Using Assembly Analyzer
In this section:
Working with Assembly Lists
To get started,
build an assembly list. An assembly document view is divided into two parts, with the navigation on the left and the detail on the right. There are 3 navigation panes:
- Type Tree - Hierarchy of assemblies, namespaces, types, and members
- Search - Searches for all types and members in the loaded assemblies
- Favorites - Assemblies and members marked as favorites
Type Tree
The type tree lists the loaded assemblies. Under each assembly, the types are group by the containing namespace. Expand a type node to display the type members. Click a node in the type tree to view details about that member.
To unload an assembly, right-click the assembly in the type tree and select
Remove from List from the context menu. To add an assembly, type, or member to the Favorites list, right-click it and select
Add Favorite from the context menu.
Search
The Search tab allows you to search for a type or member within all assemblies contained in the list. To begin a search, start typing. Assembly Analyzer displays the first 200 types or members where the name contains the text entered in the box. Double-click a search result to view details.
Favorites
The Favorites tab allows you to keep a list of assemblies, types, and members that you view frequently. Double-click an entry to view details.
There are a couple ways to add items to the favorite list:
- Right-click an assembly, type, or member in the type tree and select Add Favorite from the context menu.
- Click the Add to favorites link in the detail section when viewing the item
Detail Area
Navigating to a member displays the details of the selected member. Click on a hyperlink to navigate. Also, double-click items in lists and trees to navigate.
Navigation
Clicking a hyperlink and double-clicking a list item navigate to a member and display the details in the current window. Use the

and

buttons to navigate to the previous or next member, respectively.
To navigate to a member in another tab or window, hold the
Shift key while navigating. Assembly Analyzer displays the member in a new tab or window, dependending on whether the current view is a tab or window.
Viewing Source Code
To view the source code for a member, navigate to the member and click the
Source tab. Assembly Analyzer generates a source code document for the declaration and implementation (if available) of the member. The source document for an assembly lists the metadata attributes applied to the assembly. Click the
Save button to save the source code to a text file.
Exporting Source Code
In addition to exporting source code for individual members, Assembly Analyzer allows you to export the source code for every type in an assembly along with the assembly attributes and a C# project file compatible with Visual Studio 2010. To use this feature, navigate to an assembly and click the link
Export source code.
Viewing PE Headers and Metadata Tables
To view the PE headers and CLI metadata tables encoded within an assembly module, navigate to the assembly and click
View module details. Assembly Analyzer opens another view displaying the PE headers, CLI headers, and CLI metadata tables.
