This page serves as the portal for all information related to the productivity enhancements I’ve created for developers using Visual Studio 2005 / 2008 with DevExpress’ CodeRush & Refactor! Pro.
Requirements
- Visual Studio 2005 / 2008
- CodeRush by DevExpress
- Refactor! Pro by DevExpress
These tools have been tested with the latest releases of CodeRush & Refactor! Pro: v3.0.5 in both Visual Studio 2005 & 2008.
Download
This part of the page will be updated with the latest release of the components. How can you get news on when the latest are available? I’ll post to my blog when there’s a new update, so you can subscribe there to get updates as well as my other posts.
The ZIP associated with this article includes a sample project you can use to play around with the tools without mucking up your project to get the feel for them.
Installation
Installation can be done in one of two ways (one day I’ll get a WiX installer set up… but until then…):
Semi-automated
The provided install.bat file can do most of the work… but it can’t import the templates.
- Double-click the install.bat file included in the download. This will deploy the dynamic templates, plugins and refactorings.
- If Visual Studio is open, you need to close and restart it to pickup the plugins and custom types.
- Open Visual Studio and select DevExpress » Options.
- In the Options dialog, navigate to the following section: Editor » Templates.
- At the bottom of the dialog, set the Language to XML.
- Right-click the Templates pane (white vertical box just to the right of the navigation tree) and select Import Templates. Select the XML file XML_SharePoint.xml to import the templates.
- At the bottom of the dialog, set the Language to Plain Text.
- Right-click the Templates pane (white vertical box just to the right of the navigation tree) and select Import Templates. Select the XML file PlainText_SharePoint.xml to import the templates.
Manual
You will copy a handful of files to your profile, assemblies to the plugins directory and import the templates. The easiest way to get to the plugins and settings directories is to use the DevExpress About menu. Open Visual Studio and select DevExpress » About. Click the Settings… or Plugins… button to open the desired folder in Windows Explorer.
- Copy the assemblies (3 DLL’s) to the Plugins directory: C:\Program Files\Developer Express Inc\DXCore for Visual Studio .NET\2.0\Bin\Plugins
- If Visual Studio is open, you need to close and restart it to pickup the plugins and custom types.
- Open Visual Studio and select DevExpress » Options.
- In the Options dialog, navigate to the following section: Editor » Templates.
- At the bottom of the dialog, set the Language to XML.
- Right-click the Templates pane (white vertical box just to the right of the navigation tree) and select Import Templates. Select the XML file XML_SharePoint.xml to import the templates.
- At the bottom of the dialog, set the Language to Plain Text.
- Right-click the Templates pane (white vertical box just to the right of the navigation tree) and select Import Templates. Select the XML file PlainText_SharePoint.xml to import the templates.
Custom Types
CodeRush has a ton of features that allow you to create new fields or methods returning types using specific types. For example, typing fs[space] will create a new field based on the language you’re in so if it was C#, it would create private string varName;. Thankfully you have the ability to create your own types that aren’t already registered. For more info on custom types, check out Mark’s post or this feature page on the DevExpress site.
The custom types included in the download contain four of the most popular SharePoint types: SPSite, SPWeb, SPList & SPListItem. Best part is that if the namespace Microsoft.SharePoint hasn’t already been imported, it’s automatically added. Check the screencasts to see a demonstration of this.
The four types included in the download are the following:
| Template | Description |
|---|---|
spct | Microsoft.SharePoint.SPContentType |
spcs | Microsoft.SharePoint.SPContext.Current.Site |
spcw | Microsoft.SharePoint.SPContext.Current.Web |
spf | Microsoft.SharePoint.SPField |
sps | Microsoft.SharePoint.SPSite |
spw | Microsoft.SharePoint.SPWeb |
spl | Microsoft.SharePoint.SPList |
spli | Microsoft.SharePoint.SPListItem |
Note added for v1.1: You don’t need to install these… in fact they were removed starting with the v1.1 download. DevExpress is now including these templates in the default CodeRush install starting with v3.0.
Refactorings
- Create Web Part Definition (*.webpart): When the cursor is on a class that inherits from
System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts.WebPart, this refactoring will automatically create a *.webpart file and add it to the project that already contains the Web Part class. In addition, the *.webpart file will be prefilled with the full type name (5-part name) and Web Part name.
XML Templates
The following tables document the various XML templates included in the download. For a demonstration, check the screencasts listed at the end of this page. Each of the screencasts demonstrating a template contains a table of contents with the name of the template for easily jumping to a specific demonstration in longer screencasts.
While the templates may seem complicated or hard to remember, notice they are written as mnemonics. For example, when you want to create a new within a element, you are creating a element content type field reference… or ectfr.
