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Events are the raw underlying data of query results. Events can be individual spans within a trace or individual log messages.

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Access Events

To access the underlying events of a query, click on any single point in time in the query result graph, and then choose View events from the context menu.
Don’t worry! Even though you selected a single event, you will still be able to page through all of the other events belonging to the query.

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View Events

Honeycomb’s Explore Data tab shows you:
  • An Events view, which contains all of the raw data from your current query, ignoring both the query’s aggregates and any GROUP BY, HAVING, or ORDER BY fields. Your data starts with the most recent events that occurred from the timestamp of the point you selected. At any time, you can choose to display your data either as a table view or as a log lines display, which is optimized for scanning across logs.
  • A Fields list, which shows you all of the fields that contain data for your query. If you don’t see a field in your dataset in this list, that means that the spans in your query do not contain data for that field.

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Events View

The Events view contains all of the raw data from your current query, ignoring both the query’s aggregates and any GROUP BY, HAVING, or ORDER BY fields. You view your data as either an events table or as a log lines display:
  1. In the Events view, locate the Table () and Log Lines () icons in the upper left.
  2. Select each icon to display data as an events table or as a log lines display.
Query Builder with Explore Data tab selected and table display
When your data is displayed in a table:
  • Each column represents a selected field from your dataset. You can customize your events display to add or remove columns.
  • Each row represents an event, along with the values associated with the selected fields from your dataset.
  • Expanding an event row displays all of the event’s field names and their corresponding values, with optional syntax highlighting:
    • Blue: Field name
    • Orange: String value
    • Green: Number value
    • Dark pink: Boolean value
    You can interact with the field names and values contained within the expanded event to modify the query.
Customize your table to select visible fields and change the display formatting for expanded events.

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Event Details

You can examine individual events and navigate between them in the Event Details view. This view provides improved formatting for structured data like stack traces, JSON, or XML, and includes all available fields for the current event. To view the details of an event, select the drawer icon () next to the event or choose Expand in drawer when the event is expanded in the table view. Keyboard shortcuts for paging through events in Event Details.
ShortcutAction
jPrevious event
kNext event

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Manage Fields in Event Details

In the Fields tab you can see all available fields for the current event, including those not currently displayed in the main Events view. You can add or remove fields from the main the table view’s Displayed Fields list by selecting the empty space or x icon next to the field or choosing Add column to table from the field’s context menu.

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Fields Panel

To the left of the Events view, you will see the Fields panel, which shows you all of the fields that contain data for your query. The Fields panel contains the following lists:
  • Displayed fields: Selected fields that display in the Events view.
  • Fields: Remaining fields that contain data for your query. You can add any of these fields to your Events view.
    • Fields contains an additional Δ Time field. Add this field to your Events view to include the time difference between the current event and the previous event.
    If you don’t see a field in your dataset in the Fields list, that means the spans in your query do not contain data for that field.
Fields list display with three selected fields in the displayed fields section.
To save space in the Fields list, only a subset of the fields are immediately shown. You can use the search box to search for a particular field by name. To expand the list, scroll to the bottom of the list of fields, and select Load More.

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Change Data Display

At any time, you can choose to view your data as either an events table or as a log lines display, which is optimized for scanning across logs.
  1. In the Events view, locate the Table () and Log Lines () icons in the upper left.
  2. Select each icon to display data as an events table or as a log lines display.
The data display reflects your selection.

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Customize Events Display

To make the events display work for you, you can control which fields are visible in the Events view and customize the display of the fields.

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Add Fields to the Events View

Did you know that we provide a field that displays the time difference between events? Add the Δ Time field from the Fields panel.
To add a field to the Events view:
  1. In the Fields list, locate the field that you want to add to the Events view.
  2. Select the add icon () to the right of the desired field.
The Events view will update and display the selected field.

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Display Time Difference Between Events in the Events View

Honeycomb provide a field called Δ Time that displays the time difference between events. To add the Δ Time field to the Events view:
  1. In the Fields list, locate the Δ Time field.
  2. Select the add icon () to its right.
The Events view will update and display the Δ Time field.

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Remove Fields from the Events View

  1. In the Displayed Fields list, locate the field you want to remove from the events view.
  2. Select the remove icon () to the right of the desired field.
The Events view will update and will no longer display the removed field.

