The Query Display Settings Dialog

Remarks

All changes to query display settings take place when the dialog is closed by pushing ‘OK’.

Dialog pages

Display order

Message fields may be selectively displayed and in any order. The auto-refresh, auto-sort, and auto-delete checkboxes govern how the screen is updated when new log messages come in or when they are deleted in another window.

Sort order

Log messages can be sorted in ascending or descending order on any of the fields. Secondary sort fields are used as tie breakers.

Note that time stamps for log messages generated on the same machine are forced to be unique. This means that log messages in a strictly time sorted query are guaranteed to be in the actual chronological order of physical occurrence since there are no ties. (An exception would be when the machine clock is adjusted; then uniqueness cannot be guaranteed.)

Column widths

Column widths can be most easily adjusted with the mouse by dragging the dividers between the list control’s headers at the top of the window. This property page for users who wish to do this programmatically.

Time display

All three time fields, Source, Local, and GMT, can be formatted individually, and the group of radio buttons determines the field for which the settings are to be changed. When a radio button is selected, the current display format for that field is shown using a sample time. The corresponding format string used internally is also displayed.

The list box shows the available formats. There are two special entries. The first entry (the default setting) uses an empty string for the format string. This will cause the time stamp to be displayed with the date and time format settings specified for the current user in the control panel. The second entry in the list displays the string “Custom.” The corresponding format string can be entered by the user. (The syntax of the format string is specified in the Time Format Syntax table.) As the format string is typed, the resultant display string is shown. The remainder of the entries in the list provide a variety of format strings from which to choose.

Tip: Whenever “Custom” is selected, the format string will be initialized to the format string corresponding to whatever was previously selected. To enter a custom time display format, first select the most similar format from those listed below “Custom,” then select “Custom” and edit the supplied format string.