{"id":10957,"date":"2010-07-20T08:05:00","date_gmt":"2010-07-20T08:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.msdn.microsoft.com\/bharry\/2010\/07\/20\/visual-studio-productivity-power-tools-updated\/"},"modified":"2024-06-25T12:10:56","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T19:10:56","slug":"visual-studio-productivity-power-tools-updated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/visual-studio-productivity-power-tools-updated\/","title":{"rendered":"Visual Studio Productivity Power Tools Updated"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019ve just released an <a href=\"http:\/\/visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com\/en-us\/d0d33361-18e2-46c0-8ff2-4adea1e34fef?SRC=Home\">update<\/a> the the very popular Visual Studio Productivity Power Tools.\u00a0 We\u2019ve incorporated bug fixes, some key user feedback and some cool new features.<\/p>\n<p>The first key user feedback worth mentioning is the ability to independently turn off extensions that might conflict with something you already have.\u00a0 You can get to this through Tools \u2013&gt; Options.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/7028.image_thumb_35AFB044-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16411\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/7028.image_thumb_35AFB044-1.png\" alt=\"Image 7028 image thumb 35AFB044 1\" width=\"644\" height=\"376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/7028.image_thumb_35AFB044-1.png 644w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/7028.image_thumb_35AFB044-1-300x175.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>One of the cool new features is a new window that can act as a replacement for \u201cSolution Explorer\u201d called \u201cSolution Navigator\u201d.\u00a0 It looks a lot like Solution Explorer and includes all that capability and more.\u00a0 You can see the simple filtering buttons under the solution \u201cAll\u201d, \u201cOpen\u201d, \u201cUnsaved\u201d and \u201cEdited\u201d (files edited at some point since the solution was last opened).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/3817.image_thumb_79373B99-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16412\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/3817.image_thumb_79373B99-1.png\" alt=\"Image 3817 image thumb 79373B99 1\" width=\"304\" height=\"484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/3817.image_thumb_79373B99-1.png 304w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/3817.image_thumb_79373B99-1-188x300.png 188w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 304px) 100vw, 304px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In addition to filtering, you can use Solution Navigator to easily search for files in your solution.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/7127.image_thumb_2EEC80F4-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16414\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/7127.image_thumb_2EEC80F4-1.png\" alt=\"Image 7127 image thumb 2EEC80F4 1\" width=\"244\" height=\"218\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>You can also drill down through files into a class browser like experience.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/3326.image_thumb_73B8A528-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16415\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/3326.image_thumb_73B8A528-1.png\" alt=\"Image 3326 image thumb 73B8A528 1\" width=\"304\" height=\"421\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/3326.image_thumb_73B8A528-1.png 304w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/3326.image_thumb_73B8A528-1-217x300.png 217w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 304px) 100vw, 304px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Note that the tool window doesn\u2019t (yet) support everything that Solution Explorer supports, such as multiselect and drag-and-drop.<\/p>\n<p>Solution Navigator also provides interactive tooltips in C# and VB code (replacing the default \u201cquick info\u201d tooltips) that give you the same kind of data, but right at your fingertips.\u00a0 In addition to getting the tooltips on hover, you can:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Press <b>Ctrl+1<\/b> to open a relevant tooltip at the current cursor location<\/li>\n<li>Press <b>Ctrl+2<\/b> to quickly navigate to any class\/member in the current source file<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Another cool new feature is \u201cQuick Access\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Quick Access is a new tool window that allows users to search for and execute common tasks within the Visual Studio IDE.\u00a0 Not sure where a particular menu command is located?\u00a0 Want a quick way to create a new Silverlight project? By using Quick Access, you can efficiently find and execute common VS operations without taking your hands off the keyboard.\u00a0 Quick Access allows users to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Execute <b>Main Menu<\/b> and <b>Context Menu commands<\/b><\/li>\n<li>Open the New Project Dialog with a specific <b>Project Template<\/b> selected<\/li>\n<li>Show a <b>tool window<\/b><\/li>\n<li>Jump to a <b>Visual Studio Options<\/b> page<\/li>\n<li>Navigate to an <b>open document<\/b> in your Tab Well<\/li>\n<li>Create and execute a series of actions (<b>task<\/b>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To use, press <b>Ctrl+3<\/b> to launch Quick Access, type in your search term (e.g., \u201cdebug\u201d), and press <b>Enter <\/b>on the desired result.\u00a0 If your search term returns too many results, <b>continue pressing Ctrl+3 <\/b>to cycle through each category of results.