Messages View

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Note

This article applies to Visual Studio 2015. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here

Each window has an associated message stream. A Messages view window displays this message stream. The window handle, message code, and message are shown. You can create a Messages view for a thread or process as well. This allows you to view messages sent to all windows owned by a specific process or thread, which is particularly useful for capturing window initialization messages.

A typical Messages view window appears below. Note that the first column contains the window handle, and the second column contains a message code (explained in Message Codes). Decoded message parameters and return values are on the right.

Spy++ Messages View
Spy++ Messages View

Procedures

To open a Messages view for a window, process, or thread

  1. Move the focus to a Windows View, Processes View, or Threads View window.

  2. Find the node for the item whose messages you want to examine, and select it.

  3. From the Spy menu, choose Log Messages.

    The Message Options Dialog Box opens.

  4. Select the options for the message you want to display.

  5. Press OK to begin logging messages.

    A Messages view window opens, and a Messages menu is added to the Spy++ toolbar. Depending upon the options selected, messages begin streaming into the active Messages view window.

  6. When you have enough messages, choose Stop Logging from the Messages menu.

In This Section

Controlling Messages View
Explains how to manage Messages view.

Searching for a Message in Messages View
Explains how to find a specific message in Messages view.

Starting and Stopping the Message Log Display
Explains how to start and stop message logging.

Message Codes
Defines the codes for messages listed in Messages view.

Displaying Message Properties
How to show more information about a message.

Spy++ Views
Explains the Spy++ tree views of windows, messages, processes, and threads.

Using Spy++
Introduces the Spy++ tool and explains how it can be used.

Message Options Dialog Box
Used to select which messages are listed in the active Messages view.

Message Search Dialog Box
Used to find the node for a specific message in Messages view.

Message Properties Dialog Box
Used to display the properties of a message selected in Message view.

Spy++ Reference
Includes sections describing each Spy++ menu and dialog box.