VSX - Set a ToolWindowPanes initial position to be docked

Question

I'm creating a Visual Studio package that exposes a tool window and I'm trying to make sure that it is displayed docked to the left edge of the main Visual Studio window when the package first loads.

[ProvideToolWindow(typeof(MyToolWindow), Orientation = ToolWindowOrientation.Left, 
    Style=VsDockStyle.Linked, Window=EnvDTE.Constants.vsWindowKindLinkedWindowFrame)])]
[ProvideToolWindowVisibility(typeof(MyToolWindow), VSConstants.UICONTEXT.NoSolution_string)]
public class MyPackage : Package
{
    ...

I've tried many variations of the above, but the best I've managed to achieve is having the window docked to the bottom - and even then it keeps on re-docking every time the package is re-loaded rather than persisting the user window position.

How can I specify that my window pane be initially shown docked to the left of the main window?

Did you ever have any luck with this? I'm actually trying to get a tool window docked to the bottom by default. However according to MSDN documentation tool windows cannot be docked by default: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.visualstudio.shell.vsdockstyle.aspx — Steve Cadwallader, Jun 05 '11 at 19:33
@Steve no I didn't - I hadn't noticed that remark, it does indeed look like it's not possible. Perhaps it can be done with done post-install registry tweaks. — Justin, Jun 05 '11 at 21:07

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered May 18 '17 at 16:47

3

If you want it docked at the bottom by default with the other windows like the Output Window, Error List, Find Results, etc. you can do it like this:

[ProvideToolWindow(typeof(ThePane),
                   Orientation=ToolWindowOrientation.Right,
                   Window=EnvDTE.Constants.vsWindowKindOutput,
                   Style=VsDockStyle.Tabbed)]

The orientation doesn't seem to make a difference, though, it always seems to appear on the left. But close enough for me.

answered May 18 '17 at 16:47

Cameron

96,106
25
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1

Exactly what I was looking for! I think that the Orientation is ignored because you're telling Visual Studio to dock it "at the same place that it would dock 'Output' window", so it does not need any more references. Tested in Visual Studio 2017, for the record. – Víctor Jan 23 '18 at 12:30

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 06 '11 at 03:45

Setting up items as VsDockStyle.Tabbed is supported, so you could hook onto the Toolbox tool window. But I'm guessing you already thought of that and it doesn't fit your situation.

Although not a pretty solution, you could try this workaround.

Setup the ProvideToolWindow with the Orientation and Window you want, but set the Style to Float since Linked is not supported (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.visualstudio.shell.vsdockstyle.aspx):
```
[ProvideToolWindow(typeof(MyToolWindow), Style = VsDockStyle.Float, Orientation = ToolWindowOrientation.Left, Window = EnvDTE.Constants.vsWindowKindMainWindow)]
```

At run time, dock the tool window if you find it in a floating state:

/// <summary>
/// Docks the specified frame window if it is currently floating.
/// </summary>
/// <remarks>
/// Works in VS2010, does not appear to work in VS2008.
/// </remarks>
/// <param name="frame">The frame.</param>
private static void DockWindowIfFloating(IVsWindowFrame frame)
{
    // Get the current tool window frame mode.
    object currentFrameMode;
    frame.GetProperty((int)__VSFPROPID.VSFPROPID_FrameMode, out currentFrameMode);

    // If currently floating, switch to dock mode.
    if ((VSFRAMEMODE)currentFrameMode == VSFRAMEMODE.VSFM_Float)
    {
        frame.SetProperty((int)__VSFPROPID.VSFPROPID_FrameMode, VSFRAMEMODE.VSFM_Dock);
    }
}

As I noted in the remarks - this only seems to work for VS2010 (not VS2008).

Hope it helps, hacky as it is.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 12 '16 at 09:36

// Replace EnvDTE.Constants.vsWindowKindSolutionExplorer with the GUID you need.
[ProvideToolWindow(typeof(IssuesWindow), Style = VsDockStyle.Tabbed, Window = EnvDTE.Constants.vsWindowKindSolutionExplorer)]

This works fine on Visual Studio 2015. Tested on a virtual machine.

However, there is a limitation: The tool window only gets docked for the very first time the IDE starts with your extension. It's easy to test with a virtual machine, as you just restore a previous state. I guess some registry value is written and Visual Studio rather remembers the previous position of your tool window next time rather than using the defaults you've just specified above.

If someone wants, I guess they could compare before/after versions of the registry and find these set values and reset them manually next time/on demand.

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 11 '11 at 12:09

0

I don't know if this works, but you can give it a try:

I looked in the registry for a clue, to where the SolutionExplorer toolwindow is docked and found that the Window parameter contains "DocumentWell"

So you can try this:

[ProvideToolWindow(typeof(MyToolWindow), Orientation = ToolWindowOrientation.Right, Style=VsDockStyle.Tabbed, Window="DocumentWell")])]

or

Window=EnvDTE.Constants.vsWindowKindMainWindow

Hope this helps,

Thomas.

answered Apr 11 '11 at 12:09

Thomas

389
3
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I tried "DocumentWell", but it complained about an invalid GUID. – Justin Apr 11 '11 at 12:31
Just as an info: in VS2013, "DocumentWell" seems to be a valid value for the `Window` property. It worked fine when I tried it. – Jan 06 '14 at 19:55

VSX - Set a ToolWindowPanes initial position to be docked

4 Answers4