JetBrains dotTrace FAQ

What does it mean, dotTrace Performance? Where's memory profiling? Has dotTrace been split into two separate products?

Yes, back in 2010 dotTrace has been split into two products: dotTrace Performance and dotTrace Memory. They now have different license keys and release cycles. Current versions of the two profilers are dotTrace 5 Performance and dotTrace 3.5 Memory.

In addition, dotTrace Performance is provided in two editions: Standard and Professional. To learn how they compare and how they are both different from dotTrace 3.1, see this document.

to the top

I need memory profiling before you come up with dotTrace 4 Memory. Is there a temporary solution available?

Until we come up with version 4 of dotTrace Memory, we suggest that you either continue using dotTrace 3.1 for memory profiling alongside dotTrace Performance, or download dotTrace 3.5 Memory, which is a memory profiling subset of dotTrace 3.1 with additional support for CLR 4.

to the top

Is it true that dotTrace Performance and dotTrace Memory will be available in two editions each?

For dotTrace Performance, the answer is yes. It is available in two editions: Standard and Professional. To learn how they compare, see this document.

Note that regardless of the edition that you'd like to use, there's a single download file for dotTrace Performance. Once you have installed the product, you can choose an edition using the License Information dialog box available on the Help menu of the product.

Regarding dotTrace 4 Memory, we have not yet come to the final decision whether we will divide the product into two editions or not.

to the top

What's the difference between dotTrace Performance Standard and Professional editions?

See this comparison table to learn how the two editions compare.

to the top

I have an existing dotTrace license. Can I upgrade to dotTrace Performance for free?

That depends on your license purchase date.

If you purchased a dotTrace 3.x license on or after December 17, 2008, you're eligible for a free upgrade to dotTrace 4.5 Performance Pro + dotTrace 3.5 Memory. Just download the two products and use your existing license key in them. Note that if you want to upgrade from dotTrace 4.5 Performance to dotTrace 5 Performance, the upgrade will be paid

Even if your dotTrace 1.x, 2.x, or 3.x license was purchased before December 17, 2008, you still qualify for a free upgrade to dotTrace 3.5 Memory.

to the top

Can dotTrace attach to a running process and profile it?

Yes, starting from version 5, dotTrace Performance enables you to attach to and detach from running processes. This helps enormously when an application that you want to optimize takes long hours or even days before it starts to display any performance issues.

to the top

The "Profile with dotTrace" icon in my ReSharper 4.x is grayed out. How do I launch profiling of unit tests in dotTrace Performance from ReSharper 4.x?

dotTrace 4 Performance and dotTrace 5 Performance only integrates with Resharper 5 and higher.

If you're using ReSharper 4.x, you can either use dotTrace 3.x, or profile unit tests running under NUnit, MSTest, or xUnit directly from dotTrace Performance.

Refer to dotTrace Performance help for guidelines on profiling unit tests without using ReSharper integration.

to the top

dotTrace 4 Performance won't start profiling web applications running under IIS

There are several reasons why dotTrace 4.x Performance is sometimes unable to profile web applications under Internet Information Services (IIS). These include lack of permissions over dotTrace bin directory; conflicts with other profilers such as YourKit; and firewall/antivirus activity. For details on working around this issue, please read this dotTrace Community post.

to the top

dotTrace Performance doesn't always capture snapshots of Silverlight applications. How to get around this?

When you close the browser that hosts a Silverlight application being currently profiled, dotTrace Performance loses all collected profiling information. This differs from dotTrace behavior while profiling other types of applications and may lead to confusion. The workaround is to always use the "Get Snapshot" command before closing the browser.

to the top

I use ReSharper 5 and dotTrace 3.1. Is there a way to integrate these product versions?

Yes you can integrate ReSharper 5 with dotTrace 3.1. However, in order to do this, you'll need to download and build a ReSharper power toy according to this step-by-step document.

to the top

I have a function that took 1450 ms and was called 214 times. Is this the average time per call or the total time for all calls?

This time is always a total. Average time is shown in Properties window which can be invoked from the context menu (or by pressing Ctrl + Q).

to the top