Can’t Open Log File (Problem Solved)

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aksarben
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Can’t Open Log File (Problem Solved)

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I get this error message when calling Session.open():
Write-Error: Exception calling "Open" with "1" argument(s): "Error occurred during logging. It's been turned off.
Can't open log file 'C:\Users\Dick\Documents\PowerShell\Logs'.
System Error. Code: 5.
Access is denied"
I see other forum posts on error code 5, but none seem to apply to my scenario.

I don’t understand what the error message means when it says logging has “been turned off.” I couldn’t find a switch to turn logging on or off. I assumed logging was enabled when I provided a log path (which I did).

Thinking perhaps I had to enable logging thru the WinSCP GUI, I logged on there & set the log path to the same value as I did in the code. Then this dialog opened, with the same error message text as I got in the PowerShell code.
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SessionLogPath is set to "C:\Users\Dick\Documents\PowerShell\Logs". Curiously, the error message refers to this path as a “file”. Is it confusing a folder with a file?

I created the folder a few minutes before running the script. There's nothing unusual about the folder, and my account and “ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES” have “Full Control” permissions on the folder, but I still get the error. I even launched WinSCP so it was running when the script called Session.open(), but still get a fatal error with the "Access is denied" message.

So, right now, I'm dead in the water. How do I get past this?

SOLUTION:
Originally, my SessionLogPath pointed to the folder where I wanted log files stored, per the documentation, which says SessionLogPath is the “Path to store session log file to.” However, what WinSCP really needed was the path plus a log file name.

Recommend the following changes so future users can avoid this problem.
  • Change description of SessionLogPath in documentation to Full path to session log, including file name at the end.
  • Change the error message as follows:
    a. Remove the phrases “Access denied” and “It’s been turned off.” These have nothing to do with the cause of the problem.

    b. If the user-provided SessionLogPath ends in a folder name instead of a file name, change message to SessionLogPath ends in a folder name. Please append a file name at the end of the path.

  • Change property name to SessionLogFile. The name SessionLogPath can be kept for backward compatibility, but should be deprecated. Users should be alerted of the deprecation if they use the SessionLogPath name.

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