>>>While VS2008 (the current one) has drag drop, it does not have true Visual editing and creation. I can create a form and UserControl Visually but when it comes to a class - which is THE basic building block of C# and VB I cannot design it visually in my VISUAL studio. I have to revert to code.
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>>>Why not ?
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>>I think part of the answer to that is that when using WPF you should rarely, if ever, need to sub-class an element for *visual* reasons - that is usually (and properly) achieved by using Styles/Templates. And, if you use a MVVM pattern, there's no reason to subclass for functional reasons either.
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>Viv
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>This part above, should have been (again my bad) in reference to normal Visual Studio, not WPF. I understand now, having read a lot more, that with templates and styles I can change things without subclassing. Although that is moving away from normal Dev, I understand and accept that as a valid way to develop.
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>My statement above was strictly about Visual Studio and its inability to visually design classes, one of the basic building blocks. Any reference to WPF is inadvertent. :)
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>So in the light of this, the Q is still open and unanswered.

OK.Now I'm a bit confused (a normal state of affairs) So, to be clear, when you refer to "desiging a class" you're referring to the sub-classing of a visual base class such as a button in Winforms?

If so, the best option is just to throw a button on a form and configure the appearance to your liking. You can then copy the relevant code from the designer.cs file and use it to create a button derived class. I know it's a kludge but it doesn't take long...
Best,
Viv