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VISUAL STUDIO .NET IDE Appendix C 879

I will discuss the windows and tools displayed in IDE in the following sections.

Menu Bar

The menus that are displayed on the menu bar of the Visual Studio .NET IDE enable you to perform different tasks, such as opening, saving, editing, and formatting files. In addition to these default menus, IDE displays menus that are relevant to the task that is being performed.

The following list takes a look at some commonly used menus in Visual Studio

.NET.

File. The File menu provides commands to open and save projects, files, and solutions. In addition, the menu provides commands to add items such as forms, controls, modules, and classes to projects and solutions.

Edit. The Edit menu provides commands such as Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Undo, and Redo to perform the tasks associated with them.

View. The View menu provides commands to access the various windows and tools available in Visual Studio .NET.

Project. The Project menu provides commands to add components such as forms, modules, classes, and controls to the projects.

Build. The Build menu provides commands to build projects.This menu also provides the Configuration Manager command to create, modify, and build configurations for solutions and projects.

Debug. The Debug menu provides commands such as Start, Step Into, and Step Over to locate and correct errors in the applications.

Format. The Format menu provides commands such as Align and Center in Form to format controls while working in a designer.

Tools. The Tools menu provides commands such as Debug Processes, Customize Toolbox, Add-in Manager, Customize, and Options to perform the functions associated to them. When these commands are selected, the corresponding dialog box also gets displayed.

Window. The Window menu provides commands such as New Window and Split to work with windows in IDE.

Help. The Help menu provides commands such as Dynamic Help, Contents, Index, Search, and Previous Topic and Next Topic, which takes the content from the MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) library and provides the required information.

NOTE

Windows Forms Designer, Web Form Designer, XML Designer, and Component Designer are the designers provided by Visual Studio .NET to design applications quickly and easily.

Figure C-2 shows the menu bar in the Visual Studio .NET IDE.

FIGURE C-2 The menu bar in the Visual Studio .NET IDE

Toolbars

Visual Studio .NET IDE provides the Standard and Web toolbars that are displayed by default. The other toolbars that are provided include the Text Editor, Build, and Debug toolbars.

Depending on the designer, tool, or window that is being used, the toolbars relevant to the performed task will be displayed in IDE. Some of the toolbars available in Visual Studio .NET IDE are described in Table C-1.

VISUAL STUDIO .NET IDE Appendix C 883

ing in the project.In Visual Studio .NET IDE, Solution Explorer provides a hierarchical view of all files, solutions, and projects. To open Solution Explorer, you need to select the Solution Explorer command from the View menu. The Solution Explorer window in the Visual Studio .NET IDE is shown in Figure C-4.

FIGURE C-4 The Solution Explorer window in the Visual Studio .NET IDE

The Solution Explorer window is displayed, which shows a listing of the projects, files, and references present in the solution. You can open a file by double-clicking on the file name in Solution Explorer.

The Solutions Explorer also contains a toolbar that displays the buttons that are specific to the selected file. View Code, Show All Files, and Properties are a few commonly displayed buttons. Figure C-5 shows the toolbar in the Solution Explorer window.

FIGURE C-5 The toolbar in the Solution Explorer window

The Class View Window

You can view the hierarchical structure of solutions and projects by using the Class View window provided in the Visual Studio .NET IDE. You can open the Class View window by selecting either the Class View tab on the Visual Studio .NET IDE or the Class View command from the View menu. The components are organized in the Class View window based on the project in which they are contained. The Class View window also provides a structured view of the code that helps in understanding the organization of the components within a project. A logical view provided by the Class View window helps in understanding the interrelationships between various components and objects. The Class View window is shown in Figure C-6.

VISUAL STUDIO .NET IDE Appendix C 885

FIGURE C-6 The Class View window

An icon represents each type of component in the Class View window. Each icon represents different types of components, such as namespaces, classes, and interfaces.

You can navigate through the projects in a solution by using the Class View window. You can also view the properties or code for a component by using the Class View window. Consider an example: To view the code associated with a method, right-click the method name in the Class View window and select the Browse Definition command from the context menu. The corresponding code for the selected method is displayed.

A toolbar is also displayed in the Class View window, which displays the Sort By and New Folder buttons. Using the Sort By button, you can sort the files in the order of the alphabet by type. You can use the New Folder button to create virtual folders.

The Properties Window

The Properties window displays the properties of a component. By selecting the Properties Window command from the View menu, you can open the Properties window. To display the properties associated with the selected components, you need to select the component or object in the Solution Explorer window. You can also view, edit, and modify the components of projects and solutions by using the Properties window.

The Properties window displays different properties for different controls. Various buttons, such as Categorized, Alphabetic, and Property Pages, are also displayed in the Properties window.

To view and modify the properties of a Button control, for example, you open the Solution Explorer window and select the Button control. The properties of the Button control are displayed in the Properties window, as shown in Figure C-7.

FIGURE C-7 The Properties window for a Button control

The Dynamic Help Window

The Dynamic Help window in Visual Studio .NET provides access to the information that is relevant to perform a particular task. The Dynamic Help window is displayed when Visual Studio .NET IDE is opened. Alternatively, you can access this command by selecting the Dynamic Help command from the Help menu.

VISUAL STUDIO .NET IDE Appendix C 887

Various links related to the current window or current task are also displayed in the Dynamic Help window. The Dynamic Help window displays information depending on the selection in IDE.The information is organized categorically in the D ynamic Help window. By default, the Dynamic Help window displays the Help, Samples, and Getting Started categories.

Consider an example: When you work in the Class View window, the information related to the Class View window is displayed in the Dynamic Help window. Similarly, if a Button control is selected while working in the designer, the information related to the Button class is displayed in the Dynamic Help window, as shown in Figure C-8.

FIGURE C-8 The Dynamic Help window for a Button control

The Server Explorer Window

In Visual Studio .NET, the Server Explorer window enables server management. You can access the Server Explorer window by selecting the Server Explorer tab displayed on the left margin of the IDE. Alternatively, you can select the Server Explorer command from the View menu to open the Server Explorer window.

The nodes Data Connections and Servers are displayed in the Server Explorer window. The Data Connections node lists the database connections for the databases that are created using the Server Explorer window. The Server node lists the