--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction xvii
PART I
VISUAL STUDIO .NET AS A DEVELOPMENT TOOL
1
The Evolution of Visual Studio .NET
3
Moving to Visual Studio .NET
3
Developing for .NET
4
Unmanaged Development Enhancements
6
New Compiler Options
7
Updated Class Libraries
8
C++ Attributes
9
Standards Conformance
9
A New IDE
10
Visual Studio .NET Features
10
Editors, Designers, and Tool Windows
11
Visual Studio .NET File Paths
21
Visual Studio .NET Extensibility
24
Macros
24
Add-ins
25
Wizards
26
The Visual Studio Integration Program (VSIP)
26
2
Project Management in Visual Studio .NET
29
Overview of Solutions and Projects
29
Understanding Solutions
31
Solution Items and Miscellaneous Files
32
Solution Properties
33
Solution and Solution User Options Files
35
Projects
39
Project Items
40
Project Properties
41
Project Source Files
50
Project Dependencies
56
Building Projects and Solutions
57
3
The Visual Studio .NET Editor
59
Documents in the IDE
59
It's All About Text
60
Typing and Shortcuts
63
The Zen of Tabs and Code Formatting
70
Syntax Coloring, Line Numbering, and Outlining (or, What the Compiler Saw)
73
Syntax Coloring
73
Line Numbering
77
Outlining
79
Programming Help
81
IntelliSense
81
Dynamic Help
85
Using the Command Window
86
Search, Replace, and Regular Expressions
88
Wildcards
90
Regular Expressions
92
Searching from the Command Window
94
Incremental Searching
95
4
Visual Studio .NET Macros
97
Macros: The Duct Tape of Visual Studio .NET
97
Recording Visual Studio .NET Macros
98
Macro Commands
100
Editing Macros in the Macros IDE
102
A Simple Macro
105
Working with Macros
106
Manipulating Documents and Text
107
Moving Windows
109
Using Assemblies in Your Macros
112
Macro Events
113
Sharing Macros with Others
116
Exporting Modules and Projects
116
Turning Macros into Add-ins
118
PART II
EXTENDING VISUAL STUDIO .NET
5
The Add-in Wizard and the Automation Object Model
125
The Add-in Wizard
125
Running the Add-in Wizard
126
The Add-in Project
127
Installing and Loading the Add-in
134
Debugging the Add-in
136
The Automation Object Model
137
Automation Objects
138
Object Model Guidelines
139
Automation Events
140
6
Add-in Architecture
151
Writing an Add-in from Scratch
151
Compiling the Basic Add-in
152
Registering the Basic Add-in with COM
153
Registering the Basic Add-in with Visual Studio .NET
156
Add-in Events
158
The Add-in Event Sequence
158
The LifeCycle Add-in
160
The IDTExtensibility2 Interface
162
The EnvDTE Namespace
162
OnConnection
163
OnStartupComplete
165
OnAddInsUpdate
166
OnBeginShutdown
170
OnDisconnection
170
Add-in Registry Named Values
171
CommandPreload and the PreloadAddinState Key
171
LoadBehavior and CommandLineSafe
174
SatelliteDLLPath and SatelliteDLLName
176
FriendlyName and Description
178
AboutBoxDetails and AboutBoxIcon
178
7
Commands
181
What Is a Command?
181
Locating Commands
182
Command Names
183
Executing Commands
185
Creating Macro Commands
186
Creating an Add-in Command
186
Handling a Command
188
Command State
189
How an Add-in Command Handler Is Found
191
The Command User Interface
191
The Command Bar Object Model
192
The Primary Command Bar
193
Adding a New Command Bar User Interface
194
Using Custom Bitmaps
196
Restoring a Lost Command and Its User Interface 197
devenv /setup
198
Custom Registration
198
Removing a Command
202
Command Parameters
205
Key Bindings
207
8
Managing Solutions and Projects Programmatically
213
Working with Solutions
213
Creating, Loading, and Unloading Solutions
214
Enumerating Projects
215
Capturing Solution Events
217
Solution Add-ins
223
Working with Project Items
225
Enumerating Project Items
225
Adding and Removing Project Items
228
Working with Language-Specific Project Objects
231
VSProject Projects
231
Leveraging Visual Studio .NET Utility Project Types
238
Miscellaneous Files Project
238
Solution Items Project
240
Unmodeled Projects
240
Project and Project Item Events
241
Managing Build Configurations
243
Manipulating Solution Settings
243
Manipulating Project Settings
251
Build Events
254
Persisting Solution and Project Information Across IDE Sessions
257
9
Visual Studio .NET Wizards
259
An Overview of Wizards
259
Types of Wizards
259
Creating the Wizard Object
260
Creating the .vsz File
264
Where to Save .vsz Files
265
Creating Wizard Templates
268
Using Template Files
269
Solution Filenames and the New Project Wizard
271
Replacements
271
Raw Add New Item Templates
274
Custom Wizards
275
Running a Custom Wizard Programmatically
276
Chaining Custom Wizards
277
The Wizard Helper Library
279
Wizard Variables
283
Wizard Helper Methods
285
