Class View

  • Article

Class View displays the symbols defined, referenced, or called in the application you are developing. You can open Class View from the View menu (or press CTRL + SHIFT + C). There are two panes: an upper Objects pane and a lower Members pane. The Objects pane contains an expandable tree of symbols whose top-level nodes represent projects. To expand a node selected in the tree, click its plus (+) sign or press the plus (+) key on the keypad.

Icons identify hierarchical structures employed within your projects, such as namespaces, types, interfaces, enums, and classes. You can expand these structures to list their members. Properties, methods, events, variables, constants, and other contained items are listed in the Members pane.

This hierarchical, project-by-project, view clarifies the symbolic structures within your code. You can use Class View to open files and navigate directly to the lines where symbols appear. For more information, see Viewing Classes and Their Members.

Class View Toolbar

The Class View toolbar allows you to add virtual folders and to navigate within the Objects and Members panes. Its Class View Settings menu lets you choose a particular view of the object hierarchy tree, and to specify which of the available objects will be displayed.

  • New Folder
    Creates a new folder or subfolder into which you can drag symbols for easy access. Useful for organizing frequently used symbols. For more information, see How to: Work with Folders in Class View.

  • Back
    Navigates to the previously selected item. Keep clicking this button to navigate through previously selected items until you reach the first item browsed. The Back and Forward buttons move through a history list of previously browsed items.

  • Forward
    Becomes available when you click the Back button. Navigates to the next item selected. Keep clicking this button to return to the most recent item selected. The Back and Forward buttons move through a history list of items previously browsed.

Class View Settings

The Class View Settings menu on the Class View toolbar allows you to choose a particular view of the object hierarchy tree for the active project, and to specify which of the available objects and members will be displayed. The available choices are listed below. Some of these commands are also available from shortcut menus in the Object and Members panes.

  • Show Base Types
    Toggles display of base types in the Objects pane.

  • Show Derived Types
    Toggles display of derived types in the Objects pane. Available only in Visual C++ and Visual C#.

  • Show Project References
    Toggles display of a virtual folder that lists objects cited in project references.

  • Show Hidden Types and Members
    Toggles display of hidden types in the Objects pane and hidden members in the Members pane.

  • Show Public Members
    Members that are public are displayed for users who are using the classes.

  • Show Protected Members
    Members that are public or protected are displayed for users who are extending the classes.

  • Show Private Members
    Members of all accessibility levels are displayed for users who are implementing and using the classes.

  • Show Other Members
    Members that do not fall into the category of public, protected, private, or inherited are displayed. Examples:

    In the following Visual Basic code, "Friend" is included in this category:

    Friend Sub Test()
End Sub

    In the following Visual C# code, "internal" is included in this category:

    internal void InternalF() { }

  • Show Inherited Members
    Toggles display of inherited members in the Members pane.

Objects Pane

The Objects pane contains an expandable tree of symbols whose top-level nodes represent projects. Selecting an object in the Objects pane displays its members in the Members pane.

Tip

You can sort and group folder nodes within the Objects pane by right-clicking on a folder node and selecting an appropriate command from the list. For more information, see How to: Work with Class View.

Members Pane

Each object can contain such members as properties, methods, events, constants, variables, and enum values. Selecting an object in the Objects pane displays its members in the Members pane.

Tip

You can sort the members that appear in the Members pane by right-clicking on a member and selecting an appropriate command from the shortcut menu. Use the Class View Settings menu on the Class View toolbar to determine which members appear in the Members pane. For more information, see How to: Work with Class View

See Also

Tasks

How to: Work with Class View

How to: Work with Folders in Class View

How to: Search for Objects, Definitions, and References (Symbols)

Reference

Object Browser

Class View and Object Browser Icons

Other Resources

Browsing Through Code and Components