How can I speed up xaml creation in VS 2008?

Ok I know about XAML Power Toys, and thats pretty cool, but still kind of cumbersome for me. I like code snippets in the C# code view, but I can't don't know how to do that in xaml designer.

What other options do I have?

Is there a simple way to add maybe code snippets? Instead of typing out all the column and row definitions of a g开发者_C百科rid.

Can I extend the xaml designer? How would I start that?

Should I try create an add-in like Xaml Power Toys that fits more my style?

Any ideas?

Options as I see it:

1. Use Expression Blend or XAMLPad to do your editing.
2. Download VS 2010 Beta 2

Sorry I can't offer anything better, but that's where we are at.

I certainly wouldn't start writing an addin for VS2008 at this point because VS2010 has major improvements that would make it a lot easier to do and with better results.

In the meantime, one easy improvement is to stop VS2008 loading the designer whenever you open a XAML file; this can save a lot of time if you do most of your XAML editing by hand or are using Blend, Kaxaml or another visual editor alongside VS2008.

To do this, open the Options window, go to Text Editor - XAML - Miscellaneous and enable the Always open documents in full XAML view option.