Using the Visual C# Development Environment

The Visual C# integrated development environment (IDE) is a collection of development tools exposed through a common user interface. Some of the tools are shared with other Visual Studio languages, and some, such as the C# compiler, are unique to Visual C#. This topic provides links to the most important Visual C# tools.

Title

Description

Quick Tour of the Integrated Development Environment

Provides a brief overview of many of the features and tools included in Visual Studio for application development.

How to: Create Solutions and Projects

Describes how to create a project that contains all the source code files, resource files such as icons, references to external files, and configuration data such as compiler settings.

Introduction to the Project Designer

Provides an overview of the Project Designer, which provides a centralized location for managing project properties, settings, and resources.

Customizing the Development Environment

Explains how to customize toolbars, export and import settings, and personalize the IDE for your convenience and productivity.

Keyboard Shortcuts in Visual Studio

Describes the default keyboard shortcut schemes.

Editing Code and Resource Files

Describes Visual Studio tools that help you modify and manipulate text, code, and markup, insert and configure controls and other objects and namespaces, and add references to external components and resources.

Visual C# IntelliSense

Provides links to topics that describe Visual C#–specific features, such as automatic code generation and IntelliSense for most recently used members.

Visual C# Code Snippets

Provides an overview of using Code Snippets in Visual C# to automatically add common code constructs to your application

Navigating Through Code

Provides links to procedures about how to use the Find and Replace window, Bookmarks, and the Task List and Error List to locate lines of code.

Viewing Classes, Members, and Symbols

Explains how to browse hierarchies of classes, class members, and resources.

How to: Add Application Configuration Files to C# Projects

Describes how to add a configuration file (app.config) to a C# project.

Metadata as Source

Describes how the IDE enables you to view metadata as source code.

Refactoring (C#)

Lists refactoring operations that help you modify your code without changing the behavior of your application.

Building in Visual Studio

Explains how to configure debug, release, and special builds of your Visual Studio solution.

Debugging in Visual Studio

Describes how to run the Visual Studio Debugger to resolve logic and semantic errors.

Managing Application Resources

Shows how to add or edit resources for your project, such as strings, images, icons, audio, and files.

Choosing a Deployment Strategy

Compares different Visual Studio deployment technologies, such as ClickOnce and Windows Installer.

See Also

Other Resources

Visual C#

Getting Started with Visual C#

C# Reference