Debugging a custom timer job in SharePoint

Question

To debug a custom timer job in visual studio, I wasn't able to hit the debugger.

Is it necessary to add the .PDB file to GAC?

I tried doing the above, but it's not allowing to drag and drop this particular file.

Why do we need to add this file?

Answer 1

Drag and drop does not work in the assembly folder because of the shell windows explorer attaches to it. You can do 3 things to bypass this shell -

1. Copy the .pdb file via cmd in C:\windows\assemblyGAC_MSIL\yourassembly\yourassemblyversion\

2. Use gacutil.exe

3. Map the assembly folder as Network-Drive \server\c$\windows\assembly and then copy the .pdb just as you normally would

Here is a good article about debugging timer jobs. It's written for SP2007 but should apply to SP2010 aswell.

Answer 2

I always compile into bin, then move the DLL file only to the GAC (usually manually) and then attach the debugger to OWSTimer.exe process. Works just fine, just don't forget to restart the service after replacing the file in the GAC.