FileTool.exe Replaces the Open and Add-to-Project Features in Visual C++

Launching the Open File dialog box in Visual C++ using the keyboard shortcut key or from the File menu results in the following error: The same error occurs when you select Add to Project from the Project menu and click Files.

FileTool.exe is a sample that replaces the Open and Add to Project menu items in Visual C++ using the Developer Studio Object Model.

The Developer Studio Object Model contains methods that both open files and add files to a project. The BuildProject object contains an AddFile method that adds files to a project. The Documents object contains an Open method that can open files into Developer Studio. These can be used in either a macro or Add-In.

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:


The self-extracting FileTool.exe file contains the following files:


For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help to prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

Installing the Add-In

1. Run FileTool.Exe to extract the Visual C++ 6.0 project.
2. Build the project in Visual C++ in Release or Debug configuration.
3. In Visual C++, click Customize from the Tools menu.
4. In the Customize dialog box, click the Add-Ins and Macro Files tab.
5. Click the Browse button and locate the FileTool.dll file that was built in step 2.
6. Click OK to save the settings.

A toolbar for the two commands appears.

NOTE: Only the Open command works in Visual C++ 5.0. The AddFile method was added with the Visual Studio 6.0 release.

Removing Shortcut Keys

After you load the add-in, you can remove the shortcut keys for the menu items that stop Visual C++ and assign them to the two add-in commands by following the steps below:

1. From the Visual C++ Tools menu, click Customize.
2. In the Customize dialog box, click the Keyboard tab.
3. From the Category box select File.
4. In the Commands window, select FileOpen.
5. In the Current keys window, select the CTRL+O entry and then click Remove.
6. From the Category box select Project.
7. In the Commands window, select InsertFilesIntoProject. If there is a shortcut associated with it, follow step 5 to remove it. By default there is no shortcut key for this item.
8. From the Category box select Add-Ins.
9. The two add-in commands AddFileToProject and OpenFile appear in the Commands window.
10. Select OpenFile then put the cursor in the Press New Shortcut Key box, press the shortcut key or key combination that you want, and click Assign.
11. Repeat the above step for the other command. The assigned shortcut keys for the two commands appear in the Current Keys window.

You may also wish to remove the menu commands and insert the AddIn commands in their place. To insert the new AddIn commands in the MenuBar, use the following steps:

1. From the Visual C++ Tools menu, click Customize.
2. Click the File menu and then drag the Open command off of the File popup and release it.
3. Click the Project menu, click Add To Project and then drag the Files command off of the popup and release it.
4. In the Customize dialog box, select the Commands tab.
5. Select Add-ins from the Category list box.
6. Drag the OpenFile command to the File menu and drop it in the space vacated by the Open command.
7. Drag the AddFileToProject command to the Add To Project item on the Project menu and drop it in the space vacated by the Files command.

When the menus have been modified as above, it is not necessary to have the AddIn toolbar visible.

See the following topics in the MSDN Library (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library) for Visual C++ 6.0 for documentation on Visual C++ Automation and associating shortcut keys in the Visual C++ IDE: