Set the Options for Microsoft Visual Studio (.NET)

You can change the characteristics of the common development environment by using the Options dialog box.

The Options dialog box contains a variety of settings that affect the development environment, code editor windows, Windows Form Designer, and debugging. Settings are organized in folders that are available from the navigation pane on the left. Each folder contains groups that are used to organize related options. Once a folder or group is selected, the settings in that folder or group are displayed on the right side.

Some of the folders of settings you will work with are:

• Environment. Settings used to control the display and behavior of elements within the development environment.
• Projects and Solutions. Settings used to create and build projects and solutions.
• Text Editor. Settings used to control the behavior of text entered into a code window.
  Tip: You can use the Line Numbers option to display line numbers adjacent to a line of code, which can make it easier to locate a line of code within a code editor window. To show line numbers, display the Options dialog box, expand Text Editor, and select All Languages. Under Display, click Line Numbers.
• Debugging. Settings used to control the debugging environment.
• Windows Forms Designer. Settings used to control the display and behavior of the Windows Form Designer.

For more information on all available settings in the Options dialog box, select an item from the tree in the Options dialog box and then click the ‘?’ button in the upper-right corner. This displays the related topic in the Help file for Microsoft Visual Studio from Microsoft.

Procedures

To display the Options dialog box

• In Microsoft Visual Studio, click Tools menu Options.