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Reorder Fields in the Events View

  1. In the Displayed Fields list, locate the field that you want to reorder in the Events view.
  2. Select the drag icon () next to the field, and drag to rearrange the fields.
Your selected order will appear in the Events view display.

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Customize Display Formatting

To customize the display formatting:
  1. In the Events view, locate and select the Display Settings () icon.
  2. Select the toggle that targets the behavior you want to customize:
    • Format events: For expanded events in the table display, displays all fields in a single, pipe-delimited line [off] or one field per line [on].
    • Automatically highlight: Displays field names and values in expanded events in black [off] or enables syntax highlighting [on].
    • Line wrap log lines: In the log lines display, allows text to extend beyond the visible area [off] or wraps text to the next line [on].
    Event View Display Settings menu with the 'Format events' option selected, the 'Highlight full event' option selected, and the 'Line wrap log lines' option deselected.
The Events view will update, and you will see your selected changes.

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Resize Columns in the Table Display

To resize columns in the Events table:
  1. Locate the column to resize.
  2. In the target column’s header, hover over its right border.
  3. Drag to modify the width of the column.

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Customize Paging for the Table Display

To customize paging for the Events table:
  1. Locate the # of rows dropdown above the Events table.
  2. Select the number of rows you would like to show per page.
The Events table will update, and you will see the number of rows you selected on each page.

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Search Within Events

The Explore Data search feature is in beta.Your feedback can help us improve this feature! Share feedback in Pollinators or through your account team.
To search through the returned events:
  1. Locate the search bar above the table, and enter your search term.
  2. Press Enter on the keyboard to execute your search.
The page will update to show relevant fields and values highlighted within your query results and the fields list. Near the search bar, the page will also display the total number of matches found. To interpret your results and learn about limitations of the Explore Data search feature, visit our UI Reference.
To clear highlighted areas, cancel out of your search by selecting x in the search bar.

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Page Through Events in the Table Display

To page through the data in the Events table:
  1. Locate the arrow buttons above the table.
  2. Select the appropriate button:
    • >: Move to the next page.
    • <: Move to the previous page.

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View Tracing Details from the Table Display

If your dataset is a tracing dataset, then the trace.trace_id column displays trace ID fields as hyperlinks.
  1. Locate the event for which you would like to view a trace.
  2. Locate the trace.trace_id column.
    If you can’t find your trace.trace_id column, make sure you have added the column to your Events table.
  3. Select the hyperlinked trace ID.
You will be redirected to the trace waterfall view, which will contain the span represented by your selected row.
Tracing link example
To learn more about interacting with traces, visit Explore Traces: Interact with Traces.

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Modify the Query

You can modify your query from inside the Events view.
If your data in a table, expanding an event row will display a list of all fields and their values for the event, each of which you can interact with to modify the query or customize the table display.
  1. In the Events view, expand an event row to access all of the event’s fields and corresponding values.
  2. Select the name of the field with which you want to interact.
  3. Select the action you want to take from the context menu:
    • Add column to table: Adds the field to the columns displayed in the Events table.
    • Remove column from table: Removes the field from the columns displayed in the Events table.
    • Copy field name: Copies the field name to your local clipboard.
    • Copy value: Copies the value to your local clipboard.
    • Show only where field exists: Adds a WHERE clause to filter by <field> exists, then re-runs the query.
    • Show only where field does not exist: Adds a WHERE clause to filter by <field> does-not-exist, then re-runs the query.
    • Show only where field is value: Adds a WHERE clause to filter by <field> = <value>, then re-runs the query.
    • Show only where field is not value: Adds a WHERE clause to filter by <field> != <value>, then re-runs the query.
    • Group by field: Adds a GROUP BY clause to group by <field>, then re-runs the query.
    If you don’t see the Add column to table option, the field is already a column in your table.If you don’t see the Remove column from table option, the field is already not a column in your table.

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Download Your Data

To download your data:
  1. In the Events view, locate and select the Download () icon.
  2. In the Export data modal, choose the fields to include in your download. Use the Export displayed fields only toggle to export all event fields [off] or export only fields displayed in the Events view [on].
  3. Choose the file format that you would like to download:
    • CSV: Download Events data in comma-separated values format in a .csv text file.
    • JSON Download Events data in JSON format in a .json text file.
You can download a maximum of 1000 rows.