.NET Executable profiling is one of the simplest profiling sessions to set up. You specify the path to the .exe file, choose a profiling mode and the performance counters you're interested in, and click start.

This article steps through the process in detail and explains the additional options you can choose.

To profile a .NET executable:

1. From the list of application types, click .NET executable.
2. Type or browse to the Path to .NET executable that you want to profile.
   You can use the dropdown list to select a recently-profiled application.
3. If you need to specify any command line arguments for the application, click Show startup options.
   You can add arguments and change the working directory for the profiling session here. The working directory is the path where the application will start. By default, this is the directory where the executable is located.

4. Select the required Profiling mode, Chart performance counters, and Additional profiler options

   For more information, see Choosing application types and settings and Setting up chart performance counters.

5. Click 

The .NET executable starts, profiling begins, and your performance counters start to show on the timeline.

During a profiling session you can interact normally with your application and with the profiler.

When you have finished interacting with your application, click the   button in ANTS Performance Profiler to stop profiling.

See also: Worked example: Profiling the performance of an algorithm.