I want add a command to the R-Click context menu in the Solution Explorer that would navigate the TFS Source Explorer window to the right location corresponding to the item in question.
However I can't see how to do it simply without writing a VS extension, which I want to avoid at all costs.
It's not that I don't want extensions. I just don't want to write a custom one. Previously I'd be able to use macros but those were removed in these versions of Visual Studio.
The VSCommands extension will give you the option to locate a file in TFS and in the Solution Explorer
The Locate in TFS extension adds a context menu entry Locate in TFS to Solution Explorer and Open Tabs.
We have PDF (and other) files attached to TFS Work Items and in Source Control under TFS. They are not opened correctly (they show up as ASCII, basically) in Visual Studio.
The problem seems to be that until you use the 'Open With..' dialog from the Solution Explorer, VS doesn't properly associate a program with extensions like '.pdf'.
If our users had a full installation of Visual Studio, that would be an ok work-around. However, many of them only have Visual Studio 2013 with the Team Explorer component - no Solution Explorer at all.
I'm guessing that there must be some workaround for this case. Perhaps setting the proper registry value? Since VS properly remembers the association if you can tell it (through the Solution Explorer), it must be stored somewhere.
Ideas? Suggestions?
If you've got a PDF file in a project you can right-click in the solution explorer and choose "Open with..". Now you can choose which editor you want to use. If Acrobat isn't already listed you can add it and after that click the button "Set as default".
After that, your PDF's will always open with Acrobat Reader regardless if you open it from source control browser or elsewhere in the Visual Studio. But you need to configure that for all your Studios.
Reference: Answer in MSDN "Source Control Explorer Doesn't View PDF Files"
"Open with" is not available in context menu. But I found solution - well better said workaround:
You have to create external command to open this pdf file in you pdf viewer.
Go to Tools/External tools.
In command section, enter path to your PDF viewer (exe file)
In Arguments, choose "Item path". Save it under preferred name
Put this new command you created in some of existing toolbars or create new one for it. This is also little complicated, so here is how:
Hit the small arrow next to the existing toolbar, choose customize
In the new window, choose "Add command"
In the new window, your new command is hidden under the category "Tools" as command "External command 1". Add it and confirm.
Now here comes the nasty trick. This command will not work in the browser window with PDF file selected, the argument is empty :(
So you have to OPEN the pdf file into that ASCII window and THEN hit the new command. Now the file will open in you selected pdf viewer.
Hope this will help someone
Sorry if this question has been asked before but I did some searches and could not find any information.
When I open an SQL file in Visual Studio 2010 and right click in the editor, the "Source Control" sub-menu in the context menu is not there. I'm particularly after source code annotation.
Is there anyway to make that menu appear? I can navigate to that file in Source Control and get the context menu from there, but that is much slower than just access it directly from the editor.
Thanks.
I have a huge solution with multiple projects. Sometime I need to navigate to a file in Solution Explorer. Using the VS 2010 'Navigate To' feature I can open any file by name in Visual Studio 2010 but I want to be able to select the file in Solution Explorer as well?
There's an option to track the active (open and viewed) item in the solution explorer. If the file is in view, the file in the solution explorer will be selected.
Tools->Options->Projects and Solutions->Track Active Item in Solution Explorer
VS2012 added a new command called SolutionExplorer.SyncWithActiveDocument. The default shortcut for c# is Ctrl+[,S
This command will navigate to the active file in the Solution Explorer.
Also, it seems that you need to have the "Track Active Item in Solution Explorer" option turned off.
With ReSharper installed Shift+Alt+L will find the current file in Solution Explorer in Visual Studio 2008+.
I found the track option to be a little annoying.
I prefer to use DPack. It contain "Locate In Solution Explorer" operation, plus many other features (some are less powerful in VS2010, like their browsers), and it's free.
Note that ReSharper also have the locate feature that works batter than DPack's (in some cases, DPack's locate won't work if the file is collapsed behind folders), but you don't want to buy ReSharper only for this feature.
Brian Schmitt has a great Locate File in Solution Explorer – Visual Studio Macro post for this. The macro is extremely simple and quick. Basically it toggles the setting
Tools->Options->Projects and Solutions->Track Active Item in Solution Explorer
so that the current file ends up selected in the Solution Explorer but, because it is not left on, you don't get irritated by Solution Explorer nodes being expanded for all the files you access.
Public Sub LocateFileInSolutionExplorer()
DTE.ExecuteCommand("View.TrackActivityinSolutionExplorer")
DTE.ExecuteCommand("View.TrackActivityinSolutionExplorer")
DTE.ExecuteCommand("View.SolutionExplorer")
End Sub
Bind a Keyboard ShortCut to this custom macro to effectively create what should be a built-in Visual Studio feature.
If you have ReSharper and want to add "Locate in Solution Explorer" to the tab's context menu:
Go to Tools -> Customize -> Commands -> Context Menu
Select "Other Context Menus | Easy MDI Document Window".
