The Microsoft® Visual Studio® integrated development environment (IDE) is arguably one of the most powerful and complex development tools in the world. In 2002, Craig Skibo, Marc Young, and I decided that a book was needed to show how developers could really extend this IDE and make it their own. That book was called Inside Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003. This book, Working with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, is an update to that book.
Working with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 won't teach you programming. It will however, help you to understand the IDE and the project system, and it will tell you a lot about how you can adopt the IDE to meet your specific needs.
Support information for the book is located at the end of this introduction. If you want to send feedback or suggestions to me directly, feel free to send an e-mail to [email protected].
This book is for developers who want to learn a little bit more about the Visual Studio 2005 IDE and who want to extend the capabilities of that IDE with macros and add-ins.
You'll need the following hardware and software to build and run the code samples for this book:
Microsoft Windows ® XP with Service Pack 2, Microsoft Windows Server ™ 2003 with Service Pack 1, or Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4
Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition
600 MHz Pentium or compatible processor (1 gigahertz Pentium recommended)
192 MB RAM (256 MB or more recommended)
Video (800 x 600 or higher resolution) monitor with at least 256 colors (1024 x 768 High Color 16-bit recommended)
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
This book was reviewed and tested against the August 2005 Community Technical Preview (CTP) of Visual Studio 2005. This book is expected to be fully compatible with the final release of Visual Studio 2005. If there are any changes or corrections to this book, they will be collected and added to a Microsoft Knowledge Base article. See the Support for This Book section in this Introduction for more information.
As technologies related to this book are updated, links to additional information will be added to the Microsoft Press Technology Updates for Books Web page. Visit this page periodically for updates on Visual Studio 2005 and other technologies.
All of the code samples discussed in this book can be downloaded from the book's companion content page at the following address:
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this book and the companion content. As corrections or changes are collected, they will be added to a Microsoft Knowledge Base article. To view the list of known corrections for this book, visit the following article:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/905532
Microsoft Press provides support for books and companion content at the following Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/support/books/
If you have questions, comments, or ideas regarding the book or the companion content, or questions that are not answered by visiting the sites above, please send them to Microsoft Press via e-mail to
Or via postal mail to
Microsoft Press
Attn: Working with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Editor
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
Please note that Microsoft software product support is not offered through the above addresses.