User Interfaces

In a VSPackage, you can create a user interface (UI) that resembles the Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE), and you can change how UI elements in the IDE behave.

Title

Description

User Interface Essentials

Presents best practices for changing the content and appearance of UI elements.

Visual Studio User Interface Design Guidelines

Links to best practices for user interface design.

Commands, Menus, and Toolbars

Explains how to create a UI that includes menus, toolbars, and command combo boxes.

Tool Windows

Describes how to create tool windows such as the Task List, Solution Explorer, and Properties window.

Document Windows

Provides information about how to create document windows, for example, those that display editors and designers.

Toolbox (Visual Studio SDK)

Explains how to add new controls and other items to the Toolbox and how to use Toolbox functionality.

Status Bar

Describes how to access status bar functionality from a VSPackage.

Properties Window and Property Pages

Explains how the Properties window works and how to control the display of information in it.

Output Window (Visual Studio SDK)

Explains how to write to and read from the Output window, and how to create and manage custom panes.

Task List

Describes how to create and register a task provider, and how to create custom task views.

User Settings and Options

Describes how to program a VSPackage to obtain and preserve user preferences.

Colors, Gradients, and Opacity

Shows how VSPackages can query the IDE for colors, cursors, theme brushes, gradient schemes, and palettes that you can use in a UI element.

Fonts

Explains how to use fonts and colors to display text.

Start Pages

Explains how to create custom start pages.

Visual Studio Integration SDK

Introduces the Visual Studio SDK and discusses how to build products that run in Visual Studio and extend it.