Visual Studio Hacks

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Preface

The Hacks series is an attempt to reclaim the word, document the good

ways people are hacking, and pass on the hacker ethic of creative participa-

tion to the uninitiated. Seeing how others approach systems and problems is

often the quickest way to learn about a new technology.

Visual Studio is an application that was ripe to have a Hacks book written

about it. When I first got a copy of Google Hacks (the first Hacks book), I

knew that this book had to be written. There are tons of tips and tricks, add-

ins, and extensions for Visual Studio. I have watched presentations on a

completely different topic when the presenter suddenly had to show off

some cool trick figured out in Visual Studio. Trading Visual Studio tips and

tricks has always been a favorite pastime of developers at conferences, in

user groups, and at geek dinners. I wanted to capture those tips, tricks, add-

ins, and extensions and compile them all together in one book.

When I first started thinking about writing this book, I knew I would be

faced with a big decision on how to approach it. I could have written a book

for the people who write add-ins, macros, and VSIP projects. While I think

that book would have been a great deal of fun to write, I also think it would

have left 99% of the developers out there in the dark.

Instead, I decided to write a book for every developer who uses Visual Stu-

dio. This book includes hacks ...