How to get VB class map: regions with declarations inside?

Question

I need rapidly adopt myself to existing system written in VB. For some bigger classes of VB forms (2000+ lines) and others, I would like to get their overview containing regions and declarations inside them (methods, functions, properties and class-level variables) which I can print/save for reference.

Currently I can achieve this manually by deleting bodies of methods and removing comments. I am also able to use some advanced regex (regual expression) searches to mark desired lines, then filter the rest out. List of declarations can be obtained using Reflection, but I think it is always without #Region information.

Is there any VisualStudio functionality or external tool which can create such a 'class map' for me?

In other words, I'd like to generate files similar to C/C++ headers but for VB and also including #Region information.

Example of expected output:

Public Class frmXY_Sample1

#Region "Internal Variables" 
#Region "Form Common"
    Private _Connection As SqlClient.SqlConnection
    Private _DataFormType As XYZ.xyzDataFormType
    Private AllowEvents As Boolean
#End Region
#Region "Instance Data"
    Private _Instance As thisEnt
#End Region
#End Region

#Region "Form Events"
    Private Sub frmXY_SomeForm1_Load(sender As Object _
#End Region
#Region "Save..."
    Private Sub ID_Save_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) Handles ID_Save.Click
#End Region

#Region "FormTabs" 
#Region "Tab 'SampleTab1'"
    Private Sub TS_TAB1_AddNew_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) _
    Private Sub TS_TAB1_Detail_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) _
#End Region
#Region "Tab 'SampleTab2'"
    Private Sub TS_TAB2_Detail_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) _
    Private Sub TS_TAB2_Refresh_Click(sender As System.Object, e As System.EventArgs) _
    Private Sub TAB2_Grid_CellPainting(sender As System.Object _
#End Region

Thank you.

Answer 1

There is nothing exactly like you are looking for in Visual Studio 2012 Professional. If you are working in a C# project, you can automatically get a code map similar to what you are looking for with the "Go To Definition" feature.

Here is a snippet of C# code.

Pressing F12 while the cursor is on the StreamReader class causes the following metadata editor to open.

Use Go To Definition to decode VB class

The VB editor also has a Go To Definition, but it takes you to the Object Browser instead of the metatdata window. But there is a way to get the metadata.

Create a separate C# project. In my example, I made a simple Console application. Add a reference to your VB project Write some code in the C# project to instantiate a type in the VB library and use the C# F12 to get the metadata

Here is a simple VB class.

This is the C# code referring to the Printer class.

Here is the metadata from the VB class, from within the C# project.

I know this is not as complete as your example, but it's a start.

Other solutions

There is a Code Map extension you can install from the Tools\Extensions and Updates menu. I don't think it supports the printing option you want however.

Finally, you can create your own Visual Studio extension. This is not a trivial task though. Download the Visual Studio SDK if you want to learn more.