JetBrains Rider 2023.3 Help

Explorer window

The Solution explorer lets you take a look at your solution from various viewpoints and perform different tasks such as creating new items (directories, files, classes, and so on), opening files in the editor, navigating to the necessary code fragments, and more.

Most of the functions in this tool window are accessed as context menu commands in the content pane and via associated shortcuts.

Also, the view contains the Scratches and Consoles folder that lets you manage created scratch files, database consoles, and extension scripts.

Views

The tool window has several views:

  • Solution view, which contains the solution node with an organized logical view of projects and project items in the current solution, as defined in its .sln file.

  • FileSystem view, which shows you all files and subdirectories starting from the directory where the current solution file is located.

  • Unity view, which provides an organized view of all assets in a Unity project (you see exactly the same project tree as in the Unity editor). This view is only available for Unity projects.

  • Assembly Explorer view, which lets you open and explore compiled assemblies.

To switch between views, press Alt+Right/Alt+Left or select the desired view from the list on the title bar.

JetBrains Rider: choosing a view in the Solution Explorer

To configure a view, use the corresponding options in the title bar context menu. The necessary options can also be accessed by clicking Settings on the title bar.

Search the Explorer window

There are two ways to search items in the Explorer window: speed search and full search.

Speed search works in all views of the window — start typing when the application focus is in the Explorer window and JetBrains Rider will highlight all items that match your query in the opened nodes.

JetBrains Rider: Speed search in the Explorer window

Full search works in the Solution and File System views — press Ctrl+F or click Find on the toolbar and start typing the search query. If there are matching items, JetBrains Rider will expand the tree at the first match and highlight it.

You can then press F3 and Shift+F3 or click the arrow buttons on the search panel to navigate between the matches.

JetBrains Rider: Full search in the Explorer window

In the Solution view, you can optionally click Search Settings on the search panel and choose to include dependencies (referenced assemblies, imports, NuGet packages, and so on) in the search.

Preview files

There are two ways to preview files without opening each one in a separate tab:

  • Use the file preview popup: select a file in the Solution explorer and press Space.

  • Enable the preview tab: click the Options button and select Enable Preview Tab.

Show file size and modification timestamp

You can view the size and modification timestamp for the files in the solution tree.

  • Select View | Appearance | Details in Tree View from the main menu.

JetBrains Rider Solution Explorer: Details in Tree Views

Show tree indent guides

In the Solution Explorer tool window , you can display vertical lines that mark indent levels and help you better understand the hierarchy of the components in your solution.

  1. Go to Settings | Appearance and Behavior | Appearance.

  2. Set the Show tree indent guides checkbox.

JetBrains Rider: Tree indent guides in tool windows

Toolbar buttons

Item

Description

Show all files Show All Files

By default, JetBrains Rider only displays projects, files and references that are included in the current solution.

You can use the Show All Files option to additionally display all subdirectories and files that are located on the file system under the solution directory. For your convenience, those items are shown in yellow. If non-solution items are not indexed by JetBrains Rider, meaning that you cannot use, for example, Ctrl+Shift+F to search in those files, these items are marked with the no index label. External items in the current solution are marked as attached.

JetBrains Rider: Solution Explorer with the 'Show All Files' option enabled

Open Files with Single Click Open Files with Single Click

Open an item in the editor by clicking it in the Solution Explorer tool window once. Otherwise, you need to double-click items to open them.

Note that you cannot disable this option if you enable the preview tab.

Always Select Opened File Always Select Opened File

If this option is on, JetBrains Rider automatically locates documents that you open in the editor in the current view of this window.

File nesting settings File Nesting Settings

Opens the File nesting dialog where you can configure presentation of files that have same names but different extensions.

Code analysis in Solution Explorer

When solution-wide analysis is enabled, files where JetBrains Rider has detected errors as well as all their parent items are highlighted with red underlines in the Solution Explorer view:

JetBrains Rider: error highlighting in the Solution Explorer

Title bar context menu

The context menu that appears by right-clicking the title bar or clicking Options button (the Options icon) provides settings for solution views, viewing modes, as well as for switching between the views, resizing the tool window, and more.

The following table lists and briefly explains the available commands and options.

Item

Shortcut

Description

Select Next View or Tab

Alt+Right

Use this option to switch between different views.

