Settings - Log Settings

In the main menu Server > Main settings > Settings dialog, there are a set of important setting groups/tabs. In this tab, the log settings are managed.

Main > Settings > Log settings > Settings sub tab

Extended debug logging

If you experience problems the VisualCron support may ask you to turn on extended debugging. When the support process is done you uncheck this option as it leverages the system.

Log to event log

Use Windows event log for logging.

Log to file - Client events

Controls if Client should write events to a file (placed in VisualCron X/log folder).

Log to file - Server events

Controls if Server should write events to a file (placed in VisualCron X/log folder).

Log to file

If any option is activated, a log file will be created and entries will be written into the log file. A new log file is created for each day. If no Job has been run during a day (with logging on) - no file will be created. The server/client log file names are "log_serverYYYYMMDD.txt"/"log_remoteYYYYMMDD.txt". By default the log files are located in the "C:\Program Files\VisualCron\log\" folder.

Main > Settings > Log settings > Error handling sub tab

Send unhandled server errors to VisualCron

If you check this all errors are reported back to VisualCron. This way we can get enough information to detect and fix bugs as soon as possible.

Main > Settings > Log settings > Database settings sub tab

VisualCron uses an internal database to log server events and Job/Task result/output and audit logging. These are stored in separate tables in an internal database. You can control how many and/or how long time this data should be stored in each table. It is possible to store these logs externally.

Log to database

This controls if the internal database should be used or not.

Log DB location

This controls if VisualCron should log to the internal SQL Compact database or any external database.

Location

Only visible when using Internal logging. This shows the location of the internal database (for debugging purposes).

Connection

Only visible when using External logging. Select an existing Connection. If Integrated Authentication is used you need to select a Credential.

Credential

Only visible when using External logging. Select a Credential if Integrated Authentication is used (Windows Auth).

Create DB tables

Creates the External DB tables in the selected Connection. The following tables are created:

• AuditLogs - stores the Audit logs
• DBVersions - controls the version of the database (for upgrades)
• GeneralLogs - stores the General logs
• JobLogs - stores the Job logs
• TaskLogs - stores the Task logs

Size

This shows the current size of the database.

General/Audit/Job/Task Rows

The current number of rows in the current log type

General/Audit/Job/Task Range

The date range of the current stored objects.

General/Audit/Job/Task Keep a maximum of x rows in database

This option controls how many rows to store. If unchecked then unlimited rows will be stored (or limited by number of days in setting below).

General/Audit/Job/Task Delete rows older than x days

This option controls how many days to store. If unchecked then unlimited days will be stored (or limited by number of rows in setting above).

Please note: If the row limit is hit first, this will limit the available date range.

General/Audit/Job/Task Clear all

This option deletes all entries for the current log type.

Reset database completely

If the database has exceeded maximum size you may have to manually delete it to restore. Here are the steps:

1. Open the Main > Settings > Folders tab and click on the Output cache folder > Open button.
2. Stop the VisualCron service
3. In the Explorer window enter the folder "log" and delete the file "VisualCron4.sdf"
4. Start the service again

Main > Settings > Log settings > Output settings sub tab

Limit output size

If checked, Task output will be limited in the Task log table to the value you set below. It is recommended to have some kind of limitation so that the database file do not grow to fast which makes it hard to control and connection slow between Client and Server.

Max output size

This is the max output size we store in real time. If a Task has larger output than specified we cap at at this level.

Important

VisualCron applies both settings together, but the maximum row limit takes priority over the number of days. If the row limit is reached, older logs will be deleted even if they are within the configured day range.

For example: If you set retention to 15 days but keep the default row limit of 2000, the system may only retain logs for 2 days if the row count exceeds the limit. To ensure logs are kept for the full number of days, increase the maximum row limit accordingly or uncheck the row limit option.

External Database

When setting up an external database, you can copy the information from the VisualCron Internal Database to the External Database. For setting up an External Database, we recommend checking here first: Connection - SQL

Once the connection has been configured, go to Main > Settings > Log Settings > Database Settings and click on Copy Database

External Database Source

This is the original data source that is getting copied over to the new location.

External Database Destination

This is the destination we are trying to copy the original data to. This is where you would select your database connection and the credential associated with it.

External Database Log

Once the connection has been confirmed, press Start copy and the information will be copied over to the External Database.

Once the information has been copied over, make sure the setting Log to database has been selected and choose the location to External

Common Questions

We are providing some common questions that get asked when it comes to VisualCron's Internal logging. Just as a reminder, the VisualCron client uses SQLCE compact when logging internally.

Q: How large is the internal storage for VisualCron?

• 4GB

Q: Is all 4GB available for use?

• No, not all of the 4GB is available for storage - this is because the SQLCE compact capability is separate from VisualCron. We recommend taking a look at what SQLCE Compact is: SQL Server Compact.

Q: How does the internal database handle file growth? Is there a mechanism (e.g., auto-shrink, compression, pre-allocation) that might explain why the file size appears unchanged even though new data is being added?

• The routine runs every 6 hours as part of server (this cannot be changed/adapted because of this). What this routine does is that it cleans according to row count and time period set in database settings. For example, if the file size exceeds 3.2 GB, 80% of the data is kept, including the number of days. Otherwise, both are kept. If the file size is still too high, SQLCE compact is run to optimize.

Q: How we can monitor or confirm that new data is actually being stored correctly within the internal .sdf?

• The easiest way is to check the logs within the client. If the new data exists, it is written to the database.