Visual Studio Shell-Based Applications
If you create a custom tool that would benefit from having an integrated development environment (IDE), you may consider building on the Visual Studio Shell. The Visual Studio Shell provides a hierarchal project system, integration with editors and designers, source code control, and many other features that support and enhance your custom tool. In addition, the Visual Studio Shell provides a familiar user interface that may reduce the learning curve for end users.
In addition to acquiring the look of Visual Studio, your custom tools built on the Visual Studio Shell have access to the features of the Visual Studio IDE.
Feature Category |
Feature |
|---|---|
IDE Features |
Import/Export Settings Toolbox Control Installer Task List & Error List Output Window Start Page Properties Window Toolbox Solution Explorer Bookmark Window Class View Object Browser Command Window Document Outline Resource View External Tool Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) Add Service Reference Domain-Specific Language (DSL) Runtime Support Language Integrated Query (LINQ) Support |
Editor/Designer |
Code browsing tools (unified find, source definition, inheritance) IntelliSense SmartTags Code Snippets Manager Code Snippets Refactoring Pretty listing IntelliSense Filtering Code Definition Window Application Designer Windows Forms Designer Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) Designer |
Debugging |
C# Expression Evaluator Local debugging Managed debugging Edit and Continue Cross-thread debugging Visualizations DataTips Native debugging Script debugging Interop debugging Just-in-time (JIT) debugging Multi-process debugging XSLT debugging Attach to local process Trace Points Breakpoint Constraints |
Data |
Server Explorer (Simplified - Data Only) Data bind to local data (.MDF or .MDB) Data bind to object Data bind to Web service Full set of data controls XML editor Data bind to local database server Data Sources window |
Web |
HTML Editor Web Browser Web Forms Designer Web Site Project Web Application Project |
Extensibility |
Add-in Manager Consumes VSPackages Supports Macros Macros IDE Macros Explorer |
Documentation |
Document Explorer Help on Help Collection |
The Visual Studio 2008 Shell has two modes, integrated mode and isolated mode. Each mode addresses a different market.
Visual Studio 2008 Shell Integrated Mode
The Visual Studio 2008 Shell (integrated mode) integrates into Visual Studio on an end-user computer and enables your custom tools to have the look of Visual Studio. By using the integrated Shell, you can provide custom tools that your customers can use together with Visual Studio. Integrated mode is optimized for hosting language and software tool products.
Custom tools that are built on the integrated Shell will automatically merge with any other editions of Visual Studio that are installed on the same computer, except for the Express editions. In case Visual Studio is not installed, a redistributable version of the Visual Studio IDE is available. The redistributable Visual Studio IDE does not contain programming languages and the features that support their respective project systems. The redistributable IDE can be downloaded from the Visual Studio Extensibility Developer Center Web site.
For more information, see Visual Studio Shell (Integrated Mode) Setup and User Guide.
Visual Studio Shell 2008 Isolated Mode
The Visual Studio 2008 Shell (isolated mode) lets you create unique and isolated custom tools that run side-by-side with other versions of Visual Studio that are installed on a computer. The isolated Shell is optimized for specialized tools that can have full access to Visual Studio services but also have a custom appearance with extensive branding flexibility. Visual Studio features and menu command groups can be easily turned on and off. The application title, application icon, and splash screen are fully customizable.
For more information, see Visual Studio Shell (Isolated Mode).
Additional Resources
For additional news and information about the Visual Studio Shell, see the VSX Team Blog.
Developers who want a deeper technical relationship with Microsoft and more focused development assistance can join the Visual Studio Industry Partners.
See Also
Concepts
Visual Studio Shell (Isolated Mode)