Verbose logging in Power Pages is a powerful tool to help developers and administrators troubleshoot complex issues, particularly those related to authentication, Liquid templating errors, page load behaviors, and data access problems. By temporarily enabling verbose logging, you can capture detailed logs of what’s happening in the backend without permanently impacting performance or security.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to enable verbose logging temporarily in Power Pages.
1. What is Verbose Logging?
Verbose logging increases the amount of diagnostic information logged by the portal. It includes:
- Authentication tokens and claims
- Entity permissions access
- Liquid template rendering steps
- API call traces
- Web role validations
- Plugin and workflow execution feedback
Use cases include:
- Debugging broken authentication
- Investigating role-based access issues
- Tracing Liquid or Web Template behavior
- Identifying misconfigured entity permissions
2. Prerequisites
Ensure that:
- You have Administrator access to the portal.
- You can access the Portal Management app or Power Platform Admin Center.
- You’re working in a non-production environment (for best practice).
3. Enable Verbose Logging – Portal Management App
Step 1: Open the Portal Management App
- Go to make.powerapps.com
- Navigate to Apps > Search for Portal Management
Step 2: Add or Edit Site Settings
Go to: Portal Management > Site Settings and add the following settings:
| Name | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
Diagnostics.TraceEnabled | true | Enables diagnostics tracing |
Diagnostics.TraceLevel | Verbose | Sets trace level to verbose |
Diagnostics.WriteToLogFile | true | Optional – writes logs to log file |
EnableCustomErrors | false | Shows error details on-screen (dev only) |
ShowExceptionDetailsOnErrorPage | true | Shows full exceptions in portal UI (dev only) |
Note: Ensure these settings are removed or disabled after debugging to prevent exposing sensitive information.
4. Review Logs
Option A: View in Portal Trace Log Table (Preview Feature)
In recent portal updates, logs can be viewed via the Portal Logs table in Dataverse.
- Navigate to Tables > Portal Diagnostics Logs
- Filter by timestamp or severity
- Logs include session info, trace level, and error messages
Option B: Browser Developer Tools
You can also look at:
- Network responses for Liquid errors
- Console output for JavaScript runtime issues
- HTTP headers for user claims or identity issues
5. Use a Short Time Window
Because verbose logging increases resource usage:
- Enable logging for 10–30 minutes
- Conduct your test or reproduce the issue
- Then turn it off immediately
6. Disable Verbose Logging (Post-Debug)
Once debugging is complete, revert the settings:
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
Diagnostics.TraceEnabled | false |
Diagnostics.TraceLevel | Off |
EnableCustomErrors | true |
ShowExceptionDetailsOnErrorPage | false |
7. Troubleshooting with Logs
Here are some examples of what you can find in verbose logs:
| Issue | What Logs Reveal |
|---|---|
| 403 Errors | Missing web roles or entity permissions |
| Login Loop | Misconfigured identity provider or claim mismatch |
| Page not rendering | Liquid rendering error or null entity |
| Data not saving | Plugin or business rule exception |
8. Additional Tips
- Use unique session IDs (from logs) to trace across events.
- Pair verbose logging with Fiddler or Postman for testing backend APIs.
- Use
{{ user | json }}or{{ entity | json }}in templates to inspect objects directly.
9. Recommended Logging Settings by Stage
| Environment | Trace Level | Custom Errors | Verbose Logging |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dev | Verbose | Disabled | Enabled |
| QA/Staging | Warning | Enabled | Temporarily |
| Production | Off | Enabled | Disabled |