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Managing Open Windows

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The Text editor features options that control the display of source windows. You can switch between windows, open new windows, split window views, and view a source file in full-screen mode.

What do you want to do?

Switch to a source window

Create a new window for an open source file

Split a source window

View a source file in full-screen mode

End full-screen mode

Close a source file

To switch to a source window

  1. From the Window menu, choose Windows.

  2. Select a window from the Select Window list.

  3. Click the Activate button, or double-click the selection.

To create a new window for an open source file

  1. Switch to the source window.

  2. From the Window menu, choose the New Window command.

    A second copy of the source file is displayed with an :n suffix. As you open more windows on the source file, the value of n increases. You can scroll and split each window independently. You can make changes to the source file from any window.

    Note   When you first open a file, if you select the Read Only check box in the Open dialog box, the current window and any duplicates of the window remain read only.

To split a source window

  1. Switch to the source window.

    If there are multiple windows open on the source file, select one of them.

  2. From the Window menu, choose Split.

    The split bar appears.

  3. Drag the split bar to the location you want.

To view a source file in full-screen mode

  1. Switch to the source window.

  2. From the View menu, select Full Screen.

    The source window is displayed in full-screen mode. A small button appears at the top that allows you to reset the screen to regular mode.

    Initially, the toolbars, status bar, and scroll bars are hidden. From the Tools menu, choose Options and then use the Editor tab to control window settings.

To end full-screen mode

  • Press the ESC key.

All files are automatically closed when you quit Visual C++ (you will be prompted to save any changed files). You can also close any individual source file without quitting the application.

To close a source file

  1. From the Window menu, choose Windows.

  2. Select one or more files from the Select window box.

  3. Click Close Window.