Testing and Debugging a Windows Forms Application - How to get help information

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As you develop applications in C#, it’s likely that you’ll need some additional information about the IDE, the C# language, an object, property, method, event, or some other aspect of C# programming. Figure 3-12 shows several ways you can get that information.

When you’re working in the Code Editor or the Form Designer, the quickest way to get help information is to press F1 while the insertion point is in a keyword or an object is selected. Then, Visual Studio opens a separate Help window like the one shown in this figure and displays the available information about the selected keyword or object. Another way to launch a Help window is to select a command from Visual Studio’s Help menu such as the Search, Contents, or Index command.

The Help window is split into two panes. The right pane contains one or more tabbed windows, one for each help topic. In this figure, for example, the right pane displays a help topic that provides information about working with the Code Editor. In addition, this pane displays the tabs for other help topics, and you can display those topics by clicking on the tab.

The left pane, on the other hand, displays the Index, Contents, and Help Favorites tabs that help you locate help topics. In this figure, for example, the left pane displays the Index tab. At the top of this tab, the drop-down list has been used to filter help topics so they’re appropriate for C# programmers. In addition, “code edit” has been entered to navigate to the index entries that begin with those letters. This makes it easy to select the Code Editor entry.

In the left pane, you can click on the Contents tab to display a list of help topics that are grouped by category. Or, you can click on the Help Favorites tab to view a list of your favorite help topics. At first, the Help Favorites tab won’t contain any help topics. However, you can add topics to this tab by displaying a topic and clicking on the Add To Help Favorites button that’s available from the toolbar.

Although it isn’t shown in this figure, you can display a Search tab in the right pane by clicking on the Search button in the toolbar. From this tab, you can enter a word or phrase to search for. Then, when you click the Search button, the results are displayed in the tab. In addition, all index entries that match the search are displayed in the Index Results pane that’s displayed across the bottom of the screen. In this figure, for example, the Index Results window is displayed for a search string of “Code Editor.” To display the help topic for any of the listed index entries, just double-click on the entry.

When you display information in the Help window, you should realize that the Help window uses a built-in web browser to display help topics that are available from your computer and from the Internet. In addition, the Help window works much like a web browser. To jump to a related topic, you can click on a hyperlink. To move forward and backward through previously displayed topics, you can use the Forward and Back buttons. As a result, with a little practice, you shouldn’t have much trouble using this window.

The Help window

Figure 3-12.  How to get help information

Description

1. You can display a Help window by selecting an object in the Form Designer or positioning the insertion point in a keyword in the Code Editor and pressing F1.
   
2. You can also display a Help window by selecting a command (such as Index, Contents, or Search) from Visual Studio’s Help menu.
   
3. The Help window works like a web browser and can display help topics that are available from your computer or from the Internet. You can use the buttons in its toolbar to navigate between help topics or to add topics to your list of favorite topics.
   
4. The Help window is divided into two panes. The left pane displays the Index, Content, and Help Favorites tabs that let you locate the help topics you want to display. The right pane displays each help topic in a separate window.
   
5. If you click on the Search button, the right pane will display a Search tab that lets you search for help topics by entering a word or phrase.
   
6. If you click on the How Do I button, the right pane will display a How Do I tab that lets you go to a topic by clicking on a link.
   
7. To close a tab, click on the Close button when the tab is active. To display a tab, click the tab or select it from the Active Files drop down list that’s next to the Close button.

How to run, test, and debug a project
 
After you enter the code for a project and correct any syntax errors that are detected as you enter this code, you can run the project. When the project runs, you can test it to make sure it works the way you want it to, and you can debug it to remove any programming errors you find.

Next: How to run a project >>
 

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