There are four specialized windows for displaying debugging information: Output, Variables, Call Stack, and Watch. You can access these windows from the View menu and from the standard toolbar.

The Windows

The following windows display debugger information.

Window name Description

Output

Displays information related to the debugging process.

Variables

Displays name, value, and type information for variables used in the current and previous statements, including the values of an array structure. This window has four tabs: All, Locals, Globals, and Text Constants. You cannot add variables to the Variables window (you must use the Watch window for that). You can expand or collapse the variables shown using the tree controls. You can expand a variable if it has a plus sign (+)in the Name field. If there is a minus sign (–) in the Name field, the variable is already fully expanded.

Call Stack

Displays the stack of function calls that are currently active. When a function is called, it is pushed onto the stack. The debugger displays the currently executing function at the top of the stack and older function calls below that. When you double-click a call stack line, a green arrow appears to the left of the line. In the window that contains the code being debugged, a corresponding green arrow indicates how far the debugger has reached in the specific trigger for the call stack line that you selected.

Watch

Use the Watch window to monitor variables of special interest while debugging your program. You can use a drag-and-drop operation to move the name of the variable that you want to watch from the Variables window or from the window that contains the code being debugged. You can also type the names of variables in this window.

The Watch window contains three tabs: Watch1, Watch2, and Watch3. You can group variables that you want to watch together on the same tab. For example, you could put variables related to a specific window on one tab and variables related to a dialog box on another tab. You could watch the first tab when debugging the window and the second tab when debugging the dialog box.

See Also