How do you work with multiple open files with the same name in VisualStudio?

Question

Does anyone know anything in VisualStudio to make your life easier when you have a bunch of open files that are called the same? Quite often, I will have a bunch of files open with the same name, and I don’t know how to distinguish them, so I just need to go through the solution explorer. Is there a way to add guidance text for the full path to this stupid thing?

alt text http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/2094/91544289.png

This is not exactly the same question as Visual Studio - tips for managing work on many open files

I know that ctrl-tab provides the full path, but it is still a little cumbersome, since you need to shoot around to see the full path, and when there are many files open, it is not so fast than using the researcher solution.

Answer 1

I click on the tab and shows me the file directory.

Also, since you are using Resharper, you can use this keyboard shortcut and it will highlight the file in the solution explorer.

Alt + Shift + L

Since you are using Resharper, you can use its navigation instead of Visual Studio. In this example, you are looking for Default.aspx

Ctrl + Shift + N

This shortcut will open the file search screen. Type "Def" and choose the one you need.

Answer 2

Try right-clicking on the empty space next to the tab just above the code window. You will see some options for the new “group of tabs”, and you can choose horizontal or vertical.

If you have enough space for the monitor, you should be able to store similar files in different areas.

Good luck

Answer 3

If possible at all, avoid duplicate names. Not only this navigation can be confusing, but it can be worse.

I came across a rather strange behavior with duplicate file names within the same solution, both with Visual Studio (for example, during debugging), and with third-party tools that could not distinguish files.

It seemed to me that this is especially a problem with resource file names and project names.

Answer 4

If you press Ctrl + Tab, it will open a list of documents with a preview and a full file path.