If there are lots of projects in one solution and each of them has lots of .cs file.
Also, there might be one more classes in one file.
So, what I want to ask is: How can I find a file or a class quickly?
I really don't like use the ctrl+F every time.
Is there any plugin like if I click the CTRL+SHIFT+R it will open a window of show a class list or a file list and I can input the keyword what I'd like to find.
Then, when I double click the result, the file will be opened for me.
In VS2010 at least, there is the Navigate To feature. It indexes file names, classes, and methods for quick searching. Hit Ctrl+, (comma) to bring up the dialog:
Also, if you don't mind paying (and getting additional features), there is Visual Assist X and ReSharper, both of which I believe support VS2008/VS2010 and have source navigation features.
You can try out the "Productivity Power Tools" extension for VS2010.
It adds a new menu called "Solution Navigator", which has a search box with autosuggest, that enables searching your solution.
it has lots of other features and I highly recommend it.
Related
I was wondering if there is a plugin that allows me to jump directly to the test for the current class (Or create it if it doesn't exist).
I guess this should be based on the convention that the test project is named like the project being tested + "test" and the test class is named like the class being tester + "test".
A feature like that would really help in projects with many files and foldes, where scrolling the solution explorer to find the associated test project can be quite annoying.
how about NCrunch? This tool will show you, per method, which and how many tests are covering it:
I did manage to find a few extensions on visualstudiogallery.com, but ended up writing my own plugin for this. Its not perfect, but i does what I needed.
If anyone else would like, its available for free at testlocator.eqa.dk
In Visual Studio you can Shift+F12 on any class or method definition to find all references. Although the resulting list Studio is not very convenient, but a starting point. Using a tool like DevExpress CodeRush or ReSharper lets you sort and filter by namespace, project, file, etc.
If you happen to use ReSharper, it has a TestLinker plugin.
It does the job pretty well.
Basic shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+F7.
Goto Related Files is extended with navigation points to production/test classes.
New shortcuts ReSharper_GotoAllLinkedTypes and ReSharper_GotoLinkedTypesWithDerivedName (assignable via keyboard options) that jumps between linked types. In case of multiple linked types, a dedicated popup menu is shown, which can also be displayed in Find Results window.
I've been using Solution Explorer since I started with VS 2k3 and at this point my preference is as much inertia as anything else, so I'm wondering what features the other solution visualization options in Visual Studio had that might make them more useful.
I could just fiddle with the other two, but that method's much better at identifying what features they don't have that Solution Explorer does than at spotting what they do better.
The Solution Navigator is part of the Power Tools, not Visual Studio (directly). It is basically a replacement for Solution Explorer and Class View both (which are part of VS, and have been for a long time), as well as giving you the ability to search quickly for things, pivot on a type or file, etc.
The searching feature is by far the one that I use the most in Solution Navigator. Being able to search very quickly for types and files within your solution is very powerful once you get used to the functionality.
I have yet to find a faster way to open a file than with Solution Navigator.
Either copy and paste or type a file name into the search box
Double-click the resulting file
The solution I work on is quite big so it can require a lot of clicks to get to the desired file. I spend 90% of the time working with 8-10 files from this solution so it would be really convenient to have some kind of "Favorites" in my solution so I could jump to the most used files quickly. "Recent files" doesn't cut it, so maybe you know some extensions for VS2010 that do that? Google didn't provide any good options so I decided to give it a shot here and ask what do you use.
Thanks in advance
It's not quite what you asked for, but it'll help endlessly:
In vanilla VS2010, hit Ctrl-Comma (by default) for the "Navigate To" window. You can type a partial file, class or method name and it'll show you a list of where that appears in your solution, and you can open directly from there.
The DevExpress plugins also have a "Recently Used File" window (Ctrl-Shift-Period by default, I think) that does similar, but only shows files you've recently used (not classes or methods). I have to say, though, I've not used that since I've had VS2010.
Wow! A question since 2011 that is still valid to date.
