Debugging the Web Part
Let’s test this so far. Set the LowInventoryWebPart project as the startup project of your solution (if it isn’t already) and set a breakpoint on the LINQ query. Hit F5 and Visual Studio will recycle the IIS worker process, package & deploy & activate the feature, and attach the debugger automatically for you. This is shown in the Output window and it’s fun to watch so you may want to pin that window open. :-)
------ Deploy started: Project: LowInventoryWebPart, Configuration: Debug Any CPU ------
Active Deployment Configuration: Default
Run Pre-Deployment Command:
Skipping deployment step because a pre-deployment command is not specified.
Recycle IIS Application Pool:
Skipping application pool recycle because no matching package on the server was found.
Retract Solution:
Skipping package retraction because no matching package on the server was found.
Add Solution:
Adding solution 'LowInventoryWebPart.wsp'...
Deploying solution 'LowInventoryWebPart.wsp'...
Activate Features:
Activating feature 'Feature1' ...
Run Post-Deployment Command:
Skipping deployment step because a post-deployment command is not specified.
========== Build: 1 succeeded or up-to-date, 0 failed, 0 skipped ==========
========== Deploy: 1 succeeded, 0 failed, 0 skipped ==========
The nice thing is that Visual Studio handles all the deployment as well as all the cleanup. When you close the debugger the feature is deactivated and the package is retracted and deleted. Notice that you can also specify pre and post deployment commands, plus a whole lot more. The Feature and Package designers are very flexible. (For more information watch this Channel 9 Interview: SharePoint Feature and Package Designers in Visual Studio 2010 and read Packaging and Deploying SharePoint Solutions in the MSDN library.)
In order to debug this sucker we first have to add it to a page on our site. When the debugger starts up, it opens a page to the site we specified in the SharePoint Customization Wizard in the beginning. So select Site Actions in the upper left, then Edit Page. Select the Insert tab on the Ribbon and click Web Part. Select the Custom category and you should see your web part. Select it and click Add on the bottom right of the section.
At this point you should hit your breakpoint. Hit F11 and the query will return the low inventory so you can see the data as you design the page. The Page_Load will get called a couple times when designing the web part so keep that in mind.
Next drop down the LowInventoryWebPart menu at the top right of the web part and select Edit Web Part to open the properties. Set the Title to “Low Inventory” and click OK. On the Page tab on the Ribbon select Save to save and close the page editor. Now we’ve got a nice looking web part for browsing low inventory. Sweet!
Close the browser window and this will close your debugging session, recycle the IIS app pool, deactivate the feature and retract the solution automatically for you. These steps are also displayed in the Output window.