Share via

How Can I Debug Windows API Functions?

  • Article

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

If you want to debug a Windows API function that has NT symbols loaded, you must do the following.

To set a breakpoint on a Windows API function with NT symbols loaded

  • Enter the function name together with the name of the DLL where the function resides. In 32-bit code, use the decorated form of the function name. To set a breakpoint on MessageBeep, for example, you must enter the following.

    {,,USER32.DLL}_MessageBeep@4

    To obtain the decorated name, see Viewing Decorated Names.

See Also

Debugging Native Code FAQs
Debugging Native Code