Dissecting a log file

Dissecting a diagnostic log file is essential to resolving issues that occur during development and run time. A text editor such as Notepad++ or TextPad makes log analysis easier. The following procedure uses Notepad++ as the text editor. Depending on your choice of text editor, the steps searching and marking text may be different.

Follow these steps to dissect a log file.

1. From the user's AppData\Roaming\Pegasystems directory, copy the RuntimeLog.txt file to a local directory.
2. If necessary, use the Log File Cleaner utility to clean the log file of sensitive information.
3. From the Start menu, launch the text editor.
4. Using the Solution Explorer, determine the project item requiring investigation.
5. In the text editor, use the Search and Mark functions to locate all instances of the appropriate project item.
6. In the text editor, create a new text file. If necessary, save the new text file to a local directory.
7. From the results from the Search, copy and paste the log line entries into the new text file.
8. Review the log entries and times paying attention to the common log file entries for automation links, data links, and control matching.
9. Determine next steps based on findings.

Follow these steps to mark text in Notepad++ (assuming you have launched Notepad++ and opened the log file in the application).

1. From the menu, select Search > Mark. The Search window is displayed with the Mark tab activated.
   
2. In the Find What field on the Search window, enter the text to search.
3. In the Search window, select the Bookmark all check box and click Mark All. The Search window updates with a status of matches from the search.
   
4. In the Search window, click Close to close the Search window; the text in the log entries are highlighted in red, and blue dots indicate the bookmarked lines.
5. From the menu, select Search > Bookmark > Copy bookmarked lines.
   
6. In the new text file, right-click and paste the bookmarked lines. The log entries appear in the new text file.
7. From the menu, select File > Save As. The Save As window is displayed.
8. On the Save As window, navigate to a local directory and enter a file name.
9. From the menu, click Save to close the window; the file appears in the selected local directory for later use.