Pinning Projects
Unless disabled, the start page appears when Visual Studio is launched. In its default configuration, the page includes a list of projects that have been opened recently. In previous versions of the IDE, this was a simple list from which a project could be selected and loaded. In Visual Studio 2010, several new functions have been added.
The first improvement to the Recent Projects list is the ability to pin favourite items. If you move the mouse over a project name in the list, a pin icon is displayed. You can click this icon to pin items to the Recent Projects list or to unpin previously pinned items. Once an item is pinned, it will not be removed from the Recent Projects as new items are added. This allows you to ensure that your favourite projects are always visible on the start page.
The image below shows the Recent Projects list with two items pinned. As new items are added to the list, the pinned items will move downwards so that the most recently opened projects are at the top of the list. However, they will not be removed from the bottom of the list.
Removing Recent Projects
In previous versions of the IDE, you could not remove an item from the Recent Projects list unless the project was moved or deleted first. Visual Studio 2010 fixes this problem. If you right-click a project, you can select "Remove From List" from the context-sensitive menu that appears to remove it.
Opening Project Folders
The third improvement to the Recent Projects list allows a project folder to be opened using Windows Explorer, rather than opening the project or solution itself in the IDE. To open the project folder, right-click the project name and select "Open Containing Folder".
18 April 2010