line item subtotaled by channel. A line item is one of three things: the location of the individual ad space, the description of the group (package or run of), or the search term and its search engines. The Channel/Line Item Summary report displays the following data: Channel, Line Item, SKU#, Guaranteed Impressions, Delivered Impressions, Click-Throughs, Index to Guarantee, and Click-Through Rates. This report subtotals by channel then displays a grand total at the end of the section. Channel/Line Item/Creative Select Channel/Line Item/Creative to view counts for each creative subtotaled by line item then sorted alphabetically by channel. The Channel/Line Item/Creative Summary report displays the following data: Channel, Line Item, SKU#, Creative graphic, Art Type, Art Size, Delivered Impressions, Click-Throughs, and Click-Through Rate. This report subtotals by line item then displays a grand total at the end of the section.

Advertising Sales Information System (ASIS)

Line Item Select Line Item to view counts for each line item. The Line Item option is recommended for advertisements across several locations in one channel. A line item is one of three things: the location of the individual ad space, the description of the group (package or run of), or the search term and its search engines. The Line Item Summary report displays the following data: Line Item, SKU#, Guaranteed Impressions, Delivered Impressions, Click-Throughs, Index to Guarantee, and Click-Through Rates. This report displays a grand total at the end of the section. Creative Select Creative to view counts for each creative. The Creative option is recommended for viewing a creative graphics performance regardless of its placement. However, the Creative option is not recommended for viewing the line item information the creative graphic appeared on - select the Line Item/Creative, Creative/Line Item, or Channel/Line Item/Creative option instead. The Creative Summary report displays the following data: Creative graphic, Art Type, Art Size, Delivered Impressions, Click-Throughs, and Click-Through Rate. This report displays a grand total at the end of the section. Line Item/Creative Select Line Item/Creative to view counts for each creative subtotaled by line item. The Line Item/Creative Summary report displays the following data: Line Item, SKU#, Creative graphic, Art Type, Art Size, Delivered Impressions, Click-Throughs, and Click-Through Rate. This report subtotals by line item then displays a grand total at the end of the section. Creative/Line Item Select Creative/Line Item to view counts for each line item subtotaled by creative. The Creative/Line Item Summary report displays the following data: Creative graphic, Art Type, Art Size, Line Item, SKU#, Delivered Impressions, Click-Throughs, and Click-Through Rate. This report subtotals by creative then displays a grand total at the end of the section.

Advertising Sales Information System (ASIS)

SECTION 2:2

Selecting URL Options

Select the click-through data and sorting options for the report in the URL Options section. This is an optional section. More than one option can be selected. Each option selected creates a section or report within the report. Each section is reporting on the same total impression and click-through numbers but is displaying the counts differently. Also, each section or report displays a grand total and some sections display subtotals. For instance, the Creative/URL Summary report subtotals by Creative then displays a grand total at the end of the section. NOTE: The more URL Options selected, the longer the report. URL Select URL to view counts for each click-through URL (where an advertisement points). The URL Summary report displays the following data: URL, Delivered Impressions, Click-Throughs, and Click-Through Rate. This report displays a grand total at the end of the section. URL/Line Item Select URL/Line Item to view counts for each line item subtotaled by click-through URL. A line item is one of three things: the location of the individual ad space, the description of the group (package or run of), or the search term and its search engines. The URL/Line Item Summary report displays the following data: URL, Line Item, SKU#, Delivered Impressions, Click-Throughs, and Click-Through Rate. This report subtotals by URL then displays a grand total at the end of the section. Line Item/URL Select Line Item/URL to view counts for each click-through URL subtotaled by line item. The Line Item/URL Summary report displays the following data: Line Item, SKU#, URL, Delivered Impressions, Click-Throughs, and Click-Through Rate. This report subtotals by line item then displays a grand total at the end of the section.

