Traces In HCL ZIEWEB

Tracing is a debugging feature that enables the monitoring and capturing of detailed interactions between the Z and I Emulator Web Client and the host system. It helps to identify and troubleshoot issues by tracking the flow of data and commands during a user session, providing a comprehensive log of actions and events within the Z and I Emulator Web interface.  

Types of Traces in HCL Z and I Emulator Web

• Session Traces
• Admin Console Traces

Session Traces

This feature allows users to capture logs directly in the browser console, which helps with debugging. The logs are generated based on the trace properties selected in the Settings panel.

The Following Steps Outline How to Enable Session Tracing:

1. Create a 3270/5250 session using the Deployment Wizard.
2. Launch the session using the appropriate URL format:
   Example: http://<IPAddress>:<port>/<contextpath>/filename.html

Note: The default context path is usually zieweb, and users can confirm this on the     configuration page.

3. Once the session starts, go to Settings -> Enable Logs and select the desired following trace properties:

• Enable Screen Logs – Tracks font changes and client refresh interval modifications.
• Enable Color Remap Logs – Captures details of color mapping customizations.
• Enable Key Remap Logs – Logs key mapping customization activities.
• Enable Mouse Eevent Logs – Records mouse event interactions within the session.

4. Once session traces are enabled, respective traces will be available in the browser console.

Admin Console Trace

Users can also obtain traces through the Admin Console trace settings.

Users can directly download a trace file that contains detailed information about all active sessions.

The following steps outline how to enable Admin Console tracing:

1. Launch the ‘Admin Cconsole login page’ using the following URL:

http://<IPAddress>:<port>/<contextpath>/adminconsole

Note: 

• The Admin Console is deployed along with the ZIEWEB WAR file.
• Only admin users can log in to the Admin Console.

2. The ZIE – Administrator Console page appears, click on the Trace Settings icon from the sidebar.

3. Trace Settings have the following types:

• Server Tracing
• User Macro Tracing
• Display Terminal
• Trace Output

Note: It allows users to download, save and clear trace files.

Server Tracing

Server tracing is used to monitor connection management, server tasks, and administrative activities.

It Allows the User to Enable the Following Tracings:

• Runtime tracing: Tracks session connection status and properties. Use this trace to capture connection issues in the trace file.
• Action tracing: Logs actions performed on the green screen, such as moving from one screen to another.
• Util tracing: Captures information about runtime utility usage and lets you set the tracing level.

• Enable all traces and click the Save button to apply changes to the trace settings.
• Click Download, and a trace file will be downloaded with the name mentioned in the trace output settings. By default, it will be ‘trace.txt.’

Note: Users can change the trace file name and settings in Trace Output settings.

User Macro Tracing

This option enables the tracing for user macro.

It specifies the macro name, the value users are giving, and the cursor’s position. If the macro fails, users will get the data in the trace.

Users can set any one of the following levels of macro tracing:

1. None: No logging or output. The macro runs silently with no   feedback unless an error stops execution.
2. Minimum: Logs only critical information such as major steps or errors. Suitable for light debugging or when you want to ensure the macro completes without too much detail.
3. Normal: Logs typical steps and screen interactions. This is the default and recommended setting for testing and verifying macros. It balances performance and debug insight.
4. Maximum: Logs all details, including every screen update, cursor movement, and characters sent/received. Best for deep debugging but may produce large logs and slow execution.

Click Save to apply the changes.

Display Terminal

Enable this option to view the green screen associated with a host connection.

If connection pooling is enabled, selecting Display Terminal shows only new connections. To view screens for all connections, stop and restart the server.

Trace Output

1. You can configure the following trace output settings:

• Max File Size (KB)
  Sets the maximum size (in kilobytes) for a trace file. When the file reaches this size, a new file is created. The default value is 10240.
• Max History Files
  Sets the maximum number of trace files to keep. The default value is 5.
• File Name
  Lets you change the trace file name. By default, the file is named trace.txt and is saved in the log subdirectory of the application installation directory.

To apply your changes, select the Save button.