KB-2048 How to generate a browser network capture (HAR) file
Purpose
Appian Technical Support may request a network capture when troubleshooting complex issues. A network capture helps to understand the requests that are issued from the browser, and the raw response that is returned by the server.
Instructions
Important Security Considerations
- Do not visit other websites while recording a network capture. Ensure that before saving a capture, there are no requests to other websites or services outside what is being tested.
- Logout and log back into the testing environment after the capture has been saved. This ensures that any session details obtained in the capture will be invalid.
- Unless specifically troubleshooting a login related issue, avoid capturing network requests related to authenticating with the product.
Chrome/Edge
- In Chrome/Edge, go to the page within Appian where the issue has been observed.
- Hit F12 on the keyboard to open the Developer Tools interface.
- The Developer Tools interface will open as a docked panel at the side or bottom of Chrome/Edge. Click on the Network tab.
- If available, select the option 'Preserve log'.
- The recording should start automatically and there will be a red circle at the top left of the Network tab. If not, click the black circle, to start recording activity in the browser.
- Refresh the page. The goal is to reproduce the problem that has been experienced while Chrome/Edge is recording activity.
- Once the problem has been reproduced, click the download button in the toolbar with the "Preserve log" button to export the HAR file
- Save the HAR file somewhere convenient.
Firefox
- In Firefox, go to the page within Appian where the issue has been observed.
- Hit F12 to open Developer Tools.
- The Developer Network Tools will open as a docked panel at the side or bottom of Firefox. Click on the Network tab. Before starting the capture, be sure to enable the setting: Enable persistent logs (this can be done directly from the network panel, or if not available, click on gear icon on the Toolbox toolbar to open the Toolbox Options pane).
- The recording will start automatically once actions are performed in the browser.
- Refresh the page. The goal is to reproduce the problem that has been experienced while Firefox is recording activity.
- Once a successful reproduction of the issue has been performed and all of the actions have been generated in the Developer Network Panel (should just take a few seconds), right-click anywhere under the "File" column and click on "Save All as HAR".
- Save the HAR file somewhere convenient and close the developer panel.
Internet Explorer (IE)
- In Internet Explorer, go to the page within Appian where the issue has been observed.
- Press the F12 key on the keyboard. This should open the Developer Tools panel in IE. If not, find it on the browser menu: F12 Developer Tools.
- In the Developer Tools panel, click the Network panel and then deselect the 'Clear entries on navigate' option. (on by default).
- Click the Network panel/button and then the Start Capturing button (or press Ctrl + E). The icon looks like a green triangle.
- Click the IE Refresh button. The goal is to reproduce the problem that has been experienced while IE is recording activity.
- The Developer Tool panel should now show a list of the URLs that are included in the page in the browser.
- Click the Stop button when the issue has been reproduced (or press Ctrl + E). The icon looks like a red square.
- Click the Export captured traffic icon and save the file somewhere convenient (or press Ctrl + S). The icon looks like a floppy disk.
Affected Versions
This article applies to all versions of Appian.
Note: As these steps guide usage of third party software, they could change without notice. Consult the documentation for the relevant browser for the most current and accurate steps for obtaining a network capture.
Last Reviewed: January 2022