Remote server projects

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Remote server projects offers a new way to work with Php inside Visual Studio. Instead of having to copy the files locally, edit them and then deploy them back to the server, you can edit the files directly on the remote server and see your changes immediately.

The process starts with a new project wizard. It asks you for the location of the remote server. You can use Ftp, SFtp and FtpS to acces the remote server. The wizard will then query the server for key information on the Php configuration. Including the following:

  • List of all modules installed on the server
  • Version of Php the server is running
  • Include search directories

The process of server instrospection allows VS.Php to configure the project so that intellisense provides the most relevant content based specifically on what is available on the server

User references

When you are adding a new user reference, you will get a file open dialog that shows the content of the files on the remote server, not the local files. This allows you to work on the remote server as close as possible.

Libraries

Libraries are a new concept in VS.Php 2.3. It allows you to reference a directory on the remote server in your project. This allows include statements to resolve the references properly. VS.Php then can provide the appropiate intellisense content.

Conclusion

Remote server project offers a very easy to use way to edit remote files with no hassles.