Getting Project Properties

Note

This article applies to Visual Studio 2015. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here

This walkthrough shows how to displays project properties in a tool window.

Prerequisites

Starting in Visual Studio 2015, you do not install the Visual Studio SDK from the download center. It is included as an optional feature in Visual Studio setup. You can also install the VS SDK later on. For more information, see Installing the Visual Studio SDK.

To create a VSIX Project and add a Tool Window

1. Every Visual Studio extension starts with a VSIX deployment project which will contain the extension assets. Create a Visual Studio VSIX project named ProjectPropertiesExtension. You can find the VSIX project template in the New Project dialog under Visual C# / Extensibility.

2. Add a tool window by adding a Custom Tool Window item template named ProjectPropertiesToolWindow. In the Solution Explorer, right-click the project node and select Add / New Item. In the Add New Item dialog, go to Visual C# Items / Extensibility and select Custom Tool Window. In the Name field at the bottom of the dialog, change the file name to ProjectPropertiesToolWindow.cs. For more information about how to create a custom tool window, see Creating an Extension with a Tool Window.

3. Build the solution and verify that it compiles without errors.

To display project properties in a tool window

1. In the ProjectPropertiesToolWindowCommand.cs file add the following using statements.

   using EnvDTE;  
   using System.Windows.Controls;  
   
   

2. In ProjectPropertiesToolWindowControl.xaml, remove the existing button and add a TreeView from the Toolbox. You can also remove the click event handler from the ProjectPropertiesToolWindowControl.xaml.cs file.

3. In ProjectPropertiesToolWindowCommand.cs, use the ShowToolWindow() method to open the project and read its properties, then add the properties to the TreeView. The code for ShowToolWindow should look like the following:

   private void ShowToolWindow(object sender, EventArgs e)  
   {  
       ToolWindowPane window = this.package.FindToolWindow(typeof(ProjectPropertiesToolWindow), 0, true);  
       if ((null == window) || (null == window.Frame))  
       {  
           throw new NotSupportedException("Cannot create window.");  
       }  
       IVsWindowFrame windowFrame = (IVsWindowFrame)window.Frame;  
       Microsoft.VisualStudio.ErrorHandler.ThrowOnFailure(windowFrame.Show());  
   
       // Get the tree view and populate it if there is a project open.  
       ProjectPropertiesToolWindowControl control = (ProjectPropertiesToolWindowControl)window.Content;  
       TreeView treeView = control.treeView;  
   
       // Reset the TreeView to 0 items.  
       treeView.Items.Clear();  
   
       DTE dte = (DTE)this.ServiceProvider.GetService(typeof(DTE));  
       Projects projects = dte.Solution.Projects;  
       if (projects.Count == 0)   // no project is open  
       {  
           TreeViewItem item = new TreeViewItem();  
           item.Name = "Projects";  
           item.ItemsSource = new string[]{ "no projects are open." };  
           item.IsExpanded = true;  
           treeView.Items.Add(item);  
           return;  
       }  
   
       Project project = projects.Item(1);  
       TreeViewItem item1 = new TreeViewItem();  
       item1.Header = project.Name + "Properties";  
       treeView.Items.Add(item1);  
   
       foreach (Property property in project.Properties)  
       {  
           TreeViewItem item = new TreeViewItem();  
           item.ItemsSource = new string[] { property.Name };  
           item.IsExpanded = true;  
           treeView.Items.Add(item);  
       }  
   }  
   

4. Build the project and start debugging. The experimental instance should appear.

5. In the experimental instance open a project.

6. In the View / Other Windows click ProjectPropertiesToolWindow.

   You should see the tree control in the tool window together with the name of the first project and of all its project properties.