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User interface debugging best practices

The following tables list the common areas of GUI bugs, typical causes in each areas, and the tools you use to fix the bugs.

Basic best practices

Test on different browsers

Check if your problem also occurs if you use a different browser.

Use mode=js

If the GUI is only partially rendered and/or shows errors in the Info Bar, add the property-value pair mode=js to the query string or your URL to reveal errors that are otherwise not displayed.

Check logs

You can check the following logs to zoom in on the cause of your problem:

Log nameLocation
Content Manager Explorer server log%TRIDION_HOME%\web\WebUI\WebRoot\*Tridion.Web.trace
IIS server log%SystemDrive%\inetpub\logs\LogFiles\<ID of Web site>
SDL Tridion Windows Event Logs
  • %SystemRoot%\System32\Winevt\Logs\Tridion.evtx
  • %SystemRoot%\System32\Winevt\Logs\Tridion Content Manager.evtx
Check your configuration files
If you modified configuration files, such as System.config in the web\WebUI\WebRoot\ subfolder of your Content Manager root location, check your configuration changes to see if they are correct. Try reverting them or commenting them out, and check if your problem reoccurs.

Bugs related to JavaScript on the Web page

Types of errorCausesTools to use
  • JavaScript error
  • GUI control behaves unexpectedly
  • Browser security
  • Browser toolbar add-ins
  • Custom GUI extension
  • Visual Studio
  • Firebug JavaScript console
  • Chrome Developer console

Bugs related to the WCF Service

Types of errorCausesTools to use
  • Incorrect data displayed
  • Data not displayed
  • Timeouts
  • Connection failures
  • Firewall on the server
  • Misconfigured WCF endpoints
  • Misconfigured IIS Web sites

Bugs related communication between the Web page and the WCF Service

Types of errorCausesTools to use
  • Timeouts
  • Connection failures
  • Firewall on the server
  • Misconfigured IIS Web sites