Email a Web Page alert action shows login page instead of actual content

4/23/2026 11:20 PM

4/23/2026 11:47 PM

When the "Email a Web Page" alert trigger action is configured (e.g., for the built-in "High Receive Percent Utilization with Top Talkers" alert), the SolarWinds Platform renders the target URL server-side to generate a PDF. If no valid user context is provided, the server-side request hits the page as an anonymous user, gets redirected to the login page, and the resulting login page screenshot is what ends up in the emailed PDF.

Symptoms

• The alert triggers successfully and sends an email with a PDF attachment.

• The PDF shows a screenshot of the SolarWinds Platform login page instead of the expected NetFlow (or other) page content.

• The log entry in %ProgramData%\SolarWinds\Logs\Orion\Core.BusinessLayer.log shows:

INFO SolarWinds.Orion.Security.ProcessRunner - (null) stdout: Input file does not exist --url https://<HOSTNAME>/Orion/TrafficAnalysis/NetflowInterfaceDetails.aspx?NetObject=NI:<ID>;...&X-SW-Scheduler=true&InlineRendering=TRUE&...&LoginNonce=<NONCE>&RenderAsImage=true --outputfile C:\ProgramData\SolarWinds\Orion\<filename> or does not user as argument
Try read settings explicitly from command line args.
SUCCESS:C:\ProgramData\SolarWinds\Orion\<filename>:Title:OrionExport

Netflow Traffic Analyzer

The Optional Web Server Authentication setting inside the "Email a Web Page" alert action determines which user context SolarWinds Platform uses to load the target URL server-side. By default, it is set to "User currently logged-in (admin)".

The three available options behave as follows:

Setting	Behavior	Why It Fails
No user defined	The page is loaded as an anonymous user.	SolarWinds Platform redirects to the login page; the PDF captures the login screen.
User currently logged-in (admin)	Ties the render to the interactive admin session.	If no admin session is active at trigger time (e.g., no one is logged in, or SSO/MFA blocks non-interactive login), the request falls back to anonymous and hits the login page.
Another user (with a dedicated local account)	Uses a specified SolarWinds Platform local account to authenticate server-side.	This is the correct setting.

 

To ensure the PDF contains the actual page content (e.g., NetFlow Top Talkers), configure the alert action to use a dedicated local SolarWinds Platform account under the "Another user" option:

1. Navigate to Alerts & Activity > Alerts in the SolarWinds Platform Web Console.

2. Edit the alert that uses the "Email a Web Page" action (e.g., "High Receive Percent Utilization with Top Talkers").

3. Under Trigger Actions, click to edit the "Email a Web Page" action.

4. In the Message section, locate Optional Web Server Authentication.

5. Select "Another user".

6. Enter the credentials of a dedicated local SolarWinds Platform account that meets the following requirements:

   • Not forced through SSO/MFA — the account must be a local SolarWinds Platform account with forms-based authentication so the server-side render can authenticate non-interactively.

   • Has view rights to the target page — the account must have permissions to view the relevant resource (e.g., NetFlow interface details).

7. Click Save / Submit to apply the changes.

Validate the Configuration

1. Log in to the SolarWinds Platform Web Console as the dedicated local account directly on the SolarWinds Platform server.

2. Open the target URL that the alert would email (e.g., the NetFlow Interface Details page or the WebMailUrl from the alert macro).

3. Confirm the page loads correctly with all expected data.

4. Back in the alert configuration, use the Simulate button to test the action.

5. Check the resulting email and confirm the PDF now contains the actual page content instead of the login screen.

Important Notes

• Do not use "No user defined" — this will always result in the login page being captured.

• Do not rely on "User currently logged-in (admin)" — this depends on an active interactive admin session and will fail when no one is logged in or when SSO/MFA blocks non-interactive authentication.

• If the environment uses SSO or MFA, the dedicated account must be exempted or configured as a local SolarWinds Platform account that bypasses external authentication.

• This guidance applies to the "Email a Web Page" alert trigger action specifically. For scheduled report PDF issues showing the login page, refer to the separate KB article: NPM Scheduled report export to PDF shows login page.