Clearing and Disabling Breakpoints (Integrated Debugger)

Once a breakpoint is set, you can remove it at any time, including while you are debugging the code it is in.  If you remove a breakpoint from a method while the thread it is in is suspended, the debugger does not drop to the top of the method.

To see a summary of all breakpoints in the workspace, go to the Breakpoints page of the Debugger browser by selecting Debug > Breakpoints from any Window menu.  Select a method in the list to see its source code and the breakpoints.

Clearing Breakpoints
To clear a breakpoint in source code, double-click on its symbol bp.gif (843 bytes) in the margin of the Source pane.   You can remove breakpoints from any Source pane (not just the one in the Breakpoints page in the Debugger browser). 

However, if you are in the Breakpoints page, you can use the following toolbar buttons to clear breakpoints:

clearbp.gif (1029 bytes) Clears all breakpoints in the currently selected method; removes the method from the Breakpoints page.
clearallbp.gif (1045 bytes) Clears all breakpoints in the workspace.

Disabling Breakpoints
Suppose you want to run a program that has breakpoints set throughout its code, but you do not want the debugger to open during the running. You can disable the breakpoints by clicking the Enable Breakpoints toolbar button so that is is in the "up" position, as shown: bp_off.gif (1006 bytes).  The IDE will ignore all the breakpoints it encounters.  (The debugger may still launch if an exception is thrown and not caught.)  All debugger symbols in the margin of Source panes will change colors from blue to gray.

To re-enable all the breakpoints in the workspace, click the Enable Breakpoints button so that it is in the "down" position, as shown: bp_on.gif (1002 bytes).

Clearing Breakpoints in External Classes and Caught Exceptions
To clear a breakpoint on a method in an external class:

  1. Select Debug > External .class file breakpoints or Caught Exceptions from the Window menu.
  2. Remove a breakpoint on a method or exception by disabling its checkbox.  In the case of external methods, the method will remain in the list, in case you want to place a breakpoint on it again.  To remove the method from the list, select it and click Remove.
  3. To remove breakpoints from all external methods or caught exceptions, click Clear All.
  4. Click OK.

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The Integrated Debugger

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Setting Breakpoints in Source Code
Setting Breakpoints in External Classes
Selecting Exceptions for the Debugger to Catch