Types of Mobile Access log messages

The Mobile Access activity log can include several different types of log messages. You can configure the log settings to change which types of messages are displayed, depending on what information you want to see during project run time.

Where to configure the log settings

Each tool that you can use to view the log has its own log settings.

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 to view that device's log.

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

Types of log messages

The first three types of log messages are according to severity:

Error

These are messages about serious errors encountered during project run time, like unsupported features used in a project screen and run-time errors in the Mobile Access task. (Errors are marked by the yellow "Warning" icon in most browser consoles.)

Warning

These are messages about issues that can affect runtime performance, such as excessive tag synchronization and function calls that must be executed on the server. (Warnings are marked by the blue "Message" or "Info" icon in most browser consoles.)

Information (Info)

These are messages that report individual function calls, tag value changes, screen openings and closings, and so on. (Info messages are not marked by icons in browser consoles.)

Note: It is not a mistake that we use the "Warning" icon to mark Mobile Access errors and the "Message"/"Info" icon to mark Mobile Access warnings. The browser console's red "Error" icon is reserved for critical errors in the browser itself.

The second three types of log messages are according to which runtime component generated the message:

Runtime Comm

These are messages about communication between the project runtime server and the Mobile Access task.

Screen

These are messages about the project screens — including objects and scripts — that are currently being viewed by Mobile Access users.

When you view the activity log in either the Output window or the LogWin module, you can see messages about all project screens being viewed by all users. When a user views the activity log in their browser console, they can only see messages about the project screens they are viewing in their own browser.

Web Services

These are messages about communication between the Mobile Access task and the client sessions, through whatever web server you have set up to serve the Mobile Access web interface.

The first three types work in combination with the second three types to determine exactly which messages are included in the activity log. If you want to see everything, simply select all of the options in the log settings. If you only want to see messages about serious errors in the web services, for example, select only Error and Web Services. You might need to experiment to get the exact information that you need.

Finally, select the Trace option to display the messages that are generated whenever the Trace function is called in a project screen.

Increase the verbosity to get more information

By default, the activity log is set to verbosity level 1, which provides the least amount of information. If you have issues while using the Mobile Access web interface — especially while trying to view selected project screens — and the log does not help, you can increase the verbosity to get more information.

Be careful not to set the verbosity too high, however, because the higher it is, the longer and more detailed the log will be, which might make it hard for you to find the information that will actually help you to resolve your issues. Try increasing the verbosity in steps, first from level 1 to level 2, then from level 2 to level 3, and so on until you get the information you need.

Here is a basic guide to which levels you should try:

• If objects, animations, or scripts are not working at all, try level 1. This level should be enough to identify missing tags, unsupported features, and other such things. For more information, see Supported features in Mobile Access.

• If a project screen is unusually slow to open or update, try level 3 (which includes levels 1–2). This level should help you to diagnose issues that affect runtime performance. For more information, see Developing for Mobile Access.

• If you simply do not see the behavior that you expect during run time, try level 5 (which includes levels 1–4). This level reports every tag update and function call.

Please note that these are only general suggestions; you will probably need to change the verbosity more than once to get the right amount of detail on your specific issues.