Visual Studio Hacks

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Chapter 10, Work with Visual Studio Tools

#77 Master the Visual Studio Command Prompt

HACK

5. Set the arguments to:

\k c:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\Common7\Tools\

vsvars32.bat

6. Set the initial directory to any of the available options. (These include

$(SolutionDir) and $(ProjectDir), which would place you in the solu-

tion directory or project directory, respectively.)

7. Click OK.

Figure 10-2 shows an example of the External Tools

[Hack #33] dialog with

these settings entered.

The VSCP will now be added as a tool on the Tools menu. You will be able

to quickly get to the tool and even have it open in the directory of your

choice.

Add the Visual Studio Command Prompt to the Explorer

Another way to get the VSCP at your fingertips is through a little registry hack

that will add an “Open VS command prompt here” option in the Windows

Explorer. The easiest way to add these registry settings is to create a .reg in

your favorite text editor with the following code:

Figure 10-2. External Tools dialog

Master the Visual Studio Command Prompt #77

Chapter 10, Work with Visual Studio Tools

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325

HACK

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shell\VSCP]

@="Open VS Command Prompt Here"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shell\VSCP\command]