Messages as a Floating Window

Feedback Case Number: <https://xojo.com/issue/28437>

I’ve been using System.DebugLog() a lot recently and I’m finding it very useful.

I also recently purchased a second monitor for my new iMac and I’m loving the extra screen real estate. I’m experimenting with different ways to use it and I’m finding it best as a reference display. I can pull up the Language Reference and have it visible while I code on my main screen. Activity monitor is helpful as well. Anything that provides useful output but doesn’t require much input seems to work really well.

On that note, I’d love to be able to detach the Messages section of the IDE and move it onto my 2nd display. Looks like someone already suggested this awhile ago so I thought I’d try to breathe some life into an old feature request.

If you agree, please add your vote!

2 Likes

July 26, 2013 - 9:53am UTC …
i guess u need to open your own window on second screen :wink:

1 Like

You can open a new window for the same project and put it on the second screen. Still a waste of space with all the other views you won’t need, I agree.

And System.DebugLog is fine in debug, but with the changes in Console (around Mac OS 10.13), barely useable (you can start your app using a terminal window to see the output, but I prefer other mechanisms).

That’s interesting. Does debug log output to a file that we can tail in a terminal window?

On macOS open Console.App
On windows use dbgview.exe
On linux check the journal.

System.Debuglog should log there even if it’s an actual build you made.
So be sure to add #if DebugBuild … if you want them to output only in debug builds.

That’s not what I meant. I meant two different things:
1: since Mac OS 10.13, the Console.app has been redesigned and it’s way harder to use it, as many people agree (and you must launch it prior than seeing your strings, which wasn’t the case before).
2: if you launch your app from the Terminal, the System.DebugLog strings will appear right in the same Terminal window. Not sure right now, but I think you must launch the executable file from the Terminal (in /contents/macOS/yourapp).

MacOS certainly store Console logs to files (I know it used to be easy to look in them) but I wouldn’t rely on this as a debug mechanism.