Debug Tab, Options Dialog Box

  • Article

Makes it possible for you to set options to customize the Visual FoxPro debugger windows, including:

  • Font and colors.
  • Whether to trace Timer event code.
  • Whether line numbers are displayed.
  • Whether to log Debug Output window output to a file.

When you choose Set As Default — which appears on every tab in the dialog box — Visual FoxPro saves the option settings in the registry (system Windows registration database).

  • Environment
    Specifies the debugging environment.

    • Debug frame All debugger windows appear in one big frame that is external to the Visual FoxPro main window, with their own menus and toolbars. This makes the debugger less intrusive on your application's run-time environment. If you choose this option, you can open the debugger by choosing Debugger on the Tools Menu.

    • FoxPro frame Debugger windows appear in the Visual FoxPro main window. The FoxPro environment is most useful if you want just a single window open, for example the Watch window. If you choose this option, Visual FoxPro replaces the Debugger command on the Tools Menu with commands to open individual debug windows, and toolbars for individual debug windows are tiled to the main Visual FoxPro window.

      Note   You cannot change this option if the full debugger or any debugger window is open, or if the debug toolbar is open in the Visual FoxPro desktop.

  • Display timer events
    Choose this option if you want Timer Control timer events displayed in the Trace Window when their interval value is reached. If you clear this option, the timer event still occurs, but is not displayed; it is treated as if you had specified Step Over for that event.

    With this check box cleared, Visual FoxPro filters timer events even when you are stepping through a timer event currently. This is by design. Visual FoxPro steps inside a timer event in the following situations:

    • SET STEP is ON.
    • A breakpoint is set on a line of code.
    • A breakpoint is set on a value that is changed.
    • A new method or procedure is called.

Specify Window

Choose an option to specify which debugger window you want to set options for. The window you choose here affects the following available options.

  • Call Stack
    Displays the following options for the window:
    • Show call stack order Displays a number beside each program listed in the Call Stack Window window, with the highest number indicating the currently executing program.
    • Show current line indicator Indicates whether the current line indicator is displayed in the Call Stack window.
    • Show Call Stack indicator Indicates whether an arrow is displayed in the Call Stack window to indicate the procedure displayed in the Trace Window window. If the current line and call stack procedures are the same, Visual FoxPro displays only the current line indicator.
  • Locals
    No additional options are available for this window.
  • Output
    Displays the Log debug output area, which contains the following options:

    • Log Debug Output Copies the values written in the Debug Output Window to a text file. If you choose to log output values, you need to specify a file to log them to. The default file extension for a log file is .log. Visual FoxPro will log output to a file only if the Output window is displayed. You can display information in the Output window (and send it to the log file) using the DEBUGOUT Command or SET PRINTER Command in a program.

      When you quit Visual FoxPro, this option is cleared, so that you do not inadvertently overwrite a log file the next time you start Visual FoxPro.

    • Append Specifies that the debug output is written after the current contents of an existing file, preserving the original contents.

    • Overwrite Specifies that the debug output replaces the contents of the specified file.

  • Trace
    Displays the following options for the window:
    • Show line numbers Displays line numbers to the left of the lines of code in the Trace Window.
    • Trace between breakpoints Executes code between breakpoints at the throttle speed. The throttle speed indicates the pause in seconds between the execution of each line of code. If you clear this option, code between breakpoints is executed at normal speed, the default setting of _THROTTLE, which is 0.
    • Pause between line execution Specifies the delay in seconds between the execution of each line of code. This option makes it possible for you to slow program execution so you can watch the lines of code without having to step through each line individually.
  • Watch
    No additional options are available for this window.
  • Font
    Choose a font and style for the specified debugger window. For example, to set the font of the debugger's Trace window, choose Trace under Specify Window, and then choose Font to select the font, size, and style.

Colors

  • Area
    Select the text element for which you want to specify a color. For example, to specify a color for the text used for changed values, select ChangedValue. The choices in the Area list depend on what window has been specified under Specify Window.
  • Foreground
    Choose a color for the text of the selected area. To use the default color established in the Windows control panel, select Automatic.
  • Background
    Choose a background color for the selected area. For example, to show comments in yellow text on a blue background, select yellow in Foreground and blue in Background. To use the default color established in the Windows control panel, select Automatic.

For more information, see Testing and Debugging Applications.

See Also

Call Stack Window | Debug Output Window | Debugger Window | Trace Window | Watch Window | Options Dialog Box