What sets the type to "Managed" when running web services under IIS Express?

Question

As per the question, how do I configure an ASP.NET MVC project when running from Visual Studio 2013 under IIS Express (x64) to be seen as a "Managed" type in the debugger "Attach to Process" screen?

My solution always used to allow me to debug the web projects when running, and now I can no longer do so as the projects all seem to run as x64 non-managed.

I'm guessing it's something I have changed under the csproj or MSBuild targets / properties.

Regards, Rob.

Answer 1

In the end, it appeared this was a combination of bloated csproj files, coupled with instability in Visual Studio 2013.

If you are using Visual Studio 2013, I highly recommend installing Update 2. It appears to make tasks a lot more reliable.

I never figured out what governs the Managed setting, however I have found the following option:

• Click Attach to Process
• Underneath Transport/Qualifier/Transport Information, there is a box marked Attach To:
• By default, it is set to perform Automatic selection.
• Click the Select button.
• Toggle from Automatic to "Debug these code types"
• Tick one or the other (not both) of the entries for "Managed ([.NET version])"
• Click OK

I have had some success in getting the Debugger to attach properly to the IIS Express processes that are running Managed debuggable code that it "automatically" doesn't let me (for seemingly random reasons).