Refactor! for Visual Basic 2005 Refactor! for Visual Basic 2005 is a free plug-in from Developer Express Inc., in partnership with Microsoft, that enables Visual Basic developers to simplify and re-structure source code inside of Visual Studio 2005, making it easier to read and less costly to maintain. Refactor! supports more than 15 individual refactoring features, including operations like Reorder Parameters, Extract Method, Encapsulate Field and Create Overload.

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Simplify Your Visual Basic Code

More and more developers are recognizing that simple, easy-to-read code is the key to application flexibility and easy maintenance. Managers are realizing that easy maintenance means low cost maintenance. If you know in your heart that parts of your code base could be better, but uncertainty about maintenance cost or concerns over breaking code have kept you from cleaning up your house, then Refactor! is for you. Refactor! vaporizes barriers to code simplification, dramatically reducing the cost traditionally associated with improving, simplifying, and refactoring existing code.

• To perform an extract method, just select the block of code you want to extract, and press the Refactor Key.
• To reorder parameters, place the cursor on the type of the parameter and press the Refactor Key.
• To create a method overload, place the cursor at the start of the method declaration and press the Refactor Key.
• To reverse a conditional or replace a nested conditional with a guard clause, place the cursor on the "if" keyword and press the Refactor Key.

No other code simplification and refactoring tool is able to provide so much functionality with just one key. Refactor! is the only refactoring and code simplification tool with one-key refactoring.

To see Refactor! in action you can either view a Quick Introduction or a full 3-minute demonstration.

Say Goodbye to Modal Speed Bumps

Developers need tools that help them concentrate on producing code. Complex modal user interfaces, code preview windows, and distracting popup dialogs are simply speed bumps designed to slow you down. With Refactor!, nothing gets between you and your code. All Refactor! UI is grafted onto the surface of the editor.

So if you need to reorder parameters to a method, you'll actually see the parameters move in the code.

Refactor! is the only refactoring and code simplification tool to ship without any modal interface to slow you down.

Cut and Paste Refactoring

Much of refactoring is simply about moving code from one location to another. Only Refactor! exploits the clipboard to allow you to initiate refactorings simply by cutting from one location and pasting at a target location.

Let's say you need a new, small method derived from a chunk of a large, unwieldy beast of a method. You know what we're talking about. These juggernaut spaghetti code blocks can strike fear into the hearts of even the bravest and most highly-skilled coders. Well, stop trembling because it's time to divide and conquer! Simply cut out a chunk from the big method and paste it where you want the new method to appear. It's so simple you'll be slaying monsters in your code right and left without breaking a synaptic sweat.

Refactor! is the only refactoring and code simplification tool to use cut and paste as an entry point to refactoring.

Refactoring Smart Tags

While you work, Refactor! analyzes the code, looking for opportunities to simplify. When a refactoring is available, you'll see a refactoring smart tag appear below the identifier at the caret or near the selected code block. When a refactoring is available, the smart tag will look like this:

Just click the smart tag to see which refactorings are available.

Supported Refactoring Operations

The free version of Refactor! for Visual Basic supports the following refactoring operations:

• Reorder Parameters
• Extract Method
• Extract Property
• Create Overload
• Surrounds With
• Encapsulate field
• Reverse Conditional
• Simplify expression
• Introduce Local
• Introduce constant
• Inline Temp
• Replace Temp with Query
• Split Temporary Variable
• Move initialization to declaration
• Split initialization from declaration
• Move declaration near reference
• Create With Statement
• Extract Interface
• Inline With Statement
• Introduce Parameter
• Method to Property
• Property to Method(s)
• Remove Unused Parameter
• Widen Scope

Why Developer Express?

At Microsoft we heard your feedback when we announced that refactoring support would be cut from Visual Basic before the 2005 release. This was a difficult choice to make but it was not possible to finish work on refactoring along with the numerous other goals and projects for the 2005 release. Because of this Microsoft choose to partner with Developer Express Inc., a Visual Studio Integration Partner, to ensure that a refactoring tool would be available for Visual Basic developers and would have the features and functionality that we felt would most benefit you.

We feel that Refactor! is a product that integrates very well with Visual Studio and provides an experience that will be intuitive and powerful for Visual Basic users.

For more information about this partnership be sure and read Rob Copeland's blog.