Merge pull request #14039 from Mikejo5000/mikejo-br24

Clarify notes regarding debugger visualizer extension development

Author: prmerger-automator[bot]

docs/debugger/create-custom-visualizers-of-data.md

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ ms.subservice: debug-diagnostics
 # Custom data visualizers for the Visual Studio debugger (.NET)
 
 > [!IMPORTANT]
-> Starting with Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9, visualizers can now be written in .NET 6.0+ that run out-of-process using the new VisualStudio.Extensibility model. We encourage visualizer authors to reference the new documentation at [Create Visual Studio debugger visualizers](../extensibility/visualstudio.extensibility/debugger-visualizer/debugger-visualizers.md) unless they want to support older versions of Visual Studio or want to ship their custom visualizers as part of a library DLL.
+> Starting with Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9, visualizers can now be written in .NET 6.0+ that run out-of-process using the new VisualStudio.Extensibility model. For extensions created using the new model, see the documentation at [Create Visual Studio debugger visualizers](../extensibility/visualstudio.extensibility/debugger-visualizer/debugger-visualizers.md) instead. If you need to support older versions of Visual Studio or want to ship your custom visualizers as part of a library DLL, then use the information in this article, which applies only to the older model of extension development (VSSDK).
 
 A *visualizer* is part of the Visual Studio debugger user interface that displays a variable or object in a manner appropriate to its data type. For example, a [bitmap visualizer](/previous-versions/visualstudio/visual-studio-2015/debugger/image-watch/image-watch) interprets a bitmap structure and displays the graphic it represents. Some visualizers let you modify as well as view the data. In the debugger, a visualizer is represented by a magnifying glass icon ![VisualizerIcon](../debugger/media/dbg-tips-visualizer-icon.png "Visualizer icon"). You can select the icon in a **DataTip**, debugger **Watch** window, or **QuickWatch** dialog box, and then select the appropriate visualizer for the corresponding object.
 

docs/debugger/how-to-install-a-visualizer.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: Install a Visualizer for use in debugging
 description: Install a newly created visualizer to make it available to use for debugging your projects and solution in Visual Studio.
-ms.date: 07/02/2021
+ms.date: 06/26/2025
 ms.topic: how-to
 dev_langs:
   - CSharp
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ ms.subservice: debug-diagnostics
 # Install a Visualizer
 
 > [!IMPORTANT]
-> Starting with Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9, visualizers can now be written in .NET 6.0+ that run out-of-process using the new VisualStudio.Extensibility model. We encourage visualizer authors to reference the new documentation at [Create Visual Studio debugger visualizers](../extensibility/visualstudio.extensibility/debugger-visualizer/debugger-visualizers.md) unless they want to support older versions of Visual Studio or want to ship their custom visualizers as part of a library DLL.
+> Starting with Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9, visualizers can now be written in .NET 6.0+ that run out-of-process using the new VisualStudio.Extensibility model. For extensions created using the new model, see the documentation at [Create Visual Studio debugger visualizers](../extensibility/visualstudio.extensibility/debugger-visualizer/debugger-visualizers.md) instead. If you need to support older versions of Visual Studio or want to ship your custom visualizers as part of a library DLL, then use the information in this article, which applies only to the older model of extension development (VSSDK).
 
 After you have created a visualizer, you must install the visualizer so that it will be available in Visual Studio. Installing a visualizer is a simple process.
 

docs/debugger/how-to-test-and-debug-a-visualizer.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: Test and Debug a Visualizer
 description: Test and debug a visualizer by running it from a test driver (visualizer development host) or by installing in Visual Studio and calling it from a debugger window.
-ms.date: 07/02/2021
+ms.date: 06/26/2025
 ms.topic: how-to
 dev_langs: 
   - CSharp
@@ -19,9 +19,12 @@ ms.subservice: debug-diagnostics
 ---
 # Test and Debug a Visualizer
 
-Once you have written a visualizer, you need to debug and test it.
+> [!IMPORTANT]
+> Starting with Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9, visualizers can now be written in .NET 6.0+ that run out-of-process using the new VisualStudio.Extensibility model. For extensions created using the new model, see the documentation at [Create Visual Studio debugger visualizers](../extensibility/visualstudio.extensibility/debugger-visualizer/debugger-visualizers.md) instead. If you need to support older versions of Visual Studio or want to ship your custom visualizers as part of a library DLL, then use the information in this article, which applies only to the older model of extension development (VSSDK).
 
