Karen's Space

Tech Ed 2008: Presentation Materials for TLA 204 Visual C# IDE Tips and Tricks

2008-06-25T04:22:00Z

It's another year for tips and tricks presentations (and I guess that means I finally blogged again :)). I just wanted to post a link of the ppt deck I gave this year both at Tech Ed and the Tweener event on the weekend which includes new tips in the VS 2008 SP and a few of my favorite add-in's.

Here's the ppt.

Auto-Formatting Removes Tabs

2007-09-25T02:10:29Z

A long time ago (about 3 years now) a bug was opened on the Microsoft Feedback site regarding how Visual Studio removes tabs in statements (which prevents using Tabs or spaces for aligning fields and locals in declaration statements). This wasn't true in VS 2003, but started happening in VS2005 with the new formatting engine.

For example, the following statements:

int               index                =    5;
string            text                 =    "blah";
string            reallyLongVarName    =    "foo";
LongTypeName      bar                  =    new LongTypeName(5, 7, 3);

Would become:

int index = 5;
string text = "blah";
string reallyLongVarName = "foo";
LongTypeName bar = new LongTypeName(5, 7, 3);

We weren't able to add full alignment options (individually control how symbols are aligned in the editor) in VS2008, but recently addressed the scenario of aligning in declaration statements. The design was iterated on with a few customers from the Microsoft Connect site (thanks!).

Here's what you'll see in VS 2008:

The option is a check-box and says: “Ignore spaces in declaration statements”.

The option applies for :

Constants and Fields
Local variables

The option will apply for every location that a field or local variable is valid, including:

Block
For-statement
Foreach-statement
Using-statement

If the option is on, we will retain the users spacing around attributes, modifiers, type, identifier, and the binary operator, however we will continue to format spacing within the right-hand-side expression.

type identifier = expression;

attribute field-modifier type identifier = expression;

Spacing between multiple statements will continue to be removed.

For example, the following:

int     index   =   5;      string      text    =       "blah";

Would become:

int index = 5; string text = "blah";

We will continue to not format around comments.

This is in the builds after Beta 2.

Let us know what you think!

Happy coding,

Karen

Tips and Tricks for VS20005 and VS2008

2007-06-22T05:46:09Z

At Tech Ed 2007, I gave another tips and tricks talk for working with the C# IDE. Here's the list of tips that I presented (it's a cleaner version of Tips.cs that I used during the talk).

Tips for Understanding Code

1) [VS 2008] Target Multiple Versions of the Framework

Use .NET 3.0 to target Vista
Use .NET 3.5 to get started with LINQ
Project | Properties | Application Tab

2) C# Development Settings

Share your settings
Tools | Import and Export Settings

3) Add New Item

[VS 2008] Categorical
Filter-as-you-type

4) Class Designer

Visual, high-level view of relationships in code
Use it to explore the framework

5) Active File Drop-down (Ctrl + Alt + Down Arrow)

Jump to active files

6) Collapse to Definition (Ctrl+M, 0)

Header-like view of code

7) Go to Definition (F12)

Quickly navigate to the definition

8) GTD Navigation Stack (Ctrl+Shift+7, Ctrl+Shift+8)

Virtual callstack

9) Find All References (Shift+F12)

Number of references
Cyclical

10) Iterate through List Window (F8)

Works on any list

11) Find Combo Box (Ctrl + /)

Go to line (Ctrl+G)
Go to file in project (Ctrl+Shift+G)
Help (keyword+F1)
Mini-command window (>)

Tips for Writing and Modifying Code

12) Rename

Entry points for rename (use solution explorer for file rename)
[VS 2008] Support for C# 3.0

13) Code Snippets

[Tab][Tab] to complete
Surround With
Download 400 more at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/aa718338.aspx
[VS 2008] Property snippet is an automatically implemented property

14) Invoke Smart Tag (Ctrl + .)

