Is there a shortcut to move between header and source file in VC++?

Question

This is a feature I have grown accustomed to in Eclipse (Ctrl+Tab). Is there an equivalent in Visual C++?

Answer 1

In Visual Studio 2013 and later there is a default keyboard shortcut for this: Ctrl+K, Ctrl+O (You will need to hold down Ctrl and type ko and then release Ctrl)

In earlier versions, see:

Visual Studio Macro to switch between CPP and H files

or

Open Corresponding File in Visual Assist

Answer 2

You could add this macro to your VS config (via Tools -> Macros -> Macro Explorer) then assign a hotkey to it (via Tools -> Options -> Environment -> Keyboard).

I only just wrote it (been meaning to try this for ages!) but it seems to work so far, in both VS2008 and VS2010.

Since it's a macro you can edit it to include whatever rules you want (e.g. looking in other folders, or special naming rules if you have a single header shared by multiple cpp files or similar).

Here's the macro (I'm sure it could be better written; I'm unfamiliar with the VS objects and only realised macros were using .Net about half-way through writing the thing :)):

Sub FileSwitch()
    Try
        Dim CurrentPath As String = DTE.ActiveDocument.FullName
        Dim OtherPath As String

        If (IO.Path.HasExtension(CurrentPath)) Then
            Dim CurrentExtension As String = IO.Path.GetExtension(CurrentPath)

            Select Case CurrentExtension
                Case ".h", ".hpp", ".hxx"
                    OtherPath = IO.Path.ChangeExtension(CurrentPath, ".cpp")
                    If (Not IO.File.Exists(OtherPath)) Then
                        OtherPath = IO.Path.ChangeExtension(CurrentPath, ".c")
                        If (Not IO.File.Exists(OtherPath)) Then
                            OtherPath = IO.Path.ChangeExtension(CurrentPath, ".cxx")
                        End If
                    End If
                Case ".cpp", ".c", ".cxx"
                    OtherPath = IO.Path.ChangeExtension(CurrentPath, ".h")
                    If (Not IO.File.Exists(OtherPath)) Then
                        OtherPath = IO.Path.ChangeExtension(CurrentPath, ".hpp")
                        If (Not IO.File.Exists(OtherPath)) Then
                            OtherPath = IO.Path.ChangeExtension(CurrentPath, ".hxx")
                        End If
                    End If
                Case Else
            End Select
            If (OtherPath <> Nothing) Then
                DTE.ItemOperations.OpenFile(OtherPath)
            End If
        End If

    Catch ex As System.Exception
        MsgBox(ex.Message)
    End Try
End Sub

Here's a (very wide :)) screenshot showing what the macro editor and hotkey/options dialogs should look like, to help those not familiar with them:

Answer 3

In their (in)finite wisdom, MS decided to remove macros in MSVS 2012, so the macro above won't work.

For MSVS 2012, I found this:

http://www.dwmkerr.com/switch/

It's highly configurable + if you want to help improving it, you can do so on GitHub.

Answer 4

I'm a fan of Visual Assist for doing this. Its not cheap but it provides a lot more functionality than switching between header and source. I also use its open file in project and class browsing features a lot. Of course the macro is free...

Answer 5

I don't see this answer here, but at least in Visual Studio 2012 (Express included!), you can just assign your own keyboard command to go to the header file (NOTE: Only goes one way -- you can't go back to the source file unfortunately...)

1. Go to Tools/Options/Environment/Keyboard.
2. Find the following command: EditorContextMenus.CodeWindow.GoToHeaderFile
3. Assign whatever key combination you want (Alt-S works)
4. Profit

Not sure which versions of VS this works in, but it doesn't require any add-ins and seems to do the trick in at least one direction.

Answer 6

Try PhatStudio. It's free and comes with an easy installer.

• ALT + S = Switch between header/source file

• ALT + O = Open a file (supports instant search via typing, like the start menu in Windows Vista/7).