From View Menu click Bookmark Window
open your favorite file
click any line - preferably the beginning of the file
from the Bookmarks Window, click the icon "Toggle a bookmark on the current line."
Very convenient!
Haven't tried this particular feature of the PowerTools myself, but it could do the trick:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/visualstudio/archive/2010/08/03/quick-access-extension.aspx
Oftentimes I want to bring up a system class in a source view, so that I can browse the properties and methods exposed by the class. Below is the screenshot of what I mean:
Srting from metadata http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/940/stringfrommetadata.png
Usually I do this by selecting the class name and pressing F12 (or right click>Go To Definition). However, if I haven't got it anywhere ready, i have type it up and then do Go To Definition. Most of the time I have to delete what I typed later on.
Is there a way to bring up this view without having to type the class name? The VS2010 Navigate To dialog doesn't support this.
EDIT: When I posted the question I didn't use any Visual Studio plugins. Now that I realised that I have full CodeRush license (thanks to StackOverflow promotion for users with 10K rep) I will accept answers that use CodeRush or Refactor!.
EDIT: At this stage I haven't really got anywhere with trying to answer this question. I am going to leave it open and let the bounty auto-award itself to Rory as he explained what's happening the best. In the meantime(schedule allowing) I will investigate doing this with DXCore as I think it should be possible.
The view you're looking at appears to have been built by some sort of analysis of the IL of the framework. Without knowing the type you intend to look at, no deconstruction can be done. Therefore I feel that, you are unlikely to find exactly what you have said you are looking for.
Allow me to suggest a few alternatives though.
Disclaimer: I work for DevExpress as a CodeRush Community Evangelist.
The Object Browser (Ctrl+Alt+J) This screen will load without attempting to show you any particular type, it will therefore be down to you to find the type in question. However all types are available and full search functionality is provided. once the type you're looking or is found, all members are listed and available.
Update: If you use the (Ctrl+K, Ctrl+R) shortcut to launch the object browser, then it will launch focused on the Search box. This is invaluable.
There are a number of CodeRush features which can prove useful when trying to locate code.
TabToNextReference (Tab) Whilst the caret is positioned within a type, strike the tab key and the next reference to that type will be located. More Details
References ToolWindow (Shift+F12) When activated the References ToolWindow will show you any references to the current type or member. This toolwindow can also be used to navigate said references. The References Toolwindow can be used in both on demand and Live mode. this allows you to have the window update as you navigate your code (via mouse or keyboard) and locate all references of any symbol the caret lands upon.
QuickNav (Ctrl+Shift+Q): This feature is closest in style to VS2010's NavigateTo feature. QuickNav will locate symbols matching whatever you type into it's filter box. This facility also supports Camel Case search. More details
QuickNav is also much more configurable than it's VS counterpart
Finally
Please also keep in mind that CodeRush is build upon the DXCore, a framework which allows users to create their own plugins for use alongside each other and CodeRush.
This framework has been repeatedly been leveraged by the community to add additional functionality. So even if you don't see any thing quite to your needs, consider suggesting something to the community by way of the forums or even contact me directly RoryB at DevExpress dot Com
I'm sure there's something we can do to help you out :)
I was not aware of that new "Navigate To" feature, but I used to use Reflector for this sort of things. The pro version offers some integration with Visual Studio (Right clicking the method and selecting "Open In .NET Reflector"). It will open the reflector window and won't show the code in the VS itself. You can watch the demo that shows this feature and some others.
This is not the best answer that I'd expect but is a good option to know.
There is no way that I know of to do this in Visual Studio 2010. However, you can do this in ReSharper via the 'navigate to' menu. I suggest you try the 30 day trial from them, then if you really do need this then purchase it.
A number of add-ins allow you to browse objects (though usually in an object-browser treeview manner rather than in a "header" file form - I believe Resharper, CodeRush and Visual Assist X all have variations on this theme).