General / Misc. Templates
| Template | Description |
|---|---|
assemblyfullname | Full name of an assembly, 4-part name. |
ftd | Field type definition. |
newguid | Generate a new GUID. |
webpartxml | Generate contents of a *.webpart file, automatically filling in the Web Part’s type (5-part name) if it finds one within the current project. |
Feature Definition Schema Templates
| Template | Description |
|---|---|
fxml | Feature definition file contents. |
frxml | Feature definition file for Feature receiver. If type inheriting Microsoft.SharePoint.SPFeature is found in the class, both the type and assembly full name are automatically filled. |
fwxml | Feature definition file for Feature containing custom workflow that utilizes InfoPath forms. |
Feature Element Manifest (Site Element) Schema Templates
| Template | Description |
|---|---|
exml | Element XML file. |
eca | Element custom action. |
ecag | Element custom action group. |
ect | Element content type. Note: If a content type ID is on the clipboard, such as copied from another content type, it is added in the ID attribute automatically. |
ectb | Element content type binding. Note: If a content type ID is on the clipboard, such as copied from another content type, it is added in the ID attribute automatically. |
ectfr | Element content type field reference. Note: If a GUID is on the clipboard, such as copied from a site column / field definition, it is added in the ID attribute automatically. |
educ / edc | Element delegate control (as a user control). |
edsc | Element delegate control (as a server control). |
eer | Element event receivers collection. |
eerr | Element event receiver. |
efsta | Element feature site template association (stapling Feature). Note: If a GUID is on the clipboard, such as copied from a Feature definition, it is added in the ID attribute automatically. |
ehca | Element hide custom action. New in v1.1. |
eli | Element list instance. |
elt | Element list template. Updated in v1.1. |
em | Element module. |
emf | Element module file. Updated in v1.1. |
emfp | Element module file property. |
emwp | Element module file for provisioning Web Parts into the Web Part Gallery. |
esc | Element site column (field). Updated in v1.1. |
ew | Element workflow. |
ewif | Element workflow using InfoPath forms. |
ewp | Element workflow using ASP.NET 2.0 pages as forms. |
Feature Element Manifest Schema Templates for Publishing Sites
| Template | Description |
|---|---|
ectpp | Element content type inheriting from Page content type. |
emmp | Element module provisioning master page file set. |
emmpf | Element module master page file. Updated in v1.1. |
empl | Element module provisioning page layout file set. |
emplf | Element module page layout file. Note: If a content type ID is on the clipboard, it is automatically added to the PublishingAssociatedContentType attribute. |
empi | Element module preview image. |
emsl | Element module for items in the Style Library. |
eschtml | Element site column using the Publishing HTML field type. |
Solution Schema Templates
| Template | Description |
|---|---|
sxml | Solution node (within manifest.xml). |
sa | Solution assemblies node. |
sasc | Solution assembly safe control. |
sacr | Solution assembly class resources. |
sfm | Solution Feature manifest. |
swp / sdwp | Solution Web Part / DWP file provisioning to wpcatalog. |
sr | Solution resources. |
srr | Solution resources. New in v1.1. |
stf | Solution template files. |
stff | Solution template file. New in v1.1. |
srf | Solution root files. |
srff | Solution root file. New in v1.1. |
Where To Get More Information?
Where can you get additional information? Below you’ll find a handful of blog posts and screencasts. I think the screencasts are the best way to demonstrate exactly what these things can do.
Blog Posts
- Part 1: Announcing AC’s VS CodeRush/Refactor Tools for SharePoint Devs
- Part 2: Working with Templates in AC’s VS CodeRush/Refactor Tools for SharePoint Devs
- Part 3: Special Templates in AC’s VS CodeRush/Refactor Tools for SharePoint Devs for Publishing Sites
- Part 4: String Providers in AC’s VS CodeRush/Refactor Tools for SharePoint Devs
- Part 5: Creating custom Refactorings for use in Refactor! Pro: The “Create Web Part Definition” Refactoring
Change Log & Updates
- AC’s CR/R tools for SPDevs Updated: v1.1
Screencasts (demos)
Note: I’m aware the videos sometimes appear horizontally scrunched up… usually a few hard refreshes fixes it, but I’m still trying to figure out the root cause to resolve it. Regardless, they are still viewable and you should be able to see what is being presented just fine. If not, please let me know.
- Overview: (updated August 22, 2007) Get a quick overview of what is included.
- Installation: (updated August 22, 2007) Covers both the manual and semi-automated installation process.
- Templates and Custom Types: (updated August 22, 2007) Demos of some of a few templates not included in the Feature & solution schemas and the custom types.
- Feature Schema: (updated August 22, 2007) Detailed demos of all Feature schema templates. Notice the table-of-contents allowing you to quickly jump to a specific template.
- Solution Schema: (updated August 22, 2007) Detailed demos of all solution schema templates. Notice the table-of-contents allowing you to quickly jump to a specific template.
- Templates specific to Publishing sites: (updated August 22, 2007) Detailed demos of all templates useful for developers creating Publishing sites. Notice the table-of-contents allowing you to quickly jump to a specific template.
- Refactorings: (updated August 22, 2007) Detailed demos all refactorings.
DevExpress’ CodeRush & Refactor! Pro
I wrote a post a while back giving my perspective on what these tools were all about. I think it’s a pretty good and quick read:
The next best place to go is to check the product pages for these two products on the DevExpress Web site:
- CodeRush by DevExpress
- Refactor! Pro by DevExpress
- DevExpress Forums: CodeRush for Visual Studio
- DevExpress Forums: Refactor! Pro for Visual Studio
I’ll admit, it’s hard to really get a grasp of these tools by simply reading some pages on a Web site. DevExpress saw this and added a bunch of screencasts to their site. Even after using these products on a daily basis, I pick up stuff every single time I watch these!