How to see the trace in a separate console

Question

Is it possible in C# to see the traces in a separate console. For example, I am having a window based application in which there are trace statements that will write the currently executed method name in to the console. When I run this application, it should automatically open a console and start the traces. Is this possible?

Answer 1

If you set the project type of your window application to Console, it will open a console window when you run it.

Answer 2

You can create a console window by calling the Win32 AllocConsole API through P/Invoke.

http://pinvoke.net/default.aspx/kernel32/AllocConsole.html

Answer 3

I think you are looking for a TraceListener class. (another link)

In .NET you use a TraceListener to listen to your own trace message. And then you can print them out in a form with textbox or a console window.

Listeners can also be configured via app.config if my memory serves me right. That's so you could debug deployed applications.

Answer 4

I'd recommend dbgview.exe from Sysinternals. It allows you to capture your trace output and save it to file (among other features).

You can get it from http://live.sysinternals.com