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Methods for Debugging DLLs

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If you have the source for both the DLL and the calling program, open the project for the calling executable file and 

debug the DLL from there. If you load a DLL dynamically, you must specify it in the Additional DLLs category of the 

Debug tab in the Project Settings dialog box. 



If you have the source for the DLL only, open the project that builds the DLL. Use the Debug tab in the Project 

Settings dialog box to specify the executable file that calls the DLL.



You can also debug a DLL without a project. For example, maybe you just picked up a DLL and source code but you 

don’t have an associated project or workspace. You can use the Open command on the File menu to select the .DLL 

file you want to debug. The debug information should be in either the .DLL or the related .PDB file. After 

Visual C++ opens the file, on the Build menu click Start Debug and Go to begin debugging.



To debug a DLL using the project for the executable file 



From the Project menu, click Settings. 

The Project Settings dialog box appears.



Choose the Debug tab.





In the Category drop-down list box, select General. 





In the Program Arguments text box, type any command-line arguments required by the executable file.





In the Category drop-down list box, select Additional DLLs.





In the Local Name column, type the names of DLLs to debug. 

If you are debugging remotely, the Remote Name column appears. In this column, type the complete path for the 

remote module to map to the local module name.



In the Preload column, select the check box if you want to load the module before debugging begins.





Click OK to store the information in your project.





From the Build menu, click Start Debug and Go to start the debugger. 

You can set breakpoints in the DLL or the calling program. You can open a source file for the DLL and set breakpoints 

in that file, even though it is not a part of the executable file’s project.



To debug a DLL using the project for the DLL 



From the Project menu, click Settings. 

The Project Settings dialog box appears.



Choose the Debug tab.





In the Category drop-down list box, select General. 





In the Executable For Debug Session text box, type the name of the executable file that calls the DLL.





In the Category list box, select Additional DLLs.





In the Local Module Name column, type the name of the DLLs you want to debug.





Click OK to store the information in your project.





Set breakpoints as required in your DLL source files or on function symbols in the DLL.





From the Build menu, click Start Debug and Go to start the debugger. 

To debug a DLL created with an external project 



From the Project menu, click Settings. 

The Project Settings dialog box appears.



Choose the Debug tab.





In the Category drop-down list box, select General.





In the Executable For Debug Session text box, type the name of the DLL that your external makefile builds. 





Click OK to store the information in your project.





Build a debug version of the DLL with symbolic debugging information, if you don’t already have one.





Follow one of the two procedures immediately preceding this one to debug the DLL. 



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Why Don’t My DLL Breakpoints Work?

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Some reasons why your breakpoints don’t work as expected are listed here, along with solutions or work-arounds for each. 

If you follow the instructions in one topic and are still having breakpoint problems, look at some of the other topics. 

Often breakpoint problems result from a combination of conditions. 



You can't set a breakpoint in a source file when the corresponding symbolic information isn't loaded into memory by 

the debugger. 

You cannot set a breakpoint in any source file when the corresponding symbolic information will not be loaded into memory 

by the debugger. 

Symptoms include messages such as "the breakpoint cannot be set" or a simple, noninformational beep.



When setting breakpoints before the code to be debugged has been started, the debugger uses a breakpoint list to keep 

track of how and where to set breakpoints. When you actually begin the debugging session, the debugger loads the symbolic 

information for all the code to be debugged and then walks through its breakpoint list, attempting to set the 

breakpoints. 



However, if one or more of the code modules have not been designated to the debugger, there will be no symbolic 

information for the debugger to use when walking through its breakpoint list. Situations where this is likely to 

occur include: 



Attempts to set breakpoints in a DLL before the call to LoadLibrary.



Setting a breakpoint in an ActiveX server before the container has started the server.



Other similar cases. 



To prevent this behavior in Visual C++, specify all additional DLLs and COM servers in the Additional DLLs field 

in the Debug/Options dialog box to notify the debugger that you want it to load symbolic debug information for 

additional .DLL files. When this has been done, breakpoints set in code that has not yet been loaded into memory 

will be "virtual" breakpoints. When the code is actually loaded into memory by the loader, these become physical 

breakpoints. Make sure that these additional debugging processes are not already running when you start your 

debugging session. The debugging process and these additional processes must be sychronized at the same beginning 

point to work correctly, hitting all breakpoints. 



Breakpoints are missed when more than one copy of a DLL is on your hard disk. 

Having more than one copy of a DLL on your hard drive, especially if it is in your Windows directory, can cause 

debugger confusion. The debugger will load the symbolic information for the DLL specified to it at run time (with the 

Additional DLLs field in the Debug/Options dialog box), while Windows has actually loaded a different copy of the 

DLL itself into memory. Because there is no way to force the debugger to load a specific DLL, it is a good idea to 

keep only one version of a DLL at a time in your path, current directory, and Windows directory. 



You can’t set "Break When Expression Has Changed" breakpoints on a variable local to a DLL. 

Setting a "Break When Expression Has Changed" breakpoint on a variable local to a DLL function before the call 

to LoadLibrary causes the breakpoint to be virtual (there are no physical addresses for the DLL in memory yet). 

Virtual breakpoints involving expressions pose a special problem. The DLL must be specified to the debugger at 

startup (causing its symbolic information to be loaded). In addition, the DLL's executable code must also be loaded 

into memory before this kind of breakpoint can be set. This means that the calling application's code must be 

executed to the point after its call to LoadLibrary before the debugger will allow this type of breakpoint to be set. 

