To debug a project, you must first enable debugging for that project. Choose Project > Enable Debugger to enable debugging. After debugging is enabled, the Enable Debugger command changes to Disable Debugger.

When you enable debugging, the Run command in the Project menu changes to Debug. For most projects, choosing the Debug command causes the IDE to compile and link your project, generate a symbolics file, and activate the debugger. The debugger automatically loads the symbolics file so that you can debug your project. See "Preparing for Debugging" for more information on this topic.

There are many build targets or kinds of code that the IDE cannot launch. For example, if you are writing an application plug-in, the plug-in cannot run on its own. In addition, the CodeWarrior IDE does not know which application must be running to invoke the plug-in. In such cases, you would need to specify the application that must launch in order to invoke the plug-in.

Usually, you open the symbolics file to debug the plug-in. Alternatively, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the Target Settings window for the project.

Choose Project > Target Settings, where Target is the name of the current build target. For example, if the name of the current build target is MyAppRelease, the menu command changes from Target Settings to MyAppRelease Settings.

2. Display the Runtime Settings panel.

Scroll through the list of panels on the left side of the Target Settings window. Click Runtime Settings to display that panel on the right side of the window.

3. Click the Choose button.

Use the dialog box that appears to choose an application for use with debugging shared libraries, dynamic link libraries (DLLs), and code resources. The IDE launches the application you specify when debugging the plug-in.