Presentation options for compiled code

Depending on the settings, on the availability of PDB information, and on the applied navigation command, dotPeek can present compiled code in the code viewer in different ways:

Metadata view — this view only shows signature of the type and signatures of all its members. You can also display this view by applying the Navigate To: Metadata View command from the code viewer or from the Assembly Explorer window.
You can use File Structure window as an alternative to using Metadata View.
Decompiled code — this view displays decompiled C# code corresponding to the type that you open or navigate to. This view is used by default if no debug information is available for the type or if you deliberately navigated to this view using the Navigate To: Decompiled Sources command. You can show or hide compiler-generated code for this view.
Code from symbol files — this view displays original source code from symbol files in C# or VB.NET. dotPeek retrieves symbol files either from local sources or from symbol servers using debug information.

By default, dotPeek does not decompile methods that contain more than 50 000 instructions. Such methods are normally auto-generated and do not present any interest, but decompiling such methods will increase decompilation time. Such methods will be displayed with a single comment // ISSUE The method is too long to display (N instructions). To change this behavior, clear the Decompile very long methods checkbox on the Decompiler page of dotPeek options Ctrl+Alt+S.

By default, the code presentation mode of the document is color-coded on its tab. If necessary, you can disable that by clearing the Enable tab colors to indicate code presentation mode checkbox on the Environment | Tabs page of dotPeek options Ctrl+Alt+S.

dotPeek: Tab colors for different code presentation modes

To configure how the decompiled code is presented in the code viewer, use the following checkboxes on the Decompiler page of dotPeek options Ctrl+Alt+S:


Use sources from symbol files when available	Select this checkbox to use debug information (PDB files) to find appropriate source files and use them to display and navigate the code. If this checkbox is selected and the source files are available via the debug information, dotPeek displays and navigates to the original source code (for portable PDBs, embedded sources can be used) . If this checkbox is cleared or if source files are not available, dotPeek decompiles the code . You can always force to display either the decompiled or source code (if it is available via PDB files or from symbol servers). To do so, right-click an item in the Assembly Explorer window and choose Decompiled Sources or Sources from Symbol Files.
Allow downloading from remote locations	Select this checkbox to enable downloading sources from Symbol Server or other remote locations. If symbol files are available both locally and remotely, dotPeek will display local symbol files. Your computer should be connected to the Internet for this option to work. If you use a proxy server, check if the corresponding option is configured correctly on the Environment \| Web Proxy Settings page of dotPeek options `Ctrl+Alt+S`.
Decompile methods	Select this checkbox to decompile method bodies to C# code. If this checkbox is not selected, a metadata view with method signatures will be shown. This option doesn't have any effect if Use sources from symbol files when available option is selected and the required symbol files are available.

Use sources from symbol files when available

Select this checkbox to use debug information (PDB files) to find appropriate source files and use them to display and navigate the code.

If this checkbox is selected and the source files are available via the debug information, dotPeek displays and navigates to the original source code (for portable PDBs, embedded sources can be used) .

If this checkbox is cleared or if source files are not available, dotPeek decompiles the code .

Allow downloading from remote locations

Select this checkbox to enable downloading sources from Symbol Server or other remote locations. If symbol files are available both locally and remotely, dotPeek will display local symbol files.

Decompile methods

Select this checkbox to decompile method bodies to C# code. If this checkbox is not selected, a metadata view with method signatures will be shown.

This option doesn't have any effect if Use sources from symbol files when available option is selected and the required symbol files are available.

To view the summary and the presentation mode of an opened document, right-click its tab header and choose External Source Information in the context menu. In the dialog that appears, you can learn name and location of the assembly where the document belongs as well as the external source provider - metadata viewer, decompiler or symbol server.

Last modified: 15 May 2024