Visual Studio Debugging - Tools, Tips, and Techniques

Vaibhav • September 10, 2025

In the previous article, we explored the fundamentals of debugging - setting breakpoints, stepping through code, inspecting variables, and understanding the call stack. These techniques form the backbone of any debugging session. But Visual Studio offers much more than just the basics. In this article, we’ll dive deeper into the debugging features of Visual Studio, exploring advanced tools that help you diagnose issues faster, understand your code better, and build more resilient applications.

Whether you're debugging a console app, a desktop UI, or an asynchronous service, Visual Studio provides a rich set of features that go beyond breakpoints and watches. Let’s explore them in detail.

Live Expressions and Data Tips

When your program is paused at a breakpoint, Visual Studio shows data tips - small popups that display the current value of a variable when you hover over it. These tips are interactive: you can expand objects, drill into properties, and even edit values on the fly.

For example, if you're debugging a User object, hovering over it might show:

User
  Name = "Vaibhav"
  Age = 28
  IsActive = true

You can click the dropdown arrows to explore nested objects and collections. This is especially useful when debugging complex data structures like dictionaries, lists, or custom classes.

Watch Window and Immediate Window

The Watch Window lets you monitor specific variables or expressions during debugging. You can add any variable, property, or even a method call to the watch list and see its value update as you step through code.

For example, you might add:

user.Name
user.IsActive
user.GetAgeCategory()

These expressions will be evaluated live, giving you insight into your program’s state. The Immediate Window is even more powerful - it lets you execute code while debugging. You can call methods, change variable values, or run calculations without modifying your source code.

? user.Name
"Vaibhav"

? user.IsActive = false
false

This is ideal for testing fixes or exploring behavior without restarting the program.

Edit and Continue

One of Visual Studio’s most powerful features is Edit and Continue. It allows you to modify your code while debugging - without stopping and restarting the session.

Suppose you hit a breakpoint and realize a condition is wrong:

if (user.Age > 18)

You can change it to:

if (user.Age >= 18)

Then continue execution without restarting. This saves time and lets you iterate quickly. Edit and Continue works for most code changes, but some edits (like adding new methods or changing class structure) may require a restart.

Exception Helper

When an exception is thrown during debugging, Visual Studio shows the Exception Helper - a dialog that displays the error message, stack trace, and possible fixes. It also shows the exact line of code where the exception occurred.

For example, if you get a NullReferenceException, the helper might show:

Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
user.Name.ToUpper()

The helper will highlight user as null and suggest checking for null before accessing properties. This makes it easier to diagnose and fix errors.

Diagnostic Tools and Performance Profiler

Visual Studio includes built-in Diagnostic Tools that run alongside your debugger. These tools show CPU usage, memory consumption, and event timelines - helping you spot performance bottlenecks and memory leaks.

For example, if your app slows down during a loop, the CPU graph might spike. You can then inspect the timeline to see which methods were running and how long they took.

The Performance Profiler is even more detailed. It lets you record a session and analyze:

• Function call counts and durations
• Memory allocations
• Garbage collection events
• UI responsiveness

This is essential for optimizing large applications or diagnosing slowdowns in production-like environments.

Using Debugger Display Attributes

When debugging custom classes, you can control how they appear in the debugger using the DebuggerDisplay attribute. This makes complex objects easier to inspect.

[DebuggerDisplay("Name = {Name}, Age = {Age}")]
public class User
{
    public string Name { get; set; }
    public int Age { get; set; }
}

Now when you hover over a User object, you’ll see:

Name = Vaibhav, Age = 28

This saves time and reduces clutter when debugging collections or nested objects.

Debugging Multi-threaded and Async Code

Debugging asynchronous or multi-threaded code can be challenging. Visual Studio helps with tools like:

• Parallel Watch: Shows variable values across threads.
• Tasks Window: Displays active Task objects and their status.
• Async Call Stack: Shows the logical flow of async methods.

For example, if you’re debugging an async method:

await LoadDataAsync();

The call stack will show both the current thread and the continuation point. This helps you understand how control flows through await and where exceptions might occur.

Debugging External Libraries and NuGet Packages

Sometimes bugs occur in third-party libraries. Visual Studio lets you step into external code if symbols and source files are available. You can enable this under Tools → Options → Debugging → Symbols.

You can also use decompiled sources to inspect methods from NuGet packages. Visual Studio will show the IL code and let you set breakpoints, though editing is not allowed.

This is useful when diagnosing integration issues or understanding how a library behaves under the hood.

Debugging UI Applications

If you’re building WPF or WinForms apps, Visual Studio includes UI-specific debugging tools:

• Live Visual Tree: Shows the hierarchy of UI elements.
• Live Property Explorer: Lets you inspect and edit properties of UI controls.
• Binding Errors Window: Displays data binding issues in XAML.

These tools help you diagnose layout problems, binding failures, and runtime UI behavior without writing extra code.

Debugging Tips and Tricks

Here are some practical tips to make your debugging sessions more effective:

• Use Ctrl+Alt+Q to open the QuickWatch window for fast inspection.
• Use Ctrl+Alt+E to open Exception Settings and customize break behavior.
• Use Ctrl+Shift+F9 to clear all breakpoints.
• Use Ctrl+Alt+U to open the Call Stack window.
• Use Ctrl+Alt+V to open the Locals window.

These shortcuts save time and help you stay focused during debugging.

Summary

Visual Studio offers a rich set of debugging tools that go far beyond breakpoints and watches. In this article, you’ve learned how to use data tips, watch windows, and the Immediate Window to inspect variables. You’ve explored Edit and Continue, Exception Helper, and Diagnostic Tools for deeper insights. You’ve seen how to debug async code, external libraries, and UI applications with specialized tools.

Mastering these features will make you a faster, more confident developer. You’ll spend less time guessing and more time understanding. In the next article, we’ll explore Logging and Tracing - how to record runtime behavior, track down intermittent bugs, and build observability into your applications.