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Have you wondered what does below option at ‘Tools->Options->Text Editor->All Language’ means ?

This is an example of how thoughtful folks at Visual Studio are. Many a times when I copy a text and try to paste it on a blank line, rather than selecting Ctrl +P , I by mistake select Ctrl+C. This wipes out my copied line and I again need to go back for copy . That’s annoyance.

Now go the the above location and uncheck the checkbox as below.

This disables my ability to accidently copy a blank line. So when try Ctrl+C it does not copy the line to clipboard if the cursor is at a blank line.This makes Ctrl+V always paste the selection I copied earlier. That’s cool.

Copy[Ctrl C] and paste [Ctrl V] comes to Visual Studio developers as naturally as breathing to humankind.

Rather than using Copy[Ctrl C] and paste [Ctrl V] in pairs, developers can  store multiple cut/copy segments in the memory and use Ctrl+Shift+V to cycle through them.

To try this, simply select texts in editor and continue to copy your selections using Ctrl C. You can copy up to 20 selections at a time.

Now point your cursor where you want to insert these selections and select Ctrl+Shift+V. Keep hitting ‘V’ key to cycle through the list of all the selections you have.Hit enter and your selected selection will be pasted where cursor is located.

Having learned this you can argue that you can use Ctrl+Shift+V to cycle through and paste your selection rather then enabling the option provided by Visual Studio.That’s true, but why press another key when Visual Studio has already  done the job for you. Well , I will not !!!

There are various ways of extending VS.

• Scripting [Dev 10]
• Macros
• Add - ins
• Visualizers
• VSPackages
• Code snippets
• Project templates
• MSBuild
• Visual Studio Shell
• Domain - specific languages tools

Macros, Add-ins, Visualizers and Code snippets support extensibility in limited way. They are more suitable to be used by the developers directly rather than providing IDE environment. Scripting which is introduced in dev10 also falls under this category.

Both visual studio shell and VS Packages are coupled with power of MS Build and Project Templates is great way to build extensible IDE.

Visual Studio Shell:

The Visual Studio Shell is for developers who wish to build their own development tools inside the Visual Studio IDE. Its target users are not the typical developers who would use the other editions of Visual Studio. The Shell’s target users are ISVs and other developers who wish to build their own tools IDEs, and in turn ship to their users and customers.

Visual Studio Shell has two modes: VS Shell (isolated mode) and VS Shell (integrated mode). Both these shells are separate binary downloads. In order to develop using VS Shell one would need following software.

Visual Studio Shell in the integrated mode is used to building on top of the same Visual Studio instance as the other Visual Studio editions (Standard, Pro, Team Architect, etc.). This means that developed tools will merge into the same environment as the other editions of Visual Studio if they are also installed on the user’s machine. Most project systems such as Silverlight, ASP.NET, c#, VB, Visual c++ falls under integrated mode. As below picture indicates Integrated mode provides access to all the features of shell+project systems which are part of particular editions.

Visual Studio Shell in the isolated mode, is used to build a brand new IDE which has a new application identity. The tools environment will be isolated with other Visual Studio AppIds as well as other environments that are built on the Visual Studio Shell .The new IDE will have its own stub .exe, custom branding, and registry isolation. Express SKUs as mentioned in below picture falls under isolated mode.

Each mode offers its own benefits. Typically, if one is leveraging existing language tools, one will benefit from the integrated mode because user has other editions of Visual Studio (Standard and above) installed, they will benefit from mixed language development as well as the extra features offered by Visual Studio such as unit testing, code profiling, and static analysis. On the other hand, if there is a need for custom branding in tools IDE and have it run in complete isolation with Visual Studio, the isolated mode would be the right fit.

One can use regpkg.exe tools to edit, .pkgdef file to add and .pkgundef file to remove packages from VS Shell instances. In order to deploy VS Shell-based IDE on to the end user’s machine, one will need to obtain both a shell load key (SLK) and package load keys (PLKs).

VSPackages are used to extend VS Shell. Irrespective of which mode developers choose, VSPackage provide standard way to extend IDE and will be the subject of next blog.

Do you know that there is a lighter shade of expression available in case you do not like dark black as below

Go to ‘tools-> Options’ and Select ‘Expression Light’ from workspace.

This will turn expression blend  light grey.

For the light hearted people… Light shaded Blend.Enjoy.

cheers

Rishi

Martin Luther King, Jr. Delivered a historic speech about four decades ago when he stated:

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out of true meaning of its creed:’ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slave and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today! With this faith, we will be able to work together; to pray together; to struggle together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. And if America is to be a great nation, it must become true.”.

Today that Nation has made history by electing their first Afro-American President.

What is very significant here is that this dream was not implanted into the social consciousness during the best of the times but during the worst of the times, when the blacks did not even have their voting rights.

Dhirubhai Ambani dreamt of digital India, where the common man would have access to affordable means of information and communication, which will help him to overcome the handicaps of illiteracy and the lack of mobility. Today it is reality in India. What is very significant here is that this dream was implanted into the minds of Reliance intelligentsia in 1999, when basic communication channels were still pathetic in India.  With every product, service and commodity becoming more and more expensive, here is Mr Ratan Tata dreaming of a one lakh rupees car and the Nano is on its way.

Mahatma Gandhi dreamt of a free India at a time when this country was already enslaved and ruled by foreigners for well over three centuries. And today we are living his dream. At a time when India could not even build air carriers, the man popularly known as the ‘Missile Man of India’, APJ Abdul Kalam, dreamt. Great dreams of great dreamers are always transcended. Today we are living his dream. Today the ‘space’ and the ‘moon’ belong to India too. Even in this bad economy, if the whole world still believes that India’s growth will be well over 7%, it is because as the then Finance Minister, during very ordinary time, dreamt of an economically liberated India.

Dream we must, that all of us know. What is significant here is that all these great dreamers processed great dreams not necessarily during the best of the times but during toughest of the times, during very difficult times, during times when the collective social consciousness was not upbeat. Yet, dream they did and on the sheer strength of their dreams, organizations, nation and humanity as a whole stood up.

Difficult times they say. So, dream we must. As Individual and as a team, dream we must. On the focused strength of our dreams and their execution, let us get the world to stand up and take notice.

- An excerpt from Frozen thoughts