Mimecast Customer Care - Generating HAR File

This article describes generating a HAR (HTTP ARchive) file - browser trace logs for Mimecast support-related queries. It is intended for Administrators.

Overview

In some instances, Mimecast may require a customer to send in a HAR file to assist with troubleshooting end-user issues being experienced with Mimecast products.  This data helps us identify and locate where an issue occurs and why so it can be resolved by support or engineering teams.

Sensitive information, such as user names and passwords, may be contained in HAR files. For this reason, recording a HAR file during a login process is not recommended unless Mimecast support teams explicitly request you do so.  Keep secure any data you keep.

Generating a HAR File

The steps below are a general guide; actual steps may differ slightly depending on the browser / OS version. Please refer to your specific browser support documentation if the following steps do not work.

Chrome & Edge Browsers

1. Sign in to the Mimecast Portal or Service. Unless instructed otherwise, sign in before you start the trace so that the trace doesn't contain sensitive information related to your account.
2. Navigate to the step before where the issue occurs.
3. Press F12 to launch the Developer Tools or select Menu | More Tools | Developer Tools option.
4. The browser keeps trace information for the current page only by default. Set the following options so the browser keeps all trace information spanning multiple pages:
   • Select the Console tab | Preserve Log checkbox option.
   • Select the Network tab | Preserve Log checkbox option.
5. On the Network tab, select Stop Recording Network Log and Clear.
6. Select Record Network Log, then reproduce the issue.
7. After reproducing the issue, click Stop Recording Network Log, then click Export HAR, and save the file.
8. Select the Console tab in the Browser Developer Tools pane. Right-click one of the entries, select Save as..., and save the output to a text file.

Safari

1. Enable the developer tools in Safari:
   • Select Safari | Preferences.
   • Select Advanced | Show Develop menu in the menu bar option.
2. Sign in to the Mimecast Portal or Service. Unless instructed otherwise, sign in before you start the trace so that the trace doesn't contain sensitive information related to your account.
3. Navigate to the step before where the issue occurs.
4. Select Develop, then select Show Web Inspector.
5. The browser keeps trace information for the current page only by default. Set the following options so the browser keeps all trace information spanning multiple pages:
   • Select the Console tab | Preserve Log checkbox option.
   • Select the Network tab | Preserve Log checkbox option.
6. On the Network tab, select Clear Network Items.
7. Reproduce the issue for which you wish to gather logs.
8. After reproducing the issue, select Export and save the file.
9. Back in the browser developer tools pane, click the Console tab and expand the window. Place your cursor at the beginning of the console output and highlight all the output contents. Use Command-C to copy the output and save it to a text file.

Firefox

1. Sign in to the Mimecast Portal or Service. Unless instructed otherwise, sign in before you start the trace so that the trace doesn't contain sensitive information related to your account.
2. Navigate to the step before where the issue occurs.
3. Press F12 to launch the Developer Tools or select More Tools | Web Developer Tools option.
4. The browser keeps trace information for the current page only by default. Set the following options so the browser keeps all trace information spanning multiple pages:
   • Select the Console tab | Settings icon | Persist Logs checkbox option.
   • Select the Network tab | Settings icon | Persist Logs checkbox option.
5. On the Network tab, select Clear.
6. Reproduce the issue for which you wish to gather logs.
7. After successfully reproducing the issue, select Settings icon | Save All As HAR.
8. Select the Console tab in the Browser Developer Tools pane. Right-click one of the entries, select Save All Messages to File, and save the console output to a text file.

Sending the HAR File

You can send the HAR file to Mimecast, by using the following steps (regardless of which browser was used to generate it):

1. Package the HAR and console output files in a compressed format, such as .ZIP
2. You can then either:

• • Share the compressed file with Mimecast Support by attaching the file to your open support case in the Mimecast Support Center.
  • Ask your Support Representative to initiate a Large File Send Request, then send the file by following the instructions for uploading an attachment.

See Also...

• Mimecast Customer Care - Raising a Case