Trace files: saving and loading

Save a trace to revisit communication after closing the application or share a reproducible example.

Formats

Data	Saved through Save
CAN, including CANopen and VAG	.ptrc
Modbus RTU	.ptrbs, possibly with adjacent .sNNN.ptrbs segments
User labels	An adjacent .meta file

When sharing a trace stored in several files, keep the main file and all segments together. Include .meta to preserve labels. A CAN file stores source frames; their application-level interpretation depends on the profile and available descriptions.

What Save does

Saving captures the current source trace range as it exists when the operation starts. New messages may continue arriving; they are included in a later save.

All source traffic in that range is saved. Display layer, selected rows and filter expression do not change the file contents. Save does not mean “save the filtered table”.

After disconnecting, the document can still be saved until it is closed or replaced by another source. Temporary session data is not a permanent archive: use Save for archiving.

What Clear does

Clear moves the current range start past accumulated traffic and removes old labels from this document. Subsequent saves exclude the cleared range. Previously saved files remain unchanged.

Reloading

Select the appropriate profile, click Load and open a compatible file:

• CANopen and VAG: .ptrc or a supported CAN Hacker TRC (.trc) file. Another format sharing the .trc extension is not necessarily compatible.
• Modbus RTU: .ptrbs.

Import replaces the current document; save important data first. Settings → Tracer → Remember last import folder remembers the import directory. CAN Hacker TRC is an import format; CAN traces are saved as .ptrc.

For CANopen or VAG, select the required layer. If decoding used EDS/DCF or other external descriptions, provide them separately: source frames do not replace those descriptions.

Loading a file opens the trace for viewing; it does not transmit messages to the physical bus. See the difference between viewing and playback.

Hardware ISO-TP export limits

Exports to .ptrc and text .log files do not include hardware ISO-TP messages shown in the Transport and Protocol layers. Reopening the file will not restore them; selecting a layer or filter does not change this limitation.

If you need raw CAN capture, select Hardware acceleration → Disabled before connecting and record a new exchange. Raw frames from a previous hardware operation cannot be recovered. When reporting an issue, include the technical log from Logging settings and state the selected Hardware acceleration mode.

Text logs

Export trace log creates a UTF-8 .log with tabular fields, timestamps, data and labels. CAN logs also include the identifier, length and frame flags.

The log contains source physical records from the current range, including messages hidden by a filter. It is not an export of the current protocol layer or every decoded description. Use the binary format to reload and analyze the trace in Protohaund.

What to include in an issue report

• Trace file, required segments and labels.
• Application version and selected profile.
• Trace layer and filter expression.
• Expected and actual behavior.
• Device description if the problem concerns decoding.

If a trace includes a VIN or other data that must not be shared, process it separately before sharing: filtering does not exclude it from the saved file.