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Diagnostic Messages in the Output Window

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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

You can write run-time messages to the Output window using the Debug class or the Trace class, which are part of the System.Diagnostics class library. Use the Debug class if you only output in the Debug version of your program. Use the Trace class if you want output in both the Debug and Release versions.

Output Methods

The Trace and Debug classes provide the following output methods:

  • Various Write methods, which output information without breaking execution. These methods replace the Debug.Print method used in previous versions of Visual Basic.

  • System.Diagnostics.Debug.Assert and System.Diagnostics.Trace.Assert methods, which break execution and outputs information if a specified condition fails. By default, the Assert method displays the information in a dialog box. For more information, see Assertions in Managed Code.

  • The System.Diagnostics.Debug.Fail and System.Diagnostics.Trace.Fail methods, which always breaks execution and outputs information. By default, the Fail methods display the information in a dialog box.

    In addition to program out from your application, the Output window can display the information about:

  • Modules the debugger has loaded or unloaded.

  • Exceptions that are thrown.

  • Processes that exit.

  • Threads that exit.

See Also

Debugger Security
Output Window
Tracing and Instrumenting Applications
Introduction to Instrumentation and Tracing
C#, F#, and Visual Basic Project Types
Debugging Managed Code