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Is it possible to run specific code only when I am debugging the program via the debugging tools of Visual Studio?

If I use #if DEBUG or Conditional(“DEBUG”) the code is still triggered when running the .exe in the /Debug directory.

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    Visual studio runs the exe in the debug folder too, it just attaches a debugger. The conditional code is compiled in. Commented Sep 30, 2016 at 12:50
  • See this for a couple of solutions : stackoverflow.com/questions/101806/… Commented Sep 30, 2016 at 12:51

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The #if DEBUG is for Conditional Compilation, it does not affect execution at runtime.

Instead use Debugger.IsAttached to branch at runtime.

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Thanks - is this suitable for running Unit Tests too though?
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Just to make it clear, the statements beginning with a hashtag are pre-processor directives. These directives are not present in the Translation Unit; thus these conditional statements do not exist in the compiled file.

EDIT It seems that this whole translation unit thing doesn't apply for C#

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I'll be a pedant: it's "hash symbol"', "pound symbol", or "number sign" and not "hashtag". And the concept of Translation Units does not apply to the C# compiler.
@Dai Well, I was being a bit informal about the "hash symbol"; but I was unaware of the condition of translation unit for C#. Thanks for your input.
@Dai To be a pedant as well, the official name is actually "octothorpe". :P

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