How to move "Solution Explorer" tab in Visual Studio - visual-studio

Does anyone know how to move the "Solution Explorer" tab in Visual Studio 2005? It's on the left, and I can't move it to the right.
Thanks,
Alan

Click on the title bar, and drag it to the right portion of the screen. Eventually you'll see a compas like structure popup. Make sure you hover over the right area and let go of the mouse button. That will bind it to the right side.

You Can go to tab Windows -> Reset Windows Layout. Other options like Dockable, Floating and Tabbed Document are also their.

you move the whole solution explorer while its floating on the screen. Right click--> Tabbed Document.
right click again --> Vertical tab

To complement what the accepted answer gives, if you want it to look like this (on the left side):
Do the exact same procedure, and then after it has attached to the left side, click on "Auto Hide":
This way, it will stay visible on the toolbar.

This is an old question, but for anyone looking to change tab placement in Visual Studio 2019, right click the open tab, select [Set Tab Layout] then a position: Left, Top, Right.

You can only drag the panel by the title bar to the central compass overlay while it is pinned and not set to auto hide. You can click the pin icon in the title bar to toggle this.

Go to View-> Appearance -> Move Side Bar Left

Related

Visual Studio Code move or dock the 'Outline panel' to the right side of the Editor

How to move/dock the "Outline" Panel to the right of the editor
1. So we can have more "vertical" space in the left for the explorer...<br>
2. and also more "vertical" space in the right for the Outlined items<br>
Looks like this should be a pretty standard thing..
(from the editors/IDE(s) I've used)...
but I've been looking through the Visual Studio Code settings...
and also googling this... but no luck yet!
I'm using version 1.47...
but a quick look to the new ones seem not to have this feature...
?Any ideas
Ok... it's possible...
and works like a charm...
you just need just 2 "not so evident" steps...
1. Move the "Botton panel" to the right...
2. Move The "Outline panel" to the right panel...
If the "default command line console" is annoying
just double click the title so it closes to the botton
And that's it...
now we have a "Full-Size Explorer Panel" at right...
and a "Full-Size Outline Panel" at the left...
Enjoy!
As of now, this is an experimental feature in Visual Studio Code.
Open settings.json
Add "workbench.experimental.sidePanel.enabled": true
Restart VS Code.
Drag "Outline Panel" to the right (leaving other panels on the left) and you are done.
From my earlier answer.
An alternative way requires you to run the Insider Build of vscode because it enables (experimentally) the ability to add a second Panel on the right - known as the "Side Panel".
Workbench > Experimental > Side Panel: Enabled
Workbench > Experimental > Layout Control: Enabled
Workbench > Experimental > Panel Alignment: Center left/right/justify/center
And then you can drag Views to where you want them (not all views can be dragged and dropped but SCM can).
I know this question doesn't want two side panels, one on the left and one on the right, but given the title of the question people searching for moving a panel to the right may come across this question.

Make insertion mouse cursor visible in dark Visual Studio editor

I use a color theme with a very dark background, which works great except that VS2010 uses the default insertion point mouse cursor when the mouse is over the editor pane, and that cursor is black — making it nearly impossible to see (literally impossible if the background is actually black as opposed to just very dark).
Is there a straightforward way to tell VS2010 to use a light version of the insertion point mouse cursor instead?
Things I've tried so far:
I installed the Visual Studio Color Theme Editor (which enables theming of the rest of the UI, as opposed to just the editor) in hopes that it would do this automatically if I used one of its dark themes, but no such luck.
I tried using different mouse pointers in Control Panel, but even though the cursor changed in some cases (for instance, if I picked one of the "very large" schemes), it was still black and so nearly invisible.
Edit: In Windows 10 this setting is in a different place:
Open settings
Click Personalization
Click Themes in the right sidebar
Click Mouse Cursor
Select the Scheme called – Windows Black (system scheme)
Click Apply
Original Answer:
I have the same problem in Visual Studio 2012 (Dark Theme) on a Windows 7 guest system running inside VirtualBox.
I have found a slightly better solution:
Basically, you can globally change the cursor scheme:
Open Control panel
Open Appearance and Personalization
Open Personalization
Finally – click Change mouse pointers.
Select the Scheme called – Windows Black (system scheme)
Makes your cursor nicely visible against the dark background while also working great on light backgrounds.
Credit: http://www.marcusoft.net/2011/08/my-mouse-pointer-disappeared-in-visual.html
My temporary solution is that I'm using a custom "text select" cursor on the system as a whole, which I did by finding one that wasn't too outrageous, and then:
Windows 7 and earlier:
Open Control Panel
Open the Mouse applet
Choose the Pointers tab
Select "Text Select" in the list
Click the Browse button and choose the cursor file
Windows 8:
Click the Start button
Type "mouse click" and wait
Choose "Change mouse click settings" -- this gets you the old Mouse Properties dialog box
Choose the Pointers tab
Select "Text Select" in the list
Click the Browse button and choose the cursor file
Of course, this changes the cursor globally, not just in VS2010, and so I have to use one that works against both light and dark backgrounds (in my case, for now, the one from the DeepSky set on deviantart — only the text select one, not the full set).
It appears this is still a problem with Visual Studio and Windows 10 in 2021 (I keep updating this every year...).
Working off of szalski's and T. J. Crowder's solution, it can be changed in Windows 10:
Start button
Type "mouse"
Choose "Mouse settings" from the results
In the Mouse settings window, click on "Additional mouse options" under "Related settings"
Choose the Pointers tab in the new window that opens up
Select "Text Select" in the list
Click the Browse button and choose the cursor you want
As pointed out by Brad Bamford, "beam_r" is a good choice since it looks very similar to the standard pointer, but also has a white outline. I can finally see the cursor in Visual Studio.
You can change the cursor, so you don't mess up the theme you want in Windows.
I made two I Beams that I made available in a github project:
DarkThemeBeam
Use those, if you want.
I hope that's easier and less invasive on your eyes than changing the larger desired theme you want to work in.
Press the Windows button or click Start Menu
Type : mouse
Select: Mouse settings
From the Mouse settings window select: Additional mouse options, from the window, right top.
Select: Pointers tab from Mouse Properties new window.
Now select: Text Select, under customize level.
Click the Browse button and choose your desire cursor.
It's working!

