Investor/RT keeps an internal log (a text file) of all ongoing activity. The size of this log file is a user preference (File > Preferences > Message Log). The log is purged of older messages from time to time. Investor/RT can view the message log at any time. When the message log window is open, new messages that arrive are logged and appear dynamically at the bottom of the window. The message log window can be summoned using the keyboard shortcut Alt+M (M as in Message Log). When the message log window is in view, pressing Alt+M again will dismiss the window. This enables you to take a quick look at the log and then dismiss the window with two consecutive Alt+M keystrokes.
The message log can also be opened by clicking (or double-clicking) inside the message area of the main toolbar. The main toolbar message area also has a popup menu invoked by right-clicking. The main toolbar menu has menu items for opening the message log, the current day trading log, or the alarm log windows.
The Data Menu can be used to view the System Status window (Data > System Status, Alt+5 shortcut). At the bottom of the system status window there are buttons for opening the message log, trading log, or alarm log.
The message log is searchable. When the message log window is the front window, pressing Ctrl+F (F as in Find) is used to find any lines in the log that contain some text you enter. For example, if you are having trouble with a particular symbol, press Ctrl+F, enter the symbol and press the enter key (or click Search) to see a list of any log messages that mention that symbol.
Sometimes, Investor/RT support may ask you to submit your message log or trading log for diagnosis. The message log is located inside the InvestorRT admin directory, typically located here:
- C:\Users\your-user-name\InvestorRT\admin\msglog.txt
Trading Logs are also kept inside the same admin directory. A new log is created each trading day and the trading log filenames all begin with TradingLog followed by numeric date stamp, e.g. TradingLog20201016.txt.
The message log or trading log can be attached to a support ticket email. When attaching a log file to an email while Investor/RT is running, it is recommended that you first do File > Functions > Flush Logs. This funtion ensures that all log messages are written to the file on disk so that all messages will be included when the file is attached to your reply.