However, one add-in to consider (as it's free) is the VS Productivity Power Tools. It adds a Solution Navigator window that gives a view onto your solution just like Solution Explorer, but (among other enhancements):
can search & filter the files listed, e.g. show only those files that are named Test.
can "expand" any file entry to show the types and members within it.
If you've ever used Eclipse, you've probably noticed the great keyboard shortcuts that let you hit a shortcut key combination, then just type the first few characters of a function, class, filename, etc. It's even smart enough to put open files first in the list.
I'm looking for a similar functionality for Visual Studio 2008. I know there's a findfiles plugin on codeproject, but that one is buggy and a little weird, and doesn't give me access to functions or classes.
Vs11 (maybe 2010 had it too) has the Navigate To... functionality which (on my machine) has the Ctrl+, shortcut.
By the way it understands capitals as camelcase-shortucts (eclipse does so too). For instance type HH to get HtmlHelper.
This isn't exactly the same as Eclipse from your description, but Visual Studio has some similar features out of the box (I've never used Visual Assist X, but it does sound interesting).
The Find ComboBox in the toolbar ends up being a sort of "Visual Studio command line". You can press Ctrl+/ (by default) to set focus there, and Visual Studio will insert an ">" at the beginning of the text (indicating that you want to enter a command instead of search). It even auto-completes as you type, helping you to find commands.
Anyway, to open a file from there, type "open <filename>". It will display any matching files in the drop down as you type (it pulls the list of files from the currently open solution).
To quickly navigate to a function, in the code editor press Ctrl+I to start an incremental search. Then just start typing until you find what you are looking for. Press Escape to cancel the search, or F3 to search again using the same query. As you are typing in the search query, the status bar in the lower left corner will contain what Visual Studio is searching for. Granted, this won't search across multiple files (I've never used Eclipse much, but that sounds like what it does from your description), but hopefully it will help you at least a little bit.
If anyone stumbles upon this thread:
There's a free plugin (created by me) for Visual Studio 2008 that mimics the Eclipse Ctrl+Shift+R Open Resource dialog (note, not the Open Type dialog). It works with any language and/or project type.
You can find it at Visual Studio Gallery.
Some of the neat features are available in Visual Assist X, though not all of them. I've asked on their forums, but they haven't appeared as yet. VAX gets updated regularly on a rough 4 week period for bug fixes and a new feature every couple of months.
If you are looking for an add-in like this to quickly navigate to source files in your project:
try the Visual Studio 2005/2008 add-in SonicFileFinder.
Resharper does this with the Ctrl-N keyword. Unfortunately it doesn't come for free.
Visual Studio doesn't have anything like this feature beyond Find.
Found this thread while searching for Eclipse's Ctrl+Shift+R, and after seeing the Visual Studio Gallery, found the DPack Tools (they are free, and no, I'm not endorsed in any way by them).
But it's exactly what I was searching:
- Alt+U -> File Browser (a la Eclipse Ctrl+Shift+R)
- Alt+M -> Code Browser (Method list in the actual class)
It has more features, but I'm happy with these ones.
I have been using biterScripting along with Visual Studio to do more flexible searching and manipulation.
It can search the entire workspace.
It can search within any project - EVEN IF THAT PROJECT IS NOT LOADED OR EVEN PART OF A WORKSPACE.
It can find things using regular expressions.
AND, ABOVE ALL, it can make bulk changes. For example, want to change the name of a class from CCustomer to CUser, I can do it in just a few command lines - Actually, I have written scripts for things like this I do often. I DON'T HAVE TO CLICK ON EACH INSTANCE AND MANUALLY DO THE CHANGE.
And, it is inexpensive ($0). I downloaded it from http://www.biterscripting.com .
I'm also comming from the Java Development side and was looking for the CTRL+T feature in the Visual Studio. The other answers refer to open file, but since in C# the class name and file name can be different this is not what i was looking for.
With the Class View or the Object Browser you can search for Objects and Classes
[View]->[Class View] or [View]->[Object]