Messages Dock
The Messages dock lists what Volvicon told you during the current session: the result of each operation you ran, warnings and errors, and the text of information, warning, and error message boxes. A message on the status bar disappears after a few seconds; the Messages dock keeps it until Volvicon closes.
Opening the dock
Open it from Panels → Messages in the title bar, or press Ctrl+Alt+M. When another panel covers the dock, the shortcut brings it forward. The dock starts hidden at the bottom of the window each time Volvicon opens, and it can be moved to the top dock area or dragged out into a window of its own.
Messages are collected whether the dock is open or not.
What the list shows
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Time | When the message arrived |
| Level | Info, Warning, or Error |
| Message | The first line of the message |
Select a message to read its full text in the pane below the list. A message with more than one line, or with a line too long for the list, is shortened in the list and shown in full in the pane.
Messages come from these places:
- Operations. An operation that the Operation Log records adds one message when it finishes, named the way the Operation Log names it, for example
Basic Smoothing (Femur) completed: 1 surface smoothed. An operation that runs as part of another one adds no message of its own. - Scripts. Operations run from a script add their messages to the dock but not to the status bar, and the pane names the source. Starting and finishing a script adds a message too, and a script that fails adds an error with its full error text.
- Message boxes. Information, warning, and error message boxes add a message with their title and the first line of their text. A question that asks you to choose adds none.
- Other events. Starting a new project, closing a project, finding a recovery file, writing an autosave, recording a video, copying a screenshot, applying or resetting preferences, activating a license, acquiring or losing a floating license seat, finding an update or failing to check for one, downloading a project from cloud storage, starting an AI framework installation, and uploading crash reports add their own messages.
The dock keeps the latest 10,000 messages. Older messages are removed from the top of the list.
Narrowing the list
Show selects All, Warnings and errors, or Errors. The search box matches the message and its full text, as literal text without case sensitivity: characters such as . and * match themselves. Narrowing the list removes nothing.
Copying and saving
| Command | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Copy | Context menu, or Ctrl+C in the list | Copies the selected messages |
| Copy All | Context menu | Copies every listed message |
| Save As... | Toolbar | Saves the listed messages to a text file |
| Clear | Toolbar and context menu | Removes every message from the dock |
| Open Logs Folder | Toolbar and context menu | Opens the folder of the application log file |
A copied or saved message is one line with its time, level, and text, followed by any further lines of the message, indented.
Clear only empties the dock. It does not change the project, and it does not remove anything from the Operation Log.
Messages are not saved with the project and are gone when Volvicon closes. Use Save As... to keep them.
Open Logs Folder opens the folder of the application log file, which can hold more detail than a message. The command is unavailable when the session writes no log file.
Messages and the Operation Log
| Messages dock | Operation Log dock | |
|---|---|---|
| Holds | What Volvicon told you during this session | The record of what was done to the project |
| Kept | Until Volvicon closes | With the project, and in session files |
| Can be cleared | Yes | No |
Related Topics
- Operation Log Dock – The record of what was done to a project
- The Interface – The status bar and the docks
- Default Shortcuts – Panel shortcuts