Watch Window

The Watch window displays information about the expressions that you have selected. There can be up to four watch windows: Watch 1, Watch 2, Watch 3, and Watch 4. The expressions are evaluated within the scope of the current call stack frame that is selected in the Call Stack window. You must be in debug mode to watch variables and expressions.

To access the Watch windows

  • On the Debug menu, click Windows, click Watch, and then click Watch 1, Watch 2, Watch 3, or Watch 4.

To change the value of an expression

  • Right-click the expression, and then select Edit Value.

Columns

  • Name
    Are the expressions that are listed by the Transact-SQL debugger. The following expressions are supported: variables, parameters, and the system functions that start with @@.

  • Value
    Displays the value that is returned after the Transact-SQL debugger evaluates the expression specified in Name.

    If the length of an expression is larger than the width of the Value column, a tooltip displays the full value when you move the pointer over the Value cell for that expression.

    A magnifying glass icon in a Value cell indicates that the Transact-SQL debugger visualizer is available. In the list, you can specify Text Visualizer, XML Visualizer, or HTML Visualizer. To start a debugger visualizer, click the magnifying glass icon. The Transact-SQL debugger opens a dialog that displays the data in a format appropriate to the data type.

  • Type
    Displays the data type of the expression.