Advanced extension features

As we saw, we can easily add new commands to the menu of Visual Studio that allow us to interact with our IDE and even open external tools. In this section, we will explore the pre-set template we can leverage to extend Visual Studio.

So, if we go back to the Add Item window, by right-clicking on the project node and selecting Add | New Items…, you can find those kickstart ordered in four categories.

First, the Editor category encompasses templates that allow for the modification and enhancement of the Visual Studio editor itself. These modifications can range from changing how text is highlighted to adding interactive elements within the editor pane.

Figure 14.7 – Add a new Editor item

The following is an overview of the subcategories within the Editor category:

• Editor Classifier: An Editor Classifier item allows us to classify text within the editor based on custom rules. This can be used for syntax...