Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2010 Unleashed

Referencing Windows

If you need to retrieve an instance of a specific window, you have a few different options, each optimal for a given situation. For starters, the main IDE window is always available directly from the DTE object:

Dim IDE As WindowIDE = DTE.MainWindow

Obviously, if you need to perform a specific action against the IDE window, this is your quickest route.

The DTE.ActiveWindow property also provides direct and quick access to a Window object, in this case the currently active window:

Dim CurrentWindow As WindowCurrentWindow = DTE.ActiveWindow

The tool windows within the IDE—that is, the command window, the error list window, the output window, the Solution Explorer, the Task List window, and the toolbox—also have a direct way ...