Debug logs, audit trails and login history
Which record answers which question: debug logs and trace flags for a transaction, Setup Audit Trail for configuration changes, Login History for sign-ins, field history tracking for record values and Event Monitoring for user activity, with the limits and retention windows that decide each scenario.
Given a scenario, determine the appropriate tools for monitoring and troubleshooting system activity (debug log, set up audit trail).
~8 min read · 11 practice questions ·
What the exam expects
- Choose the right record for a monitoring question: debug log, Setup Audit Trail, Login History, field history tracking or Event Monitoring.
- Set up a debug log with user and Apex class or trigger trace flags and debug levels, and explain why a log is missing, truncated or blocked.
- Read Setup Audit Trail entries, including the Delegate User column, and plan for its 180-day window.
- Retrieve old or API logins from Login History and read its status and IP columns.
Key terms: trace flag (a log type, a debug level per category, a start and an end time that switch logging on); debug level (a named set of log levels, one per category); Setup Audit Trail (the history of setup changes); Login History (the record of login attempts); field history tracking (old and new values of chosen fields on records).
Key facts
- Detail
- 20 MB maximum; older lines removed beyond it
- Detail
- System logs 24 hours; monitoring logs seven days
- Detail
- Over 1,000 MB blocks adding or editing trace flags
- Detail
- Overrides levels; cannot generate logs on its own
- Detail
- Transactions it triggers are not in debug logs
- Detail
- 20 most recent changes; download covers 180 days
- Detail
- Up to 20,000 records for 6 months; download for more
- Detail
- Included in the download with All Logins
- Detail
- 18 months, 24 via the API, without Field Audit Trail
- Detail
- Shield or Event Monitoring add-on
Sources for this section (6)
- Debug Logshelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Debug Log Levelshelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Setup Audit Trailhelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Login Historyhelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Field History Trackinghelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Event Monitoringhelp.salesforce.com (opens in a new tab)
- Why can a debug log not explain an automation failure from last month?
- When does Salesforce stop users from adding or editing trace flags?
- Why might automation that fires on lead conversion be absent from a trace?
- Which Login History column shows the client address that first reached Salesforce?
The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.
Keep reading with the Platform Administrator II pack
- Core concepts
- Exam traps
- Worked scenario
The pack includes:
- All 29 lessons of the Platform Administrator II guide, with reading progress
- Interactive decision walks and step-by-step sequence steppers
- Inline practice questions and one-click topic practice (11 questions for this lesson)
- An official source cited for every claim
- An AI tutor that answers from the guide
- Unlimited timed practice exams