Monitoring applications that access data services

1. Run either a development or debug version of the application that accesses remote services.

2. For each access to a remote service, the Network Monitor lists the following:

   • Time of the request

   • Requesting service

   • The operation and URL if applicable

   • The time of the response

   • Elapsed time

3. Select a column header to sort the returned data according to the values in that column.

   Click the column again to invert the order of the data.

4. Select the request and parameter tabs at the bottom of the monitor to view the details about the request operation.

   The actual data sent in the request, as well as other information about the request, can be viewed from these tabs.

5. Select the response and result tabs at the bottom of the monitor to view the details about the response.

   The actual data sent in the response, as well as other information about the response, can be viewed from these tabs.

6. Double-click an entry to go to the source code for that operation.

   The Flash Builder source editor opens with the relevant line of source code highlighted.

   Note: For most events, the Network Monitor can correlate an event with the Flex source code. For some events that are triggered outside the scope of the Network Monitor, the monitor cannot find the Flex source code.

7. Click the Save button on the Network Monitor toolbar to write all captured information to an XML file.

   Note: Use the generated XML file to study the data offline. You cannot import the data from this file back into the Network Monitor.

8. Click the Clear icon in the Network Monitor toolbar to remove all captured information from the monitor.

You can suspend and resume network monitoring. Suspending and resuming a session applies to all applications in the Flex project. For example, you cannot suspend one application in the project and continue monitoring another.

1. Click the Suspend button in the Network Monitor toolbar to suspend the monitoring of a session.

2. Click the Resume button in the toolbar to continue monitoring the session.

To stop monitoring a session, you disable the Network Monitor.

1. (Optional) Close the Network Monitor.

   Note: Simply closing the Network Monitor does not stop the monitoring session. Monitoring is still active, even if the Network Monitor is closed.

2. Click the Enable Network Monitor button.

   This button is a toggle for enabling or disabling the Network Monitor.

   Note: Disabling the Network Monitor applies to all applications in the Flex project.

The Network Monitor supports monitoring HTTPS calls to a server certified by a certificate authority (CA) or that has a self-signed certificate.

To monitor calls over the HTTPS protocol, modify the default preference for the Network Monitor to ignore SSL security checks. Open the Preferences dialog and navigate to Flash Builder > Network Monitor.

The leftmost panel of the Network Monitor provides information about the source of the data. It displays the following information:

• Source URL for the data service

• The type of service displayed

  For example RemoteService, HTTPService, or WebService.

• The request time, response time, and elapsed time for the data request

• The name of the operation called from the data service.

The Network Monitor has two tabs for viewing data, allowing you to view the request data and response data.

For each request and response, you can view the data in Tree View, Raw View, or Hex view. Select the corresponding icon for each view to change how the Network Monitor displays the data.

• Tree View

  Shows the XML, JSON, and AMF data in a tree structure format. This is the default view for data.

• Raw View

  Shows the actual data that is transferred.

• Hex View

  Shows the data in hexadecimal format. Hex view is useful when debugging binary data sent over a network.

By default, the Network Monitor clears all recorded data with every launch of an application. However, you can change the default behavior and retain all monitor data. Retained monitor data includes the data from all applications in all projects. Open the Preference dialog and navigate to Flash Builder > Network Monitor. Deselect Clear Entries on Start.

You can save Network Monitor data to an XML. Click the Save button in the Network Monitor view to save Network Monitor data.