Completing the WizardBuilder Sample
285
10
Programming the User Interface
287
Window Basics
287
The Windows Collection
287
Using the Object Property
290
The Main Window
291
Explorer Windows and the UIHierarchy Object
293
The UIHierarchy Object Tree
293
The UIHierarchy Object
295
The UIHierarchyItems Object
297
The UIHierarchyItem Object
297
The Toolbox Window
298
Tabs and Items
298
Adding Items to the Toolbox
299
The Task List Window
303
Task List Items
303
Adding New Tasks
303
The TaskItem Object
309
Task List Events
310
Comment Tokens
312
The Output Window
316
Output Window Panes
316
The Forms Designer Window
318
The IDesignerHost Interface
318
Marshaling
319
Adding Controls to a Form
319
Finding Existing Controls
320
A Form Layout Sample
321
Creating Custom Tool Windows
322
Shim Controls
325
Setting the Tab Picture of a Custom Tool Window
329
Setting the Selection Object
329
The Options Dialog Box
330
Changing Existing Settings
330
Creating Custom Settings
335
11
Text Editing Objects and Events
341
Editor Windows
341
The Window Object
342
The TextWindow and HTMLWindow Objects
343
The TextPane Object
345
Documents
348
The Document Object
348
The TextDocument Object
353
Point Objects
353
TextPoint
353
VirtualPoint
354
EditPoint
357
The TextSelection Object
357
A Comparison of TextSelection and EditPoint
359
Undo Contexts
360
Automatic Undo Contexts
361
Creating Undo Contexts
362
Stack Linkage
365
The LineChanged Event
366
Multiple LineChanged Event Handlers
371
12
The Code Model
375
Discovering Code
375
A Quick Tour Through a Source File
375
Getting a CodeElement from a Point Object
388
Generating Code
389
Building a Source File
389
PART III
DEPLOYMENT, HELP, AND ADVANCED PROJECTS
13
Designing Setup Projects
397
Microsoft Windows Installer (MSI) Background
397
Creating Custom Installation Projects
398
File System Editor
399
Registry Editor
404
File Types Editor
411
User Interface Editor
413
Custom Actions
421
Launch Conditions Editor
425
Merge Modules
431
Setup for .NET Programs
432
14
Visual Studio .NET Help
441
Navigating the Help System
441
Help Windows
443
Search and Index Options
444
Narrowing Search Results
445
Creating Custom Help Filters
446
Searching from the Command Window
447
Customizing the Dynamic Help Window
448
Using the XML Help Provider Service
450
Creating Custom Help Files
454
Registering Your Help Collection
460
15
Advanced Projects in Visual Studio .NET
463
Visual Studio .NET from the Command Line
463
Building Projects and Solutions from the Command Line
464
Setting GUI Options at the Command Line
468
VSIP Options
470
Source Control with Visual SourceSafe
470
Setting Up VSS
470
Placing Files Under Source Control
471
Working with Files Under Source Control
474
Planning Your Solutions Carefully
479
Don't Break the Build
480
APPENDIX Code Model Reference
483
Code Model Objects
483
FileCodeModel and CodeModel
483
CodeElement
488
Specialized Code Model Objects
491
Generating Code
507
Common Parameters
507
Main Add Methods
509
Other Add Methods
513
Remove Methods
516
INDEX
Brian Johnson, Craig Skibo, Marc Young
Brian Johnson currently works as a technical editor at Microsoft. Previously, Brian was a columnist for Microsoft Visual J++r Informant magazine, covering Microsoft Internet technologies. He served as the technical editor for Microsoft Office and VBA Developer magazine from 1998 until 2000. Brian has been published in a number of industry magazines including MSDNr Magazine, Delphi Informant, and Delphi Developer. He's also the author of Microsoft Image Composer for Dummies. Before becoming a writer and a technical editor, Brian was a Marine Corps combat correspondent. He worked as a television reporter in Japan for the Far East Network and was a field reporter for the Armed Forces Radio and Television in support of Operation Desert Storm. Brian is a 1987 graduate of the University of Wisconsin.
Marc Young also currently works as a technical editor at Microsoft. During his nine years there, Marc has worked with some of Microsoft Press' best authors, including Charles Petzold, Jeff Prosise, and Bruce McKinney. Marc is a 1992 graduate of The Ohio State University (with a B.S. in management information systems).
Craig Skibo has worked at Microsoft for more than six years in the design and implementation of the programmability features of Visual Studio and Micrsoft Visual Basicr. He often travels to large industry gatherings such as the Professional Developers Conference to give speeches about the Visual Studio automation model, and he also consults with smaller, more focused groups of developers to help them learn how to use the latest technologies.
