ObservableCollection visualizer - does such a thing exist?

Question

I am finding myself working with ObservableCollection quite a bit. I've looked around, but I can't seem to find an ObservableCollection Debug Visualizer.

Does such a thing exist?

Why would a visualizer for `ObservableCollection` be any different than visualizer for any `IList`? Or would that be enough? — svick, Jun 14 '11 at 22:36
@svick When debugging the visualizer appears for List, but not for ObservableCollection. — AngryHacker, Jun 14 '11 at 22:37
[I don't see any difference between the two](http://i.imgur.com/ChfAm.png). Maybe you have some special visualizer for `List`? — svick, Jun 14 '11 at 22:50
@svick. Wow, you are partially correct. I can see the visualizer fine in a Console app project. But I am in a Windows Phone 7 project and all it shows me is [this](http://imgur.com/g6e2S). — AngryHacker, Jun 14 '11 at 23:49

score 5 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 23 '11 at 03:15

Here's a commercial tool for $50... Mole 2010
You could override the .ToString() for the class that you are wrapping with ObservableCollection.
Otherwise, you can tweak what the visualizer shows you with the DebuggerDisplayAttribute.
```
[DebuggerDisplay("Employee ( {FullName} )")]
public class Employee
{
    ...
}
```
And if that's not enough, you can write your own visualizer. There are tons of articles out there for that.

a. MSDN Magazine: DataTips, Visualizers and Viewers Make Debugging .NET Code a Breeze

b. MSDN Library: How to: Write a Visualizer

c. MSDN Forums: How do I implement a custom debug visualizer?

d. Code Project: A Generic List and Dictionary Debugger Visualizer for VS.NET

e. Code Project: Create a Debugger Visualizer in 10 Lines of Code

ObservableCollection visualizer - does such a thing exist?

1 Answers1