Using the Variable Details dialog

The Variable Details dialog displays detailed information about a single selected data element. It includes much of the information that is available in the Variables view.

To open the Variables Detail dialog, you must have an active Debugger session and have data displayed in the Variables view. Choose one of the following methods to open the Variable Details dialog:

Right-click the Variables view entry that you want to look at, and select Variable Details from the context menu.
Select a Variables view entry, and then select Variable Details from the OpenEdge menu.

The dialog opens, showing the current details for the selected data element. Since it is a modal dialog, the Variable Details dialog does not provide dynamic updates while you step through the program as does the Variables view.

Information appears on one or more of four tabs: Attributes, Fields, Array, and Value. Click a tab to view its contents. On tabs that are not applicable for the selected data element, or for which the information is not currently available, a message indicates that the element is not valid for that tab.

Changing the element selection:

To view information for a different data element, enter the element name at the top of the window and click View. There are three ways to enter an element name:

Type the name in the View field.
For a subordinate element of the current selection, click the name in the browse
Click the down arrow at the right of the View field and select an entry from the drop-down list of recently used element names.

Temporarily changing values

You can make non-persistent changes to the values of variables, attributes (writable only), or fields to test the effect of the changes from the current execution point. The new values remain in effect for the duration of the current Debugging session, or until they change programmatically during the current session.

To change an element's value, click the current value in the grid to make it editable, and enter the replacement value. The field is not editable if the data definition or the current program context does not allow the value to be modified.

The value you supply must be valid for the declared data type. If you enter an invalid value, an error message appears.

Note: You cannot make changes on the Value tab, only in the Value column on other tabs. To modify the entry that appears on the Value tab, close the Variable Details dialog and edit the value in place in the Variables view.

Adding a watch expression

You can add a watch expression for the selected element so that you can track its value in the Expressions view. Simply click Add Watch to add the expression.