Select Previous View or Tab

Alt+Left

Use this option to switch between different views.

Show List of Views or Tabs

Alt+Down

Use this option to switch between different views.

Tree Appearance

Scratches and Consoles

Hide or display the Scratches and Consoles node.

This node contains your scratch files and query consoles.

Sort by Name

Sort files alphabetically by their names.

The option does not affect the order of folders, they are always sorted alphabetically.

Sort by Modification Time (Newest First/Oldest First)

Sort files by the time they were modified. To display this information, select View | Appearance | Details in Tree View from the main menu.

The option does not affect the order of folders, they are always sorted alphabetically.

Folders Always on Top

If the option is on, folders are shown above the files. Otherwise, all items are sorted alphabetically, and files and folders appear intermixed.

Enable Preview Tab

Enable the preview tab that allows you to view files in a single tab one by one without opening each file in a new tab.

Open Files with Single Click

Open an item in the editor by clicking it in the Solution Explorer tool window once. Otherwise, you need to double-click items to open them.

Note that you cannot disable this option if you enable the preview tab.

Open Directories with Single Click

Expand and collapse directories in the Solution Explorer tool window by clicking them once. Otherwise, you need to double-click a directory to open it or use the Expand icon next to the directory's name.

Always Select Opened File

If this option is on, JetBrains Rider automatically locates documents that you open in the editor in the current view of this window.

Show Toolbar

Shows or hides the window toolbar.

Group Tabs

If this option is on, there is a list in the left-hand part of the title bar from which you can select the necessary view.

If this option is off, the views are represented by tabs which appear in the left-hand part of the title bar.

View Mode

This option lets you control general appearance and behavior of the tool window. For full information, refer to Tool window view modes.

Move to

To associate the tool window with a different tool window bar, select this command, and then select the destination tool window bar (Top, Left, Bottom or Right). For full information, refer to the Move tool windows chapter.

Resize

To resize the tool window by moving one of its borders, select this command, and then select the necessary Stretch to option.

Note that this command is not available for the floating mode.

Remove from Sidebar

This command hides the tool window, removes the associated tool window button from the tool window bar and removes the tool window from the quick access menu (tb shown or tb hidden).

To open the tool window again (and restore the associated features), use the main menu: View | Tool Windows | <Window Name> or press Alt+1.

Hide

Shift+Escape

Hide the tool window.

Help

This command opens the description of the Solution Explorer tool window in the JetBrains Rider online help.

Title bar actions

Item

Shortcut

Description

Select Next View or Tab

Select Previous View or Tab

Alt+Right

Alt+Left

If the views are currently shown as tabs (the Group Tabs option is off), this button appears to the right of the last visible tab.

Open the list of views, for example, to select a different view.

Select Opened File

Navigate from a file in the editor to the corresponding node (file, class, field, method, and so on) in the Solution explorer.

This icon is not available if the Always Select Opened File option is currently on.

expand all

Ctrl+NumPad Plus

Expand all nodes.

collapse all

Ctrl+NumPad Minus

Collapse all nodes.

Hide tool window

Shift+Escape

Hide the tool window Shift+Escape.

To hide all the tool windows, press Ctrl+Shift+F12.

Context menu commands for the content pane items

The context menu of an item provides access to all the functions available for this item.

Item

Shortcut

Description

Add

Alt+Insert

Create a new item (directory, file, or class) within the selected one. (solution or directory).

JetBrains Rider will suggest available file templates for creating new files.

You can also choose Add Existing Item to associate an existing file or directory with your solution. In this case JetBrains Rider will additionally ask you whether you want to copy, move, or create a link to the existing item.

Manage NuGet Packages

This command is available on the solution and project nodes. It opens the NuGet window where you can manage NuGet packages.

Unload/Reload Project(s)

Use this command to temporarily exclude selected projects from the solution. Unloaded projects are excluded from the build, code inspection and indexing. However, you will still be able to open files Ctrl+Shift+N from unloaded projects and perform textual search Ctrl+Shift+F.

Note that if you want to view or edit the project file (.csproj or .vbproj) you can do so without unloading the project.

Build Solution/Selected Projects

This command builds the solution or selected projects.

Run Unit Tests

Ctrl+;, R

Use this command to start unit tests in the selected scope.

Advanced Build Actions | Rebuild Solution/Selected Projects

Removes build artifacts from previous builds and then build the selected projects.

