Viewing Message Data

This section describes various aspects of viewing and analyzing data with Message Analyzer's built-in data viewers. Included is conceptual information about the Message Analyzer data viewing infrastructure, the functions of the built-in data viewers, choosing data viewers, manipulating data through viewer and associated features, along with working interactively with other data viewers and Tool Windows.

Message Analyzer enables you to evaluate your message data with the primary analysis surface known as the Analysis Grid viewer, which provides a rich set of analysis features. Other common data viewers include the Grouping, Pattern Match, Gantt, and other viewers that are described in the Data Viewers section. Message Analyzer also provides a Chart viewer for which you can select a host of built-in view Layouts. These layouts use graphic visualizer components to provide a high-level overview of message data in various formats or to present focused details and statistical summaries of the data. The built-in Layouts for Charts are provided by default in every Message Analyzer installation and enable you to uniquely enhance your analysis perspectives for problem solving. Note that you can specify these view Layouts for data that you either captured with a Live Trace Session or loaded through a Data Retrieval Session.

Go To Session Analysis Tools
Given that viewing message data and analyzing message data are closely related, you can proceed directly to a brief summary of the analysis tools that are available in Message Analyzer. By reviewing the topic immediately below, you will have a better idea of how to use the Message Analyzer features that are described in this section as analysis tools, which includes data viewers, tool windows, and other features that interact with message data during the analysis process:
Analyzing Message Data

What You Will Learn
In the topics of this section indicated below, you can first review some background information about the Message Analyzer viewing infrastructure and then learn how to use it to present data in various viewer formats, select Chart viewer Layouts for high-level overviews of data, manipulate the data presented in those viewers, and work with the interactive Tool Windows.

In This Section

Data Viewer Concepts — learn about various aspects of the viewing infrastructure, which includes single- and multi-instance data viewers, message- and session-specific Tool Windows, data presentation configurations, and the types of data displayed in the Message Analyzer viewing infrastructure.

Data Viewers — review the functions of the built-in data viewers that Message Analyzer provides by default, such as the Analysis Grid, Grouping, and Pattern Match viewers, along with other viewers that are provided as preview features, for example, the Gantt and Interaction viewers. You can also review the functions of the built-in Layouts for the Chart viewer.

Session Data Viewer Options — learn how to set a default data viewer for all sessions and how to override this setting in session configuration, and also review the locations from which you can select data viewers.

Common Data Viewer Features — learn how the application of view Filters, Viewpoints, and Time Filters from the Filtering Toolbar enable you to isolate specific data to enhance analysis and problem solving. Also learn about how Time Shifts and Time Format settings can affect your view of data. In addition, learn how to filter on Data Sources, create and use Aliases and Unions in the Analysis Grid viewer, and also discover how the assets described in this section integrate with other Message Analyzer analysis features.

Tool Windows — learn how Tool Windows interact with data viewers and other windows to display additional message details such as field information, message stack, hexadecimal packet values, diagnosis, and decryption results data. Also learn about the Tool Windows that support data analysis capabilities, such as the Details, Diagnostics, Message Stack, Selection, and Field Chooser windows.

Working with Message Analyzer Window Layouts — learn how to create a custom work environment for the type of troubleshooting and analysis you regularly perform, by choosing a built-in Window Layout that organizes data viewers and Tool Windows into preset configurations that range from simple to more complex.

Working With Message Analyzer Profiles — learn how to create a focused analysis environment by enabling a built-in or custom-designed Profile configured with a data viewer and layout preset that automatically displays whenever you are loading data from a specific type of input file for which the enabled Profile is designed, for example a *.cap, *.etl, or *.log file, and so on.

Go To Procedures
To proceed directly to procedures that demonstrate the viewer features described in this section, see Procedures: Using the Data Viewing Features.