Trace VTS Actions Application
Note: The Trace VTS Actions application should not be confused with the new Trace Viewer application that permits you to view trace information for your applications in real-time.
The Trace VTS Actions script application is a dialog that enables you to select different VTS services (such as the RPC Manager and Modem Manager), and actions (the Navigator or SQL calls), and monitor the selected items by saving pertinent data about them (such as the date and time they executed) to disk.
Note: VTS versions 7.5 and later feature enhancements to the tracing system. The Trace VTS Actions application may still be used to write data about selected actions to a text file named, "VTSTrace.txt". Additionally, VTS now traces all actions to disk, storing the data in a separate text file named, "VTSTraceAll.txt". Both the VTSTraceAll.txt and VTSTrace.txt files are automatically written to the VTS installation directory when you exit your application. Furthermore, VTS now traces actions using milliseconds to allow for more accurate analysis.
An example of the Trace VTS Actions dialog is displayed below.
Note: If the Trace VTS Actions application is not referenced in the VAM, you must manually add it. The Trace VTS Actions application's directory is named "TraceVTS", and is stored within the VTS installation directory. If you require assistance in adding the Trace VTS Actions application to the VAM, please refer to the instructions provided in Add an Existing Script Application to the VAM.
As you can see in the image above, the Trace VTS Actions utility consists of the following elements:
Start/Stop The Start/Stop button enables you to start and stop the tracing of the selected actions to a special text file named, "VTSTrace.txt" (located within your VTS installation directory (e.g. C:\VTS\VTSTrace.txt). When the button is toggled on (depressed and labeled "Stop"), VTS is tracing the specified actions to file. When the button is toggled off (labeled "Start"), VTS has stopped tracing the specified actions to file. As mentioned in the note above, by default, VTS now traces all actions to a "VTSTraceAll.txt" file, located in your VTS installation directory.
Erase The Erase button deletes the tracing file (VTSTrace.txt) from disk when actions have been traced to file using the Start button. The Erase button is disabled while the Start button is selected.
Records in RAM The Records in RAM field enables you to specify the number of trace actions you wish to be saved to RAM prior to being written to the VTSTrace.txt file. The default for Records in RAM is 256.
Parameter Byte Limit The Parameter Byte Limit field enables you to specify the maximum size of parameters. The default for Parameter Byte Limit is 256.
Trace Application Manager The Trace Application Manager checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish all activities pertaining to the VAM to be traced.
Trace Dialogs The Trace Dialogs checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish all activities pertaining to dialogs to be traced. This setting is useful if you wish to trace 4BtnDialog calls.
Trace Display Manager The Trace Display Manager checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish to record all activities related to the Display Manager.
Trace Menu Editor The Trace Menu Editor checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish to trace all activities related to the Menu Editor.
Trace Modem Manager The Trace Modem Manager checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish to trace all activates related to the Modem Manager.
Trace Navigator The Trace Navigator checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish to trace all activities related to the shortcut menus in your application.
Trace Page Manager The Trace Page Manager checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish to trace all activities related to the Page Manager.
Trace Expression Manager The Trace Expression Manager checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish to trace all calculations related to the Expression Manager.
Trace Remote Configuration The Trace Remote Configuration checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish to trace all activities related to remote configuration.
Trace RPC Manager The Trace RPC Manager checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish to trace all activities related to the RPC manager and remote procedure calls.
Trace SQL Calls The Trace SQL Calls checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish to trace all SQL calls made in your application.
Trace Startup Synchronization The Trace Startup Synchronization checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish to trace all activities related to startup synchronization.
Trace Tag Browser The Trace Tag Browser checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish to trace all activities related to the Tag Browser.
Trace Tag Configuration The Trace Tag Configuration checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish to trace all activities related to tag configuration.
Trace Tools The Trace Tools checkbox can be selected to indicate that you wish to trace all activities related to the tools in the configuration toolbox.
Note: Each of the checkboxes described above corresponds to a configuration variable in the system-wide Setup.ini file (stored in the VTS installation directory). Information on these variables can be found in Introduction to Setup.ini.
Trace List The list displayed on the Trace VTS Actions dialog displays the actions that have been traced according to the checkboxes you've selected. For each action traced in the list, the following data is displayed:
• Date: The date for each action being traced is displayed in the first column of the trace list. The date is displayed using the format, "MM/DD/YY" (e.g. 10/24/05).
• Time: The time at which each action was traced is displayed in the second column of the trace list. The time is displayed in milliseconds, using the format, "HH:MM:SS.MS" (e.g. 16:07:23.129).
• Trace Action: The category of the action being traced is listed in the third column, according to the checkboxes you have selected (e.g. TraceVAM or Trace RPC).
• Data: The details about each action being traced are identified in the fourth column.
Note: In the event that some items in the list are difficult to read, you can expand the Trace VTS Actions dialog either using the Windows maximize button in its title bar, or by dragging its borders, or you can rest your mouse pointer over each entry in the list to view its details.