Managing files

Organizing and opening projects

The last thing we did in Lab 03. Installing the VSCode IDE was to open the python-test directory in VSCode.

Rule #1: Keep each project, assignment, and lab in its own directory. It is fine to aggregate those files under a single directory, like so:

~/seng-201
├── assignment1
├── assignment2
├── lab01
├── lab02
└── python-test
    ├── fib.py
    ├── hello.py
    └── hello2.py

Rule #2: Open the specific project directory in VSCode, not the parent directory. Suppose you want to work on assignment1, then you need to open the assignment1 folder. You open a folder in VSCode in two ways:

1. Use your Terminal/CLI to cd into the project folder, then type code .
2. Open VSCode first, then do File > Open Folder and descend inside the project folder, then click Open.

The folder you open serves as the working directory for VSCode. If you open the parent folder seng-201, you can still edit project files, but you will add complexity to running the projects. Don’t do it.

Explorer pane

The Explorer pane is where you browse and manage files. Open it by clicking on the Explorer icon on the main left sidebar:

Things you can do in the Explorer:

• Create new files and subdirectories.
• Double-click files to open.
• Right click files and directories for a variety of tools, like renaming and deleting.

Exercise

1. Click on the python-test folder name. You created this folder at the end of the 03. Installing the VSCode IDE lab

2. Click the New File icon. Type hello.py in the box and hit Enter.

   

3. You will see an editor tab pop open on the right with the name hello.py at the top.

Knowledge check:

• Question: (True/False) Each coding project should have its own directory on the filesystem?
• Question: (True/False) It’s okay to open the parent directory holding multiple projects in VSCode?
• Question: How do you open VSCode from the current directory from the CLI?