Advanced Build Actions | Clean Solution/Selected Projects

Removes build artifacts from previous builds.

Advanced Build Actions | Pack Selected Project

Runs the dotnet pack command for the selected project. It will build the project and create a NuGet package.

Note that the command only works for .NET Core/ASP.NET Core projects.

Advanced Build Actions | Package Solution/Selected Projects

This command helps deploying classic ASP.NET projects. It will use the Package MSBuild target to generate a deployment package in the form of a .zip file, which you can then deploy using the MSDeploy command line.

Reference in C# Interactive

Use this command to add reference(s) to the selected project to the C# Interactive session. If no sessions are open, JetBrains Rider will create a new session.

Edit | Cut

Ctrl+X

Move the selected item or items from the current location to the clipboard.

Edit | Copy

Ctrl+C

Copy the selected item or items to the clipboard.

Copy Path/Reference

Use this command and one of the following options to copy the selected item(s) to the clipboard:

  • Absolute Path: copies the full path(s) of the selected item or items.

  • File Name: copies only the filename to the clipboard.

  • Path From Content Root: copies the path relative to the directory that contains the application content files.

  • Path From Source Root: copies the path relative to the Sources Root.

  • Path From Repository Root: copies the path relative to the project repository.

  • GitHub Repository URL: copies the path relative to the project repository on GitHub.

  • Toolbox URL: if you have JetBrains Rider Toolbox installed, you can insert the copied path in the browser to open the Toolbox application with the selected project.

  • Copy Reference (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C): copies the reference of the selected item including the line number.

Edit | Paste

Ctrl+V

Insert the contents of the clipboard into the selected location.

Edit | Rename

Shift+F6

Use this command to invoke the Rename refactoring for the current file, folder, or project.

Edit | Edit 'file'

F4

Open the selected file in the editor. If the file is already open, the corresponding editor tab will become active.

Edit | Edit 'file' in Right Split

Shift+Enter

Open the selected file in the right split, so that the currently opened document also stays visible. For more information, refer to Split editor into multiple tab groups or windows.

Copy Path

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C

Use this command to copy the absolute or the relative path to the selected item to the clipboard.

Inspect Code

Use this command to run code inspection for the selected item.

Refactor This

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+T

Perform one of the refactorings available for the selected item.

Code Cleanup

Ctrl+R, C

Use this command to run code cleanup in the selected scope.

Edit | Delete

Delete

Delete the selected item. Note that this command will remove the selected file or project from the solution and from the file system. Therefore, use this command only if you are absolutely sure that the item is not used anywhere. In all other cases, use the Safe Delete refactoring Alt+Delete.

Change Dialect (<CurrentDialect>)

For SQL files and database consoles, change the SQL dialect associated with the file or console.

Run '<item_name>'

Ctrl+Shift+F10

For an SQL file or query console: execute all the statements contained in the selected file or console.

Show History

View local history for the selected file or directory, or to create a label for the current version of your solution.

Tools | Synchronize '<item_name>'

Synchronize the view in the tool window with the view saved in the file system.

If you change a file or directory contents externally, JetBrains Rider, under certain circumstances, may not be aware of the corresponding changes unless you use this command.

Open in

Open a file in your system file manager or in Terminal.

Tools | Compare With

Ctrl+D

Compare the selected file or directory with another file or directory. See Compare files, folders, and text sources and Diff Viewer for folders.

Tools | Compare File with Editor

Compare the selected file with the file open on an active editor tab. See Compare files, folders, and text sources and Diff Viewer for files.

Tools | Create Gist

Use this command to share code by using gists.

Properties

Alt+Enter

Use this command to access build properties of the selected item.

File status highlights

If VCS integration is enabled for the current solution, JetBrains Rider uses colors to denote VCS file status in the Solution tool window.

You can configure VCS file status colors on the Version Control | File Status Colors page of the IDE settings  Ctrl+Alt+S.

JetBrains Rider: Configure VCS file status colors

The table below lists default file status colors and their meanings in some of the color schemes.

Color

File Status

Description

Color sample: dark green #0A7700

Added

The file in the active changelist is scheduled for addition to the repository.

Color sample: green #0EAA00

Added in not active changelist

The file in an inactive changelist is scheduled for addition to the repository. This file status is available if the Highlight files from non-active changelists option is enabled in Settings | Version Control | Changelists.

