Compare Fields Tool Window

Message Analyzer enables you to compare the field data of any two messages that you select in the Analysis Grid viewer for detailed analysis of field values. This functionality is provided in the Compare Fields Tool Window, which is a preview feature that you must enable on the Features tab of the Options dialog in order to use it. After enabling this preview feature and restarting Message Analyzer, you can access it from the Windows submenu of the global Message Analyzer Tools menu.

Comparing Message Field Data

To begin, open the Compare Fields window from the Windows submenu as previously indicated, to display it in the lower right sector of the Message Analyzer user interface. Assuming that you have a set of trace results displaying in the Analysis Grid viewer, perform the following steps:

  1. In the Analysis Grid viewer, select a message containing the fields that you want to compare with those of another message of the same type.

  2. In the Compare Fields window, right-click anywhere in the window space and select the Set Current as Baseline command from the context menu that appears, to set the currently selected message fields and values as a reference in the window.

    Field and Baseline columns with values derived from the selected baseline message appear in the Compare Fields window.

  3. In the Analysis Grid viewer, select a second message of the same type which contains the fields that you want to compare in value to the baseline message fields.

    A Current column with field values derived from the currently selected message appears in the Compare Fields window.

  4. Scroll down through the data and note that fields in the Current column which contain values that are different from those in the Baseline column are highlighted in red, thus providing you with an instant evaluation of differences between message field values that could be critical to analysis.