Breakpoints cause dialog to become non-responsive.

[DavesChillaxin]

I've searched around. Not exactly sure where this question belongs nor is there anything on Google (that I could find through my various ways of wording this). However the issue I experience is while writing in VB.net. So here seems adequate enough until otherwise stated.

The issue is that with breakpoints. When I put a breakpoint in a dialog, any ol' breakpoint. The dialog will no longer respond to my actions after the break (buttons will not click, or hover actions no longer occur etc). Therefore the only way out of the frozen dialog is to break the program, Alt+F4 etc.

So what could cause this?? I can't exactly recall when it started, but it only happens with dialogs. TBH I couldn't even give you my best guess as to why. But some behaviors such as this are new and oddly specific for easy fixes.

Thanks in advance!

[dunfiddlin]

Funny old things, yer dialogs! Unlike normal forms they have to maintain links with their predecessors/triggerers (if that's a word) so as they know where to pick up execution when they close and yet retain information from their brief existence. jmc will probably be able to give you all the technical details but the upshot is don't put breakpoints in dialogs or, if you do, show them as forms not dialogs until you've thoroughly debugged them.

[techgnome]

eeeeh... not sure what dun's been smoking... but I wish he'd share... I've never had a problem with a breakpoint in a form that's being shown as a dialog... as long as I remember to re-start it back up! Now, sometimes I have trouble getting BACK to the dialog form, but some quick Alt-Tabbing through a couple of open windows and back again usually fixes that right up.

-tg

[dunfiddlin]

not sure what dun's been smoking

Lifelong bronchitis sufferer. Completely innocent on all charges! Mind you, I was up to a very ungodly hour watching the baseball last night or, should I say, this morning! It is entirely possible that I have lost all grip on reality. Sure I remembered this sage advice being handed down to me at some point but ...

[formlesstree4]

Lifelong bronchitis sufferer. Completely innocent on all charges! Mind you, I was up to a very ungodly hour watching the baseball last night or, should I say, this morning! It is entirely possible that I have lost all grip on reality. Sure I remembered this sage advice being handed down to me at some point but ...

Whomever handed it down to you...I'd like to know them.

But in all seriousness, do you have anything else that could possibly be going on? I used to have a project that, when being debugged, would run for a few minutes with the debugger attached, hit a breakpoint, and then the process would terminate itself for no good reason. It's one of those weird things, you know? Perhaps something else is causing your dialog boxes to goof up? I've never had an issue with putting breakpoints there.

However, in the wise words of Eric Lippert (it went something like this): "If it hurts when you do something, stop doing it!"

[dbasnett]

...Mind you, I was up to a very ungodly hour watching the baseball last night or, should I say, this morning! It is entirely possible that I have lost all grip on reality. ...

OT - I love baseball even more at this time of year, especially with my Cardinals in. Baseball or problems with code, hmmmmm...

[jmcilhinney]

The issue is that with breakpoints. When I put a breakpoint in a dialog, any ol' breakpoint. The dialog will no longer respond to my actions after the break (buttons will not click, or hover actions no longer occur etc). Therefore the only way out of the frozen dialog is to break the program, Alt+F4 etc.

Are you saying that if the debugger breaks at the breakpoint and then you continue, the dialogue form is thereafter unresponsive to user input? I just want to be sure that you're not saying that the dialogue is unresponsive while the debugger while the debugger breaks, which is exactly as it should be.

[DavesChillaxin]

Are you saying that if the debugger breaks at the breakpoint and then you continue, the dialogue form is thereafter unresponsive to user input? I just want to be sure that you're not saying that the dialogue is unresponsive while the debugger while the debugger breaks, which is exactly as it should be.

Yup precisely. Once I get the information I'm looking for and proceed to continue execution. The dialog in question will no longer respond. The only way out is to Alt my way out or force it down entirely..then starting the process allll over again. Gets quite frustrating when you have a labyrinth of navigation to access the dialogs in the first place.

However, in the wise words of Eric Lippert (it went something like this): "If it hurts when you do something, stop doing it!"

I've began doing just that! Wish this wasn't even an issue Then again over the years, stuff like this seem to creep up. I guess for now extra steps and assigning watchers will have to do.

[Shaggy Hiker]

These dialogs are just forms shown with ShowDialog, and maybe a style set to one thing or another, right?

I've never seen what you describe under any circumstance, so I guess I'm just asking to exercise my fingers (the typing form of "flapping your gums"), but I guess it might clarify that you really are talking about doing something totally ordinary and getting totally unordinary behavior.

[DavesChillaxin]

These dialogs are just forms shown with ShowDialog, and maybe a style set to one thing or another, right?

Nailed it. It's exactly as I'm doing. Typically they're border-less forms. With panels placed in such a way to obtain the look we desire. I have a custom toolbar, with toolbar buttons and a label in them also. However the entire form (and any control on it) does not respond.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Well....I've got nothing. I think that's true for everybody else, too. What you are doing is something I do pretty nearly every time I debug a program and I have NEVER seen what you are describing. Frankly, that sounds ominous to me, because it suggests that you have a problem with VS itself. Re-installing may solve it, but I will freely admit that I am just plain guessing.