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URL/Creative Select URL/Creative to view counts for each creative subtotaled by click-through URL. The URL/Creative Summary report displays the following data: URL, Creative graphic, Art Type, Art Size, Delivered Impressions, Click-Throughs, and Click-Through Rate. This report subtotals by click-through URL then displays a grand total at the end of the section. Creative/URL Select Creative/URL to view counts for each click-through URL subtotaled by creative. The Creative/URL Summary report displays the following data: Creative graphic, Art Type, Art Size, URL, Delivered Impressions, Click-Throughs, and Click-Through Rate. This report subtotals by creative then displays a grand total at the end of the section. URL/Image URL Select URL/Image URL to view counts for each image URL (where the creative graphic resides) subtotaled by click-through URL. The URL/Image URL option is recommended for tracking third-party creatives. If the creative was not third-party served, none is displayed in the Image URL column. The URL/Image URL Summary report displays the following data: URL, Image URL, Delivered Impressions, Click-Throughs, and Click-Through Rate. This report subtotals by click-through URL then displays a grand total at the end of the section.

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SECTION 2:3

Selecting Run Options

Select the report run time in the Run Now or Schedule section. Only one option can be selected.

Run Now Interactive Now Select Interactive Now to run the report immediately. Schedule Once 1. Select Once to run the report at a specific date and time. 2. Select the date and time (in military time) from the corresponding drop-down menus. NOTE: If the report fails to run because the specified time is in the past, use the Back button to return to the Report Selection page and adjust the time. 3. Type a name for the report in the Output Filename field. NOTE: The Once option is recommended for large reports. The Once option runs the report on the server as opposed to the users local browser. This prevents the possibility of the local browser crashing during the process since Internet Explorer times out after 5 minutes.

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Monthly 1. Select Monthly to run the report for the entire previous month. 2. Type a name for the report in the Output Filename field. NOTE: At 9am on the 1st day of the month, the Monthly recurring report for the previous month will be available in your personal inbox.

Recurring 1. Select Recurring to run the report at regular intervals (e.g., Mondays, Weekdays, First Day of the Month). 2. Select the interval and time (in military time) from the corresponding drop-down menus. 3. Select the day range from the For the previous n days drop-down menu. 4. Type a name for the report in the Output Filename field.

Completed scheduled reports are placed in your personal inbox under the name designated in the Output Filename field. Valid output filename consist of alpha and numeric characters, and underscores.

NOTE: Do not schedule recurring reports to run between 7am - 8am EST. The nightly processes are running during this time and any reports scheduled to run may not execute properly or may fail to run.

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CHAPTER 3

Reading a Report

The column headings displayed in the report are determined by the what Placement, URL, and Demographic options are selected. Channel The channel or product containing the screen or page where the advertisement is displayed.

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Line Item A line item is one of three things: the location of the individual ad space, the description of the group (package or run of), or the search term and its search engines. A single line item can contain one or more ad spaces or search terms. Previously known as packages or runs, groups are reported as single line items. For example, Run of Computing is displayed as a single line item instead of multiple line in the reports. NOTE: See Section 3:1 Understanding Line Items for more detailed information. SKU# A SKU is a unique identifier for each piece of inventory. Inventory can be an individual ad space or search term or a collection of ad spaces or search terms referred to as a gro up.The first digit of the SKU uniquely identifies the inventory object as either an individual ad space/search term or a group/search term. A SKU beginning with a 1 (and eventually 2, 3, or 4) indicates an individual item while a SKU beginning with a 5 (and eventually 6, 7, 8, or 9) indicates a group of items. NOTE: See Section 3:2 Understanding SKU#s for more detailed information. Creative The creative graphic. The creative graphic is not displayed in an Excel report. NOTE: See Section 3:3 Understanding Creatives for more detailed information. Art Type The graphic type of the advertisement (e.g., .Gif). Art Size The actual dimensions of the advertisement (e.g., 468 X 60 for an ad banner) .This information can be useful since the actual size of the creative image may not display in the report. URL A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is the internet address of the page where the advertisement points. When a user clicks on an ad, the user is sent to the web page or plus group screen designated by the advertiser. Image URL The URL where the third-party creative image resides. If the creative was not third-party served, "none" is displayed in the Image URL column. Guaranteed Impressions (GI) Guaranteed Impressions are the number of impressions a screen will receive within a particular period, usually a week. The number is based on a percentage of the weekly Impressions the screen received in the past two weeks . For percentage buys, a "0" is displayed in the GI column, but not fo rimpression buys or mixed (percentage and impression) buys.

