Debugger Basics
Note
This article applies to Visual Studio 2015. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here
The Visual Studio debugger allows you to observe the run-time behavior of your program and locate logic errors. The debugger works with all Visual Studio programming languages and their associated libraries. With the debugger, you can break execution to step through your code and evaluate variables in your application.
In This Section
Getting Started with the Debugger
Explains how to use the debugger to control the execution of your application.
Navigating through Code with the Debugger
Describes how to step through code with the debugger.
Using Breakpoints
Describes what breakpoints are and how to use them.
Debugger Windows
Lists the different debugger windows.
Just My Code
Describes the Just My Code feature that lets you step over system, framework, and other non-user calls and that collapses those calls in call stack displays.
Exception Handling
Describes exceptions, how the debugger handles them and how to change that handling, how to see where the exception occurred and see the variable contents, limitations for unhandled exceptions in managed code, and fixing exceptions in native (C++) code.
Attach to Running Processes
Explains how to attach to a process that is already running.
Specify Symbol (.pdb) and Source Files
Explains how to specify symbol and source files for debugging.
Debug 64-Bit Applications
Explains how to debug 64-bit applications, and how to troubleshoot problems.
Debugger Security
Describes security practices for the debugger.