Datasheet

The Main Menu
At the top of the application, right below the Windows title bar, you see the main menu. This menu bar
contains familiar items you find in many other Windows applications, like the File, Edit, and Help menus
as well as menus that are specific to VWD, such as the Website and Debug menus. The menu changes
dynamically depending on the task you’re working on, so you’ll see menu items appear and disappear as
you work your way through the application.
The Toolbar Area
Right below the menu, you see the toolbar area that is capable of showing different toolbars that give
you quick access to the most common functions in VWD. In Figure 1-8, only four of the toolbars are
enabled, but VWD comes with many other toolbars that you can use in specific task-oriented scenarios.
Some toolbars appear automatically when you’re working on a task that requires a particular toolbar’s
presence, but you can also enable and disable toolbars to your liking. To enable or disable a toolbar,
right-click an existing toolbar or the menu bar and choose the toolbar from the menu that appears.
The Toolbox
On the left of the main screen, tucked away at the border of VWD, you see the tab for the Toolbox. If you
hover your mouse over the tab, the Toolbox folds out, giving you a chance to see what it contains. If you
click the little pin icon in the upper-right corner of the Toolbox (or any of the other panels that have this
pin icon), it gets pinned to the IDE so it remains open.
Just as with the menu bar and the toolbars, the Toolbox automatically updates itself to show content that
is relevant to the task you’re working on. When you’re editing a standard ASPX page, the Toolbox shows
the many controls you have available for your page. You can simply drag an item from the Toolbox and
drop it on a location of your page where you want it to appear. These controls are discussed in great detail
in Chapter 4.
The Toolbox contains multiple categories with tools that can be expanded and collapsed as you see fit to
make it easier to find the right tool. You can also reorder the items in the list, add and remove items from
the Toolbox, and even add your own tools to it. Customizing the IDE is discussed later in this chapter.
If the Toolbox is not visible on-screen, press Ctrl+Alt+X to open it or choose Toolbox from the View menu.
There are two additional tabs below the Toolbox tab: CSS Properties and Manage Styles. Both are dis-
cussed extensively in Chapter 3.
The Solution Explorer
At the right of the screen, you see the Solution Explorer. The Solution Explorer is an important window
because it gives you an overview of the files that comprise your web site. Instead of placing all your files
in one big folder, the Solution Explorer enables you to store files in separate folders, creating a logical and
organized site structure. You can use the Solution Explorer to add new files to your site, move existing
files around using drag and drop, delete files from the project, and more. Most of the functionality of
the Solution Explorer is hidden behind its right-click menu, which changes depending on the item you
right-clicked in the explorer window.
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