The MarvelClient Support Helper tool (MCSupportHelper.exe) is a small program for Windows that helps you collect and optionally anonymize your Notes client logs and MarvelClient data, so you can easily send them to support for analysis and troubleshooting.
Quickstart Guide
STEP 1: Download MCSupportHelper.exe
You can find it here: https://update.panagenda.com/mclic/MCSupportHelper/MCSupportHelper.zip
2024-05-21: 14.1.3.42
- FIX: Fixed an issue where the working directory was set to "not set" after clicking on "Smart Select" and canceling folder/file selection
- CHANGE: Removed support for selecting log.nsf via "Smart Select" - it simply does not provide sufficient consistent context in most cases. You can still select a log.nsf file, but it's not the best thing to do, really.
2024-05-21: 14.1.2.42
- FIX: Fixed an issue where a local notes.ini was picked up instead of Notes Preferences if a Nomad.zip file was selected
- FIX: Fixed an issue where already unzipped Nomad and Nomad Web support files were not processed properly - it is best to therein select about.txt or Preferences\Notes Preferences, or actually just point "Smart Select" at a nomad or nomad web zip file
- CHANGE: Changed the window style from topmost to normal
- CHANGE / ENHANCEMENT: Version information is no longer wrongly detected as an IP address, if it begins with "Version: " or "Version " or dot (.)
- ENHANCEMENT: Added notes:user_hierarchyonly_abbreviated to obfuscation table
2023-12-21: 14.0.1.42: ENHANCEMENT: Updated the digital signature to Nov 2024 (previous releases were valid until March 15, 2023)
2023-09-06: 14.0.0.1: ENHANCEMENT: Enhanced client folder autodetection
2023-05-10: 14.0.0.0: NEW: Now including to also run NSD prior to data collecton, automatic launching of Notes for email creation (if not yet or no longer present), and support for Microsoft Outlook for email sending
2022-09-29: 12.1.0.0: NEW / ENHANCEMENT: Updated to also work for HCL Notes 64 bit clients
STEP 2: Run MCSupportHelper.exe
After you've downloaded the MarvelClient Support Helper and run it, you will see a dialog like the following:
Info
STEP 3: Check the paths
If the paths don't look correct, you can click the Smart Select button to select a directory with a log.xml, config.xml, log.nsf, or notes.ini file, and it will attempt to auto-discover the appropriate paths from there. Or you can select the directory paths individually. If there are any directories you don't have or don't want to include, you can leave them blank.
STEP 4: Click Start
Once the paths and options are correct, just click the Start button to run the Helper!
This will gather the files into the OutputDirectory that you specified, and open the output folder in a new window:
Info
Support Helper automatically appends \MCSupportHelper to the Output Directory!
Also, it will delete ALL files and subdirectories in the Output Directory\MCSupportHelper during every run.
STEP 5: Send the zip file to support
The zip file in the "ToSupport" directory is the one you can send to panagenda support for analysis. If the "Anonymize" option was selected, the files will be anonymized as described below.
If the "Create Email" option was selected, an email document will automatically be created and opened with the zip file already attached.
Info
If your default mail client is set to "Microsoft Outlook" (without quotes, HKLM\SOFTWARE\Clients\Mail\(Default)), the mail will be created with Microsoft Outlook. Otherwise, it will be created in Notes. If the Notes client is not yet or no longer running at the end of data collection, MCSupportHelper will attempt to launch it and wait for a successful launch including login for up to 60 seconds.
How Anonymization Works
If the "Anonymize" option is selected on the MCSupportHelper dialog, the output files in the marvel_plus_anon.zip file will have all detectable Personally Identifiable Information (PII) removed.
It does this by scanning the MarvelClient config file and the notes.ini file for known PII keys – like user name variations, email addresses, and server names – and replacing all occurrences of those strings with a generic string like OBFUSNAME11. It also replaces specified patterns like IP addresses, email addresses and ftp/http(s):// URLs with generic strings.
All of the mappings of generic strings to PII are stored in a file called !MappingTable-DONOTSEND!.txt. This mapping table is not included in the zip file, and should not be sent to panagenda support! It is simply a reference for you.
You can also choose to deselect the "Anonymize" option, and use the MarvelClient Support Helper as an easy way to gather files for support. In most cases, it is easier to troubleshoot support problems when the logs are not anonymized; however, this is a choice that each customer can make for themselves.
Collecting Files from HCL Nomad Clients
MarvelClient Support Helper can easily collect (and optionally anonymize) data from HCL Nomad clients too. In order to get the log files from Nomad:
- For iOS and Android, follow the steps for reporting a problem and send the email (which includes a zip file) to yourself
- For Nomad Web, follow the steps for reporting a problem and save the zip file to your computer
Once you have the zip file with the Nomad logs, open MarvelClient Support Helper and click the Smart Select button to select the zip file. This will automatically unzip the file to the same directory that the zip file is in and pre-fill the appropriate directory paths for you.
Then you can click the Start button to run the Helper!
Files that are Collected in Each Directory
For each directory that is processed by MarvelClient Support Helper, the following files are collected:
| Notes Data\workspace\logs directory | all *.xml, *.log files from the last 7 days |
| NSD / IBM/HCL_TECHNICAL_SUPPORT directory | all *.txt, *.log, *.nbf, *.dmp files from the last 7 days |
| MC_WorkingDirectory | all xml files in the directory and all subdirectories |
| MarvelClient Upgrade directory | all *.log, *.ini, *.html, *.log.zip files in the directory and all subdirectories; Zip files are unzipped automatically |
Content that is anonymized
IMPORTANT
For safety reasons, any findings with a length of <= 6 are only replaced if they are followed by one of the following characters:
~ . , / \ | [0-9] ! ? " ' $ % & ( ) { } = ´ ` * + # _ - : ; ^ whitespace endofline
| Entry | Remarks |
|---|---|
| OS Computername | as obtained from Microsoft Windows |
| OS LogonDNSDomain | as obtained from Microsoft Windows |
| OS LogonDomain | as obtained from Microsoft Windows |
| OS LogonServer | as obtained from Microsoft Windows |
| OS Username | as obtained from Microsoft Windows |
| Name of OS Username from OS User Profile Directory | |
| MC config.xml notes.ini | CN=*/O=* |
| MC config.xml:user | any <user>...</user> value |
| MC config.xml:notes\user_common_name | |
| MC config.ml:userdetails_shortname | |
| MC config.xml:userdetails_fullname | |
| MC config.xml:computer | |
| MC config.xml:*.id notes.ini ...=*.id | |
| MC config.xml:mail\*.nsf MC desktop.xml:mail\*.nsf notes.ini ...=mail\*.nsf | |
MC config.xml:any email address | |
| MC config.xml:any IP address notes.ini:any IP address | |
MC desktop.xml | Any Notes name (CN=*/O=* until !! or end of tag) |
MC notes_ini.xml:URLAddress##= | |
| notes.ini:AdminLastServer= | |
| Any email address | |
| Any ftp/ftps/http/https:// URL | except matches beginning with www.w3.org/ |
| First 6 characters of any finding with more than 6 characters, followed by ~## | This is to match Windows 8.3 filenames, e.g. panage~1 |