Microsoft Office 2016 Crash Logger Tool
Purpose: Configures the computer to log and archive Office 2016 crash reports
Usage: CrashLogger [--Install] [--Uninstall] [--ViewLog]
Example: CrashLogger --Install
NOTE: CrashLogger requires Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac 15.28 or later
How CrashLogger works
CrashLogger leverages a new ability in Office 2016 15.28 to save the last crash log to disk.
When CrashLogger --Install is run, the following occurs:
- The CrashLogger script is copied to
$HOME/Library/Application Support/com.microsoft.CrashLogger - A scratch area is created:
$HOME/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.ms/MerpScratch/ - An archive area is created:
$HOME/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.ms/MerpArchive/ - A LaunchAgent is configured to monitor the creation of new crash reports
- MERP crash logging is enabled through
defaults write com.microsoft.errorreporting IsStoreLastCrashEnabled -bool TRUE
What happens when an Office application crashes?
- Microsoft Error Reporting will send the crash report to the Watson server and then persist the log to disk at
$HOME/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.ms/MerpTempItems/LastSentCrashReport.zip - The LaunchAgent will be triggered
- The LaunchAgent unzips the crash log, extracts key information, then moves the report to the archive area using a file name based on the date and time of the crash
- The LaunchAgent writes a one-line summary of the crash to
$HOME/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.ms/MerpArchive/CrashSummary.txt - The LaunchAgent will send the one-line summary to the console log
Example of console log entry
11/1/16 7:34:21.943 PM pbowden[60463]: com.microsoft.CrashLogger 2016-11-02 02:34:17 com.microsoft.Excel 15.28.0.161031 SIG_FORCE_QUIT 29c2 CrashReport-161101-193421.txt