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DRAFT KB-XXXX How to generate a network capture (HAR) file

Purpose

Sometimes, when troubleshooting complex issues with Appian, it's necessary for us to get some additional information to troubleshoot the issue further.   A network capture helps us understand the requests that are issued from your browser, and the raw response that is returned by the server.

Instructions

How to generate a HAR file in Chrome

  1. In Chrome, go to the page within Appian where you are experiencing trouble
  2. Select the Chrome menu (⋮) at the top-right of your browser window, then select Tools > Developer Tools.
  3. The Developer Tools will open as a docked panel at the side or bottom of Chrome. Click on the Network tab.
  4. Select the option Preserve log
  5. The recording should start automatically and you will see a red circle at the top left of the Network tab. If not, click the black circle, to start recording activity in your browser.
  6. Refresh the page you are on. The goal is to reproduce the problem you've been experiencing while Google Chrome is recording activity.
  7. Once you've encountered the problem successfully while recording, right-click within the Network tab and click Save as HAR with Content to save a copy of the activity that you recorded.
  8. Save the HAR file somewhere convenient.

How to generate a HAR file in Firefox

  1. In Firefox, go to the page within Appian where you are experiencing trouble.
  2. Select the Firefox menu (Three horizontal parallel lines) at the top-right of your browser window, then select Developer > Network.
  3. 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 in the Toolbox Options > Common Preferences (click on gear icon on the Toolbox toolbar to open the Toolbox Options pane).  Click on the Network tab after setting the option. 
  4. The recording will start automatically once you start performing actions in the browser.
  5. Refresh the page you are on. The goal is to reproduce the problem you've been experiencing while Firefox is recording activity.
  6. Once you have reproduced the issue and you see that 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"
  7. Save the HAR file somewhere convenient and close the developer panel. 

How to generate a capture file in Internet Explorer (IE)

  1. Use Microsoft F12 Developer Tools and the Network Tool to capture the browser headers. Then export the captured traffic as HAR file (or XML if using older version of IE).
  2. Press the F12 key on your keyboard. This should open the Developer Tools panel in IE. If not, find it on the browser menu: F12 Developer Tools
  3. In the Developer Tools panel, click the Network panel and then deselect the Clear entries on navigate option. (on by default).
  4. Click the Network panel/button and then the Start Capturing button (or press Ctrl + E). Note: the icon looks like a green triangle
  5. Click the IE Refresh button. The goal is to reproduce the problem you've been experiencing while IE is recording activity
  6. The Developer Tool panel should now show a list of the URLs that are included in the page you have in your browser.
  7. Click the Stop button when the issue has been reproduced (or press Ctrl + E). Note: the icon looks like a red square
  8. Click the Export captured traffic icon and save the file somewhere convenient (or press Ctrl + S). Note: the icon looks like a floppy disk.

Once your have obtained the HAR capture, attach it to the support case for review.

Affected Versions

  • This article applies to all versions of Appian.
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