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Does Dreamweaver CS 3 have a JavaScript debugger?

The only information on anything close is that it says I need to click on the 'preview/debug in browser' button which does open the page, but no debugging ever happens when the page has an error. I also see no way to set breakpoints or walk through the code.

MS Visual Web Developer (Visual Studio Express - which is free) has a debugger that you can attach to a process. So even if you are not developing in it, you can debug the JavaScript in any browser. It also has a very rich variable watch that allows you to drill down through all the decendants of an object for its respective values. I was hoping that Dreamweaver could at least match Visual Web Developer...

What is the experience using the Visual Studio debugger tools with non-Internet Explorer browsers?

  • Dreamweaver has no effective built-in debugger.
  • Firebug works great with non-Internet Explorer browsers
  • Visual Studio tools work great with ID browsers

What is the one that works well across the board?

Peter Mortensen
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Praesagus
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  • I don't think so. It might help you to Google 'firebug'. – karim79 Apr 27 '09 at 19:35
  • I've seen a lot of mention of Firefox debuggers here. Firefox does have good tools, but unfortunately doesn't help when your problem is IE specific. Is there any sane way to debug javascript running in IE? – Spike Williams Apr 27 '09 at 20:49
  • IE8's debugger isn't insane. (it's not great, but it works.) Visual Studio can attach to IE6/7/8 as well, if that's your cup of tea. – Dan Davies Brackett Jun 15 '09 at 19:24

6 Answers6

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Debuggers are specific to a particular interpreter/compiler, not to a language. The same language - in this case, JavaScript - can have more than one interpreter/compiler. In particular, each browser has their own.

So to debug JavaScript in Internet Explorer, you need an Internet Explorer debugger - either the one built into Internet Explorer, or one of the Visual Studio flavours. To debug JavaScript in Chrome, use Chrome's debugger. To debug JavaScript in Firefox, use Firebug. (And so on.)

Peter Mortensen
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Dan Davies Brackett
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There is nothing native to Dreamweaver that handles debugging JavaScript, but there are several other options out there for free.

The Firebug add-on for Firefox allows you to set breakpoints and step through JavaScript. Download and play with that, and you should find what you need. Here is a brief tutorial hitting on your points: Debug Javascript with Firebug

Pete H.
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  • Firebug is the way to go on this, I fully agree mate! Its great for JScript debugging, CSS debugging and checking on page performance. – StevenMcD Apr 29 '09 at 14:50
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I solved most JavaScript problems using the Error Console in FireFox. I never got Dreamweaver's to work.

Peter Mortensen
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CheGueVerra
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I agree with CheGueVerra, defenitively the best debugger is the "error console" in Firefox. If you want to make it even better, just download the Firefox Add-on Console². All you need to debug JavaScript code is there.

Peter Mortensen
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backslash17
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You can also use Firebug, which is in my opinion the best JavaScript debugger for Firefox even if there are still some issues sometimes (refer to my post a few days ago, Stack Overflow question Firebug debugger not working in Firefox 3.x?).

Community
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marcgg
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I assume you're looking for something where you can attach breakpoints and such... Well, without echoing the others (this can be done in Firebug), do try Aptana Studio. It can be run like a plugin on Eclipse and can be used to debug JavaScript.

Peter Mortensen
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nickmorss
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