I just upgraded to v1.12.2, and when I do a File->Save As it just looks like a normal Windows file save dialogue, with no options to save Displayed packets, Marked packets, etc. Is this a known issue, and is there a published resolution? asked 30 Dec '14, 07:33  PaulS |
One Answer:
Never mind, I see they have moved it to an option under the File->Export section. Why the h.. would the developers make a needless, arbitrary change like that to something that's been in the product for many years under the File->Save As menu? (rhetorical question, no need to answer) answered 30 Dec '14, 07:46 PaulS |
IIRC it was discussed a fair bit by the devs, the aim is to separate the notions of changing the capture file format (Save As) and exporting particular parts of the capture (Export ...).
You question has brought to attention the fact that the User Guide sections for Save As and Export ... require some work.
Because "Save as", in 99 44/100% of the applications out there, means "save the whole thing to a new file and make that the current file", and "Save" means "save the whole thing in the current file".
Given that 1.12 added editing capabilities, by allowing comments to be added, changed, and removed, "Save" now became a much more important option. "Save as"'s old behavior was confusing to some - see bug 6640, for example.
So Wireshark, as of 1.12, works the same way other applications work, even if it doesn't work the same way that older versions of Wireshark worked. The change wasn't arbitrary and, given 1) the confusion that the old behavior had (where "Save as" worked differently depending on whether you saved all packets or not), 2) the need for a "Save" operation that saves everything, and 3) the fact that "Save as" in Wireshark didn't mean the same thing as it does in other applications (another source of confusion), it wasn't unnecessary, either.