Viewing Types and Relationships on Class Diagrams
The Visual Studio Class Designer uses a diagram to show you the details of types, their constituent members, and the relationships they share. Your visualization of these entities is actually a view into the code. This means that, for types that are read/write, you can edit them and then see your edits when you view the source code of the entity. Similarly, a class diagram is kept synchronized with changes you make to entities in code.
Note
If your project contains a class diagram and references a type that exists in another project, the class diagram does not show the referenced type until you build the project for that type. Likewise, the diagram does not display changes to the code of the external entity until you rebuild the project for that entity. For information about entities in referenced assemblies and read-only files, see Display of Read-Only Information.
In This Section
Understanding Code You Did Not Write
Describes how the Class Designer can be used to visualize pre-existing code.
Explains how to visualize existing types in the class designer.
How to: View Compartments in Type Shapes
Describes how to view compartments in type shapes.
Explains how to view type members in the Class Diagram
Describes how to group members of types in the Class Designer.
Explains how to view a type's details.
How to: View Inheritance Between Types
Describes how to view the inheritance relationships between types.
Explains how to view types derived from a particular base type.
How to: Change Between Member Notation and Association Notation
Describes how to switch between member notation and association notation.