If you encounter a seemingly impossible issue on Skype, you would probably look into the customer service for your concerns. However, while you were discussing your issue with Skype’s customer support team, you may probably be asked to send in a Skype log file. And then you may wonder, “What on earth is a log file?”
A log file is an encrypted file containing information on how you use Skype. This information can be really helpful when it comes to solving some issues on Skype. While log files record your Skype usage, you do not have to worry about your privacy since these logs do not contain personal data such as chat or audio messages. In addition, the log files can only be ready by the Skype support team.
In order to create a Skype log file which you can send to the support team, you must perform a few steps. But first, make sure you are running the latest version of Skype before performing these steps:
Windows 8, 7, XP and Vista
For Windows 8, you need to download and after that, extract the logging-related command files provided by Skype. The file is less than 1mb in size so you can probably download it in no time. After extracting, open the file named skype-client-logging.cmd. Once the command prompt window popped up, type enable after skype-client-logging.cmd. After enabling, you can now replicate the issue you are encountering and gather the log files. Gathering the log files can be done simply by following the same steps you did for enabling but typing gather instead. The Skype log file results can be obtained from the document path reflected in the command prompt.
Windows 7, XP and Vista require basically the same steps except that the logging-related registry file that you need to download contains registry keys instead of command prompts. To enable logging, run logging-on.reg. All your log files will now be saved in Skype’s application folder which is usually located on your primary hard drive.
After gathering and acquiring your log files, you can now send them to the Skype support team for further assistance.
Mac OS X
For Mac OS, look for the Application Support folder of Skype inside your Mac Library. Once you found, look for and open shared.xml in any text editor software. Look for the localnode sub-tree of the xml file then add the following sub-tree:
<UI>
<General>
<Logging>SkypeDebug2003</Logging>
</General>
</UI>
After saving the changes you made, open a Terminal window and type in defaults write com.skype.skype SKDebug YES . You can now run Skype and replicate the issue. All the log files will be saved under the Logs folder inside your Library.
Linux
If you are a Linux user, all you need to do is to create a folder named Logs inside Skype’s application data directory ( ~/.Skype/ ). You can now open your Skype to replicate the issue. The log files can be obtained afterwards from the folder you created.
PS: If you do not want to spend much time creating log files, you can always get a free skype video recorder to record the issues you are encountering. After recording, you can upload it to the Skype community forum wherein other users can help you fix your Skype problems.
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