Color sample: red #FF0000

Changelist conflict

The file in an inactive changelist has been modified in the active changelist. In this case, a new dialog will open, prompting you to resolve the changelist conflict. This file status is available if all options are enabled in Settings | Version Control | Changelists.

Color sample: dark green #0A7700

Copied

If a file is a copy of another file, its metadata is tracked, and such a file is marked as copied.

Color sample: grey #616161

Deleted

The file is scheduled for deletion from the repository.

Color sample: dull purple #773895

Deleted from file system

The file has been deleted locally but hasn't been scheduled for deletion, and it still exists in the repository.

Color sample: light grayish blue #8AA4C8

Have changed descendants

If a file is modified, the IDE will recursively highlight all directories containing that file. This status is available if the Highlight directories that contain modified files in the Project tree option is enabled in Settings | Version Control | Confirmation.

Color sample: bright blue #3264B4

Have immediate changed children

If a file is modified, the IDE will highlight its parent directory. This status is available if the Highlight directories that contain modified files in the Project tree option is enabled in Settings | Version Control | Confirmation.

Color sample: light brown #B28C00

Hijacked

[Perforce, ClearCase, VSS] The file is modified without checkout.

Color sample: dark olive #727238

Ignored

A file is intentionally untracked by VCS.

Color sample: purple #7503DC

Merged

The file is merged by your VCS as a result of an update.

Color sample: red #FF0000

Merged with conflicts

During the last update, the file has been merged with conflicts.

Color sample: red #FF0000

Merged with property conflicts

During the last update, the IDE has detected differences between the properties of the local file and its server version.

Color sample: red #FF0000

Merged with text and property conflicts

Text and property conflicts happen when two or more developers modify the same lines of a file and the same file properties.

Color sample: bright navy #0032A0

Modified

The file has changed since the last synchronization.

Color sample: blue #0047E4

Modified in not active changelist

The file in an inactive changelist has been modified. This file status is available if the Highlight files from non-active changelists option is enabled in Settings | Version Control | Changelists.

Color sample: Olive #7C7C00

Obsolete

The file should no longer be in your working copy of the repository.

Color sample: teal #007C7C

Renamed

Since the last update, the file has been renamed.

Color sample: dark cyan #08978F

Switched

[SVN] The file is taken from a different branch than the whole project.

Color sample: brown #993300

(Unknown) Unversioned

The file exists locally but is not in the repository and is not scheduled for addition.

Color sample: black None (default color)

Up to date

The file hasn't been changed.

Color

File Status

Description

Color sample: dull green #629755

Added

The file in the active changelist is scheduled for addition to the repository.

Color sample: dull green #629755

Added in not active changelist

The file in an inactive changelist is scheduled for addition to the repository. This file status is available if the Highlight files from non-active changelists option is enabled in Settings | Version Control | Changelists.

Color sample: dull red #D5756C

Changelist conflict

The file in an inactive changelist has been modified in the active changelist. In this case, a new dialog will open, prompting you to resolve the changelist conflict. This file status is available if all options are enabled in Settings | Version Control | Changelists.

Color sample: green #0A7700

Copied

If a file is a copy of another file, its metadata is tracked, and such a file is marked as copied.

Color sample: grey #6C6C6C

Deleted

The file is scheduled for deletion from the repository.

Color sample: dull purple #6C6C6C

Deleted from file system

The file has been deleted locally but hasn't been scheduled for deletion, and it still exists in the repository.

Color sample: light blue #6897BB

Have changed descendants

If a file is modified, the IDE will recursively highlight all directories containing that file. This status is available if the Highlight directories that contain modified files in the Project tree option is enabled in Settings | Version Control | Confirmation.

Color sample: light blue #6897BB

Have immediate changed children

If a file is modified, the IDE will highlight its parent directory. This status is available if the Highlight directories that contain modified files in the Project tree option is enabled in Settings | Version Control | Confirmation.

Color sample: white None (default color)

Hijacked

[Perforce, ClearCase, VSS] The file is modified without checkout.

Color sample: light olive #848504

Ignored

A file is intentionally untracked by VCS.

Color sample: light purple #9876AA

Merged

The file is merged by your VCS as a result of an update.