-One way to test a visualizer is by installing it in Visual Studio and calling it from a debugger window. (See [How to: Install a Visualizer](../debugger/how-to-install-a-visualizer.md).) If you do that, you will need to use a second instance of Visual Studio to attach and debug the visualizer, which is running in the first instance of the debugger.
+Once you write a visualizer, debug and test it.
+
+One way to test a visualizer is by installing it in Visual Studio and calling it from a debugger window. (See [How to: Install a Visualizer](../debugger/how-to-install-a-visualizer.md).) If you do that, then use a second instance of Visual Studio to attach and debug the visualizer, which is running in the first instance of the debugger.
 
 An easier way to debug a visualizer is to run the visualizer from a test driver. The visualizer APIs make it easy to create such a driver, which is called the *visualizer development host*.
 
@@ -42,7 +45,7 @@ An easier way to debug a visualizer is to run the visualizer from a test driver.
 
     The parameters used to construct the host are the data object that will be shown in the visualizer (`objectToVisualize`) and the type of the debugger side class.
 
-2. Add the following statement to call `TestShowVisualizer`. If you created your visualizer in a class library, you need to create an executable to call the class library and place this statement in your executable:
+2. To call `TestShowVisualizer`, add the following statement. If you created your visualizer in a class library, you need to create an executable to call the class library and place this statement in your executable:
 
     ```csharp
     DebuggerSide.TestShowVisualizer(myString);

docs/debugger/walkthrough-writing-a-visualizer-in-csharp.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: "Write a visualizer in C#"
 description: Follow a walkthrough to create a simple visualizer in C#. It shows the steps required both with and without using the Visualizer item template.
-ms.date: "10/24/2023"
+ms.date: "6/26/2025"
 ms.topic: "conceptual"
 dev_langs:
   - "CSharp"
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ ms.subservice: debug-diagnostics
 # Walkthrough: Writing a Visualizer in C\#
 
 > [!IMPORTANT]
-> Starting with Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9, visualizers can now be written in .NET 6.0+ that run out-of-process using the new VisualStudio.Extensibility model. We encourage visualizer authors to reference the new documentation at [Create Visual Studio debugger visualizers](../extensibility/visualstudio.extensibility/debugger-visualizer/debugger-visualizers.md) unless they want to support older versions of Visual Studio or want to ship their custom visualizers as part of a library DLL.
+> Starting with Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9, visualizers can now be written in .NET 6.0+ that run out-of-process using the new VisualStudio.Extensibility model. For extensions created using the new model, see the documentation at [Create Visual Studio debugger visualizers](../extensibility/visualstudio.extensibility/debugger-visualizer/debugger-visualizers.md) instead. If you need to support older versions of Visual Studio or want to ship your custom visualizers as part of a library DLL, then use the information in this article, which applies only to the older model of extension development (VSSDK).
 
 This walkthrough shows how to write a simple visualizer by using C#. The visualizer you create in this walkthrough displays the contents of a string using a Windows Form. This simple string visualizer isn't especially useful in itself, but it shows the basic steps that you must follow to create more useful visualizers for other data types.
 

docs/debugger/walkthrough-writing-a-visualizer-in-visual-basic.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: "Write a visualizer in Visual Basic"
 description: Follow a walkthrough to create a simple visualizer in Visual Basic. You also create a test harness to test your visualizer.
-ms.date: "05/27/2020"
+ms.date: "06/26/2025"
 ms.topic: "conceptual"
 dev_langs:
   - "CSharp"
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ ms.subservice: debug-diagnostics
 # Walkthrough: Writing a Visualizer in Visual Basic
 
 > [!IMPORTANT]
-> Starting with Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9, visualizers can now be written in .NET 6.0+ that run out-of-process using the new VisualStudio.Extensibility model. We encourage visualizer authors to reference the new documentation at [Create Visual Studio debugger visualizers](../extensibility/visualstudio.extensibility/debugger-visualizer/debugger-visualizers.md) unless they want to support older versions of Visual Studio or want to ship their custom visualizers as part of a library DLL.
+> Starting with Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9, visualizers can now be written in .NET 6.0+ that run out-of-process using the new VisualStudio.Extensibility model. For extensions created using the new model, see the documentation at [Create Visual Studio debugger visualizers](../extensibility/visualstudio.extensibility/debugger-visualizer/debugger-visualizers.md) instead. If you need to support older versions of Visual Studio or want to ship your custom visualizers as part of a library DLL, then use the information in this article, which applies only to the older model of extension development (VSSDK).
 
 This walkthrough shows how to write a simple visualizer by using Visual Basic. The visualizer you'll create in this walkthrough displays the contents of a string using a Windows Forms message box. This simple string visualizer is a basic example to show how you can create visualizers for other data types more applicable to your projects.