Visual Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE)[1]

Visual Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
When you start a new project in Visual Studio .NET, you will see a group of
windows opened within the development environment (one possible layout is
shown in Figure 3.4). The following subsections describe each of these
windows.

Figure 3.4. Several windows will be open when you start a new Visual Studio
.NET project.


Toolbox Window
The Toolbox window contains a list of controls or components that you can
drag and drop onto your design surface. The Toolbox window contains several
tabs that make different sets of components available, depending on the
type of designer active in the editor window (the window in the middle of
the environment). If you are designing a Windows Form, you will get a
specific set of tools that work with Windows Forms. If you are designing a
Web Form, you will get a specific set of tools for working with Web Forms.
If you are designing an XML document, there will be other options you can
choose. To view the Toolbox window, select View, Toolbox from the Visual
Studio .NET menu bar. Figure 3.5 shows the Toolbox window displaying
controls available on Windows Forms.

Figure 3.5. The Toolbox holds a list of controls.


TIP

In addition to providing the standard tools and tabs that Visual Studio
.NET provides, you can add tabs, as well as your own code snippets, to the
Toolbox. Right-click the Toolbox window to add or delete tabs. You can drag
code from the code editor onto the Toolbox, as well, for later use.



If you wish to customize the list of tools displayed in the Toolbox window,
or if you wish to add any additional .NET components, ActiveX controls, or
third-party controls, choose the Tools, Customize Toolbox menu item to
display the Customize Toolbox dialog box, as shown in Figure 3.6 and Figure
3.7. Figure 3.6 shows a list of available COM components, and Figure 3.7
shows the available .NET Framework components.

Figure 3.6. Customize Toolbox lets you add COM components to your Toolbox.


Figure 3.7. Use Customize Toolbox to choose which .NET Framework components
are displayed in the Toolbox window.


Solution Explorer Window
In Visual Studio .NET, a solution is a set of one or more projects that are
part of the same application. The Solution Explorer window shows you an
expandable list of projects, each project's references, and each project's
components. If this window is closed, you can open it by selecting the
View, Solution Explorer menu item. Components may be made up of forms,
classes, modules, and any other file types it takes to create your
application. Double-click an item in order to edit that item within the
IDE. Figure 3.8 shows the Solution Explorer window displaying the contents
of a sample Windows application solution.

Figure 3.8. The Solution Explorer gives you a graphical representation of
all the files that make up your project(s).


The Solution Explorer window displays a series of buttons across its top,
and these buttons dynamically change based on the item you have selected in
the Solution Explorer window. Table 3.3 describes some of these buttons,
starting with the leftmost and proceeding right.

Table 3.3. Buttons on the Solution Explorer Window Button  Description 
View Code  Displays the code for the file that has focus in the Solution
Explorer 
View Designer  Displays the designer for the specific file that has focus
in the Solution Explorer 
Refresh  Refreshes the Solution Explorer 
Show All Files  Displays all files associated with the project, including
files normally hidden by Visual Studio 
Properties  Displays the Properties window, which shows properties for the
selected file 


Class View Window
When you start creating your own classes, you may want to see a list of all
the properties and methods available in those classes. You can use the
Class View window, as shown in Figure 3.9, to get an overview of these
items. You can bring up this win-dow using the View, Class View menu item.
Once the window is displayed, you can expand each item in the list to see
the members of the class. If you choose any of these members, you can
right-click and see a menu of actions that apply directly to the definition
of that member. Double-click any of the members of the class to display a
code window with the item definition displayed in the editor.

Figure 3.9. The Class View is an excellent way to view all the properties
and methods of your classes.


Server Explorer Window
The Server Explorer window (access