Spreadsheet Fields

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The debugger interface uses spreadsheet fields, which have an interface similar to that of Microsoft Excel. These spreadsheet fields appear in the Watch window, the Variables window, and the QuickWatch dialog box.

The window where the spreadsheet field is located determines which cells are editable. In the Variables window, you can edit the cells in the Value column. In the Watch window, you can edit the cells in the Name and Value columns.

Spreadsheet fields contain controls for easy viewing of array, object, structure, and pointer variables. If the variable is a pointer, the branch immediately below the pointer contains the value pointed to. If the variable is an array, object, or structure, the branch below the variable contains the component elements or members.

The variables are marked with a box containing a plus sign (+) in the Name column. You can expand the variable by clicking the + box, which opens into a tree that may contain additional boxes. When a variable is expanded, the box in the Name column contains a minus sign ( –). You can collapse an expanded variable by clicking the – box. As an alternative, you can expand a variable by selecting it and pressing the PLUS SIGN or RIGHT ARROW key. You can collapse a variable by selecting it and pressing the MINUS SIGN or LEFT ARROW key.

Scalar variables, which have no components to expand, do not have boxes in the Name column.

When working with these fields, you can autosize a column to fit its contents by double-clicking the divider. You can size a column manually by dragging the divider at the right edge of the column.

Note   Rows fit the current font and cannot be resized. To change the font size, use the Format tab of the Options dialog box, accessed from the Tools menu.