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Tagging Log Entries

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Jonathan Gillespie edited this page Sep 15, 2021 · 1 revision

Nebula Logger supports dynamically tagging/labeling your LogEntry__c records via Apex, Flow, and custom metadata records in LogEntryTagRule__mdt. Tags can then be stored using one of the two supported modes (discussed below).

Adding Tags in Apex

Apex developers can use 2 new methods in LogEntryBuilder to add tags - LogEntryEventBuilder.addTag(String) and LogEntryEventBuilder.addTags(List<String>).

// Use addTag(String tagName) for adding 1 tag at a time
Logger.debug('my log message').addTag('some tag').addTag('another tag');

// Use addTags(List<String> tagNames) for adding a list of tags in 1 method call
List<String> myTags = new List<String>{'some tag', 'another tag'};
Logger.debug('my log message').addTags(myTags);

Adding Tags in Flow

Flow builders can use the Tags property to specify a comma-separated list of tags to apply to the log entry. This feature is available for all 3 Flow classes: FlowLogEntry, FlowRecordLogEntry and FlowCollectionLogEntry.

Flow Logging with Tags

Adding Tags with Custom Metadata Records

Admins can configure tagging rules to append additional tags using the custom metadata type LogEntryTagRule__mdt.

  • Rule-based tags are only added when LogEntry__c records are created (not on update).
  • Rule-based tags are added in addition to any tags that have been added via Apex and/or Flow.
  • Each rule is configured to apply tags based on the value of a single field on LogEntry__c (e.g., LogEntry__c.Message__c).
  • Each rule can only evaluate 1 field, but multiple rules can evaluate the same field.
  • A single rule can apply mulitple tags. When specifying multiple tags, put each tag on a separate line within the Tags field (LogEntryTagRule__mdt.Tags__c).

Rules can be set up by configuring a custom metadata record with these fields configured:

  1. Logger SObject: currently, only the "Log Entry" object (LogEntry__c) is supported.
  2. Field: the SObject's field that should be evaluated - for example, LogEntry__c.Message__c. Only 1 field can be selected per rule, but multiple rules can use the same field.
  3. Comparison Type: the type of operation you want to use to compare the field's value. Currently supported options are: CONTAINS, EQUALS, MATCHES_REGEX, and STARTS_WITH.
  4. Comparison Value: the comparison value that should be used for the selected field operation.
  5. Tags: a list of tag names that should be dynamically applied to any matching LogEntry__c records.
  6. Is Enabled: only enabled rules are used by Logger - this is a handy way to easily enable/disable a particular rule without having to entirely delete it.

Below is an example of what a rule looks like once configured. Based on this rule, any LogEntry__c records that contain "My Important Text" in the Message__c field will automatically have 2 tags added - "Really important tag" and "A tag with an emoji, whynot?! 🔥"

Tag Rule Example

Choosing a Tagging Mode

Once you've implementing log entry tagging within Apex or Flow, you can choose how the tags are stored within your org. Each mode has its own pros and cons - you can also build your own plugin if you want to leverage your own tagging system (note: plugins are not currently available in the managed package).

Tagging Mode Logger's Custom Tagging Objects (Default) Salesforce Topic and TopicAssignment Objects
Summary Stores your tags in custom objects LoggerTag__c and LogEntryTag__c Leverages Salesforce's Chatter Topics functionality to store your tags. This mode is not available in the managed package.
Data Model
  • LoggerTag__c: this represents the actual tag you want to apply to your log entry record. Tags are unique, based on the field LoggerTag__c.Name. The logging system will automatically create LoggerTag__c records if a matching record does not already exist in your org.
  • LogEntryTag__c: a junction object between LoggerTag__c and LogEntry__c
Data Visibility
  • Access to the LoggerTag__c object can be granted/restricted using standard Salesforce object and record-sharing functionality (OWD, sharing rules, profiles, permission sets, etc). By default, LoggerTag__c OWD is set to 'public read-only' for internal users and 'private' for external users
  • Since LogEntryTag__c is a junction object, access to these records is controlled by a user's access to the related LogEntry__c and LoggerTag__c records
  • In Chatter, all Topic records are visible - including any Topic records created via Logger. For some orgs that are ok with this visibility within Chatter, this is considered a great feature. But for some orgs, this visibility may not be ideal.
  • Although Topic records are visible to all Chatter users, TopicAssignment records are only visible to users that have access to the related EntityId (in this case, the LogEntry__c record)
Leveraging Data Since the data is stored in custom objects, you can leverage any platform functionality you want, such as building custom list views, reports & dashboards, enabling Chatter feeds, creating activities/tasks, and so on. Topics can be used to filter list views, which is a really useful feature. However, using Topics in reports and dashboards is only partially implemented at this time.

Getting Started

Configuring Logger

Implementing Logger

Log Management

Plugin Framework

Apex References

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