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 Consciderations

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