Designing Classes (How Do I in C#)
This page links to help on widely used C# Class Designer tasks. To view other categories of popular tasks covered in Help, see How Do I in C#.
Class Designer
How to: Create Types on Class Diagrams
Describes how to create new types, such as classes, enumerations, interfaces, structs, and delegates.Creating and Configuring Type Members
Describes how to work with type members.How to: Inherit from a Generic Type
Explains how to establish a relationship in which a class inherits from a generic.How to: Define Inheritance Between Types
Explains how to use the Class Designer to define an inheritance relationship between two types currently displayed in a class diagram.How to: Define Associations Between Types
Explains how to define an association. Association lines in the Class Designer show how classes in a diagram are related.How to: Delete Type Shapes and Associated Code from Class Diagrams
Describes how to remove a shape, or both the shape and code, from the class diagram.How to: Apply Custom Attributes to Types or Type Members
Explains how to apply a custom attribute to a type or to a member of a type.
Working with Classes and Other Types
How to: View Inheritance Between Types
Demonstrates how to display the base type of a selected type, assuming that an inheritance relationship exists between the type and its base type.How to: View Derived Types
Displays the types derived from a selected type. It assumes that an inheritance relationship exists between the type and its base class or interface.How to: Remove Type Shapes from Class Diagrams
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to remove a shape from a diagram.How to: View Compartments in Type Shapes
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to show or hide a compartment.How to: View Type Details
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to display details of a type.How to: Change Between Member Notation and Association Notation
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to change between member notation and association.How to: View Type Members
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to show or hide a member within a type.How to: Add Class Diagrams to Projects
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to add a class diagram to a project.How to: View Existing Types
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to visualize existing types on the design surface.How to: Add Class Diagrams to Projects
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to add a class diagram to a project.Understanding Code You Did Not Write
Explains how to use the Visual Studio Class Designer as a tool to help you understand classes and types written by others. The tool displays a graphical representation of the code. You can customize this view to suit your preferences.How to: Group Type Members
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to group members by kind, access modifier, or how to sort them alphabetically.How to: Add Comments to Class Diagrams
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to use comment shapes to annotate class diagrams.Customizing Class Diagrams
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to change the way class diagrams display information about your project.How to: Copy Class Diagram Elements to a Microsoft Office Document
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to copy one, several, or all the shapes from a class diagram into other documents.How to: Print Class Diagrams
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to print a class diagram using the print feature of Visual Studio.How to: Override Type Members
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to use Class Designer to cause a member in a child class to override (provide a new implementation for) a member inherited from a base class.How to: Rename Types and Type Members
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to rename a type or a member of a type using the Class Designer, the Class Details window, or the Properties window.How to: Move a Type Member from one Type to Another
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to move a type member from one type to another type, if both are visible in the current class diagram.How to: Implement an Interface
Explains how to use the Class Designer to create, implement, and delete interfaces.How to: Implement an Abstract Class
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to use the Class Designer to implement an abstract class.How to: Extract to Interface (C# only)
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to extract one or more public members from a type into a new interface.How to: Reorder Parameters (C# only)
Contains a procedure that demonstrates how to reorder the parameters of methods in types shown in the Class Designer.
Create and Modify Type Members
How to: Open the Class Details Window
Describes how Class Details is a window you can use to configure the members of a type.Class Details Window Elements
Describe aspects of the rows displayed by the Class Details window.How to: Create a Member
Explains how to create a member using any of the following tools: Class Designer, Class Details window toolbar, or Class Details window.How to: Add a Parameter to a Method
Explains how to add a parameter to a method using the Class Details window.How to: Modify Type Members
Describes how to modify the members of a type you have created in Class Designer by using the Class Details window.Class Details Window Usage Notes
Gives you tips on using the Class Details window.Display of Read-Only Information
Explains how the Class Designer and the Class Details window can display the types (and members of types) for a project, or for a project or assembly referenced from a project.
Class Library Design Guide
How to: Implement a Designer for a Control
Describes how to implement a designer (HelpLabelDesigner) for the HelpLabel extender provider control.How to: Create and Configure Components in Design Mode
Demonstrates how to use designer services to create and initialize components in your custom designer.How to: Access Design-Time Support in Windows Forms
Provides steps to access the design-time support provided by the .NET Framework.How to: Implement a HelpLabel Extender Provider
Demonstrates how to build an extender provider by creating the HelpLabel control.How to: Access Design-Time Services
Shows you how to gain access to the rich set of .NET Framework services so that you can integrate your components and controls into the design environment.How to: Serialize Collections of Standard Types with the DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute
Demonstrates how to use the DesignerSerializationVisibilityAttribute class to control how a collection is serialized at design time.How to: Perform Custom Initialization for Controls in Design Mode
Demonstrates how to initialize a control when it is created by the design environment.How to: Implement a Type Converter
Demonstrates how to use a type converter to convert values between data types, and to assist property configuration at design time by providing text-to-value conversion or a drop-down list of values to select from.How to: Implement a UI Type Editor
Demonstrates how to implement a custom UI type editor for Windows Forms.How to: Extend the Appearance and Behavior of Controls in Design Mode
Demonstrates how to create a custom designer that extends the user interface (UI) for designing a custom control.How to: Create a Windows Forms Control That Takes Advantage of Design-Time Features
Illustrates how to create a custom control and an associated custom designer. When this library is built, you can build custom MarqueeControl implementations that run on a form.How to: Attach Smart Tags to a Windows Forms Component
Shows how to add smart tag support to components and custom controls.How to: Adjust the Attributes, Events, and Properties of a Component in Design Mode
Demonstrates how to create a custom designer that adjusts a component's attributes, events, and properties.
Additional Resources
The following sites require an Internet connection.
Visual Studio 2008 Developer Center
Contains many articles and resources on developing applications using Visual Studio 2008. This site is updated regularly with new content.Visual C# Developer Center
Contains many articles and resources on developing C# applications. This site is updated regularly with new content.Microsoft .NET Framework Developer Center
Contains many articles and resources on developing and debugging .NET Framework applications. This site is updated regularly with new content.Microsoft Patterns and Practices Developer Center
Scenario-specific recommendations illustrating how to design, develop, deploy, and operate architecturally sound applications for the Microsoft .NET platform.