Summary
Highlights
The video begins by showing how to open an existing Visual Studio project. It highlights using the 'recent files' list or navigating to the project's solution file (.sln) which ties together all files in an application.
A warning is given about accidentally double-clicking on the form background, which generates a 'Form1_Load' procedure stub. While this code runs when the application starts, beginners are advised to delete it if not needed to avoid confusion. Another warning is provided about the daunting auto-generated code, which initializes the form and its components; beginners are strongly advised to leave this code untouched.
The video moves on to customizing the IDE's appearance by accessing 'Tools > Options'. It demonstrates changing the color theme from blue to dark, noting it's a matter of personal preference.
Further customization of the IDE's look and feel is shown by selecting 'Fonts and Colors' within the options. This allows for finer control over keyword colors, text colors, and font sizes. A caution is provided as some colors have special meanings, and indiscriminate changes can make the code messy.
To free up screen space, the video demonstrates how to switch off line numbers in the text editor (Tools > Options > Text Editor > All Languages > Line numbers). Finally, it shows how to change default file locations for projects and solutions under 'Projects and Solutions > Locations', emphasizing that many other customizable options exist.