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/5086.clip_image001_thumb_239346EA-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16416\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/5086.clip_image001_thumb_239346EA-1.png\" alt=\"Image 5086 clip image001 thumb 239346EA 1\" width=\"304\" height=\"301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/5086.clip_image001_thumb_239346EA-1.png 304w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/5086.clip_image001_thumb_239346EA-1-300x297.png 300w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/5086.clip_image001_thumb_239346EA-1-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/5086.clip_image001_thumb_239346EA-1-24x24.png 24w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/5086.clip_image001_thumb_239346EA-1-48x48.png 48w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/5086.clip_image001_thumb_239346EA-1-96x96.png 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 304px) 100vw, 304px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Some nifty typing improvements are also included:<\/p>\n<p>Automatic Brace Completion improves the productivity of writing code by automatically inserting the closing code construct when the opening construct is typed for VB &amp; C#.\u00a0 More specifically, this extension:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Supports the following constructs: (), {}, [], &lt;&gt;, \u201c\u201d, and \u2018\u2019.<\/li>\n<li>Allows you to press &lt;TAB&gt; to navigate past the next enclosing brace<\/li>\n<li>Allows you to automatically complete a statement and place the caret on the next line with SHIFT + ENTER (also adds a semicolon in C#)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And there have been a bunch of improvements and bug fixes to pre-existing features:<\/p>\n<p><b>Searchable Add Reference<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fixed: HintPaths were not added for non-Framework, browsed assembly references<\/li>\n<li>Fixed: Projects tab is the default.\u00a0 Subsequently the last used tab is shown per VS session.<\/li>\n<li>Fixed: Exception dialog is shown when an assembly with an invalid AssemblyCulture attribute is found.<\/li>\n<li>Fixed: Exception dialog is shown for some missing references or invalid type library references<\/li>\n<li>Fixed: Browsed references not being added to the Recent tab.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Fixed: Trying to fix an unresolved reference reported that it is already present in the project.\u00a0 Now it updates the reference with the correct path.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fixed: Incomplete Assembly Name was being used to construct resolved reference identities<\/li>\n<li>Added: Context menu on the Recent tab to allow for clearing of the recent references list.<\/li>\n<li>Added: Browse now defaults to the solution folder. Subsequent uses of the dialog remember the previous folder.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Colorized Parameter Help<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>There are now specific Fonts &amp; Colors settings to allow you to configure the display of items in Parameter Help.\u00a0 This will allow users with dark backgrounds to be able to customize these to readable. <a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/8228.clip_image0017_thumb_2EDC5B27-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16417\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/8228.clip_image0017_thumb_2EDC5B27-1.png\" alt=\"Image 8228 clip image0017 thumb 2EDC5B27 1\" width=\"504\" height=\"294\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/8228.clip_image0017_thumb_2EDC5B27-1.png 504w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/8228.clip_image0017_thumb_2EDC5B27-1-300x175.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 504px) 100vw, 504px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Column Guides<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fixed: Adding &amp; Removing guidelines from a split window occurred based on the caret position in the wrong window.<\/li>\n<li>Fixed: Guideline could not be added to first column<\/li>\n<li>Fixed: Guideline is placed incorrectly when added to a trailing tab<\/li>\n<li>Moved: Guidelines are now a fly-out to reduce the clutter on the Editor context menu.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Ctrl Click Go To Definition<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fixed: Navigation now happens on mouse up which reduces conflict with drag &amp; drop operations and word selection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Document Tab Well settings<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Added: Show\/Hide pin button in unpinned tabs<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We received feedback that the pin button was taking too much space or was too easy to click accidentally. You can now configure whether the pin button appears in unpinned tabs or not. In the options dialog page, just uncheck \u201cShow pin button in unpinned tabs\u201d, in the \u201cTab UI\u201d section.<\/p>\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"336\">Showing pin button in unpinned tabs<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"298\">Hidden pin button in unpinned tabs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"336\"><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/8547.clip_image002_thumb_73A87F5B-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16418\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/8547.clip_image002_thumb_73A87F5B-1.png\" alt=\"Image 8547 clip image002 thumb 73A87F5B 1\" width=\"244\" height=\"58\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"298\"><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/6087.clip_image003_thumb_63B93A97-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16419\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/6087.clip_image003_thumb_63B93A97-1.png\" alt=\"Image 6087 clip image003 thumb 