New Android Logcat: Top 5 features

Logcat revamped with the Android Studio Dolphin release

Android Logcat has been revamped and updated to make it easier for developers to track and scan through the app logs. This update is one of the most significant updates since the introduction of the Logcat tool

Updated Logcat is available with the Android Studio Dolphin release. You can download the latest version of Android Studio from here: https://developer.android.com/studio. There are several improvements included in this release that are intended towards improving developers’ productivity.

Android Studio Dolphin version
Source: android-developers.googleblog.com

Here I am going to list the top 5 features of the new Logcat from Android Studion Dolphin:

Improved Logcat Formatting

There has been a major improvement in Logcat formatting. Formatting makes it easier for scanning through the existing logs.
Example: Refer to the image below, and see each tag appears in its own unique color

Android Logcat with Improved formatting
Source: developer.android.com

Tracking logs across app crashes/restarts

Now it’s easier to track logs across app crashes and restarts. Logcat keeps track of the app process and prints helpful logs when the app process gets killed or restarted.
PROCESS ENDED and PROCESS STARTED logs are printed when the app process is killed and restarted respectively. Refer to the image below:

Android logcat - Log tracing across app crash and restart
Android Logcat – Log tracing across app crash and restart. Source: developer.android.com

New query system

New Logcat has now simplified the way to add custom filters. This is done by introducing key-value searches right from the main query field. Refer to the image below:

Android Logcat with new query system.
Android Logcat with new query system. Source: developer.android.com

This new query system provides accurate query results, without relying on regular expressions, as well as the ability to recall past queries from history, and share those queries with others. Here are some examples of how to use the new query system, but you can also simply start typing in the query field to see suggestions. Refer below:

Android Logcat with new query system.
Android Logcat with new query system. Source: developer.android.com

Create multiple Logcat windows

You can now create multiple tabs within Logcat so that you can easily switch between different devices or queries. Additionally, to help you more easily compare two sets of logs, you can now split the view within a tab by right-clicking in the log view and selecting either Split Right or Split Down. To close a split, right-click and select Close. Each split allows you to set your own device connection, view options, and query.

Android Logcat - Create multiple Logcat windows.
Android Logcat – Create multiple Logcat windows. Source: developer.android.com

Switch between view presets

Logcat now allows you to quickly switch between different view modes — Standard, Compact, and Custom. Each view mode provides a different default setting for showing logs. You can also customize each of these default view modes, as well as a custom view mode, by selecting Modify View. Refer to the image below:

Android Logcat - Switch between view presets.
Android Logcat – Switch between view presets. Source: developer.android.com

I hope this would help you in getting started quickly with the new Logcat.

References:
https://developer.android.com/studio/debug/logcat

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