Never take your hand off the keyboard

15) Add Using

Automatically adds using directives

16) Generate Method Stub

Consume first, declare later

17) Snippets for Code Generation

Functions http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms242312(VS.80).aspx
Refactoring

18) [VS 2008] IntelliSense for Object Initalizers

Filter as you initialize
Ctrl+J for all members

19) [VS 2008] IntelliSense for Query Expressions

Full understanding

20) [VS 2008] Quick Info for C# 3.0 Understanding

Extension methods
Var

21) IntelliSense Customization

[VS 2008] CTRL for transparency
Tools | Options | Text Editor | C# | IntelliSense

22) [VS 2008] Customize Formatting Style

C# 3.0 Support
Tools | Options | Text Editor | C# | Formatting

23) Customize your Context Menu

Tools | Customize

24) [VS 2008] Debugging Query Expressions

IEnumerable Results View

25) [VS 2008] Organize Usings

Remove
Sort
Tools | Options | Text Editor | C# | Advanced

More and More Keybindings

2006-11-22T00:46:00Z

Thanks to Charlie, who pointed me to Windows Live Writer, I now have a super easy way to update my blog and include images and attachments. This means that it's a perfect opportunity to post the cool keybinding pamphlets the C# team made with our most frequently used bindings!

I recently gave the C# IDE Tips and Tricks talk at Tech Ed Europe in Barcelona, and many people have asked me for them. By popular demand, you can download them through the attached file C#Keybindings.pdf.

Visual C# Development Settings

2006-06-13T01:06:00Z

I'm giving a talk on Visual C# - Productivity Tips and Tricks for the Visual C# IDE at Tech Ed 06. Since I mention many, many keybindings in the talk, here are descriptions for some of the common ones for reference. The talk was based off of one that my coworker Anson gave at PDC so you can find descriptions on most of the tips and tricks there.

Visual C# Development Settings Default KeyBindings

Editing

Edit.CollapseToDefinitions	CTRL + M, O	Collapses existing regions to provide a high-level view of the types and members in the source file.
Edit.CommentSelection	CTRL + K, C or CTRL + E, C	Inserts // at the beginning of the current line or every line of the current selection.
Edit.FormatDocument	CTRL + K, D or CTRL + E, D	Formats the current document according to the indentation and code formatting settings specified on the Formatting pane under Tools \| Options \| Text Editor \| C#.
Edit.FormatSelection	CTRL + K, F or CTRL + E, F	Formats the current selection according to the indentation and code formatting settings specified on the Formatting pane under Tools \| Options \| Text Editor \| C#.
Edit.InsertSnippet	CTRL + K, X	Displays the Code Snippet Picker. The selected code snippet will be inserted at the cursor position.
Edit.StopOutlining	CTRL + M, P	Removes all outlining information from the whole document.
Edit.SurroundWith	CTRL + K, S	Displays the Code Snippet Picker. The selected code snippet will be wrapped around the selected text.
Edit.ToggleAllOutlining	CTRL + M, L	Toggles all previously collapsed outlining regions between collapsed and expanded states.
Expand Code Snippet	[TAB]	Expand Code Snippet
Edit.ToggleOutliningExpansion	CTRL + M, M	Toggles the currently selected collapsed region between the collapsed and expanded state.
Edit.UncommentSelection	CTRL + K, U or CTRL + E, U	Removes the // at the beginning of the current line or every line of the current selection.
Edit.CycleClipboardRing	CTRL + SHIFT + V	Pastes text from the Clipboard ring to the cursor location in the file. Subsequent use of the shortcut key iterates through the items in the Clipboard ring.
Edit.Replace	CTRL + H	Displays the replace options in the Quick tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.
Edit.ReplaceInFiles	CTRL + SHIFT + H	Displays the replace options on the In Files tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.
View.ShowSmartTag	CTRL + . or SHIFT + ALT + F10	Displays the available options on the smart tag menu.
Edit.InvokeSnippetFromShortcut	TAB	Inserts the expanded code snippet from the shortcut name.

File

File.NewProject	CTRL + SHIFT + N	Displays the New Project dialog box.
File.OpenProject	CTRL + SHIFT + O	Displays the Open Project dialog box, where existing projects can be added to the solution.
Project.AddClass	SHIFT + ALT + C	Displays the Add New Item dialog box and selects Class template as default.
Project.AddExistingItem	SHIFT + ALT + A	Displays the Add Existing Item dialog box, where existing files can be added to the current project.
Project.AddNewItem	CTRL + SHIFT + A	Displays the Add New Item dialog box, where a new file can be added to the current project.
Window.ShowEzMDIFileList	CTRL + ALT + DOWN ARROW	Displays a pop-up listing of all open documents.
Edit.OpenFile	CTRL + O	Displays the Open File dialog box where a file can be selected to be opened. This does not add the file to the project.

