How to Use Diagnostics & Create a Support Package

Opening the Diagnostics Screen

1. Launch ADReports.
2. In the left-hand navigation bar, locate and click Support.
3. The Diagnostics screen loads automatically inside the main panel.

Understanding the Screen Layout

The Diagnostics screen is divided into four areas:

Setting the Date Range

The From and To date pickers at the left of the filter bar control which log files are read.

1. Click the From date field and select the start date from the calendar popup.
2. Click the To date field and select the end date.

Both fields default to today's date when you first open the screen. You can also type a date directly into either field.

Choosing Severity Levels

Three severity checkboxes appear in the Severity group:

All three are checked by default. Uncheck one or more to narrow the results — for example, uncheck Info and Warning to see only errors.

Choosing Log Sources

The Source group has two checkboxes:

Both are checked by default. You must leave at least one source checked — if you uncheck both, the load will not start.

Searching by Keyword

The Search field (labelled keyword...) filters entries by text content.

1. Click the Search field to the right of the Source checkboxes.
2. Type a keyword, error code, username, or any text fragment.
3. Only entries whose message text contains the keyword will be loaded.

Leave the field blank to load all entries matching the other filters. The search is case-insensitive.

Loading Log Entries

Once your filters are set:

1. Click the Load Logs button at the right of the filter bar.
2. The status bar at the bottom of the screen shows progress as each log file is read.
3. When loading is complete, the status bar displays a summary such as:
   Showing 342 entries (15 errors, 27 warnings, 300 info)

Reading the Log Grid

Loaded entries appear in the grid with the following columns:

Color coding: Error and Fatal entries appear in red, Warning entries in dark orange, and Informational entries in normal text.

Click any column header to sort by that column. Use the auto-filter row (the blank row directly below the column headers) to type a quick filter on any column without reloading. Use the Find panel to search across all columns simultaneously, and the navigator bar at the bottom of the grid to page through results.

Viewing Entry Details

Clicking any row in the grid displays the full entry text in the Entry Details panel below the grid. This panel shows the full-precision timestamp, severity level, source, originating log file name, and the complete log message — including multi-line stack traces and exception details.

Cancelling a Load in Progress

If loading is taking a long time (e.g., a very wide date range):

1. Click the Cancel button that replaces the Load Logs button during loading.
2. The status bar shows Cancelling... briefly, then displays a partial-results summary:
   Showing 120 entries (3 errors, 8 warnings, 109 info) — partial results (loading was cancelled)
3. The entries loaded so far remain in the grid and can still be used to create a support package.

Creating a Support Package

A Support Package is a ZIP archive that bundles the filtered log data with system information. You can send this file to technical support for faster diagnosis.

1. Load the logs using your desired filter settings (see steps 3–7 above).
2. Click the Create Support Package button at the far right of the filter bar.
3. A confirmation dialog appears showing a summary of the package contents: time range covered, total number of entries, sources included, any active keyword search, and estimated file size.

4. Click OK to proceed, or Cancel to go back.
5. A Save As dialog opens. Choose a folder and filename for the ZIP archive. The default filename is ADReports-Diagnostics-YYYY-MM-DD.zip and the default location is your Documents folder.
6. Click Save. ADReports creates the archive — this is usually instantaneous.
7. A success message appears asking whether you would like to open the folder containing the ZIP file. Click Yes to open File Explorer with the file selected, or No to stay in ADReports.
8. Send the ZIP file to info@maxpowersoft.com so the support team can diagnose your issue.

What the package contains:

Tips & Troubleshooting