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Messages View

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Applies to: yesVisual Studio noVisual Studio for Mac noVisual Studio Code

Each window has an associated message stream. A Messages view window displays this message stream. The window handle, message code, and message are shown. You can create a Messages view for a thread or process as well. This allows you to view messages sent to all windows owned by a specific process or thread, which is particularly useful for capturing window initialization messages.

A typical Messages view window appears below. Note that the first column contains the window handle, and the second column contains a message code (explained in Message Codes). Decoded message parameters and return values are on the right.

Spy++ Messages View Spy++ Messages View

Procedures

To open a Messages view for a window, process, or thread

  1. Move the focus to a Windows View, Processes View, or Threads View window.

  2. Find the node for the item whose messages you want to examine, and select it.

  3. From the Spy menu, choose Log Messages.

    The Message Options Dialog Box opens.

  4. Select the options for the message you want to display.

  5. Press OK to begin logging messages.

    A Messages view window opens, and a Messages menu is added to the Spy++ toolbar. Depending upon the options selected, messages begin streaming into the active Messages view window.

  6. When you have enough messages, choose Stop Logging from the Messages menu.

To open properties for a Message

To find out more about a message listed in Messages view, use the Message Properties Dialog Box.

  1. Select a message from the tree displayed in Messages view.

  2. From the View menu, choose Properties.

    Properties dialog boxes are not modal, so you can click on another item in a view window and the dialog box will show information on the selected item.

In This Section

Controlling Messages View Explains how to manage Messages view.

Opening Messages View from Find Window Explains how to open Messages view from the Find Window dialog box.

Searching for a Message in Messages View Explains how to find a specific message in Messages view.

Starting and Stopping the Message Log Display Explains how to start and stop message logging.

Message Codes Defines the codes for messages listed in Messages view.

Spy++ Views Explains the Spy++ tree views of windows, messages, processes, and threads.

Using Spy++ Introduces the Spy++ tool and explains how it can be used.

Message Options Dialog Box Used to select which messages are listed in the active Messages view.

Message Search Dialog Box Used to find the node for a specific message in Messages view.

Message Properties Dialog Box Used to display the properties of a message selected in Message view.

Spy++ Reference Includes sections describing each Spy++ menu and dialog box.