diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0d08729..abe12bb 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -69,6 +69,10 @@ Please also check the documentation of [Language Support for Java by Red Hat](ht
 ### User Settings
 
 - `java.debug.logLevel`: minimum level of debugger logs that are sent to VS Code, defaults to `warn`.
+- `java.debug.settings.showHex`: show numbers in hex format in "Variables" viewlet, defaults to `false`.
+- `java.debug.settings.showStaticVariables`: show static variables in "Variables" viewlet, defaults to `true`.
+- `java.debug.settings.showQualifiedNames`: show fully qualified class names in "Variables" viewlet, defaults to `false`.
+- `java.debug.settings.maxStringLength`: the maximum length of string displayed in "Variables" or "Debug Console" viewlet, the string longer than this length will be trimmed, defaults to `0` which means no trim is performed.
 
 ## Feedback and Questions
 You can find the full list of issues at [Issue Tracker](https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode-java-debug/issues). You can submit a [bug or feature suggestion](https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode-java-debug/issues/new), and participate community driven [![Gitter](https://badges.gitter.im/Microsoft/vscode-java-debug.svg)](https://gitter.im/Microsoft/vscode-java-debug)
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 6a52ca2..ed6f7ba 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -190,12 +190,33 @@
         "java.debug.logLevel": {
           "type": "string",
           "default": "warn",
+          "description": "minimum level of debugger logs that are sent to VS Code",
           "enum": [
             "error",
             "warn",
             "info",
             "verbose"
           ]
+        },
+        "java.debug.settings.showHex": {
+          "type": "boolean",
+          "description" : "show numbers in hex format in \"Variables\" viewlet.",
+          "default": false
+        },
+        "java.debug.settings.showStaticVariables": {
+          "type": "boolean",
+          "description": "show static variables in \"Variables\" viewlet",
+          "default": true
+        },
+        "java.debug.settings.showQualifiedNames": {
+          "type": "boolean",
+          "description": "show fully qualified class names in \"Variables\" viewlet",
+          "default": false
+        },
+        "java.debug.settings.maxStringLength": {
+          "type": "number",
+          "description": "the maximum length of string displayed in \"Variables\" or \"Debug Console\" viewlet, the string longer than this length will be trimmed, defaults to 0 which means no trim is performed.",
+          "default": 0
         }
       }
     }
diff --git a/src/commands.ts b/src/commands.ts
index 44f6aff..5ddb127 100644
--- a/src/commands.ts
+++ b/src/commands.ts
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ export const JAVA_EXECUTE_WORKSPACE_COMMAND = "java.execute.workspaceCommand";
 
 export const JAVA_FETCH_USAGE_DATA = "vscode.java.fetchUsageData";
 
-export const JAVA_CONFIG_LOG_LEVEL = "vscode.java.configLogLevel";
+export const JAVA_UPDATE_DEBUG_SETTINGS = "vscode.java.updateDebugSettings";
 
 export function executeJavaLanguageServerCommand(...rest) {
     // TODO: need to handle error and trace telemetry
diff --git a/src/configurationProvider.ts b/src/configurationProvider.ts
index 39da6bd..4519615 100644
--- a/src/configurationProvider.ts
+++ b/src/configurationProvider.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,16 @@ import TelemetryReporter from "vscode-extension-telemetry";
 import * as commands from "./commands";
 
 export class JavaDebugConfigurationProvider implements vscode.DebugConfigurationProvider {
+    private isUserSettingsDirty: boolean = true;
     constructor(private _reporter: TelemetryReporter) {
+        vscode.workspace.onDidChangeConfiguration((event) => {
+            if (vscode.debug.activeDebugSession) {
+                this.isUserSettingsDirty = false;
+                return updateDebugSettings();
+            } else {
+                this.isUserSettingsDirty = true;
+            }
+        });
     }
 
     // Returns an initial debug configurations based on contextual information.
@@ -72,12 +81,9 @@ export class JavaDebugConfigurationProvider implements vscode.DebugConfiguration
 
     private async heuristicallyResolveDebugConfiguration(folder: vscode.WorkspaceFolder | undefined, config: vscode.DebugConfiguration) {
         try {
-            try {
-                const level = await configLogLevel(vscode.workspace.getConfiguration().get("java.debug.logLevel"));
-                console.log("setting log level to ", level);
-            } catch (err) {
-                // log a warning message and continue, since logger failure should not block debug session
-                console.log("Cannot set log level to java debuggeer.")
+            if (this.isUserSettingsDirty) {
+                this.isUserSettingsDirty = false;
+                await updateDebugSettings();
             }
 
             // trigger build workspace
@@ -218,8 +224,21 @@ function resolveMainClass() {
     return commands.executeJavaLanguageServerCommand(commands.JAVA_RESOLVE_MAINCLASS);
 }
 
-function configLogLevel(level) {
-    return commands.executeJavaLanguageServerCommand(commands.JAVA_CONFIG_LOG_LEVEL, convertLogLevel(level));
+async function updateDebugSettings() {
+    const debugSettingsRoot: vscode.WorkspaceConfiguration = vscode.workspace.getConfiguration("java.debug");
+    if (!debugSettingsRoot) {
+        return;
+    }
+    const logLevel = convertLogLevel(debugSettingsRoot.logLevel || "");
+    if (debugSettingsRoot.settings && Object.keys(debugSettingsRoot.settings).length) {
+        try {
+            console.log("settings:", await commands.executeJavaLanguageServerCommand(commands.JAVA_UPDATE_DEBUG_SETTINGS, JSON.stringify(
+                { ...debugSettingsRoot.settings, logLevel })));
+        } catch (err) {
+            // log a warning message and continue, since update settings failure should not block debug session
+            console.log("Cannot update debug settings.", err)
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 function convertLogLevel(commonLogLevel: string) {