Learn about Solution Explorer

You can use Solution Explorer to manage the projects and files within a solution. This article describes the Solution Explorer user interface (UI) in detail, and how to open Solution Explorer if you inadvertently close it. The article also describes how you can use right-click context menu in Solution Explorer to quickly add new files, folders, and code elements to a project.

Open Solution Explorer

By default, the Solution Explorer tool window appears as a pane in the upper-right side of the Visual Studio integrated development environment (IDE). If you don't see the Solution Explorer tool window, you can open it from the Visual Studio menu bar by using View > Solution Explorer, or by selecting Ctrl+Alt+L.

Solution Explorer UI

Let's take a look at the Solution Explorer tool window and its UI (user interface). We'll start with an annotated screenshot of an open C# console solution that has two projects.

The following table is a text-equivalent of the annotated screenshot, but with a few handy links you can use to learn more.

UI element	Action
Toolbar	Control how your files appear
Search bar	Search for specific files and file types
Main window	View and manage your files, projects, & solutions
Solution node	Manage your solution(s)
Project node	Manage your project(s)
Dependencies node	Manage your solution & project dependencies
Program node	View, edit, and manage your program or application (app)
Git Changes tab	Use Git & GitHub within Visual Studio to collaborate on projects with your team

Solution Explorer toolbar

To continue, let's take a closer look at the toolbar in Solution Explorer.

The toolbar contains the following UI elements, from left to right:

UI element	Action
Back button	Toggle between search results
Forward button	Toggle between search results
Home button	Return to the default view
Switch Views button	Switch between the default Solution view and the optional Folder view
Pending Changes Filter button & drop-down menu	View open files or files with pending changes
Sync with Active Document button	Locate a file from the code editor
Refresh button (conditional)	Appears only when you select a dependency, such as a function or a package
Collapse All button	Collapse the file view in the main window
Show All Files button	View all files, including unloaded projects
Properties button	View and change settings for specific files and components
Preview Selected Items button	View a selected file or component in the code editor

Solution Explorer search bar

Let's take a closer look at the search bar in Solution Explorer.

You can use the dropdown in the search bar and select from the Search options: Search within file contents and Search within external items, to scope your search.

Solution Explorer context menu

In Solution Explorer, there are several options that you can interact with by using the right-click context menu. The context-specific options that appear depend on whether you select a Solution node or a Project node.

Solution node menu options

The following screenshot for a C# console app shows the context menu options that appear when you right-click the Solution node.

What you see in the context menu from the Solution node also depends on your project type, programming language, or platform. The following screenshot highlights the following extra options for a C# app: Project Dependencies, Project Build Order, Set Startup Projects, and a Git fly-out menu. These extra options typically appear when you add another project to a solution and then add it to a repo.

Project node menu options

The following screenshot for a C# console app shows the context menu options that appear when you right-click the Project node.

What you see in the context menu from the Project node also depends on your project type, programming language, or platform. The following screenshot highlights the following extra option for a C# app: a Build Dependencies fly-out menu. Extra options typically appear when you add another project to a solution and then add it to a repo.

The Add menu

In the Solution Explorer context menu, one of the most useful options is the Add fly-out menu. From it, you can add another project to a solution. You can also add an item to a project, and more.

You can view the Add fly-out menu from either the Solution node, the Project node, or the Dependencies node. The options vary, depending on which node you use.

For a tutorial that walks you through how to add items and projects by using the context menu in Solution Explorer, see the Introduction to projects and solutions page.

The Quick Add dialog

Starting with the Visual Studio 2022 version 17.5 release, you can use the Quick Add dialog to create an empty file or a simple C# class. In Solution Explorer, right-click on a folder or project and then select Add > New Item. Or, if you prefer, use the Ctrl+Shift+A keyboard shortcut.

With Quick Add, you can perform the following tasks.

• Add a new file without browsing through the template list.
  Example: MyClass.cs
• Create nested folders in a single operation.
  Example: Folder1/Folder2/, Folder1/Folder2/MyFile.cs
• Add files with any extension, or with no extension at all.
  Example: File.MyExtension, README, .gitignore
  • Quick Add populates a default extension for you, but you can select Escape (Esc) after you open the dialog to quickly clear the input box.
• Add multiple files at one time.
  Example: File1.cs, File2.html or File.cs, File.txt.

You can also quickly switch between the Quick Add dialog and New Item dialog. Here's how.

• Use Show All Templates to open the New Item dialog.

  

• Use Show Compact View to open the Quick Add dialog.

  

Visual Studio remembers your choice so that you get the experience that best suits your needs. If you'd like to return to the default Quick Add dialog, select Shift+F2.

Tip

You can configure the keyboard shortcuts for the Project.AddNewItem command and the AddQuickFile command from Tools > Options > Environment > Keyboard.

The file comparison tool

Starting with the Visual Studio 2022 version 17.7 release, you can now select two files in Solution Explorer and compare them by using the new Compare With and Compare Selected options.

You can compare files in the following ways:

• Right-click a single file, select Compare With… from the context menu, which opens File Explorer. Then, navigate to any file and select it for comparison.
• Multi-select two files by holding down the Ctrl button. Then, right-click and select Compare Selected from the context menu.

No matter which way you choose to compare your files, the file comparison tool should make it easier to compare your files without having to leave your IDE.

The Collapse All Descendants command

Also included with the Visual Studio 2022 version 17.7 release is the Collapse All Descendants command. This command recursively collapses all nodes under a selection so that you can tidy up deeply nested hierarchies as you navigate your project structure.

You can find the Collapse All Descendants command on the right-click context menu for any item in Solution Explorer that has descendants. You can also press Ctrl+Left Arrow to use the command.

Related content

• What are solutions and projects in Visual Studio?
• What is the .NET Project Designer?
• Customize window layouts and personalize tabs in Visual Studio