'Property pages' tab is missing in VS2010

On the right of VS2010, there is normally a group of tabs, like the solution explorer and the property pages tab. It seems that the tab to access the property pages is missing.. How can I get it back? This must be easy.
The tabs will only appear if more than one window is docked at the same spot. If you don't see them then you either have undocked the window or closed them. Closing be the more likely case here, use the View menu to get them back. Or Windows + Reset Window Layout if you're completely lost.
Click on the Project name in the Solution Explorer and then press F4. The Properties window/tab should now appear.
Note that this Properties tab is different than the one shown if you right click the project name and then click "Properties."
Under View Dropdown menu, should be there.
Or right click on the app in design mode and click properties.
Close your visual studio and open the Visual Studio Command Prompt (from window Start -> Programs -> Visual Studio XXXX -> Visual Studio XXXX Tools) and enter "devenv /setup".
If you want to dock one below the other it's a two step operation. You need to start with the two windows not connected together at all.
1) dock the first window on the right hand side of the application. This should fill all of the vertical space available.
2) make sure the second window is floating then drag it towards the first. When the arrows appear move the mouse over the down arrow and the second window should snap below the first.

How do I show the description box of the properties window in Visual Studio 2010 if it is hidden?

How do I show the description box of the properties window in Visual Studio 2010 if it is hidden?
For example, the following image shows the description box. It reads "Load: Occurs whenever the user loads the form."
I had the same problem and it was caused by the description box lenght having been dragged to zero. To solve the problem I had to un-dock the properties box and resize it as long as possible. It is then just possible to find the verticle resize cursor at the bottom and resize the box.
Right click and select "Description" menu item.
If the suggestion by Alex doesn't work, an alternative is to click WINDOW > Reset Window Layout.
Warning: This will reset every window so best used only as a last resort.
Another potential solution that worked for me.
Righ-click on the Properties Window and uncheck the Description in the popup menu. If it's not checked, then go to the next step.
Exit VS and launch again.
Load your project/solution then select an object on your design surface, right-click and select properties.
In the Properties window, right-click, and in the popup menu, check the Description item. The Descrip[tion area should open up and display a description.
I had the same problem, that is why I ended up reading this. I tried the right click and unchecked the option for description, and rechecked it. didn't help. I then moved my mouse over the very bottom of the little window pane and saw a cursor that looked 2 arrows over a horizontal line here is a picture of arrow. By dragging that line up, I was able to get my descriptions back.
Just had the same problem in an ASP.NET project and solved by rendering the .aspx page clicking the Design bottom left button, then when I returned to the Source view the descriptions now appeared.
A bit extreme, but after trying everything, this is what worked for me:
Download Window Detective
Undock and Maximize the Properties Window
Pick the Properties Window with Window Detective, and look for the Description Pane in the hierarchy
Flash the Description Pane to find out where it is
Set its WS_CAPTION and WS_THICKFRAME styles on
Resize the Description Pane to give it some height :)
Set its WS_CAPTION and WS_THICKFRAME styles off
Redock the Property Window.
Everybody happy

Visual Studio 2010 auto hide toolbox tab

In VS 2010 when you drag one control to your page (left mouse button is still clicked and cursor is on the page area) so the toolbox tab (from your left side - and auto hide) is still there and it seems auto hide not work.
But in VS 2008 everything was ok!
What is the problem about that / I am looking for this answer because when you drag something on your page you can not see the right element for dropping that control !!!
Any idea?
If you drag a control from the toolbox to somewhere within the design canvas but not onto your form, the toolbox will remain visible despite auto-hide being enabled. Notice the mouse cursor will have the "NO" symbol (circle with a line through it) while over the canvas area. Once you successfully place the control onto the form somewhere, the toolbox will auto-hide.
Autohide is working well for me, however, if you are having a problem you can try the following:
try pinning and then unpinning the toolbox
if you want to drop the control in a certain area .. select that area (one left click on the element where you wanna add the control) and then double click on the control you want to add and it will be added to where you want it and then you can place it
if that didn't work .. (and it should) .. try repairing MS VS2010

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