Using EasyCatalog Log.txt

Using EasyCatalog Log.txt

EasyCatalog Log.txt records diagnostic information about EasyCatalog’s operations. It can help identify problems with data loading, pagination, scripting, HTML formatting and image placement, and may be requested by 65bit Support when investigating an issue.

Enabling logging

  1. Quit InDesign.
  2. Create an empty plain-text file named EasyCatalog Log.txt in the root of your EasyCatalog workspace folder. Make sure the filename does not have an additional extension such as .rtf or .txt.txt.
  3. Restart InDesign. EasyCatalog detects the file and enables logging.
  4. If a startup message asks whether you want to disable logging for the session, choose No to continue logging.
  5. Repeat the operation you want to investigate.

Use the workspace folder configured in EasyCatalog’s preferences. Place the file directly inside that folder, rather than inside an individual data source folder.

Logging can affect performance. Enable it while investigating a problem and disable it when you have finished.

Viewing the log from the Reports menu

When logging is enabled, the EasyCatalog panel’s Reports submenu includes EasyCatalog Log…. This command is hidden when logging is disabled.

Select the command to open a searchable HTML report in your web browser. The report includes:

  • Identifier: display all entries or select a particular diagnostic identifier.
  • Search: filter the log messages by text.
  • Previous / Next: move between pages of matching entries.

The report contains a snapshot of the log at the time you selected the command. To view messages recorded afterwards, select Reports > EasyCatalog Log… again. Refreshing the existing browser page does not capture new log entries.

You can also open the original EasyCatalog Log.txt file in a plain-text editor.

Enabling additional diagnostic detail

Standard logging does not require any settings inside the file. For more detailed diagnostics, add a trace setting to the first line containing [STARTUP].

  1. Quit InDesign.
  2. Open EasyCatalog Log.txt in a plain-text editor.
  3. Find the first line containing [STARTUP] and replace its [TRACE=NONE] setting with the required options.
  4. Save the file and restart InDesign.

For example, to enable CSS and Lua tracing, use:

Keep this setting on the same line as [STARTUP], near the beginning of the file. If you are creating the log file for the first time, you can use this as its initial contents:

The available trace options are:

OptionPurpose
CSSDetailed CSS processing information, including selector matches, property resolution and formatting operations.
LUAAdditional Lua diagnostics at supported tracing points, including embedded expression evaluation and results.
HTMLDetailed HTML processing information, including text insertion, formatting and table construction.
IMAGESAdditional image-processing diagnostics to help investigate image placement and import problems.
ACTIVATIONA recognised setting reserved for activation diagnostics. It currently has no additional trace output.
NONEDisable optional tracing while retaining standard logging.

Combine options with commas. For example:

Option names are not case-sensitive. Use only the options needed for the investigation: detailed tracing can produce a large amount of output. Changes take effect after restarting InDesign.

Preserving a log

EasyCatalog starts a fresh log when logging is initialised. Copy the log to another location before restarting InDesign if you need to preserve the previous session’s information.

In a shared workspace, the output filename includes the computer name so that different users’ logs can be distinguished. InDesign Server logs may also include the server configuration name. When changing trace settings, edit the actual output log for the computer or configuration being investigated.

Disabling logging

Quit InDesign, remove EasyCatalog Log.txt from the workspace folder, and restart InDesign. In a shared workspace, retain any copies of individual computer logs that you still need for reference.

If the startup warning offers to disable logging, choosing Yes disables it for the current session only. Remove the file while InDesign is closed to prevent logging from being enabled again on the next launch.

Sending a log to Support

Reproduce the issue, then copy EasyCatalog Log.txt before restarting InDesign. Send the copy with a description of the problem, the steps needed to reproduce it, and your EasyCatalog and InDesign versions. Check the log before sharing it, as diagnostic messages may contain data values, file paths, URLs or script content.