Adding Tools to Visual Studio 2012
Posted
Tue, Aug 28 2012 22:59
by
Deborah Kurata
One of the very nice things about Visual Studio is that all of the tools you need are in one place. With one integrated development environment, you can build your database, create your resource strings, write your code, write and run unit tests, check into source control, and so on. And if you find another tool you like, you can add it easily to Visual Studio's Tools menu to keep everything in one place.
Let's walk through an example. Say we want to add the Convert.exe from this prior blog post to the Visual Studio menu.
1. Select Tools | External Tools.
The External Tools dialog opens.
This is not the most user-friendly of dialogs. It takes a moment to figure out what you need to do here.
2. Click the Add button.
This clears the bottom section in preparation for adding a new menu option to the Tools menu.
3. Enter the Title, executable, any needed arguments, and if desired, an initial directory.
4. Click OK
The defined tool is now on the Visual Studio Tools menu.
[The red box around the new menu option was added for clarity and won't appear in Visual Studio.]
Use this technique any time you want to add your own tools to Visual Studio.
Enjoy!