Properties Window and Property Pages
The Visual Studio Properties window is a universal property browser for COM and COM+ components and supports all Visual Studio products. The Properties window works with ITypeInfo type information and COM+ metadata to list the design-time properties for the currently selected object in any other window in the integrated development environment (IDE).
The Properties window, which can be opened by pressing F4 on the keyboard, or selecting Properties Window on the View menu, is used to view and edit configuration-independent, design-time properties and events of selected objects. Configuration-dependent properties, associated with solutions and projects, are displayed on Property Pages. For more information, see Project Properties, Managing Configuration Options, and Item Management in Projects.
Properties window
This section provides detailed information that relates to the individual areas of the Properties window and the interfaces that you must implement and call to populate the window.
In This Section
- Properties Window Overview
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Explains the purpose of the Properties window relative to the tool window and the document window.
- Template Policy and the Properties Window
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Discusses how a project is contained in an enterprise template project, and how that enterprise template project can enforce policy.
- Properties Window Fields and Interfaces
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Explains the basis for selection that determines what information is displayed in the Properties window.
- Properties Window Object List
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Describes the purpose of the Properties window object list, describing how, when a different object from this list triggers a call, the environment is informed that a new object has been selected.
- Properties Window Buttons
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Explains the purpose of the four default buttons displayed on the Properties window toolbar.
- Properties Display Grid
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Explains where the property names and property values fields are found in the grid.
- How to: Announce Selection Tracking to the Environment
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Describes selection tracking for the Properties window.
- How to: Hide Properties that have Child Properties
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Explains how to hide properties that have child properties by implementing the IVsPerPropertyBrowsing interface.
- How to: Provide Your Own Properties Window
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Details the steps for providing your own property browser.
- How to: Retrieve Properties Window Field Descriptions
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Explains where to find the description area that displays information related to the selected property field.
- How to: Provide Help for the Property Pages Dialog Box
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Explains how to support the Help button on the Property Pages dialog box.
- How to: Update Property Values in the Properties Window
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Provides step-by-step instructions that show the two ways to keep the Properties window synchronized with property value changes.