Web Matrix IDE   

If you decide to use ASP.NET Web Matrix for developing ASP.NET applications then you should be familiar with the development environment with which you will be working. The following will give you can overview of ASP.NET Web Matrix development environment. The image below shows ASP.NET Web Matrix up and running.

As you can notice from the image above, you can find the Menu Bar in the area displayed across the top of the main ASP.NET Web Matrix window directly below the blue title bar. The Menu Bar includes a set menu titles. Each menu title provides access to a drop-down menu composed of a collection of menu items, or choices. To select a task from the menu, you have to move the pointer over the menu items, point to a menu title and click the primary mouse button. The menu title is highlighted and the associated drop-down menu appears.

ToolBox Window

The toolbox window is the window that is displayed towards the left side of the main ASP.NET Web Matrix window and gives us access to all controls, components, etc. As you can see from the image below, the toolbox uses tabs to divide it's contents into categories. The four categories are as follows: HTML Elements, Web Controls, Custom Controls and My Snippets.

Workspace Window

The ASP.NET Web Matrix Workspace Window is the area displayed towards the top-right of the main ASP.NET Web Matrix window. The Workspace Window provides us with an organized view of our file system and open files as well as provides ready access to MSDE and SQL Server data stores. You can use the Workspace Window to navigate to and open ASP.NET Web Matrix files, or connect with MSDE and SQL Server database instances, manipulate data and maintain table and stored procedure objects. The image below displays the workspace window.

Properties Window

The Properties Window is towards the bottom-right of the main ASP.NET Web Matrix window. The properties window allows us to set properties for various objects. The image below displays properties window.

You can also use the Properties Window to view and search for .NET Assemblies or access the online Community to search for help. You need to click on the Classes tab found at the bottom of the properties window to view the Classes window. To access online community you need o click the Community tab.

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