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I have one very old code-base which consists of C++, VB and Classic ASP nonsense and I am trying to understand some code flows there. Unfortunately, there are many projects written in different languages so best way to analyse code I found was to Search In Folders from Visual Studio across whole code-base and setting bookmarks to visualise flow and help me navigate faster between them.

I am almost happy with that, however Visual Studio build-in Bookmarks seems to have very poor functionality, for example you cannot set more that one bookmark on the same line or you cannot create nested folders which is a key thing in understanding extremely complex code flows.

Upd 1.

I rephrased my question for those who still consider it as an off-topic:

How I can visualise complex code flows in Visual Studio? I tried to use indentation in bookmark name to visualise nested calls however it doesn't work very well especially when I have to move/merge several code flows (I have to 're-calcualte' indents) and I still not able to have multiple bookmarks that I want to put into separate flows for the same line.

Vladimirs
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  • I am not considering this question as off-topic because this question is about software tool that I believe is commonly used by programmers and is a practical, answerable problem that is unique to software development (if it is not unique please point to the dupe) – Vladimirs May 29 '15 at 15:02
  • The [help/on-topic] says that questions asking us to find or recommend a tool, software library, book, tutorial, or other off-site resource are off-topic here. Specifically, see the section with the numbered list on the linked page, item #4. – Ken White May 29 '15 at 15:02
  • @KenWhite it also says "Instead, describe the problem and what has been done so far to solve it.". So I described problem "cannot set more that one bookmark on the same line or you cannot create nested folders" and I described that I tried VS bookmarks which is not supitable – Vladimirs May 29 '15 at 15:04
  • I'm not debating it with you. The linked page says that your question is off-topic; it specifically asks us to *find or recommend a tool*. We do not accept software shopping list questions ("please find me a tool" or "please give me a list of tools") here. – Ken White May 29 '15 at 15:05
  • @KenWhite I rephrased my question, is it looks better now? – Vladimirs May 29 '15 at 15:29

2 Answers2

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I don't think it's possible do what you're looking for directly inside VS.

Why don't you use a UML-like tool like Yed for instance ?

IMHO, UML is still the best method to modelize complex flows.

thomasb
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  • Agree, UML is a decent method to visualize complex flows, however my aspiration was to keep reference to line in code and quickly navigate to relevant line for further information when I will debug in my mind (unfortunately I have no other option to debug), because making complete UML for this monster flow will be overkill. But thanks for your suggestion. – Vladimirs May 29 '15 at 16:06
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If you are not familiar with ReSharper, it might be helpful (not sure if it works with ASP, however).

See my question Looking for VisualStudio2008 “Find/Search” utility that shows results in context...and read the comments too.

I ironically note that my question was also closed.

Community
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Tom Bushell
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