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Delivered Impressions (DI) Delivered Impressions are the actual number of times an advertisement was requested from the Ad Server . When a user accesses a screen/page the ads that appear on that screen/page are requested from the Ad Server. This is counted as a single Impression against each requested ad. Click-Throughs Click-Throughs are the number of times a user clicked on the advertisemen t.A Click-Through is the act of clicking a displayed creative or hyperlink. Index to Guarantee The Index to Guarantee is the number of impressions delivered compared to the number of impressions guaranteed. The Index is calculated by dividing Delivered Impressions by Guaranteed Impressions and multiplying that number by 1 0 0 . An Index of 100 is perfect and means that AOL served all of the impressions purchased. For example, an Index of 85 means that AOL served 15% fewer impressions than purchased. An Index of 102 means that AOL served 2% more impressions than purchased .It is possible for a report to show that an advertiser was underserved if the contract is not complete. In this case, there is still time for AOL to serve all of the Guaranteed Impressions. Click-Through Rate vs. DI The Click-Through Rate is the percentage of users who saw the ad and clicked on it .The Rate is calculated by dividing Click-Throughs by Delivered Impressions and multiplying that number by 100. If 900 users see an ad (900 impressions) and 45 of them click it (45 click-throughs), the Click-Through Rate is 45/900 = 5%. Click-Through Rate vs. GI The Click-Through Rate is the percentage of users who were guaranteed to see the ad and clicked on it. The Rate is calculated by dividing Click-Throughs by Guaranteed Impressions and multiplying that number by 100. If 800 users were guaranteed to see an ad (800 impressions) and 35 of them click it (35 click-throughs), the Click-Through Rate is 35/800 = 3.75%.

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SECTION 3:1

Understanding Line Items

ASIS reports at the Line Item level. On ASIS reports, impressions and click-throughs are displayed for a single line item. A Line Item is one of three things: the location of the individual ad space, the description of the group (package or run of), or the search term and its search engines. A single line item can contain one or more ad spaces or search terms. Previously known as packages or runs, groups are reported as single line items . A collection of ad spaces or search terms known as a group are scheduled as a single contract line item. In the past, when a group (e.g., package, run) was scheduled, a line item would be created for each ad spac e.Now a line item can contain reservations for one or more ad spaces or search terms. This concept is followed through to reporting, where the impressions and click-throughs are displayed for a single line item. For example, Run of Entertainment is displayed as a single line item instead of multiple lines in the report. By removing the concept of screens and "rolling-up" multiple ad spaces/search terms into single line items, the amount of complex data and number of pages for each report has been dramatically reduced. Due to this change with line items, the Selected Report Options page (the summary page before the report runs) no longer displays the number of Ad Spaces, just the number of Line Items. All references to Screen have been changed to Line Item on all report options. Due to this change with line items, the Selected Report Options page (the summary page before the report runs) no longer displays the number of Ad Spaces. Likewise, all references to Screen have been changed to Line Item on all reports.

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The Search Term brands in parentheses are as follows: ALC - AOL.com, AOL - AOL Service, CSI - CompuServe, HMT - Hometown, ICQ - ICQ, MYA - My AOL, NSP - Netscape. Run of Channels may be typed out (e.g., Run of Sports) or abbreviated (e.g., ROC). Run of Screens may be typed out (e.g., Run of Entertainment - Main) or abbreviated (e.g., AOL Network ROS Top 30).

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SECTION 3:2

Understanding SKU#s

A SKU is a unique identifier for each piece of inventor y. Inventory can be an individual ad space or search term or a collection of ad spaces or search terms. ASIS reports at the BIO level. A Basic Inventory Object (BIO) represents an individual ad space or search ter m. Each BIO has a BioID, and that BioID is the SKU# (Stock Keeping Unit) for that BIO. A collection of ad spaces or search terms is referred to as a group. Each group has a GroupID, and that GroupID is the SKU# for the Group. The first digit of the SKU uniquely identifies the inventory object as either an individual ad space/search term or a group/search term. A SKU beginning with a 1 (and eventually 2, 3, or 4) indicates an individual item while a SKU beginning with a 5 (and eventually 6, 7, 8, or 9) indicates a group of items.

