Debugging apps for Windows Phone 8

[ This article is for Windows Phone 8 developers. If you’re developing for Windows 10, see the latest documentation. ]

This topic contains the following sections.

• Debugging Windows Phone projects
• Disabling the screen lock for debugging
• Supported debugging features
• Debugging XNA Framework projects
• Related Topics

Debugging Windows Phone projects

You can debug Windows Phone projects the same way that you debug any other project type. When you press F5, Visual Studio starts the app in either Windows Phone Emulator or a Windows Phone device and starts the debugger at the same time. You can then perform common tasks, such as setting breakpoints and examining the call stack. For information about deploying apps to the device or emulator, see How to build an app for Windows Phone 8.

You can debug an app that targets Windows Phone 8 when it's launched from a Tile or a push notification, not only when it's launched directly. When you launch your app with debugging on Windows Phone 8 Emulator or on a Windows Phone 8 device, click the Back button to exit the app; the debugger remains attached. After you launch the app again by using the Tile or the push notification, you can continue to debug the app.

You can choose whether to debug the managed code or the native code portion of your app in the Debugger Type section of the Debug page in Project Designer. If your app communicates with a background agent, you can also choose whether to debug the managed code or the native code portion of the background agent independently. You can debug both the app and the background agent in the same debugging session. However you cannot debug both the managed code and the native code portions of your app, or both the managed code and the native code portions of your background agent, at the same time.

For general information about debugging with Visual Studio, see Debugging in Visual Studio.

Disabling the screen lock for debugging

To avoid screen locks while debugging your app, include the following code in your app. Later, remove this code to test the app’s behavior when the lock screen engages.

// Avoid screen locks while debugging.
if (System.Diagnostics.Debugger.IsAttached)
{
    PhoneApplicationService.Current.UserIdleDetectionMode = IdleDetectionMode.Disabled;
}

' Avoid screen locks while debugging.
If System.Diagnostics.Debugger.IsAttached Then

    PhoneApplicationService.Current.UserIdleDetectionMode = IdleDetectionMode.Disabled
End If

Supported debugging features

The following table shows the debugging features supported in Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Phone and Windows Phone Add-in for Visual Studio 2012.

Debugging XNA Framework projects

You can debug XNA Framework projects that target Windows Phone OS 7.1 in the same way that you debug other apps for Windows Phone. For information about supported and unsupported debugging features for XNA Framework projects, see Debugging a Windows Phone Game.

See Also

Other Resources

Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows Phone 8