Opening a big VS.NET solution and having a lot of source files can be very disorienting. I've found it especially so when I am tracking deep in the types that are referred by other types, which are referred by others, and so on. And it's pretty difficult to find out which Visual Studio project the type is defined in. I was so desperate that I almost wrote an addin to help me synchronizing the active source file in the solution explorer window. Alas when I was almost done, I found that Visual Studio 2005 already offers such function. To use it, just follow these steps:
- Go to "Tools" menu, click "Options"
- Under "Projects and Solutions", click "General"
- Check the "Track Active Item in Solution Explorer" checkbox on the right side
That is it! Now no matter which source file you end up burying your head into, the solution explorer window always selects and scrolls to that file for you. I guess my lesson learned is that I should always look hard first because Visual Studio may just have that built in already. And it was also interesting to learn the VS.NET automation APIs that have to do with finding the solution item and manipulating the solution explorer window.
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