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SECTION 3:3

Understanding Creatives

The Advertising System now handles more than just the traditional advertisement (e.g., .gif, .art ).It handles Flash, Wave, and HTML advertisements. In addition, ads can be third-party served (or redirected). In an ASIS report, a Flash, Wave, and HTML ad may be interactive, meaning you can click on the creative graphic in the report and view or listen to the entire a d.The HTML creative graphic is displayed in a report only if the Creative placement option is selected, otherwise, only a filename will appear in the Creative column. Also, in an ASIS report, a generic redirect graphic is displayed in the Creative column when a third-party ad was delivered, because we do not store third-party ads on our servers .The ad delivery system grabs the ad from a thirdparty Image URL (where the creative image resides) and delivers it to the user.

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CHAPTER 4

Printing a Report

1. Access the report in HTML or Excel, or from the ASIS Batch Reporting window. NOTE: Whether the report is in HTML or Excel format, or is a Batched report, the steps for printing a report are the same. 2. From the tool bar of the browser or Excel window, click the Print button to print to your default printer. OR Open the File menu and select Print to select a printer or printer options for this report. 3. In the Print dialog, select the printer destination and output options, if necessary. 4. Click the OK button to begin printing. NOTE: If your report is wide (a horizontal scroll bar is displayed at the bottom of the report), select Landscape as the page orientation. Also, you can change the font size used by your browser to compress the report. To change Internet Explorer's font size, open the View menu, select Fonts, then select Smaller or Smallest.

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CHAPTER 5

Saving a Report

Saving an HTML Report

1. In the browser window, open the File menu and select Save As. 2. In the Save dialog, double click the appropriate folder to contain the saved report. 3. Type a name for the report in the File name field. 4. Click the drop-down arrow in the Save as type field and select .htm/.html. 5. Click the Save button.

Opening a Saved HTML Report

Method 1 1. 2. 3. 4. In the browser window, open the File menu and select Open. In the Open dialog, click the Browse button. In the Microsoft Internet Explorer dialog, double click the folder containing the report. Select the report then click the Open button.

5. Click the OK button. NOTE: You must provide your ASIS username and password in order to view the saved report.

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Method 2 1. 2. In the Window's Explorer window, double click the folder containing the report. Double click the report.

NOTE: You must provide your ASIS username and password in order to view the saved repo rt. The report is displayed in your default browser (Internet Explorer is recommended for viewing ASIS reports).

Saving an Excel Report

1. In the Selected Report Options page, click the Run Report button at the bottom of the page. OR In the ASIS Batch Reporting page, click the report to view, then click the Click here for excel link at the top of the report. 2. 3. 4. 5. In the File Download dialog, click the OK button with the Save this file to disk option selected. In the Save As dialog, double click the appropriate folder to contain the saved report. Type a name for the report in the File name field (end the file name with .csv). Click the Save button.

NOTE: Once in Excel, open the File menu and select Open to view the report.

Opening an Excel Report

Method 1 1. In the Selected Report Options page, click the Run Report button at the bottom of the page. OR In the ASIS Batch Reporting page, click the report to view, then click the Click here for excel link at the top of the report. 2. In the File Download dialog, click the OK button with the Open this file from its current location option selected. NOTE: Excel is automatically launched with the report displayed .Once in Excel, open the File menu and select Save to save the report. Method 2 1. 2. 3. After saving the report in Excel format, open the File menu and select Open while in Excel. In the Open dialog, double click the folder containing the report. Double click the report.