63B93A97 1\" width=\"244\" height=\"67\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Make selected tab more distinguishable when using custom colors<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We received feedback about the currently selected tab not being easily distinguishable when using custom colors. We now use a gradient for the selected tab that fades from the custom color to the default VS selected tab color:<\/p>\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"320\">Selected tab when using custom colors in previous version:<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"330\">Selected tab when using custom colors in current version:<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"320\"><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/5736.clip_image004_thumb_3ACE258E-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16420\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/5736.clip_image004_thumb_3ACE258E-1.png\" alt=\"Image 5736 clip image004 thumb 3ACE258E 1\" width=\"304\" height=\"58\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/5736.clip_image004_thumb_3ACE258E-1.png 304w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/5736.clip_image004_thumb_3ACE258E-1-300x58.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 304px) 100vw, 304px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"330\"><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/4341.clip_image005_thumb_11E31085-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16421\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/4341.clip_image005_thumb_11E31085-1.png\" alt=\"Image 4341 clip image005 thumb 11E31085 1\" width=\"304\" height=\"56\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/4341.clip_image005_thumb_11E31085-1.png 304w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/4341.clip_image005_thumb_11E31085-1-300x56.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 304px) 100vw, 304px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Configure text color for selected and unselected tabs<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We received feedback about text being unreadable in some of the darker colors we use when coloring by project. We no allow you to configure the text color for selected and unselected tabs, for all custom colors:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/1538.clip_image006_thumb_3627F507-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16422\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/1538.clip_image006_thumb_3627F507-1.png\" alt=\"Image 1538 clip image006 thumb 3627F507 1\" width=\"504\" height=\"294\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/1538.clip_image006_thumb_3627F507-1.png 504w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/1538.clip_image006_thumb_3627F507-1-300x175.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 504px) 100vw, 504px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Command for closing all unpinned tabs<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Many of our users have asked for this command. It will close all unpinned document well tabs.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/8407.clip_image007_thumb_2C1353DC-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16423\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/8407.clip_image007_thumb_2C1353DC-1.png\" alt=\"Image 8407 clip image007 thumb 2C1353DC 1\" width=\"304\" height=\"265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/8407.clip_image007_thumb_2C1353DC-1.png 304w, https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2010\/07\/8407.clip_image007_thumb_2C1353DC-1-300x262.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 304px) 100vw, 304px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Moved: Options for this extension are now found under Productivity Power Tools -&gt; Document Tab Well(or by typing Document Tab Well into Quick Access).<\/li>\n<li>Fixed: Vertical tabs would float when a new toolbar row appeared as a result of selecting a tab.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>HTML Cut\/Copy<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Added: Cut as HTML is now supported<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Installation on Windows XP<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fixed: Unable to install Productivity Power Tools on Windows XP if user name is too long.\u00a0 Note: We&#8217;ve reduced the number of characters considerably but this still may be an issue if your user name is extremely long.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Please let us know what you think!<\/p>\n<p>Brian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019ve just released an update the the very popular Visual Studio Productivity Power Tools.\u00a0 We\u2019ve incorporated bug fixes, some key user feedback and some cool new features. The first key user feedback worth mentioning is the ability to independently turn off extensions that might conflict with something you already have.\u00a0 You can get to this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":244,"featured_media":14617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4],"class_list":["post-10957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-visual-studio"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"<p>We\u2019ve just released an update the the very popular Visual Studio Productivity Power Tools.\u00a0 We\u2019ve incorporated bug fixes, some key user feedback and some cool new features. The first key user feedback worth mentioning is the ability to independently turn off extensions that might conflict with something you already have.\u00a0 You can get to this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/244"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/bharry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}