Solution Explorer

The Solution Explorer is, at its most basic, a visual filing system. It allows you to see the files that are in
the web application directory.
Table 2-2 lists some of the file types you’re likely to see in an ASP.NET web application.
In addition, your web application can contain other resources that aren’t ASP.NET file types. For
example, your web application directory can hold image files, HTML files, or CSS files. These resources
might be used in one of your ASP.NET web pages, or they can be used independently.
Visual Studio distinguishes between different file types. When you right-click a file in the list, a
context menu appears with the menu options that apply for that file type. For example, if you right-click
a web page, you’ll have the option of building it and launching it in a browser window.
Using the Solution Explorer, you can rename, rearrange, and add files. All these options are just a
right-click away. To delete a file, just select it in the Solution Explorer and press the Delete key.


You can also add new files by right-clicking the Solution Explorer and selecting Add ➤ Add New
Item. You can add various different types of files, including web forms, web services, and stand-alone
classes. You can also copy files that already exist elsewhere on your computer (or an accessible network
path) by selecting Add ➤ Add Existing Item. Use Add ➤ New Folder to create a new subdirectory inside
your web application. You can then drag web pages and other files into or out of this directory. Use the
Add ASP.NET Folder submenu to quickly insert one of the folders that has a specific meaning to
ASP.NET (such as the App_LocalResources and App_GlobalResources folders for globalization, or the
Theme folder for website-specific themes). ASP.NET recognizes these folders based on their names.
Visual Studio also checks for project management events such as when another process changes a
file in a project you currently have open. When this occurs, Visual Studio will notify you and give you the
option to refresh the file.