Task List (Visual Studio)

The Task List helps you create and manage a list of programming tasks. In the Task List window, you can do the following:

  • Create User Tasks, which are notes about work to be done.

  • Display Task Comments that link to lines in your code where work must be done.

  • Display custom Categories of task messages. For more information, see How to: Control the Task List.

To display the Task List, click Task List on the View menu. Use the Categories drop-down list to select the entries you want to display.

To sort the list, click any column header. To sort the results of the first sort, press and hold the SHIFT key and then click another column header.

To display or hide columns, right-click the Task List window and then click Show Columns.

To change the order in which columns are displayed, drag any column header to the location you want.

UI Element List

  • Categories
    Lets you select the type of task entry that is displayed. By default, the following are selected:

    • User Tasks (tasks entered in the Task List).

    • Comments (tasks entered as comments in your code, prefaced by a token keyword).

    Only categories that have tasks are listed. New categories can be added by other applications.

  • Create User Task
    Adds a new line to the User Tasks pane of the Task List when you click this icon containing the red checkmark. The new line has a cleared check box in the Completed column and an editable field in the Description column.

  • Priority
    Indicates the importance of the task.

  • Completed
    Indicates whether you have completed the task.

  • Description
    Entered in the Task List for User Tasks, or entered in your code for Task Comments.

  • File
    Displays either the file name only or the path and file name.

    To specify which is displayed, select or clear the option Show only the file name, without the file path on the Task List page of the Options dialog box. For more information, see Options, Environment,Task List.

  • Line
    Indicates the line in your code where a Task Comment occurs.

  • Column
    Indicates the column in your code where a Task Comment occurs.

Shortcut Menu

The following commands are displayed when you right-click the Task List.

  • Sort By
    Sorts the Task List by the selected column for the active Category.

    To sort the results of the first sort, press and hold SHIFT and then click another column header.

  • Show Columns
    Select or clear check boxes to display or hide columns for the selected Category.

  • Copy
    Copies the text of an entry.

  • Delete
    Deletes a selected User Task. Task Comments must be deleted in your code.

  • Next Task
    Selects the next task in the list and, if it is possible, jumps to the line in the code editor where the task starts.

  • Previous Task
    Selects the previous task in the list and, if it is possible, jumps to the line in the code editor where the task starts.

See Also

Other Resources

Using the Task List