F1 for help in VS

OriginalGriff

I hadn't realised this wound other people up! I replaced it with a macro to Google a while ago. I have written up how as a Tip/Trick and just posted it here: http://www.codeproject.com/Tips/156089/Making-F1-do-something-useful-in-Visual-Studio.aspx[^] But in case it isn't available yet (moderation does take a while, sometimes) the process is: For Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Studio 2010: 1) Open VS, and on the Menu bar select "Tools...Macros...New Macro Project" 2) Call the project "GoogleSearchMSDN" 3) I'm so sorry about this, but VB is involved here. Not my fault, honest! 4) Rename the default Module1 to "DoGoogleSearchMSDN" - right click on the module name in the left hand pan, select "Rename" 5) Enter the following code as the module body:

Sub GoogleSearchMSDN()
    Dim url As String
    Dim searchFor As TextSelection = DTE.ActiveDocument.Selection()
    If searchFor.Text <> "" Then
        url = "www.google.com/search?q=MSDN+" + searchFor.Text
    Else
        url = "www.google.com/search?q=MSDN"
    End If
    DTE.ExecuteCommand("View.URL", url)
End Sub

Build and save your module. 7) Use the menu bar again: "Tools...Options...Environment...Keyboard" 8) In the "Show commands containing:" textbox, type "Google" - you should see your new macro. 9) Go to the "Press shortcut keys" box, and press F1 10) Press OK. F1 now searches for "MSDN" plus whatever you highlighted.

Real men don't use instructions. They are only the manufacturers opinion on how to put the thing together. Digital man: "You are, in short, an idiot with the IQ of an ant and the intellectual capacity of a hose pipe."

_beauw_

I'm glad someone else noticed what a productivity-killer that key is. I always seem to press in at the most inopportune time. I've even thought about physically removing the F1 key from my keyboard.

wout de zeeuw

I never had an issue with it. If you're on some method with the cursor, and press F1, you get the help for that method. Quite convenient.

Wout

realJSOP

But F1 is still often useful in non-MS software.

".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997

realJSOP

THAT was funny (unlike the joke posted above, which was not at all funny).

".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-----
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-----
"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997

John M Drescher

wout de zeeuw wrote:

If you're on some method with the cursor, and press F1, you get the help for that method. Quite convenient.

That is when it gives the correct advice on the technology that you are using. For C++ users it seems to never get it correct. Especially if you have enabled SDK help. Maybe it actually works for .NET users. I do not know because I never rarely use .NET.

John

wout de zeeuw

Aaah, I always wondered why so many people were complaining about the help. It always worked for me perfectly, but in .NET indeed.

Wout

AspDotNetDev

Good idea. They should have locks so you can prevent certain keys from accidentally being pressed. Or maybe covers to put over keys that prevent them from being pressed.

[WikiLeaks Cablegate Cables]

peterchen

The tie the shocker to a process that checks which app the thread attached to keyboard input belongs to... Or just reroute F1 to a tool deleting your source tree. Lacks the physical component, but does the job.

FILETIME to time_t
| FoldWithUs! | sighist | WhoIncludes - Analyzing C++ include file hierarchy

Gary Wheeler

That's what I've found. .NET F1 help is dead-on most of the time. F1 help for Win32, SDK, and MFC are whimsical, usually being routed to help for the Media Player version 5.2 SDK (dated 1998). Of course, it's my firm belief that this is a deliberate policy of Microsoft. It's part and parcel of their effort to deprecate/abandon native-mode development in general, and C++ in particular.

Software Zen: delete this;

PIEBALDconsult

I use it all the time (when using VS anyway). It does go horribly wrong some times, but I tell it to never try to access online help so at least it goes wrong quickly -- at which point I usually go to http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms229335(v=VS.90).aspx[^] and RTFM. My biggest complaint is that when I have a syntax error and try to use F1 to get the proper syntax, it brings up an explanation of the error instead :mad: . Also when it pulls up a general discussion of some topic rather than the class I'm trying to use X| .

Anna Jayne Metcalfe

I press F1 for caffeine. There's always enough time to acquire some before the IDE comes back. :-\

Anna :rose: Tech Blog | Visual Lint "Why would anyone prefer to wield a weapon that takes both hands at once, when they could use a lighter (and obviously superior) weapon that allows you to wield multiple ones at a time, and thus supports multi-paradigm carnage?"

Pete Appleton

Is your VS build available externally, or only to MS employees?

-- What's a signature?

wout de zeeuw

I guess the first, since MS employees don't have access to my build.

Wout

Rob Grainger

Really? I keep finding that searching for say, Dispose finds an implementation for some class other than the class or interface that introduced it (IDisposable in this case, for some reason matched System.Web.Control.Dispose in the F1 search I just did. Searching "MSDN dispose on google" by contrast found: 1. IDisposable.Dispose Method (System) 2. Implementing a Dispose Method as the first two matches - a much better result. I really appreciated the suggestion of tying it in to a Macro - single keystroke F1 help that works. I've also used the C++ F1 help - now that is just an abortion of an excuse for help, fathered by an abomination.

Macotti

I so agree. The one above was rather poor.

Emrem

Really? :doh:

Battlehammer

Awesome, thanks for the tip.

MattPenner

This is exactly what I do but the manual way. I don't have a macro set up. What did you do to set this up? Is this set up in Visual Studio itself or some other macro app? I'd really like to do the same. Thanks!

Hans Dietrich

This has just been submitted as a tip here: http://www.codeproject.com/Tips/156089/Making-F1-do-something-useful-in-Visual-Studio.aspx[^]

Best wishes, Hans

[Hans Dietrich Software]