C# 5.0 Programmer's Reference

28 ❘ CHAPTER 3 Program and Code File Structure
Hidden Files
Figure 3-1 shows the Solution Explorer window for a solution named
TurtleSolution that contains two projects named TurtleLib and
TurtleTest.
Each project contains a Properties folder that represents the project’s
properties. Each project also contains a References item that represents
references to libraries used by the project.
In addition to the Properties and References items, the projects contain
files related to the project. In this example, the TurtleLib project
includes the class definition file Turtle.cs, and the TurtleTest project
contains the form definition file Form1.cs.
In the TurtleTest project the Show All Files button has been clicked
(the button third from the right at the top of the figure) so that you
can see all the project’s files. The TurtleLib project has similar files,
but they are hidden by default.
These files are generated by Visual Studio for various purposes. For
example, the bin and obj directories contain files generated when the
projects are compiled.
The following list describes the items contained in the TurtleTest
project, as shown in Figure 3-1. The exact files you see for an application
may be different from those shown here, but this list should give
you an idea of what’s involved in building a project. Note that most
of these files are generated automatically by Visual Studio, and you
shouldn’t edit them manually. If you change them directly, you are
likely to lose your changes when Visual Studio rebuilds them. You may
even confuse Visual Studio so it can’t load the project.
Figure 3-1: A solution
contains one or more projects
that contain files related to
the project.
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TurtleTest—This item represents the entire project. You can expand or collapse it to show
and hide the project’s details.
Properties—This item represents the project’s properties. To change the properties, either
right-click this item and select Open or select Project ➪ Properties. Figure 3-2 shows the
TurtleTest project’s properties pages.
AssemblyInfo.cs—This file contains information about the project’s assembly. Instead of
editing this file directly, select Project ➪ Properties to open the project’s properties page,
and then on the Application tab, click the Assembly Information button. Figure 3-3 shows
the TurtleTest project’s assembly information.
Resources.Designer.cs—This file contains definitions of project resources such as strings and
images. Instead of editing this file directly, select Project ➪ Properties to open the project’s
properties page and then go to the Resources tab.
Settings.Designer.cs—This file contains definitions of project settings. Instead of editing this
file directly, select Project ➪ Properties to open the project’s properties page and then go to
the Settings tab.
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