While working in VS 2005 today, I noticed a couple of items that might be of interest to others.
#1) For fellow C#ers and VBers -- Have you noticed when we start a new web site that there is no web.config file created. The first time I noticed this is when I needed to make a change in it directly. Up until that time, I was only using the new adminstrative tools for the site, which of course generates a new web.config file for you. So the first time I decided to create a simple site and wanted to make a quick Compilation section change allowing debug. But where was my debug file? I had to add a new item and choose the Web Configuration file template.
Once I started to think about it, I concluded that there was no reason to have the file until it was to be used. Good Enough. Until....
Yesterday an attendee to a web development class wanted to do there work in VB. Sure, why not! So I do a demo in C# showing that you needed to add the web.config file. My VBer quickly pointed out that the VB template for creating a site includes the web.config file automatically.
I wonder what feedback the product teams got which has them choosing two different options based on language? What are your thoughts?
#2) Back when the 2005 products when RTM, I downloaded from MSDN VS2005 and SQL Server 2005. It happened that SQL downloaded first, so I installed it while VS finished. Later I installed VS. Everything worked fine. I could create solutions with SQL, C#, VB, etc. Yesterday I noticed something peculiar on the Start Page of another machine. In the Recent Projects section, down by the Open and Create elements, I saw
Project... | Web Site...
Whoa! Where did the Web Site come from?!? I had been going up to "File|New|Web Site..."!
Being lazy, I wanted to know how to reduce two clicks. The answer is easy. Just change your Settings. But it is not where you would expect under "Tools|Options. "
Find it here:
- "Tools|Import and Export Settings"
- "Reset all settings"
- "Yes, save my current setting" (In case you do not trust change.)
- Then choose from the collection below (you may not have all of these or maybe more, depending on your install):
- Business Intelligence Settings
- General Development Settings
- Visual Basic Development Settings
- Visual C# Development Settings
- Visual C++ Development Settings
- Visual J# Development Settings
- Web Development Settings
Turns out, I had "Business Intelligence Settings" choosen thanks to installing SQL Server first and it setting up the Business Intelligence Designer Studio in VS 2005. If you are working on databases, why would you want to do a web site? I would and maybe so do you. I experimented with all and choose the C# Developement Settings since that is what I code in most. Now I have the
Project... | Web Site...
How nice!