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CHAPTER 6

Batching a Report

1. In the Run Now or Schedule section of the Report Selection page, select one of the Schedule options.

Once 1. Select Once to run the report at a specific date and time. 2. Select the date and time (in military time) from the corresponding drop-down menus. NOTE: If the report fails to run because the specified time is in the past, use the Back button to return to the Report Selection page and adjust the time. 3. Type a name for the report in the Output Filename field. NOTE: The Once option is recommended for large reports. The Once option runs the report on the server as opposed to the users local browser. This prevents the possibility of the local browser crashing during the process since Internet Explorer times out after 5 minutes. Monthly 1. Select Monthly to run the report for the entire previous month. 2. Type a name for the report in the Output Filename field. NOTE: At 9am on the 1st day of the month, the Monthly recurring report for the previous month will be available in your personal inbox.

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Recurring 1. Select Recurring to run the report at regular intervals (e.g., Mondays, Weekdays, First Day of the Month). 2. Select the interval and time (in military time) from the corresponding drop-down menus. 3. Select the day range from the For the previous n days drop-down menu. 4. Type a name for the report in the Output Filename field. NOTE: Do not schedule recurring reports to run between 7am - 8am EST. The nightly processes are running during this time and any reports scheduled to run may not execute properly or may fail to run. 2. Click the Submit button at the bottom of the page. 3. In the Selected Report Options page, review the selected report options then click the Run Report button at the bottom of the page. NOTE: The ASIS Batch Reporting page is displayed containing the following message: "The request was successfully submitted to run". Also, an email is sent to your AOL account when the report process is complete. 4. From the ASIS Batch Reporting page, click the Usage Menu link on the left to return to the ASIS Reporting Menu page. OR Click the New Report Directory link on the left to view a listing of completed scheduled reports. Completed scheduled reports are placed in your personal inbox under the name designated in the Output Filename field.

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Batch Reporting
The Batch Reporting option is an "inbox" that enables you to conveniently view, print, and manage scheduled reports. Each time a scheduled report is run, the completed report is delivered to your personal i nbox.The batch feature allows you to schedule a large report to run on the server at a specific date and time; to run a recurring report for the previous month; or to run a recurring report at regular intervals (e.g., Mondays, Weekdays). The batching feature is available to all ASIS users. From the ASIS Reporting Menu page, click Batch Reporting to access your inbox.

The Batch Reporting option was recently changed. This change was implemented to improve the user experience by increasing the speed at which batch reports are displayed. Previously, all batch reports had been stored in one directory. This meant that when a user made a request to display their reports, a process had to sort through all batch reports for all users, finding only the reports for the specific user. Now, users reports are stored in their own individual directories. This eliminates the sorting process and quickly retrieves the users reports. All recurring/scheduled reports set up prior to 4/12/01 are stored in the Old Report Directory folder (located in the left side menu bar). NOTE: As of 1/31/01, individual reports 180 days and older are purged from the system nightly due to an overwhelming amount of old reports in the Batch Reporting folder (See Chapter 5 Saving a Report to learn how to save a report to your hard drive). This purging does not include the initial report request, just the individual report versions.

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Viewing a Batched Report

1. From the ASIS Reporting Menu page, click Batch Reporting. NOTE: The ASIS Batch Reporting page is displayed containing the list of completed reports. On the right are links to other areas in the Batch Reporting folder.

ASIS Menu Click Usage Menu to return to the ASIS Reporting Menu page. Old/New Report Directory The New Report Directory is the default page for the Batch Reporting folder. Click Old Report Directory to view a listing of completed reports whose initial request was set up BEFORE 4/12/01. Click New Report Directory to view a listing of completed reports whose initial request was set up AFTER 4/12/01. Active Requests Click Active Requests to view a listing of your scheduled reports in the queue to be run by the server. Scheduled Requests Click Scheduled Requests to view a listing of your recurring reports. NOTE: To stop a recurring report, click the Details icon for the report on the Scheduled Requests page then click the Cancel Request link on the left side of the page.

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2. In the Report Directory of the ASIS Batch Reporting page, click the report link to view the report.

NOTE: If you selected Excel as the report output view, click the Click here for excel link at the top of the report to view the report in Excel format.

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CHAPTER 7

Getting Help

Please contact the AOL Partner Help Desk at: 866-AOL-PTNR (or 866-265-7867) if you forgot your ASIS user name or password, you are having problems logging into ASIS, or you have a question about running an ASIS report. Please contact your AOL Account Manager if you have questions regarding contractual information.

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