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Projects and Solutions, Environment, Options Dialog Box

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Sets the default path for Visual Studio project folders, determines the default behavior of the Output window, Task List, and Solution Explorer as projects are developed and built, and determines whether changed files are automatically saved when a project or its solution is built. You can access this dialog box by selecting Options from the Tools menu and then choosing Projects and Solutions from the Environment folder.

Settings

  • Visual Studio Projects location
    Sets the default location where new projects and solution folders and directories are created. Several dialog boxes also use the location set in this option for folder starting points. For example, the Open Project dialog box uses this location for the My Projects shortcut.

    **Note **  The default location for Web projects is set in the Web Settings, Projects, Options Dialog Box.

  • Show Output window when build starts
    Automatically displays the Output Window in the integrated development environment (IDE) at the outset of solution builds. For more information, see Controlling the Output Window. This option is enabled by default.

  • Show Task List window if build finishes with errors
    Opens the Task List window upon build completion, only if any project failed to build. Tasks, such as errors, that are created during the build process are displayed. When this option is cleared, the tasks are still created but the window does not open when the build is complete. This option is enabled by default, but it is cleared when you choose the "Visual C++ Developer" or "Visual C# Developer" profile on the My Profile tab of the Visual Studio Start Page.

  • Track Active Item in Solution Explorer
    When selected, Solution Explorer automatically opens the folder for the active item, scrolls to its node, and selects its name. The selected item changes as you work with different files within a project or solution, or different components within an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) designer. When this option is cleared, the selection in Solution Explorer does not change automatically. This option is enabled by default, but it is cleared when you choose the "Visual C++ Developer" or "Visual C# Developer" profile on the My Profile tab of the Visual Studio Start Page.

Build and Run Options

  • Save all changes
    Automatically saves changes to the solution file and all project files altered since the last build, without prompting you, when you press F5 or choose the Start or Build command from the Debug or Run menu. Items are saved with their current names. If you encounter errors when you start building and the build fails, the project will not run. This option is enabled by default.
  • Save changes to open documents
    Automatically saves changes to all open documents, without prompting you, when you press F5 or choose the Start or Build command from the Debug or Run menu. If you encounter errors when you start building and the build fails, the project will not run nor will it be saved. If you have a new file, the Save As dialog box appears so you can give a name and location for your project.
  • Prompt to save changes to open documents
    When selected, displays a dialog box asking if you want to save the changes to your solution and project items when you press F5 or choose the Start or Build command from the Debug or Run menu. If this option is selected, the Save As dialog box appears so that you can assign a name and location to your project. If this option is not selected, the project runs using the memory image but changes are not saved.
  • Don't save changes to open documents
    When you run your project, the IDE runs the code version in the open documents and does not save changes to open documents.
  • Only build startup projects and dependencies on Run
    When selected, pressing F5 or choosing the Start or Build command from the Debug or Run menu only builds the startup project and its dependencies. When this option is cleared, pressing F5 builds all projects, dependencies, and solution files. This option is cleared by default, but it is enabled when you choose the "Visual C++ Developer" profile on the My Profile tab of the Visual Studio Start Page.

See Also

Environment, Options Dialog Box | Creating New Solutions and Projects | Introduction to Solutions, Projects, and Items | Controlling the Output Window | Default and Custom Builds