Looking at the trace data in a “snapshot” view allows you to see the total as well as the self time.
Press the “snapshot” button that appears about the table of results. This will create a new tab that contains a “Call Tree” view which breaks down the self vs. total time. The “combined” view also provides this information, but splits the screen space with a “Hot Spots” view that is similar to the standard profiling view.
Snapshots can be created from either standard “Profiler” or “Sampler” data. However, “Profiler” snapshots can only be created before the application is closed, while “Sampler” ones can be created at any time.
(The above information is based on VisualVM 1.3.1)