Working inside the code editor
The code editor is where you will spend most of your time. It shows your page in two related views and your C# in a third.
Three views of one page
- Design view. A visual approximation of the page, useful for placing controls roughly.
- Source view. The markup itself, which is the truth of the page.
- Code behind. The C# file where your page logic lives.
Small features that save hours
Automatic completion suggests method and control names as you type. Bracket matching shows you which brace closes which. Search and replace works across the whole project when you need to rename a phrase everywhere.
Learn the markup. Design view is convenient, but a developer who only uses design view cannot fix a layout when it breaks. Read the source view often enough that it becomes familiar.
Next, meet the toolbox, where the controls you drag onto a page are listed.