Visual Studio 2013 Update 2 - Remove Project dropdown in C# navigation bar?

Question

I recently updated my Visual Studio 2013 to Update 2 RTM. Now for my C# files, the navigation bar has a new dropdown for Projects, instead of just having Types<

Answer 1

There is no (official anyway) way to hide the project dropdown currently. We are considering it though.

Please file a suggestion on http://visualstudio.uservoice.com or file a bug on https://connect.microsoft.com to get your feedback heard.

Answer 2

In Visual Studio 2013 Update 3, which was released this week (http://www.visualstudio.com/news/2014-aug-4-vs) , we have added the ability to re-size the splitters in the Navigation Bar to your own taste. We will save this setting for you. This means if you don't want to use real-estate on the Context Switcher, you can make it very small, but without changing the keyboard behavior of the Navigation Bar. We hope you like this change, which will also appear in the next public release of Visual Studio "14".

Let us know what you think.

Thanks!

Mark Wilson-Thomas

Program Manager, Visual Studio Editor

Answer 3

I don't think as things currently stand that you can disable it, but its name is apparently "Context Switcher".

According to this MSDN blog, it would appear to be a new feature intended to help you manage shared files in Universal Apps. I agree that it's confusing, and I'm not a big fan.

A thorough search of the VS options for anything related to "Navigation Bar", "Context Switcher", or "Universal Apps" comes up empty and there don't seem to be any extensions offering this capability either. As far as I know these would be the main avenues for configuration, so my conclusion is that we are stuck with it until the next VS update or until someone gets around to making an extension that can disable it.

If you prefer, you can disable the navigation bar entirely in "Tools > Options > Text Editor > All Languages > Navigation Bar" (or you can disable the bar on a language by language basis.)

Update: As of Visual Studio 2013 Update 3, you can drag and adjust the relative sizing of the 3 drop down lists in the navigation bar.

From a little local testing it looks like the sizing you set is shared between all files and solutions and it persists after closing and reopening visual studio.

I shrank the context switcher down to just the visible text, and it feels more well proportioned and closer to the classic Class and Member drop down layout.

Answer 4

A specific issue has been opened at: http://visualstudio.uservoice.com/forums/121579-visual-studio/suggestions/5748900-add-option-to-exclude-the-new-shared-file-dropdow Please vote !