Windows Developer Power Tools

8.6 Switching Window Layouts Quickly with VSWindowManager

Visual Studio includes a staggering number of windows. When you consider that each one of these can be shown, hidden, docked, or in auto-hide mode, there are endless possible window configurations. If you simply had to configure the windows once, it wouldn’t be much of a problem, but the hassle is that certain configurations work better in certain situations. You probably want the toolbox open when you’re in design view, but in code view you want the toolbox hidden, and you want the task list visible and docked to the bottom of the page. Normally, this means you have to constantly show or hide windows based on your current task, which is not only time-consuming but can be downright frustrating.

The VSWindowManager PowerToy solves this problem by taking advantage of an under-used feature of Visual Studio. By default, Visual Studio includes two different window layouts, regular and debugging. You have probably already noticed that when you start debugging, the windows automatically return to the last configuration that you used. Then, when you stop debugging, they return to your previous non-debugging layout. The VSWindowManager PowerToy adds five additional layouts that can be configured, and then used to quickly arrange your windows depending on your task.

VSWindowsManager PowerToy at a Glance
Tool	VSWindowManager PowerToy
Version ...