Color sample: dull red #D5756C

Merged with conflicts

During the last update, the file has been merged with conflicts.

Color sample: dull red #D5756C

Merged with property conflicts

During the last update, the IDE has detected differences between the properties of the local file and its server version.

Color sample: dull red #D5756C

Merged with text and property conflicts

Text and property conflicts happen when two or more developers modify the same lines of a file and the same file properties.

Color sample: light blue #6897BB

Modified

The file has changed since the last synchronization.

Color sample: light blue #6897BB

Modified in not active changelist

The file in an inactive changelist has been modified. This file status is available if the Highlight files from non-active changelists option is enabled in Settings | Version Control | Changelists.

Color sample: white None (default color)

Obsolete

The file should no longer be in your working copy of the repository.

Color sample: strong cyan #3A8484

Renamed

Since the last update, the file has been renamed.

Color sample: white None (default color)

Switched

[SVN] The file is taken from a different branch than the whole project.

Color sample: soft red #D1675A

(Unknown) Unversioned

The file exists locally but is not in the repository and is not scheduled for addition.

Color sample: white None (default color)

Up to date

The file hasn't been changed.

Color

File Status

Description

Color sample: green #62CC47

Added

The file in the active changelist is scheduled for addition to the repository.

Color sample: green #62CC47

Added in not active changelist

The file in an inactive changelist is scheduled for addition to the repository. This file status is available if the Highlight files from non-active changelists option is enabled in Settings | Version Control | Changelists.

Color sample: dull red #FF6666

Changelist conflict

The file in an inactive changelist has been modified in the active changelist. In this case, a new dialog will open, prompting you to resolve the changelist conflict. This file status is available if all options are enabled in Settings | Version Control | Changelists.

Color sample: green #62CC47

Copied

If a file is a copy of another file, its metadata is tracked, and such a file is marked as copied.

Color sample: orange #ED864A

Deleted

The file is scheduled for deletion from the repository.

Color sample: orange #ED864A

Deleted from file system

The file has been deleted locally but hasn't been scheduled for deletion, and it still exists in the repository.

Color sample: vivid cyan #4FF0FF

Have changed descendants

If a file is modified, the IDE will recursively highlight all directories containing that file. This status is available if the Highlight directories that contain modified files in the Project tree option is enabled in Settings | Version Control | Confirmation.

Color sample: vivid cyan #4FF0FF

Have immediate changed children

If a file is modified, the IDE will highlight its parent directory. This status is available if the Highlight directories that contain modified files in the Project tree option is enabled in Settings | Version Control | Confirmation.

Color sample: white None (default color)

Hijacked

[Perforce, ClearCase, VSS] The file is modified without checkout.

Color sample: light olive #A9B837

Ignored

A file is intentionally untracked by VCS.

Color sample: light purple #ED94FF

Merged

The file is merged by your VCS as a result of an update.

Color sample: dull red #FF6666

Merged with conflicts

During the last update, the file has been merged with conflicts.

Color sample: dull red #FF6666

Merged with property conflicts

During the last update, the IDE has detected differences between the properties of the local file and its server version.

Color sample: dull red #FF6666

Merged with text and property conflicts

Text and property conflicts happen when two or more developers modify the same lines of a file and the same file properties.

Color sample: vivid cyan #4FF0FF

Modified

The file has changed since the last synchronization.

Color sample: vivid cyan #4FF0FF

Modified in not active changelist

The file in an inactive changelist has been modified. This file status is available if the Highlight files from non-active changelists option is enabled in Settings | Version Control | Changelists.

Color sample: white None (default color)

Obsolete

The file should no longer be in your working copy of the repository.

Color sample: vivid cyan #4FF0FF

Renamed

Since the last update, the file has been renamed.

Color sample: white None (default color)

Switched

[SVN] The file is taken from a different branch than the whole project.

Color sample: soft red D1675A

(Unknown) Unversioned

The file exists locally but is not in the repository and is not scheduled for addition.

Color sample: white None (default color)

Up to date

The file hasn't been changed.

File colors

Files that belong to different scopes (production files or test files, for example) can be highlighted in different colors in the Solution Explorer tool window , search results, and editor tabs.

To each scope, you can assign its own color. For more information, refer to Associate scopes with colors.

Scope highlighting in the editor tabs and search results
Last modified: 21 March 2024