IntelliSense

Edit.CompleteWord	CTRL + SPACE or CTRL + K, W	Completes the current word in the completion list.
Edit.ListMembers	CTRL + J or CTRL + K, L	Invokes the IntelliSense completion list.
Edit.QuickInfo	CTRL + K, I	Displays the complete declaration for the specified identifier in your code in a Quick Info tool tip.
Edit.ParameterInfo	CTRL + SHIFT + SPACE or CTRL K, P	Displays the name, number and type of parameters required for the specified method.

Navigation

Edit.FindAllReferences	SHIFT + F12 or CTRL + K, R	Displays a list of all references for the symbol selected.
Edit.GoToBrace	CTRL + ]	Moves the cursor location to the matching brace in the source file.
Edit.GoToDefinition	F12	Navigates to the declaration for the selected symbol in code.
Edit.GoToNextLocation	F8	Moves the cursor to the next item, such as a task in the Task List window or a search match in the Find Results window. Subsequent invocations will move to the next item in the list.
Edit.IncrementalSearch	CTRL + I	Activates incremental search. If incremental search is on, but no input is passed, the previous search query is used. If search input has been found, next invocation searches for the next occurrence of the input text.
View.ClassViewGoToSearchCombo	CTRL + K, CTRL + V	Brings focus to the Class View search box.
View.ForwardBrowseContext	CTRL + SHIFT + 7	Moves to the next item called in code in the current file. Uses the Go To Definition navigation stack.
View.NavigateBackward	CTRL + MINUS SIGN (-)	Moves to the previously browsed line of code.
View.NavigateForward	CTRL + SHIFT + MINUS SIGN (-)	Moves to the next browsed line of code.
View.PopBrowseContext	CTRL + SHIFT + 8	Moves to the previous item called in code in the current file. Uses the Go To Definition navigation stack.
Edit.FindInFiles	CTRL + SHIFT + F	Displays the In Files tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.
Edit.FindSymbol	ALT + F12	Displays the Find Symbol pane of the Find and Replace dialog box.
View.ViewCode	F7	Displays the selected item in Code view of the editor.
View.ViewDesigner	SHIFT + F7	Switches to Design view for the current document. Available only in Source view.
View.ViewMarkup	SHIFT + F7	Switches to Source view for the current document. Available only in Design view.
Window.MoveToNavigationBar	CTRL + F2	Moves the cursor to the drop-down bar located at the top of the code editor when the editor is in Code view or Server Code view.
Edit.Find	CTRL + F	Displays the Quick tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.
Edit.GoTo	CTRL + G	Displays the Go To Line dialog box.
Edit.GoToFindCombo	CTRL + /	Puts the cursor in the Find/Command box on the Standard toolbar.

Refactoring

Refactor.EncapsulateField	CTRL + R, E	Displays the Encapsulate Field dialog box, which allows creation of a property from an existing field and updates all references to use the new property.
Refactor.ExtractInterface	CTRL + R, I	Displays the Extract Interface dialog box, which allows creation of a new interface with members derived from an existing class, struct, or interface.
Refactor.ExtractMethod	CTRL + R, M	Displays the Extract Method dialog box, which allows creation of a new method from the selected code.
Refactor.PromoteLocalVariabletoParameter	CTRL + R, P	Moves a variable from a local usage to a method, indexer, or constructor parameter and updates all call sites appropriately.
Refactor.RemoveParameters	CTRL + R, V	Displays the Remove Parameters dialog box, which allows removal of parameters from methods, indexers, or delegates by changing the declaration at any locations where the member is called.
Refactor.Rename	CTRL + R, R or F2	Displays the Rename dialog box, which allows renaming all references for an identifier.
Refactor.ReorderParameters	CTRL + R, O	Displays the Reorder Parameters dialog box, which allows changes to the order of the parameters for methods, indexers, and delegates.

Window

View.ClassView	CTRL + W, C	Displays the Class View window.
View.CodeDefinitionWindow	CTRL + W, D	Displays the Code Definition window.
View.CommandWindow	CTRL + W, A	Displays the Command window, where commands can be invoked to manipulate the integrated development environment (IDE).
View.ErrorList	CTRL + W, E	Displays the Error List window.
View.ObjectBrowser	CTRL + W, J	Displays the Object Browser.
View.Output	CTRL + W, O	Displays the Output window, where status messages can be viewed at run time.
View.PropertiesWindow	CTRL + W, P	Displays the Properties window, which lists the design-time properties and events for the currently selected item.
View.SolutionExplorer	CTRL + W, S	Displays Solution Explorer, which lists the projects and files in the current solution.
View.TaskList	CTRL + W, T	Displays the Task List window, which displays custom tasks, comments, shortcuts, warnings and error messages.
View.Toolbox	CTRL + W, X	Displays the Toolbox, which contains controls that can be included or used with your code.
View.ServerExplorer	CTRL + W, L	Displays Server Explorer, which lets you view and manipulate database servers, event logs, message queues, Web services, and other operating system services.
Window.CloseToolWindow	SHIFT + ESC	Closes the current tool window.
Data.ShowDataSources	SHIFT + ALT + D	Displays the Data Sources window.
Window.CloseDocumentWindow	CTRL + F4	Closes the current tab.
Window.NextDocumentWindowNav	CTRL + TAB	Displays the IDE Navigator, with the first document window selected.

