C++ – What Visual Studio 2008 productivity features are missing from C++ Express edition

• None: The file is not included in the project output group and is not compiled in the build process. An example is a text file that contains documentation, such as a Readme file.

• Compile: The file is compiled into the build output. This setting is used for code files.

• Content: Allows you to retrieve a file (in the same directory as the assembly) as a stream via Application.GetContentStream(URI). For this method to work, it needs a AssemblyAssociatedContentFile custom attribute which Visual Studio graciously adds when you mark a file as "Content"

• Embedded resource: Embeds the file in an exclusive assembly manifest resource.

• Resource (WPF only): Embeds the file in a shared (by all files in the assembly with similar setting) assembly manifest resource named AppName.g.resources.

• Page (WPF only): Used to compile a xaml file into baml. The baml is then embedded with the same technique as Resource (i.e. available as `AppName.g.resources)

• ApplicationDefinition (WPF only): Mark the XAML/class file that defines your application. You specify the code-behind with the x:Class="Namespace.ClassName" and set the startup form/page with StartupUri="Window1.xaml"

• SplashScreen (WPF only): An image that is marked as SplashScreen is shown automatically when an WPF application loads, and then fades

• DesignData: Compiles XAML viewmodels so that usercontrols can be previewed with sample data in Visual Studio (uses mock types)

• DesignDataWithDesignTimeCreatableTypes: Compiles XAML viewmodels so that usercontrols can be previewed with sample data in Visual Studio (uses actual types)

• EntityDeploy: (Entity Framework): used to deploy the Entity Framework artifacts

• CodeAnalysisDictionary: An XML file containing custom word dictionary for spelling rules

TFS users: If you are using source control that requires you to warn it before your rename files/folders then look at this answer instead which covers the extra steps required.

To rename a project's folder, file (.*proj) and display name in Visual Studio:

• Close the solution.
• Rename the folder(s) outside Visual Studio. (Rename in TFS if using source control)
• Open the solution, ignoring the warnings (answer "no" if asked to load a project from source control).
• Go through all the unavailable projects and...
  • Open the properties window for the project (highlight the project and press Alt+Enter or F4, or right-click > properties).
  • Set the property 'File Path' to the new location.
    • If the property is not editable (as in Visual Studio 2012), then open the .sln file directly in another editor such as Notepad++ and update the paths there instead. (You may need to check-out the solution first in TFS, etc.)
  • Reload the project - right-click > reload project.
  • Change the display name of the project, by highlighting it and pressing F2, or right-click > rename.

Note: Other suggested solutions that involve removing and then re-adding the project to the solution will break project references.

If you perform these steps then you might also consider renaming the following to match:

1. Assembly
2. Default/Root Namespace
3. Namespace of existing files (use the refactor tools in Visual Studio or ReSharper's inconsistent namespaces tool)

Also consider modifying the values of the following assembly attributes:

1. AssemblyProductAttribute
2. AssemblyDescriptionAttribute
3. AssemblyTitleAttribute