  Traces and their extension called combined traces (comtraces) are two formal
models used in the analysis and verification of concurrent systems. Both models
are based on concepts originating in the theory of formal languages, and they
are able to capture the notions of causality and simultaneity of atomic actions
which take place during the process of a system's operation. The aim of this
paper is a transfer to the domain of comtraces and developing of some
fundamental notions, which proved to be successful in the theory of traces. In
particular, we introduce and then apply the notion of indivisible steps, the
lexicographical canonical form of comtraces, as well as the representation of a
comtrace utilising its linear projections to binary action subalphabets. We
also provide two algorithms related to the new notions. Using them, one can
solve, in an efficient way, the problem of step sequence equivalence in the
context of comtraces. One may view our results as a first step towards the
development of infinite combined traces, as well as recognisable languages of
combined traces.
