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Name your threads in the VC debugger thread list

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4.27/5 (20 votes)
12 Oct 2004 90.6K   47   16
The VC debugger displays a name for every thread. This article describes how to control what VC displays in the thread list.

Sample Image - Name_threads_in_debugger.png

Introduction

Some days ago, someone asked me if it is possible to rename threads in the VC debugger. Because I worked at a multi threading project myself those days, I was very interested in realizing this idea. Some Google group searches later, I had a solution that is short and easy. Because this could be very helpful for everyone working on applications with many threads, I publish it here.

There isn't much to understand except, that the VC debugger gets the information about a thread's name via the exception #0x406D1388.

I put the necessary call into a simple function. Here is the code:

//
// Usage: SetThreadName (-1, "MainThread");
//
typedef struct tagTHREADNAME_INFO
{
  DWORD dwType; // must be 0x1000
  LPCSTR szName; // pointer to name (in user addr space)
  DWORD dwThreadID; // thread ID (-1=caller thread)
  DWORD dwFlags; // reserved for future use, must be zero
} THREADNAME_INFO;

void SetThreadName( DWORD dwThreadID, LPCSTR szThreadName)
{
  THREADNAME_INFO info;
  {
    info.dwType = 0x1000;
    info.szName = szThreadName;
    info.dwThreadID = dwThreadID;
    info.dwFlags = 0;
  }
  __try
  {
    RaiseException( 0x406D1388, 0, sizeof(info)/sizeof(DWORD), (DWORD*)&info );
  }
  __except (EXCEPTION_CONTINUE_EXECUTION)
  {
  }
}

You just have to call SetThreadName() with the thread ID and a name string as parameters.

Have fun with that tiny tool ;)

License

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Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralMy vote of 2 Pin
Sarath C5-Mar-09 7:56
Sarath C5-Mar-09 7:56 
GeneralI'm having a "Fifth Element" moment here... Pin
AndreyT4-Apr-08 11:56
AndreyT4-Apr-08 11:56 
GeneralNice article Pin
ThatsAlok25-Jul-07 19:57
ThatsAlok25-Jul-07 19:57 
Questionhow i can have optional number of threads?? Pin
kamelian_2014-Mar-07 22:08
kamelian_2014-Mar-07 22:08 
GeneralHere is a hint Pin
ndl19-Apr-06 7:04
ndl19-Apr-06 7:04 
QuestionAttaching to Process Pin
robma3-Nov-05 11:22
robma3-Nov-05 11:22 
AnswerRe: Attaching to Process Pin
Patrick Hoffmann3-Nov-05 12:38
Patrick Hoffmann3-Nov-05 12:38 
GeneralThanks Patrick Pin
Just someone else13-Oct-04 2:04
Just someone else13-Oct-04 2:04 
GeneralRe: Thanks Patrick Pin
Neville Franks13-Oct-04 9:55
Neville Franks13-Oct-04 9:55 
QuestionWhy repeating the MSDN !? Pin
Jochen Kalmbach [MVP VC++]13-Oct-04 0:42
Jochen Kalmbach [MVP VC++]13-Oct-04 0:42 
AnswerRe: Why repeating the MSDN !? Pin
Patrick Hoffmann13-Oct-04 1:23
Patrick Hoffmann13-Oct-04 1:23 
AnswerDoes this only work in .NET? Pin
aaron.pedigo13-Oct-04 2:31
aaron.pedigo13-Oct-04 2:31 
GeneralRe: Does this only work in .NET? Pin
Jochen Kalmbach [MVP VC++]13-Oct-04 3:03
Jochen Kalmbach [MVP VC++]13-Oct-04 3:03 
GeneralRe: Does this only work in .NET? Pin
Jochen Kalmbach [MVP VC++]13-Oct-04 3:08
Jochen Kalmbach [MVP VC++]13-Oct-04 3:08 
It works also with VC6.
See: http://www.osronline.com/lists_archive/ntdev/thread2278.html[^]
GeneralRe: Does this only work in .NET? Pin
aaronp13-Oct-04 5:28
aaronp13-Oct-04 5:28 
GeneralRe: Does this only work in .NET? Pin
Jochen Kalmbach [MVP VC++]13-Oct-04 9:26
Jochen Kalmbach [MVP VC++]13-Oct-04 9:26 

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