Click "Add Command".
Choose "Resharper" -> "ReSharper_LocateInSolutionOrAssemblyExplorer" (in VS2019, the category name was changed to "Extensions")
"OK" -> "Close"
Now, when right click on any tab and you'll see a new option: Locate in Solution Explorer.
UPDATE:
Following the comment from #jeremy-paskali, you can set a keyboard shortcut for this command:
Go to Tools -> Customize -> "Keyboard..."
Search for "ReSharper.ReSharper_LocateInSolutionOrAssemblyExplorer" in the "Show commands containing" field and select it.
Review the currently assigned shortcuts in the drop down below.
Make any changes, if needed.
"OK" -> "Close"
Visual Studio 2012 has a new shortcut Ctrl [, S. Yes you have to type Ctrl [ and then release and then immediately type S (or click the little sync icon at the top of Solution Explored). It will synchronize to the item.
Of course you can change the shortcut. I think I'll try Alt+L for locate.
If you want to change the shortcut, it's command name under Options\Environment\Keyboard is SolutionExplorer.SyncWithActiveDocument.
Usually this is more useful than always tracking, which in older versions always was a disaster because it would track 100 items in a row and then be jumping all over the place...
I know its little too late, but hope it helps someone else. The best option now is to install Microsoft Visual Studio add on called - Productivity Power Tools.
http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/d0d33361-18e2-46c0-8ff2-4adea1e34fef
With this comes "Solution Navigator" (alternative to Solution Explorer, with a lot of benefits) - which then you can use to filter the files to only show "Open". You can even filter files to show "Edited" and "Unsaved".
In the event you want to only track the current file through a
keyboard shortcut - the activity is
"View.TrackActivityinSolutionExplorer" (assign keys here -> Tools -
Options - Environment - Keyboard)
Credit (James' comment)
This worked for me
There are several build-in ways you can accomplish this nowadays:
Configure VS to track the active item in Solution Explorer: This can be accomplished by selecting "Track active item in Solution
Explorer" at
Tools > Settings > Projects and Solutions > General
Use "Sync with active document": This can be accomplished in 2 ways.
Firing the SolutionExplorer.SyncWithActiveDocument command by using the default key combination CTRL+]+S
CTRL+)+S if you happen to be using an AZERTY keyboard like me.
By using the "Sync with active document" button on top of the Solution Explorer. The button looks like 2 apposing arrows on top of each other.
If you're version is older then VS2019 Version 16.10.2 then this button looks like this:
From VS2019 Version 16.10.2 onwards this button will look like this:
And yet again Microsoft has changed the button icon in more recent versions of VS 2022:
In Visual Studio 2010 you can turn on the "Track Active Item in Solution Explorer" option. This will mean whenever you switch between documents the new document gets selected in Solution Explorer. This can be irritating if your solution has lots of folders, because as you move around files in your solution all the folders will be left open.
Visual Studio 2012 introduced the new "Sync with Active Document" feature. Three is a button for it at the top of Solution Explorer, or you can use the shortcut Ctrl + [, S.
This is actually built in to visual studio without the need for ReSharper (which I love BTW).
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/zainnab/archive/2010/03/29/track-active-item-in-solution-explorer-vstipproj0011.aspx
If you want to select the file in the solution explorer on command and don't want to install anything then I would recommend this macro.
I've tested it, setting the shortcut to Alt+T, and I can confirm that it works with VS 2010.
Thanks to Dan Vanderboom for writing it.
For Visual Studio 2017 using a French AZERTY keyboard the command is the same as stated by Aaron Carlson but the keyboard shortcut is different.
The AZERTY keyboard shortcut to navigate to the active file for c# is Ctrl+),Ctrl+S
I checked the shortcut hadn't changed for QWERTY users in VS2017 on this page
http://visualstudioshortcuts.com/2017/
Visual Studio doesn’t offer an easy way to locate the current file you’re editing in the Solution Explorer on demand. You can set the solution explorer to always stay in sync with this simple setting:
Tools > Options > Projects and Solutions > General. Check “Track active item in Solution Explorer”.
Thanks to Cory House
Previously my installation of Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Studio 2010 wre both opening WIQ files correctly - connecting to TFS and wunning the TFS Query. Now both are opening the WIQ file as plain XML.
Of course, I could reinstall Visual Studio to fix the problem.
But I am looking for tips toward a faster work-around. Has someone encountered this problem before? If so how did you fix it?
This should do it:
File -> Open -> Open file
Browse to the WIQ file
Click the right hand end of the "Open" button (on the down-arrow)
A menu appears - choose "Open with..."
Choose this and a dialog appears
Select the editor you wish to use (e.g. XML)
Click "Set as default" so that this will be uised for any "Open" of a WIQ in future.
OK.
(Of course, it might not work if the VSTS WIQ editor isn't connected in to this system)