Setting Breakpoints: the (often non-existent) Green Dot

[HelmZalee]

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Page Affected:
https://developers.google.com/web/tools/chrome-devtools/javascript/
My environment:
Windows 10 64bit and Chrome Version 68.0.3440.106 (Official Build) (64-bit)
What needs to be done?
Identify, in every piece of documentation, exactly what, and what version, the page/article/documentation documents. (Aug 22 2018 is at the bottom, The date alone is not reassuring, particularly in light of the differences i see.)

I'm looking at the tutorial because for the umpteenth time, the little green dot (LGD) has disappeared from the name of a file shown in the sources tab, and named at the top of that tab. From experience, I've learned that a missing LGD means it is just a listing; I can't set breakpoints.

I see no version number or date on the page cited above, nor related pages, so I'm not sure it documents the Chrome Debugger version I'm looking at, which is generally the same but differs in details that seem important. Among those details: 1) Nowhere does this page mention the LGD I see. Its presence seems important enough to mention. 2) While it is true that "Every file that the page requests is listed..." in the File Navigator, so is every other file in that directory. 3)Nowhere do I see a mention of what seems to be an important function, "+Add folder to workspace" .

My difficulty is this: I can OFTEN (but not always) set a breakpoint in the code. Because of the often-not-always difficulty, I have a startup sequence that USUALLY works: 1. start Chrome 2. open the Debugger 3) +Add to the workspace those folders containing code for the page I'm working on [each time clicking "Yes" to the "Allow access..." question that pops up] 4) Open the page I'm working on (using localhost).

A javascript or HTML file appears in the listing box, and the names of loaded files appear at the top, OFTEN (but not always)accompanied by an LGD. (IFF theLGD appears on the filename, it also appears on the listing, associated with the file. If in the directory listing, it will also appear in the filename above the content box. Particularly strange: the name of the same file may appear multiple times above the content box, though only one will ever appear accompanied by the LGD. Yes, they can be deleted. But why are multiple copies there in the first place? Why one accompanied by the dot, another (1 or 2 or 3) not?

Sometimes...no green dot. Sometimes...green dot for awhile. Then it disappears, though it can often be made to reappear by reloading the page, perhaps preceded by adding the containing folder to the workspace (again). And sometimes, like now, no amount of coaxing brings the thing back; closing and restarting Chrome usually works. Oh, and sometimes clearing the cache works though USUALLY (at least, if the Green Dot is present, the file is updated automatically (though the previous version remains in the VM listing until one clicks 'refresh'.).

....all of which is in answer to the question at the bottom of your page inviting comments, "Did this help". No, the documentation (and most other) seems to leave the green dot, and all it implies, unmentioned. It is unhelpful, therefore, in explaining how to restore it.

Just exactly what incantation, or series of incantations, can make the Green Dot appear reliably? Is it documented somewhere else? And, if I may add...this has been going on for some time, but the difficulty of describing the problem, along with the expectation of little to nothing by way of response, has been a deterrent to posting anything. The problem of description is greatly exacerbated by uncertainty about just what your documentation documents.

[ericreyes]

same question ^