Getting started
This guide will help you get Ping Monitor up and running quickly.
First launch
When you first start the application, you will see the main window with an empty host list:
The main window consists of:
- Toolbar — Buttons for adding hosts, starting a route trace, switching views, and opening settings.
- View area — Displays monitored hosts in the currently selected view mode (table, tiles, or route trace).
- Detail panel — Shows detailed latency graphs and statistics for the selected host. Can be shown or hidden.
- Status bar — Displays the total number of hosts and their current status breakdown.
Adding hosts
To begin monitoring, you need to add one or more hosts:
- Click the Add button in the toolbar, or use the menu File → Add Host.
- Enter an IP address or hostname in the dialog that appears.
- Optionally provide a display name. If left blank, the address will be used.
- Click OK to add the host.
The host will appear in the list and monitoring will begin immediately using the default ping interval.
You can also use File → Add Sample Hosts to populate the list with a set of well-known hosts from around the world, which is a quick way to see the application in action.
Understanding the toolbar
The toolbar provides quick access to common actions:
- Add — Opens the Add Host dialog.
- Table / Tiles / Route — Switches between the three view modes.
- Charts — Shows or hides the detail panel with latency graphs.
- Settings — Opens the application settings dialog.
Switching views
Ping Monitor offers three view modes, accessible via the toolbar buttons or the View menu:
- Table view — A detailed list with sortable columns, sparkline graphs and status indicators. Best for managing many hosts at once.
- Tile view — A visual grid of tiles, each showing a host’s status, latency and sparkline. Available in three sizes (small, medium, large).
- Route trace — A hop-by-hop trace showing the network path to a selected host, with latency and history for each hop.
Pausing and resuming
You can temporarily pause monitoring for individual hosts by right-clicking a host and selecting Pause Monitoring. Paused hosts remain in the list but are not pinged. To resume, right-click the host and select Resume Monitoring.