The Visual Studio command prompt (VSCP) is a command prompt that loads environmental settings for Visual Studio and the .NET Framework. What this means is that you can open the command prompt and type in the command for a Visual Studio or framework tool, and it will work without you having to type the full path or navigate to where that tool is located. (VSCP also sets certain environment variables, without which many of these tools would not function correctly.)
To use the VSCP, you need to navigate to Start
Figure 10-1 shows an example of the Visual Studio .NET 2003 Command Prompt.
From the command prompt, you can access any of the various tools you commonly need to use from the command prompt. Some of the more common utilities that you will use while developing applications are:
Used to strongly sign assemblies [Hack #54]
Used to add assemblies to the global assembly cache
Used to generate strongly typed DataSets from XML schemas [Hack #49]
Used to view the Intermediate Language code generated by your code [Hack #63]
Used to generate web services code based on Web Service Description Language (WSDL) files
As you can see, a number of useful tools can be quickly accessed through the Visual Studio command prompt.
Because of all the helpful utilities available through the VSCP, you might frequently find yourself opening the command prompt and then navigating your way to your project or solution directory. There is a better way. You can add the VSCP to Visual Studio's Tools menu and have it automatically open to your project or solution directory:
Open the External Tools configuration window through Tools
Click the Add button.
Set the name to something like:
Visual Studio Command Prompt
Set the command to:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe
Set the arguments to:
\k c:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\Common7\Toolsvsvars32.bat
Set the initial directory to any of the available options. (These include $(SolutionDir) and $(ProjectDir), which would place you in the solution directory or project directory, respectively.)
Click OK.
Figure 10-2 shows an example of the External Tools [Hack #33] dialog with these settings entered.
The VSCP will now be added as a tool on the Tools menu. You will be able to quickly get to the tool and even have it open in the directory of your choice.
Another way to get the VSCP at your fingertips is through a little registry hack that will add an "Open VS command prompt here" option in the Windows Explorer. The easiest way to add these registry settings is to create a .reg in your favorite text editor with the following code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shell\VSCP] @="Open VS Command Prompt Here" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shell\VSCP\command] @="cmd.exe /k \"C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\\Common7\\Tools\\vsvars32.bat\" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Drive\shell\VSCP] @="Open VS Command Prompt Here" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Drive\shell\VSCP\command] @="cmd.exe /k \"C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\\Common7\\Tools\\vsvars32.bat\"
You will, of course, need to modify the path to reflect the version of Visual Studio that you are using and where you have it installed. Then save the file with a .reg extension. When you double-click on the .reg file, you will be asked if you want to add this information to your registry. After adding this information to your registry, you will then see an option in Explorer like the one shown in Figure 10-3.
You will now be able to right-click on a folder in the tree view of Explorer and then choose "Open VS command prompt here" and VSCP will be opened in that directory.
The Visual Studio command prompt is a valuable tool, and having it at your fingertips no matter where you are is very handy.
Section 13.8Combine the Visual Studio Command Prompt and the Command Window" [Hack #98]