1.NET Web Forms Visual Studio © 2002 by Jerry Post

2 Visual Studio is a Text Editor  Intellisense  Indents automatically  Pops up object choices  Shows you function and subroutine values  Me.In C# it is this.

3 Useful Tricks  Get a video screen with really high resolution.  It is possible to open files in separate windows.  Use Format  Alignment:  Note that the first clicked item is the one adjusted (e.g., Bottoms).  In a list, the one with the unfilled box marks is the reference item, others will move.  Vertical and Horizontal Spacing  Use drag-and-drop to auto-size items on a form.  Use Ctrl-K + Ctrl-C to comment an entire block, Ctrl-K + Ctrl-U to uncomment a block.  Drag-and-drop a style sheet file to link it easily. But it usually will not take effect until you run the program.  To generate a dataset, right-click on the adapter to set most of the default values automatically.  Do not put numbers after a DataSet name. The generator does it for you.  Choose one language and stick with it. You cannot mix and match.

4 Solutions and Projects  Ignore “Solutions.” They are supposed to let you combine projects but it does not work properly.  Yes, you can compile multiple projects. But the projects remain completely separate.  You can call a form from one project to another.  But the session variables are completely different.  If you really want to combine multiple projects  Compile outside of Visual Studio and use command-line to build an assembly.  Compile the first one separately, and copy the.aspx and.DLL files into the main project root and \bin directories respectively. Then add a reference to the first’s DLL. Then compile main.  Also, just try getting rid of earlier projects.  Delete files manually (be careful, they are in several places).  Edit the registry!

5 Creating Event Functions  Events trigger calls to functions  The functions must have the proper parameters.  The functions must be registered or linked to the event.  For buttons: double-click on the button on the form.  For other events:  Select the object in the top-left select box  Select the event in the top-right select box  You can programmatically create links from events to event- handlers; usually in Page_Init (which must itself be linked as an event-handler).

6 Help  You need the MSDN Library DVD  Organization choices  ContentsHierarchical structure  SearchLimited text searching  IndexKey words  To find anything, make sure you set Filtered By  Visual BasicLanguage questions .NET Framework SDKWeb issues

7 Debug and Trace  For.NET, best to debug on a workstation not the server  Set breakpoints in code, Start with F5 or Debug + Start  Useful Windows (View + …)  BreakpointsSet properties to enable conditional breaks  Variables: Locals, Me, Autos (also roll over the variable)  Exceptions (errors)  Call Stack (see where you came from)  CommandIssue commands, but lots of typing  ImmediateFrom command: Debug.Immediate  ?VariableDisplays value  CommandsAny acceptable VB command (useful to test)  Debug and Trace (same thing but Trace statements remain in compiled code)  Debug.WriteLine(“Program has reached point A”)  Debug.WriteLineIf(ID > 100, “ID is too large”)  Trace.Listeners.Add(…) You can route the output to almost anywhere, including !

8 Visual Studio Form Design Toolbars Menu Save all Controls Design/Layout form HTML/ASPX Solution Explorer ReferenceProperties Additional windows (help, output, debug, …)