Capture a browser trace for troubleshooting

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If you're troubleshooting an issue with the Azure portal, and you need to contact Azure support, you may want to first capture some additional information. For example, it can be helpful to share a browser trace, a step recording, and console output. This information can provide important details about what exactly is happening in the portal when your issue occurs.

Important

Azure support uses these traces for troubleshooting purposes only. Please be mindful who you share your traces with, as they may contain sensitive information about your environment.

You can capture this information any supported browser: Microsoft Edge, Safari (on Mac), or Firefox. Steps for each browser are shown below.

Microsoft Edge

The following steps show how to use the developer tools in Microsoft Edge. For more information, see Microsoft Edge DevTools.

  1. Sign in to the Azure portal. It's important to sign in before you start the trace so that the trace doesn't contain sensitive information related to your account.

  2. Start recording the steps you take in the portal, using Steps Recorder.

  3. In the portal, navigate to the step prior to where the issue occurs.

  4. Press F12 to launch Microsoft Edge DevTools. You can also launch the tools from the toolbar menu under More tools > Developer tools.

  5. By default, the browser keeps trace information only for the page that's currently loaded. Set the following options so the browser keeps all trace information, even if your repro steps require going to more than one page.

    1. Select the Console tab, select Console settings, then select Preserve Log.

      Screenshot that highlights the Preserve log option on the Console tab in Edge.

    2. Select the Network tab, then select Preserve log.

      Screenshot that highlights the Preserve log option on the Network tab in Edge.

  6. On the Network tab, select Stop recording network log and Clear.

    Screenshot showing the Stop recording network log and Clear options on the Network tab in Edge.

  7. Select Record network log, then reproduce the issue in the portal.

    Screenshot showing how to record the network log in Edge.

    You'll see session output similar to the following image.

    Screenshot showing session output in Edge.

  8. After you have reproduced the unexpected portal behavior, select Stop recording network log, then select Export HAR and save the file.

    Screenshot showing how to Export HAR on the Network tab in Edge.

  9. Stop the Steps Recorder and save the recording.

  10. Back in the browser developer tools pane, select the Console tab. Right-click one of the messages, then select Save as..., and save the console output to a text file.

    Sccreenshot showing how to save the console output in Edge.

  11. Package the browser trace HAR file, console output, and screen recording files in a compressed format such as .zip.

Safari

The following steps show how to use the developer tools in Apple Safari on Mac. For more information, see Safari Developer Tools overview.

  1. Enable the developer tools in Safari:

    1. Select Safari, then select Preferences.

    2. Select the Advanced tab, then select Show Develop menu in menu bar.

      Screenshot of the Safari advanced preferences options.

  2. Sign in to the Azure portal. It's important to sign in before you start the trace so that the trace doesn't contain sensitive information related to your account.

  3. Start recording the steps you take in the portal. For more information, see How to record the screen on your Mac.

  4. In the portal, navigate to the step prior to where the issue occurs.

  5. Select Develop, then select Show Web Inspector.

    Screenshot of the "Show Web Inspector" command.

  6. By default, the browser keeps trace information only for the page that's currently loaded. Set the following options so the browser keeps all trace information, even if your repro steps require going to more than one page:

    1. Select the Console tab, then select Preserve Log.

      Screenshot that shows the Preserve Log on the Console tab.

    2. Select the Network tab, then select Preserve Log.

      Screenshot that shows the Preserve Log option on the Network tab.

  7. On the Network tab, select Clear Network Items.

    Screenshot of "Clear Network Items" on the Network tab.

  8. Reproduce the issue in the portal. You'll see session output similar to the following image.

    Screenshot that shows the output after you've reproduced the issue.

  9. After you have reproduced the unexpected portal behavior, select Export and save the file.

    Screenshot of the "Export" command on the Network tab.

  10. Stop the screen recorder, and save the recording.

  11. Back in the browser developer tools pane, select the Console tab, and expand the window. Place your cursor at the start of the console output then drag and select the entire contents of the output. Use Command-C to copy the output and save it to a text file.

    Screenshot that shows where you can view and copy the console output.

  12. Package the browser trace HAR file, console output, and screen recording files in a compressed format such as .zip.

Firefox

The following steps show how to use the developer tools in Firefox. For more information, see Firefox Developer Tools.

  1. Sign in to the Azure portal. It's important to sign in before you start the trace so that the trace doesn't contain sensitive information related to your account.

  2. Start recording the steps you take in the portal. Use Steps Recorder on Windows, or see How to record the screen on your Mac.

  3. In the portal, navigate to the step prior to where the issue occurs.

  4. Press F12 to launch the developer tools. You can also launch the tools from the toolbar menu under More tools > Web developer tools.

  5. By default, the browser keeps trace information only for the page that's currently loaded. Set the following options so the browser keeps all trace information, even if your repro steps require going to more than one page:

    1. Select the Console tab, select the Settings icon, and then select Persist Logs.

      Screenshot of the Console setting for Persist Logs.

    2. Select the Network tab, select the Settings icon, and then select Persist Logs.

      Screenshot of the Network setting for Persist Logs.

  6. On the Network tab, select Clear.

    Screenshot of the "Clear" option on the Network tab.

  7. Reproduce the issue in the portal. You'll see session output similar to the following image.

    Screenshot showing example browser trace results.

  8. After you have reproduced the unexpected portal behavior, select Save All As HAR.

    Screenshot of the "Save All As HAR" command on the Network tab.

  9. Stop the Steps Recorder on Windows or the screen recording on Mac, and save the recording.

  10. Back in the browser developer tools pane, select the Console tab. Right-click one of the messages, then select Save All Messages to File, and save the console output to a text file.

    Screenshot of the Save All Messages to File command on the Console tab.

  11. Package the browser trace HAR file, console output, and screen recording files in a compressed format such as .zip.

Next steps