Debugging a sidebar gadget in Windows Vista is a bit different than debugging a sidebar in other versions of the Microsoft operating system. In Windows Vista, sidebar gadgets are not just windows that open when you click on them, but they are also objects that you can drag and drop onto your desktop. This makes debugging sidebar gadgets much easier than debugging sidebar windows in other versions of the Microsoft operating system. To start debugging a sidebar gadget, open Visual Studio and create a new project. In the New Project dialog, select the type of project you want to create and then click on the OK button. In the Project Properties dialog, set the following properties: The Name property should be set to something unique for your project. This will be used to identify your sidebar gadget when you debug it. property should be set to something unique for your project. This will be used to identify your sidebar gadget when you debug it. The Path property should point to an existing directory on your computer where you can find all of the files associated with your project. This will help make it easier to find and debug your sidebar gadget when it is running in development mode. property should point to an existing directory on your computer where you can find all of the files associated with your project. This will help make it easier to find and debug your sidebar gadget when it is running in development mode. The OutputType property should be set to Debug . This tells Visual Studio how to handle errors generated by your sidebar gadget while it is running in development mode. You can change this value if you want, but I recommend setting it to Debug . property should be set to . This tells Visual Studio how to handle errors generated by your sidebar gadget while it is running in development mode. You can change this value if you want, but I recommend setting it to . The ErrorReport property should pointto an existing file that Visual Studio will use when errors occur during debugging of your sidebar Gadget
For this exercise you’ll need a copy of Visual Studio 2005 and a broken Vista Gadget, but you can probably adapt it to work with a different tool if you try.
Critical Step: Enable Script Debugging
Open up Internet Explorer’s Options panel, find the Advanced tab and uncheck the boxes for “Disable script debugging”.
After you are done debugging you’ll probably want to turn this off, as it can get quite annoying while browsing.
Open Your Gadget Code
After installing your gadget, Windows will unpack and copy the files to a folder in your user profile. We’ll need to find this folder and open the javascript file that makes up the logic for your gadget.
Just paste the following into the Explorer address bar:
You’ll see a list of directories for all the gadgets installed into your profile. Open up the main javascript file in Visual Studio.
Attach to Sidebar Process
Next we’ll need to attach to the specific sidebar process for your gadget. (Make sure your gadget is running before you do this step)
Go to Tools \ Attach to Process or hit Ctrl+Alt+P to bring up the dialog.
Now you should look for a process named “sidebar.exe” with the title set to the name of your gadget, and then click the Attach button.
For a close-up view, you can see that the gadget is running under a separate process from the main sidebar, but the title is set to “How-To Geek”.
Now comes the critical step… click to set a breakpoint just to the left of the white area…
If all goes well, you will immediately be taken to a new file named something like x-gadget:///main.js and your debugging tools will become active as soon as the breakpoint is hit.
Note that you can’t modify this file, but you can use the Immediate Window to test out any code in real-time.
Important Notes
When debugging a gadget that polls every so often, it would be wise to set the interval really low so that you don’t have to wait very long for it to trigger. You can make changes in the original source file, but you will have to close/reopen the gadget and then re-attach to it. If you get an error about no symbols being loaded, you didn’t follow the first step to enable script debugging. You’ll have to manually enter the names of variables to watch in the Watch box, but you can step through the gadget just like a real debugger should.
Happy debugging!
