Enabling detailed error information for troubleshooting Spotfire Web Player Export issues
Article ID: KB0137726
Updated On:
| Products | Versions |
|---|---|
| Spotfire | 14.0.0 |
Description
When users encounter errors in the Spotfire Web Player, especially during operations like "Export > Visualization to Microsoft Excel" where a blank or generic error message is displayed, the standard logs (Node Manager and Web Player logs) may not provide sufficient detail for effective troubleshooting.
The includeDetailedErrorInformation parameter, when enabled, instructs the Spotfire Web Player to output more comprehensive error messages. This can reveal underlying technical details, such as specific .NET exceptions (e.g., TypeInitializationException, SecurityException) and their stack traces, which are critical for identifying permission issues, missing components, or other environmental problems.
Enabling this parameter is a key step in the diagnostic process to gather more actionable information before proceeding with potential resolutions like registry permission adjustments or hotfix installations.
Environment
All
Resolution
To enable the includeDetailedErrorInformation parameter and gather more detailed logs for troubleshooting Web Player export issues, follow these steps:
- Go to Admin Console >> Nodes&Services >> Expand the node and select the web player service. Check which configuration you are using, is it default or any custom configuration.
Refer: https://docs.tibco.com/pub/spotfire_server/latest/doc/html/TIB_sfire_server_tsas_admin_help/server/topics/viewing_the_name_of_the_current_service_configuration.html - Go to the Spotfire server machine and open the command prompt as an Administrator
- Run one of the below commands to export the configuration:
- If default: config export-service-config --capability=WEB_PLAYER --deployment-area=Production --force
- else if custom: config export-service-config --config-name=yourconfignamehere --force
- After successfully exporting, go to <server installation directory>\tomcat\spotfire-bin\configoot directory and edit Spotfire.Dxp.Worker.Web.config
- Locate or add the parameter includeDetailedErrorInformation and set its value to true.
Example (conceptual, actual implementation may vary):<Spotfire.Dxp.Web><ErrorHandling includeDetailedErrorInformation="true" /></Spotfire.Dxp.Web>
Note: The exact XML structure and parameter location might differ slightly based on your Spotfire version. Refer to the official TIBCO Spotfire documentation for precise configuration details for your specific version. - Open command prompt and run: config import-service-config --config-name=enternewconfigname
- After successfully importing the updated configuration, go to Node&Services > select the web player service/s > Edit > Select the updated configuration(name that you provided in the last step) and Save.
- The node would get restarted after saving and the updated configuration would get active.
- Attempt to reproduce the export issue in the Web Player.
- After the error occurs, the prompts would show more detailed error message. Check the Web Player logs and Node Manager logs again. You should now find more detailed error messages and stack traces, which can provide clearer insights into the problem.
This detailed information can then be used for further analysis, shared with support, or used to pinpoint specific environmental or permission-related causes.
Issue/Introduction
This article describes how to enable the includeDetailedErrorInformation parameter in Spotfire Web Player to obtain more verbose error messages when encountering issues, particularly during export operations. This additional logging can be crucial for diagnosing the root cause of unexpected failures.
Additional Information
Doc: Spotfire.Dxp.Worker.Web.config file:
Doc: Accessing Spotfire Server and node logs:
Doc: Customizing the service logging configuration:
