Understanding the Visual Studio .NET Environment

The first time you run Visual Studio .NET, you'll notice that the IDE contains a number of windows, such as the Solutions Explorer window on the right, which is used to view and the files that make up a project. In addition to these windows, the IDE contains a number of tabs, such as the vertical Toolbox tab on the left edge of the IDE (refer to Figure 1.3). Try this now: Click the Toolbox tab to display the Toolbox window (clicking a tab displays an associated window). You can hover the mouse over a tab for a few seconds to display the window as well. To hide the window, simply move the mouse off the window if you hovered over the tab to display it, or click on another window. To close the window completely, click the Close (X) button in the window's title bar.

By the Way

If you opened the toolbox by clicking its tab rather than hovering over the tab, the toolbox will not automatically close. Instead, it will stay open until you click on another window.

You can adjust the size and position of any of these windows, and you can even hide and show them as needed. You'll learn how to customize your design environment in Hour 2.

Did you Know?

Unless specifically instructed to do so, don't double-click anything in the Visual Studio .NET design environment. Double-clicking most objects produces an entirely different result than single-clicking does. If you mistakenly double-click an object on a form (discussed shortly), a code window is displayed. At the top of the code window is a set of tabs: one for the form design and one for the code. Click the tab for the form design to hide the code window and return to the form.

The Properties window at the right side of the design environment is perhaps the most important window in the IDE, and it's the one you'll use most often. If your computer display resolution is set to 800x600, you can probably see only a few properties at this time. This makes it difficult to view and set properties as you create projects. All the screen shots in this book are taken at 800x600 due to size constraints, but you should run at a higher resolution if you can. I highly recommend that you develop applications with Visual C# 2005 at a screen resolution of 1024x768 or higher because it offers plenty of work space. Keep in mind, however, that end users might be running at a lower resolution than you are using for development. If you need to change your display settings, right-click your desktop and select Properties.