How do I enable file editing in Visual Studio's debug mode?

Question

Is there a way to enable file editing while debugging in Visual Studio? I have unchecked the \"Require the source file to exactly match the original version\" checkbox. It m

Answer 1

Expanding on Reed's correct answer.

When in debug mode editing a file is using a feature known as Edit and Continue (commonly abbreviated ENC). This allows users to change their program as it is running in the debugger.

When ENC is enabled, users are allowed to perform a limited set of edits on their file. The next action which continues execution of the program (F10, F5, etc ...) will cause the edits to be applied to the running program. If this succeeds the execution of the program will continue with the new code applied.

The debugger does not allow edits to the file if ENC is not enabled.

There are a few reasons ENC may be disabled on your computer

• Certain profiles do not enable ENC by default and it must be explicitly enabled
• You may be running on a 64 bit OS and have your .Net app set to "Any CPU". ENC is not available on 64 bit (CLR limitation). You'll have to set the app back to x86 for ENC to work