Symbols Options Dialog

Use the Symbols Options dialog to specify the search paths for debug info files and to enable or disable the debug info readers. To display the dialog:

The dialog contains two sections: Symbol Readers and Symbols Path.

Symbol Readers

The Symbol Readers section lists the available debug information readers:

• .NET metadata reader - Reads information about classes and methods defined in .NET applications from the application’s embedded metadata.
• Java debug reader - Reads debug information from Java bytecode.
• DWARF debug-info reader - Reads debug information of the DWARF format (this format used by GCC and some other compilers).
• PDB debug-info reader - Reads debug information of the PDB format (this format is used by Visual C++ and some other compilers).
• PDB public debug-info reader - Reads debug information for standard Windows modules from Microsoft’s public symbol server (http://mdsl.microsoft.com/download/symbols/) or from locally installed Windows symbol packages.
• Script debug reader - Reads information about the VBScript and JScript code structure.
• Stub debug-info reader - Reads debug information of the stub format (this format is used by the GCC compiler).
• TD32 debug-info reader - Reads debug information of the TD32 format (this format is used by Delphi, C++Builder and Borland C++).
• .sym debug-info reader - Currently, this parser is not used. It must be unselected.

By default, all readers (except for .sym reader) are enabled, which means AQTime can read debug information generated by all supported compilers. To disable or enable a reader, clear or select its check box in the Symbol Readers list.

Symbols Path

The debug information can be compiled into executables, or it can be generated into separate files. Typically, these files resides in the same folder, in which the executable is located, but in general, they can reside in any folder or on any computer. The Symbols Path section specifies the folders or web sites where AQTime will search for the debug info files, when it does not find them in the default location. For more information on this, see Specifying Path to Debug Info Files.

In order for AQTime to be able to use this functionality, the SymSrv.dll file must be installed on your computer. This DLL is deployed as part of Microsoft’s Debugging Tools for Windows package. You can download this package from the Microsoft web site.

To add a folder or URL to the search paths list

• Press Add. AQTime will append a new line to the list and activate the in-place editor.

• Use the in-place editor to specify the desired folder (for instance, \\MyServer\DebugInfo) or the URL (for example, http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols).
  You should specify the fully-qualified folder name. Relative paths are not supported. You can type the folder name or press the ellipsis button and choose the desired folder in the ensuing Browse for Folder dialog.
  If a debug info file is accessible via the Web, then you should specify the web site URL, not the file’s URL.

The Add button will remain disabled if the list contains at least one empty line.

To modify the folder name (or URL) string

• Click the desired folder (URL) in the list and type a new name into the in-place editor.

• Press Enter to confirm the change, or Esc to cancel it.

To set the search order

AQTime checks the folders (or URLs) in the order of their appearance in the list. It starts the search from the folder (or URL) that is specified by the topmost line and goes down the list until it finds the folder (or URL) that contains the desired debug info file. If the file is found, the search is completed.

To change the search order, choose the desired folder (or URL) in the list and press Move Up and Move Down to specify the desired position of this folder (or URL).

To exclude a folder (or URL) from or include it in the search

To exclude a folder (or URL) from the search, uncheck it in the list.

To include the folder (URL) to the search, check it.

To remove a folder or URL

• Select the desired folder (URL) in the list.

• Press Remove.

To specify the folder for downloaded files

If a debug info file is accessible via the Web, AQTime will download it to a temporary folder and will use this downloaded file copy. The downloaded file will be deleted when you close AQTime, so, next time you launch AQTime, it will have to download the file again.

You can specify the folder for downloaded files into the Cache symbols directory box. You can type the desired folder name or press the ellipsis button and choose the folder with the ensuing Browse for Folder dialog.

After you specified the cache folder, AQTime will download the files to this folder and use these files for profiling. AQTime does not delete the files from this folder automatically, so they will remain there until you remove them manually.

Press OK to close the dialog and to save the changes. Cancel will close the dialog and discard any changes.

See Also

Options Dialog
Specifying Path to Debug Info Files