Whilst there is still ongoing debate about the merit of using regions, I have to admit that I have no strong leaning towards any side of the argument. However, I do need the ability to hide and show all of the regions in a class quickly and easily.
A trick that I first picked up when using VS2003 still works for me today and can quickly push you towards indifference in the debate as well.
This article written by Roland Weigelt (in 2003!) lists the code for some macros that can be simply assigned to a keyboard shortcut to help manage any regions you come across. Because, regardless of your stance on the issue, you will always come across regions somewhere.
Below I have assembled a short guide to installing and using the macros -
1. Copy all of the macro source code from the original article but only the module code itself (i.e ignoring the import statements and module declaration - these are added by VS automatically when you create a new module). The code below has been stolen from the original article and reproduced here for convenience.
' Toggles the current region surrounding the cursor
Sub ToggleParentRegion()
Dim objSelection As TextSelection
objSelection = DTE.ActiveDocument.Selection
Dim objPosition As EnvDTE.TextPoint
objPosition = objSelection.AnchorPoint
objSelection.SelectLine()
If (InStr(objSelection.Text.ToLower(), "#region") <> 0) Then ' Updated 14.08.2003
objSelection.MoveToPoint(objPosition)
DTE.ExecuteCommand("Edit.ToggleOutliningExpansion")
DTE.ActiveDocument.Selection.StartOfLine(vsStartOfLineOptions.vsStartOfLineOptionsFirstColumn)
ElseIf (objSelection.FindText("#region", vsFindOptions.vsFindOptionsBackwards)) Then
DTE.ActiveDocument.Selection.StartOfLine(vsStartOfLineOptions.vsStartOfLineOptionsFirstColumn)
DTE.ExecuteCommand("Edit.ToggleOutliningExpansion")
DTE.ActiveDocument.Selection.StartOfLine(vsStartOfLineOptions.vsStartOfLineOptionsFirstColumn)
Else
objSelection.MoveToPoint(objPosition)
End If
End Sub
' Expands all regions in the current document
Sub ExpandAllRegions()
DTE.ExecuteCommand("Edit.StopOutlining")
DTE.ExecuteCommand("Edit.StartAutomaticOutlining")
End Sub
' Collapses all regions in the current document
Sub CollapseAllRegions()
ExpandAllRegions()
Dim objSelection As TextSelection
objSelection = DTE.ActiveDocument.Selection
objSelection.StartOfDocument()
While (objSelection.FindText("#region"))
objSelection.StartOfLine(vsStartOfLineOptions.vsStartOfLineOptionsFirstColumn)
DTE.ExecuteCommand("Edit.ToggleOutliningExpansion")
objSelection.StartOfDocument()
End While
DTE.ActiveDocument.Selection.StartOfDocument()
End Sub
2. In Visual Studio (VS2008 in this example) open the Macros IDE (Alt-F11 or under Tools -> Macros)
3. In the Macros IDE, add a new macros module called RegionTools by right-clicking on MyMacros and select Add -> Add Module
4. Paste the code copied from above inside the module definition
5. Save and the close the Macros IDE
6. Now assign your keyboard shortcuts. Open the Options menu by opening Tools -> Options in Visual Studio
7. Under Environment in the tree menu (left hand side of the Options dialog), select Keyboard
8. Filter all of the available commands by typing RegionTools in the filter box
9. You should now see the 3 new macros that you added to the Macros IDE. And now you can assign them keyboard shortcuts at your whim. Personally I only use CollapseAllRegions (mapped to Ctrl+Shift+Num -) and ExpandAllRegions (mapped to Ctrl+Shift+Num +). But they are both of enormous benefit.
Now all that is left is for someone to tell me this has been built in to VS2008!