How to Enable Debug (collect logs) in the Release Station

Please also see Reporting Problems

PaperCut NG/MF has the option of additional debugging which cause PaperCut NG/MF to produce a more detailed text log of activity. The logs allow our developers to inspect the internal workings of the PaperCut NG/MF application and pinpoint the cause of the problems. Enabling debug logging is only usually required by the PaperCut Support team.

The release station is a standalone component of PaperCut NG/MF that allows users to log in and release jobs from a hold/release queue. A release station is generally set up next to a printer to ensure that the user is present when their job is printed.

Note: Release stations can be installed using a number of methods, including the local cache method where it is launched from a cache directory such as C:\Cache\, and the zero-install method of running it directly from the network. If the release station is running from the network, it will need to be installed locally on a system for the duration of enabling debug. It is possible to enable debug by editing the config file on the server’s PCRelease network share, but this would enable debug for every release station running from the network, and may create a lot of debugging output.

How to collect logs for the Release Station (v21 or later)

1. Open the file: [app-path]/release/lib/log4j2.properties in a text editor.

2. Find the line that says rootLogger.Level = warn and change to rootLogger.Level = debug.

3. Save the file.

4. If the release station is running, exit it and start it again.

5. Perform the problem action. Try to select a situation that is likely to cause the issue being investigated.

6. Record the approximate time of the problem and other relevant information such as the username, document name, print job name etc. This will help the developers match up log entries with your test activity. Additional information such as what was observed or what was expected would also be useful.

7. Compress (“zip up”) the resulting log file release-station.log.

   Windows: it can be found at: %USERPROFILE%\release-station.log which could be for example C:\Users\[username] on Windows 10.

   macOS: it can be found in the user’s home directory, for example /Users/[username]/release-station.log

   Linux: it can be found in the user’s home directory, for example /home/[username]/release-station.log

8. Send the compressed log file through support.papercut.com. Include an explanation of the steps taken, along with any other information requested by the PaperCut developers such as event time. Your log files and other information you send to us will be treated with care in accordance with our privacy policy.

9. Turn off debug logging by reversing the tasks undertaken in step 2, saving the file, and restarting the release station.

How to collect logs for the Release Station (v20 or older)

1. Open the file: [app-path]/release/lib/log4j.properties in a text editor.

2. Find the line that says log4j.logger.biz.papercut=info and change the info to debug.

3. Save the file.

4. If the release station is running, exit it and start it again.

5. Perform the problem action. Try to select a situation that is likely to cause the issue being investigated.

6. Record the approximate time of the problem and other relevant information such as the username, document name, print job name etc. This will help the developers match up log entries with your test activity. Additional information such as what was observed or what was expected would also be useful.

7. Compress (“zip up”) the resulting log file release-station.log.

   On Windows systems, it can be found at:

   %USERPROFILE%\release-station.log

   (where %USERPROFILE% is the user profile directory of the user running the release station, for example, C:\Users\[username] on Windows 10)

   On macOS systems, it can be found in the user’s home directory:

   /Users/[username]/release-station.log

   On Linux systems, it can be found in the user’s home directory:

   /home/[username]/release-station.log

   Please note: If this location is not convenient, then it can be changed by editing the file path line log4j.appender.file.File=${user.home}/release-station.log in log4j.properties

8. Send the compressed log file through support.papercut.com. Include an explanation of the steps taken, along with any other information requested by the PaperCut developers such as event time. Your log files and other information you send to us will be treated with care in accordance with our privacy policy.

9. Turn off debug logging by reversing the tasks undertaken in step 2.