Problem investigation mode in Distributed Tracing app
- Latest Dynatrace
- Explanation
- 3-min read
- Published Oct 14, 2026
Problem investigation mode maintains continuity between applications, keeping you focused on the relevant problem for as long as your investigation requires. Thanks to this mode, 
Distributed Tracing maintains the problem context when you navigate between Dynatrace Apps during incident investigation.
Overview
When you use the View traces drill-down option in 
Problems, or drill down from another application with Problem investigation mode active, Distributed Tracing opens in Problem investigation mode. Your problem context is preserved: the problem ID, filters, and timeframe from the source are applied automatically.
Problem badge
While Problem investigation mode is active, a Problem badge appears in the top bar of the app, showing the current problem ID (for example, Problem: P-1234567890). From the badge, you can access the problem details or close Problem investigation mode.
- Select the problem badge to open the problem details in a separate overlay.
- Select (Action menu) > Explain problem to ask Dynatrace Intelligence for a problem summary and hints about possible remediation steps.
- Select (Action menu) >
View visual resolution path to access the problem resolution path and gain insights into the problem and the underlying problem events. - Select (Action menu) > Reset to problem timeframe to restore the original problem timeframe if you've adjusted it during your investigation.
- Select (Exit problem investigation) to close Problem investigation mode. Closing Problem investigation mode removes the Problem badge and chart annotation. Your filters and timeframe are preserved.
Filters, charts, and table results
The filters from the source app are applied automatically when Distributed Tracing opens in Problem investigation mode. In some cases, the filters are adapted based on the problem category:
- If the problem category is Availability or Error, Distributed Tracing automatically appends
"Request status" = Failureto focus on failed requests. - If the problem category is Slowdown, Distributed Tracing shows a histogram chart in the Explorer tab and sorts requests in the table results by duration in descending order.
You can adjust the filters or timeframe to explore further. The Problem badge remains after you make these adjustments, but the results displayed may no longer match the original filters.
Chart annotation
When Problem investigation mode is active, the time series charts in the Explorer and Exceptions tabs show a red bar above the plot area highlighting the problem's timeframe. The annotation gives you a visual reference for when the problem occurred.
Problem context
As you navigate within Distributed Tracing or switch to another app that supports Problem investigation mode, the problem context is preserved in both directions. Supported destinations include, among others:
Use cases
You can use Problem investigation mode in Distributed Tracing to:
- Investigate requests and traces relevant to a specific problem with context already applied. There's no need to reapply filters.
- View the problem's timeframe highlighted directly in the charts.
- Drill down to related apps while preserving the problem context in the destination app.
- Close Problem investigation mode to continue free-form trace exploration.
Distributed TracingApplication Observability