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Basic Trace Session Options

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The following list describes the basic trace session options that you can change on the Log Session Options page.

Real Time Display
Creates a real-time trace session.This option is selected by default.

You must select Log Trace Event Data To File, Real Time Display, or both.

Log Session Name
Specifies a name for the trace session. Select any name that meets the Windows naming standards, up to 1024 characters. The default is "LogSessionN", where N is a zero-based integer that represents the order in which the session is created.

After a trace session is named, you can refer to the session by its name (for example, when you are using the TraceView command-line interface).

Log Trace Event Data To File
Creates a trace log session.

You must select Log Trace Event Data To File, Real Time Display, or both.

Log File Name
Specifies a path and file name for the trace log (.etl). This option is enabled only when the Log Trace Event Data To File option is selected.

By default, the trace log is named "LogSession_date_time.etl" and it is saved in the local directory. To change the name or location, type a path and file name in the text box or, to navigate to a directory, click the ellipsis button (...).

Caution

If you select the path and name of an existing file, TraceView overwrites that file without warning.

Append To Existing Log File
Adds the trace messages to the end of the trace log file that is specified in the Log File Name box, instead of overwriting the file.

This option is enabled only when Log Trace Event Data To File is enabled and Real Time Display is disabled. You cannot append real-time events to an existing trace log.

TraceView lets you select this option, even if the specified file does not yet exist.

Comments

The trace session name is not saved in the event trace log (.etl) file, the TraceView output file, or the TraceView summary file. When you use TraceView to display a trace log, it uses the default session name, "LogSessionN" as the name of the trace session, where N is a zero-based integer that represents the order in which the session is created.