Beginning ASP.NET 3.5: In C# and VB

2.3. Working with Web Forms

Web Forms, represented by .aspx files are the core of any ASP.NET 3.5 web application. They are the actual pages that users see in their browser when they visit your site.

As you saw in the previous chapter, Web Forms can contain a mix of HTML, ASP.NET server controls, client-side JavaScript, CSS, and programming code. To make it easier to see how all this code ends up in the browser, VWD offers a number of different views on your pages.

2.3.1. The Different Views on Web Forms

VWD allows you to look at your Web Form from a few different angles. When you have an ASPX or HTML file open in the Document Window, you see three view buttons at the bottom of the window. With these buttons, visible in Figure 2-11, you can switch between the different views.

Source View is the default view when you open a page. Source View shows you the raw HTML and other markup for the page, and is very useful if you want to tweak the contents of a page and you have a good idea of what you want to change where. As I explained in the previous chapter, I use the term Markup View rather than Source View to refer to the markup of ASPX and HTML pages.

The Design button allows you to switch the Document Window into Design View, which gives you an idea of how the page will end up. When in Design View, you can use the Visual Aids and Formatting Marks submenus from the main View menu to control visual markers like line breaks, borders, and spaces. Both submenus offer a menu item called ...