View Log Files (PowerPivot for SharePoint)
PowerPivot server operations, events, and messages are recorded in SharePoint log files. Use the information in this topic to find and troubleshoot PowerPivot errors that occur in a SharePoint environment.
Note
You can control which PowerPivot server events are logged to the file. You can also control the severity of messages that are logged. For more information, see Configure Usage Data Collection (PowerPivot for SharePoint) and Configure Event Logging (PowerPivot for SharePoint).
File Location
SharePoint log files are in the C:\Program files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\LOGS folder.
The LOGS folder contains log files (.log), data files (.txt), and usage files (.usage). The file naming convention for a SharePoint trace log is the server name followed by a date and time stamp. SharePoint trace logs are created at regular intervals and whenever there is an IISRESET. It is common to have many trace logs within a 24 hour period.
How to View SharePoint Log File
Log files are text files. You can open them in any text editor. You can also use third-party log viewer applications.
Use a Text Editor
If you are using a text editor to troubleshoot a PowerPivot server error, the following tips can help you locate relevant information in the file:
For errors related to publishing, viewing, or refreshing a PowerPivot workbook, search the log file for the name of the workbook.
For errors that provide a correlation ID, copy the ID and use it as a search term in the log file.
Search for error status "High" or "Exception". Search for “PowerPivot Service”.
If you know when the error occurred, use the date and time information to narrow the scope of entries you must scroll through.
Use a Log Viewer Application
Although you can use a text editor to view the trace logs individually, a log viewer application that enables you to view several log files together can be far more useful. Fortunately, there are several third-party log viewer applications available for download on the Codeplex site that can help you view multiple trace logs in a single workspace. The following instructions include a link and steps for installing and using "Stefan Gordon's SharePoint ULS Log Viewer".
Go to SharePoint ULS Log Viewer on the Codeplex site.
Click the Downloads tab.
Click ULS Viewer 2.0 Binary.
Read and accept the licensing terms.
Click Save to download the software to your local system. Save ULSViewer.zip to the Downloads folder.
In the Downloads folder, right-click ULSViewer.zip and select Extract All.
Specify a destination folder, and then click Extract.
In the folder that contains the extracted program files, double-click ULSViewer and run the application.
Click the folder icon at the top left corner of the application window.
Browse to \Program files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\Logs.
Select one or more trace logs. By default, trace log file names consist of the computer name plus date and time information. The file type is Text Document.
Click Open and wait for the files to load.
Use the built-in filters to select records based on severity, process, category, or a user-defined text file. You can also click column headings to change the sort order.
Entries for PowerPivot Services
The following table describes entries for PowerPivot server operations most likely to be found in a SharePoint log file.
Process |
Area |
Category |
Level |
Message |
Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
w3wp.exe |
PowerPivot Service |
Usage |
Verbose |
There are no current request statistics, nothing to log. |
At predefined intervals, the service reports query response statistics as a usage event to the usage data collection system. This message indicates there were no query statistics to report. |
w3wp.exe |
PowerPivot Service |
Web front end |
Verbose |
Starting to locate an application server for data source=<path> |
When it receives a connection request, the PowerPivot service identifies an available Analysis Services service to handle the request. If there is only one server in the farm, the local server accepts the request in all cases. |
w3wp.exe |
PowerPivot Service |
Web front end |
Verbose |
Locating the application server succeeded. |
The request was allocated to a PowerPivot service application. |
w3wp.exe |
PowerPivot Service |
Web front end |
Verbose |
Redirecting request for the <PowerPivotdata source> to the Analysis Services service. |
The request was forwarded to the Analysis Services service. |
w3wp.exe |
PowerPivot Service |
Request Processing |
Verbose |
Redirecting request for UserName<SharePoint user> to the database |
An impersonated connection to the PowerPivot data source was created on behalf of the SharePoint user. |