Saving Window Layouts
You can save layouts from the Save Window Layout As... menu items in the
Visual Studio Window menu. By default there are 5 layouts that you can save.
These are My Coding Layout, My Design Layout, Custom Layout 1, 2 and 3. The
first two are associated with a set of default file extensions that we commonly
identify with coding or design work. We store those extensions in an xml file.
Applying Window Layouts
There are four ways to apply your layouts. You can apply them from the menu,
from the toolbar, by creating a keyboard shortcut, or have them automatically
applied for you.
1. Menu
You can apply a layout by selecting it from the Apply Window Layout ...
menu.
2. Toolbar
The first time you run Visual Studio after installing VSWindowManager it will
automatically create a new toolbar and display it in the bottom row. Simply
click on one of the icons to apply the associated layout. You can move the
toolbar, hide the toolbar, and customize the buttons that are displayed on it.
To move the toolbar grab it at the left and drag it to the place you would like
it to appear. If you wish to hide the VSWindowManager toolbar simply
right-click anywhere in the toolbar and uncheck the 'Window Manager' option.
You can also add or remove items from the toolbar by right-clicking anywhere in
the toolbar and selecting Customize... While customizing you
can drag any button off the toolbar to remove it, or drag new buttons onto the
toolbar from the Commands tab. The VSWindowManager buttons can
be found under the Addins category.
3. Keyboard shortcut
You can set up a keyboard shortcut to apply any of your layouts by
right-clicking anywhere in the toolbar and selecting Customize...
(you can also select Customize from the Options menu). Then click on the Keyboard...
button. From the list of commands select the one you want to give a shortcut
to. All the VSWindowManager commands are prefixed with WindowManager.Connect.
Once you have assigned a keyboard shortcut you can use it in future to apply
that layout.
4. Auto Apply
When a file is opened in Visual Studio if its extension matches one of the
stored extensions for code or design we automatically load My Coding Layout or
My Design Layout respectively. The auto loading of layouts can be turned on and
off from the Apply Window Layout ... menu (check or uncheck Auto Apply
Layouts menu item) Custom Layout 1, 2 and 3 are three place holders for
interesting layouts that you want to save and reuse. By default those threw
don't have any file extensions associated with them.
Associating files with your layouts
It's really simple. The file extensions are stored in an xml file in the
PowerToys section of your Application Data folder. The file is called
layout.xml. You can change the extensions associated with your layouts by
editing the xml file. The extensions associated with code are in the "code"
element and the ones associated with design are in the "design" element.
Create your own layouts
You can add,
remove, and modify your layouts so that they reflect your needs. All the layout
settings are stored in an xml file in the PowerToys section of your Application
Data folder. The file is called layout.xml. The xml file contains more
information on how to modify the various layout settings.