Object Browser can't browse my own solution? - visual-studio-2010

When I click on "My Solution" nothing comes up.
I have to use Custom Component Set.
When I try to add a project from the solution, it can't add it.
"The following components could not be browsed." ...projectnamehere
I have to browse for the .dll directly.
Also, not all the /// comments are showing up.

This is a limitation of Visual Studio; some features were cut due to time constraints:
http://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/details/541514/object-browser-doesnt-open-an-f-dll
(As far as I know, it's still not working brilliantly in VS 2013).

Related

Microsoft visual studio screen problem

I am having a problem thats not about the code, it's about the screen in Microsoft visual studio 2008.
Actually problem is i created one utility from couple of weeks i didn't opened that utility today i opened (in Microsoft visual studio the screen appearing blank no controls are visible in that.But all the controls properties are there. I tried a lot but i didn't get solution. Last when the same thing happened i created the controls again. Now i don't want to go to create all the controls again. If any one have the solution please help me.
Before screen is like this:
Now its blank (like new page)
From your description I'm not sure if this is a application/code build issue or an IDE issue, what you could try is to reset the settings in visual studio and see if this helps.
You can do this by going to Tools -> Import/Export settings and then following the wizard to reset the settings, you may also want to perform a backup before resetting them (this is also part of the wizard) then they can be restored if this causes you further issues.
I don't have a copy of 2008 available at the moment so some menu entries may be slightly named different.
Hope this helps!
EDIT:
Now there is more information, this looks like there may be a problem with the code in the
InitializeComponent
method of the form.designer file (e.g. if you are using c# this would be something like Form1.Designer.cs and can be found by expanding the corresponding form in the solution explorer), if you remove/comment the lines that say
this.Controls.Add(this.NameOfControl)
(NameOfControl is where you would see your declared controls name)
then you get the behaviour that you are seeing, the controls do not render as they are never added to the forms controls collection but as they are declared you will still see them in the properties drop down and wont be able to add another control with the same name.

Visual Studio - easy way to bring up type definition as source code

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.

How to remove paths from tabs in Visual Studio 2008?

Is there a way to stop the path showing in a source code tab in Visual Studio 2008?
Currently when developing an ASP.NET site, I get the path from the root plus the filename - truncated when it gets too long. So something like:
MyDir/MyPage.aspx
for a short path and filename, or:
MyDir/MyLong...yPage.aspx
for a longer path and filename.
I'd prefer to see just the filename (ie just MyPage.aspx), allowing more tabs to show at once and making it easier to see which files I have open without using the drop-down list or Crtl-Tab to show the full set.
In VS2005, I just get the filename - no path however long it is. Oddly in VS2003 I get the path and filename. I've scoured the options and I can't find a setting that lets me change what appears in the tabs. Searching suggests that other people have similar issues (although which version it occurs in appears to differ) but no-one could identify an option to change what appears.
Can anyone point me in the right direction to get rid of the paths in the tabs (or confirm that it can't be changed to save me wasting more time searching)?
Tabs Studio add-in can remove path from tab in Visual Studio 2008.
See
Removing path from tab name
blog post for the example screenshots.
In my copy of VS 2008 I just get the filename, not the path. I wonder whether it's a "web site" vs "web application" thing. Which one are you working in? Can you create a project of the other type and see if it still happens? (I'm working in a web application where I get filename-only.)
It looks like Microsoft does not allow to do it using the standard method. I'm know ReSharper allows this, but installing a big plugin for this is a bad idea. I think I have sinse found a small plugin which allows show or hide the full path. I am sure this should exist.

Visual Studio 2008 -- Can I change which "add reference" tab is selected by default?

Every time you start Visual Studio, the first time you click "Add Reference" to add a DLL reference to a project, by default, the .NET tab on that dialog box is selected. As most people reading this have probably noticed, it can take a long time -- often more than 30 seconds -- for the full list of .NET components to fill in.
Because of the way we're designing our solutions, though, about 80% of the time, I want to select either from the "Projects" tab or from the "Browse" tab.
Is there a setting anywhere in Visual Studio that will let me make "Projects" be the first tab that loads up? Does anyone know any other, hidden tricks to accomplish the same effect?
I use this tip to do this in a different way. Open your Object Browser (Cntrl + Alt + J). Change Browse dropdown to "My Solution". Select the project you want. On Toolbar, click "Add to References in Selected Project in Solution Explorer".
A neat work around which has saved me many hours.
If you have the PowerCommands for Visual Studio 2008 installed, there is functionality to copy-paste references between projects, as well as copy-paste individual projects as references, all without opening the references dialog.
I have never found anywhere that allows you to change the default tab. And yeah, it's annoying how long that window can take to load. I think this is something that we just have to live with.
Tuna Toksoz has created a Fast Add Reference dialog plugin for Visual Studio.
http://devlicio.us/blogs/tuna_toksoz/archive/2009/06/18/vs-addin-fast-add-reference-dialog-no-more-coffee-break.aspx
Another tip you might consider is that if you reference a type in another project, ReSharper will notice it and offer to add it to your references for you.
With this, I never visit that tab unless I have file dll references to add.
I am afraid the answer, as far as I can tell, is no. I even took a trip through the registry to determine if there was someway to reorder the tabs. You might be able to do it with a hex editor but I would advise against that.

Plugin for Visual Studio to Mimic Eclipse's "Open Type" or "Open Resource" Keyboard Access

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]

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