Use the activity log to troubleshoot the Mobile Access web interface

Use the Mobile Access activity log, which can be viewed either in the browser console or as part the full project runtime log, to troubleshoot the Mobile Access web interface.

This activity log is similar to the project runtime log that is displayed in the Output window and/or LogWin module, except that it comprises only messages about Mobile Access itself and the performance of the web interface, rather than about the entire project runtime.

Where to view the activity log

When Mobile Access is configured and your project is running, you can view the Mobile Access activity log in three different places.

First, you can view it in the console of the web browser that you use to access the Mobile Access web interface. This is the most limited view of the activity log, because it displays only the log messages for the project screen(s) that you are currently viewing in that web browser. It does not display the log messages for any other client sessions, neither on other computers nor in other client applications (for example, Secure Viewer) on the same computer. However, it is the most immediately available when you are actually using the web interface, and it is somewhat easier to read because it is separated from the full project runtime log. For more information, see Use the browser console to view the Mobile Access activity log.

Second, you can view the Mobile Access activity log as part of the full project runtime log, in the Output window in the project development environment, at least for the project runtime on the local computer. (The full AVEVA Edge software can function as both project development environment and project runtime, depending on how it is licensed.) For more information, see Output window.

Third, you can view Mobile Access activity log as part of the full project runtime log, in the LogWin module, for a project runtime on either the local computer or a remote computer. For more information, see About the LogWin tool.

Use the activity log to troubleshoot an issue

Here is an example of how to use the activity log to troubleshoot an issue in one of your project screens.

The screen MyScreen contains a Text Box object that has been configured with the tag MyInput:

When you normally view the screen in the Mobile Access web interface, the text box shows a value of 0 as it waits for user input:

If the tag does not exist, however — for example, if you accidentally deleted it from the tags database — then the text box shows its mask instead and rejects all input:

Verifying the project will catch things like missing tags, but in order to verify the project, you must be able to use the project development environment to open and edit the project. The user typically will not be able to do that during run time.

This is where you can use the activity log to troubleshoot the issue. Open the browser console, and then look for a message like this in the activity log:

Invalid Date Invalid Date, L1, Error, [04BF97E0] myscreen, myscreen (Screen Script) - Expression(1000000): MyInput, Line 1 => Error: Could not read objects database. Object MyInput not found [Error Code: 0x80070057]

Tip: The browser console cannot receive log messages unless it is open, so if the console is closed when you realize there is an issue, open it and then access the screen again.

The message provides the name of the screen, the name of the affected object or tag, and the exact nature of the error. With this information, you should get some idea of how to resolve the issue in your project. This is a very simple example, of course, and an issue like this typically will be included in a Level 1 log; more complex issues might require increasing the log level and searching through more messages. But this essentially is the procedure for using the activity log to troubleshoot a project screen in Mobile Access.

Filter the activity log in the browser console

You can filter the Mobile Access activity log in the browser console in order to reduce the number of log messages that you must look through to find the information that you need. The tools for filtering the log vary by browser, so please consult the documentation for the browser that you are using.

In Google Chrome, click the Filter tool on the console tool bar to reveal additional tools:

If you filter by message type, remember that Mobile Access errors are displayed as "Warnings", Mobile Access warnings are displayed as "Info", and Mobile Access information messages are displayed as "Logs". ("Errors" are reserved for critical errors in the web browser itself.) Otherwise, you can try to filter by specific text.

Configure the log settings to show more information

Filtering works only if you are receiving too much information, of course. If you are not receiving enough information, you might need to configure the log settings to increase the verbosity of the log and/or change the types of messages that are included in the log.

The log settings for the browser console are actually in your project's Mobile Access Configuration worksheet. For more information, see Configure the web settings for Mobile Access. Configuring those settings will change the log messages that are sent to all of your Mobile Access clients, however, and any change in your project will require resending it to its target device(s). As such, this option should reserved for troubleshooting during project development. If your project is already running on a target device, consider using the LogWin module instead.

The log settings for both the Output window and the LogWin module are in those respective tools. You can change those settings at any time without changing the project itself.