Build

Build.BuildSolution	F6 or CTRL + SHIFT + B	Builds all the projects in the solution.
Build.BuildSelection	SHIFT + F6	Builds the selected project and its dependencies.

Debugging

Debug.Autos	CTRL + D, A	Displays the Autos window, which displays variables used in the current line of code and the preceding line of code.
Debug.CallStack	CTRL + D, C	Displays the Call Stack window, which displays a list of all active methods or stack frames for the current thread of execution.
Debug.Immediate	CTRL + D, I	Displays the Immediate window, where expressions can be evaluated.
Debug.Locals	CTRL + D, L	Displays the Locals window, which displays the local variables and their values for each method in the current stack frame.
Debug.QuickWatch	CTRL + D, Q	Displays the QuickWatch dialog box that has the current value of the selected expression.
Debug.Start	F5	Launches the application under the debugger based off of the settings from the startup project. When in Break mode, invoking this command will run the application until the next breakpoint.
Debug.StartWithoutDebugging	CTRL + F5	Launches the application without invoking the debugger.
Debug.StepInto	F11	Executes code one statement at a time, following execution into method calls.
Debug.StepOut	SHIFT + F11	Executes the remaining lines of a method in which the current execution point is located.
Debug.StepOver	F10	Executes the next line of code, but does not follow execution through any method calls.
Debug.StopDebugging	SHIFT + F5	Stops running the current application under the debugger.
Debug.ToggleBreakpoint	F9	Sets or removes a breakpoint at the current line.
Debug.Watch	CTRL + D, W	Displays the Watch window, which displays the values of selected variables or watch expressions.
Debug.EnableBreakpoint	CTRL + F9	Toggles the breakpoint between disabled and enabled.
Make Datatip Transparent	[CTRL]	Causes a visible datatip to become transparent.

Notes:

- These key bindings are only available through the Visual C# Development Settings. To change to the Visual C# Development settings, go to Tools | Import and Export Settings and select Reset all Settings then select Visual C# Development Settings.

- To customize the key bindings for these commands, go to Tools | Options | Environment | Keyboard.

Exploring Microsoft

2006-06-13T00:39:00Z

Microsoft has this really cool internship program called the Explore Microsoft project. It's a pretty unique type of internship that gives 1^st and 2^nd year students in any CS related major a chance to learn how exciting CS really is and explore the inner workings of a leading software producer. They have the opportunity to take a programming course (in C++ and part in C#), shadow the different core technology disciplines at Microsoft – PM, Dev, and Test -- and work on a long-term group project.

This year, C# is hosting 4 explorers on the Visual Studio Explorer team. They've just started a blog called See Sharply -- it's neat to follow their thinking as they learn about the LINQ project and C# 3.0. Check it out here! http://spaces.msn.com/vcsharpexplorers/

Finally online...

2006-06-13T00:32:00Z

Tech Ed 06 has finally driven me online! I'm Karen and I work on the C# IDE in Visual Studio. I work on features anywhere from IntelliSense, to code refactoring, to code snippets, to anything else you could think about that could make you more productive in an IDE.

Working on the IDE space has been a lot of fun – it’s exciting to be thinking of how developer tools can really increase productivity and help people write better code faster.

Some things about me -- I used to be a research assistant at the MIT Media Lab (also acquiring my Masters degree) where I focused on applying and developing pattern recognition techniques to facilitate intelligent human-computer interactions. Prior to MIT, I was at Wellesley College where I studied Computer Science and Economics.

My hometown is in sunny California, but I’ve spent a good number of years in Boston before settling in the Pacific Northwest. In my spare time, I enjoy playing volleyball, solving puzzles and playing strategy board games (Puerto Rico is the current favorite).