More screen space in MSVS?

Question

I am using visual studios 2008. My laptop has the max screen res of 1366x768. What can i do to get more reading space? i was thinking of making the font smaller but it would be more helpful if i can make everything smaller (toolbar icons, text, etc)

The only improvement i done so far was remove a bunch of things under the toolbar so i have only one line. Actually for this project i remove the standard bar so i have have the solution and text directly under the menu with no toolbar. What else can i do to maximize reading space.

Answer 1

I got rid of the toolbars altogether and made things like the Solution Explorer autohide. I came to the realisation that the only toolbar button I ever used was a custom tool one I'd put there (I use the menu for that now). I'm running at 1920x1200 so real estate wasnt an issue - I just wanted less visual distractions. Just me and the code.

Answer 2

What I do is unpin all the various tool windows and views. Unpin the Solution Explorer, Properties viewer, Output etc. and the Toolbar. This leaves you with just the coding window and small bars around that allow you to hover over the edges of the window and see everything you just unpinned.

Answer 3

set the Solution explorer on the right to Auto-Hide, close the error window when possible (as in when you're not fixing errors), and try and drop the number of toolbars vertically to 1. You can also change the size of the text down by going to Tools > Options > Environment > Fonts and colors but i wouldn't shrink the text unless you have good vision. I recommend Consolas 12 Point for your code; it's a bit big but very nice looking!

Answer 4

Dual screens. The more pixels the better. I like 1920x1280 extended to across a matched monitor with vertically split tabs.

Probably not the answer you are looking for, but really, it HELPS A LOT.

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Ok ok:

1. Try Lucida Console as a font - it's readable at 8pt - and fixed width!
2. Hit Alt+Shift+Enter to get into Full Screen mode.
3. Float all your "helper" windows and use Ctrl+Tab to get to them. (Click using mouse)