Q:

Salesforce debug log filters stuck and will not change

The debug log filters in my orgs are set as follows (copied straight from a debug log): 
APEX_CODE,FINE;APEX_PROFILING,FINE;DB,INFO;VALIDATION,INFO;WORKFLOW,FINEST
No matter what I try, these settings will not change, and because several of them are set to fine/finest they make my debug logs hit maximum size:
*** MAXIMUM DEBUG LOG SIZE REACHED *****
They max out so quickly that none of the debug statements that I place in my code are ever even reached, which makes the logs useless.
I have tried changing the filters in the Debug Log section of my org, I have tried the developer console, and using the Eclipse IDE. I have tried this in my Dev org and in Sandbox. Nothing helps. These settings will not change.
Anyone encounter this before, or know a way to override these options?

A:

Debug log levels in Salesforce can be set in a number of different places that override each other so it's not always clear which log levels your code will execute with. I've listed them in order from least to most precedence below: I.E. 2 overrides 1, 3 overrides 1 and 2.

debug log filters - log levels set on the debug log page under setup.
developer console - log levels set in the developer console under workspace management
apex class/trigger - log levels set from the detail page of apex classes or triggers. You should see PUSH_TRACE_FLAGS and POP_TRACE_FLAGS in the debug log when you are overriding filters for the class/trigger.

Caveat emptor: Debug log filtering does not work correctly for testmethods. All tests run with a predefined set of filters.

