= Overview =
The Trace Compass RCP version is a stand-alone application based on Eclipse's
Rich Client Platform (RCP). The purpose of this is to provide a lightweight
application to view and analyze traces. It includes most standard features found
in the Trace Compass project.

= Getting Started =
To start the Trace Compass RCP, go to the directory where it is installed and
then run the executable named '''tracecompass'''. During startup, the program
will create, if necessary, an Eclipse workspace under the user's home directory
with the name ''.tracecompass''. It also creates, if needed, a default tracing
project called ''Tracing''.

Now the application can be used as described in the regular User Guide. (see
section [[#References | References]]).

= Updating the application =
The RCP is pre-configured to point to the update site of its release "track".
For example, if you download a "nightly" RCP, it will update using that
"nightly" update site. These settings are configurable in the preferences, but
in most cases, the user should not have to change them.

The program does not check automatically for updates. To check manually, you can
click on '''Help''' -> '''Check for Updates'''. If updates are available, a
standard Eclipse update dialog will offer their installation.

= Opening a Trace =
To open a trace, click on the '''File''' menu and select '''Open Trace...'''.
A new dialog will show up for selecting a trace to open. Select a trace file
and then click on '''OK'''. Note that for traces that are directories
(such as Common Trace Format (CTF) traces) any file in the trace directory can
be selected to open the trace. The auto detection algorithm will then validate
the trace against all known trace types. If multiple trace types are valid, a
trace type is chosen based on a confidence criteria. The validation process and
the computation of the confidence level are trace type specific. After
successful validation, the trace will be opened with the detected trace type.

Alternatively the user can launch '''tracecompass''' with the command-line
argument '''--open <trace-path>'''. The trace will then automatically open 
using the same algorithm than described above.

In both of the above cases, the trace will be linked to the default project.

= References =

* [http://www.eclipse.org/tracecompass Trace Compass project]
* [http://www.lttng.org/ LTTng project]