Logging

The conf/log4j2.xml configuration file contains the server's logging settings.

Log files are generated in the logs/ folder. A new log file named webpdf-server will be generated every day. When the day changes, this file will be renamed and archived using webpdf-server.<YYYY-MM-DD>.log as the file name (log rotation) and a new log file named webpdf-server will be started.

tip

You can use the admin area to access the logs at any time.

The server's records used for statistics (billing) are also stored in the logs/ folder. A file recording all server web service calls and named webpdf-billing will be generated for each day. Just like with the actual server log, this log will "rotate" and start again daily.

webpdf-billing.<YYYY-MM-DD>.log = Statistical records for the webPDF Server

caution

Do not make any changes to the conf/log4j2.xml file. Wrong manual changes can render the entire server inoperable.

Debug output

When running the server normally, only the most important information will be written to the log. If there are any issues, having more information in the log can come in handy, and you can enable the server’s debug mode temporarily or permanently for this purpose.

danger

Enabling debug output will make the server run slower. In addition, large volumes of information will be written to the logs. Accordingly, make sure to enable debug output only briefly or when instructed to do so by Support.

Enabling debug mode temporarily

If you want to enable this mode temporarily, you can do so in the portal’s admin area. You can enable and disable debug mode there (in the log display) without having to restart the server.

Enabling debug mode permanently

You can use the conf/log4j2.xml file to switch the server to debug mode permanently. When this mode is enabled, more messages will be written to the log file (these messages may help Support with troubleshooting in certain cases).

If you change line

<Root level="info">

to

<Root level="debug">

the server will enable logging.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>  
<Configuration status="info">
 <Root level="debug">  
 <AppenderRef ref="ASYNC"/>  
 </Root>  
 </Loggers>  
</Configuration>

Debug mode will be enabled as soon as you save the changes. The console will show the following message when the change is detected:

2017-06-01 14:10:26 INFO Refreshing logging configuration 'C:\ProgramData\webPDF\conf\log4j2.xml'