One of the easiest “code smells” to deodorise is that of "duplicate code" - Simian is a Similarity Analyser that detects duplications in source code (C#, C, C++ ASP, XML etc); once detected you can easily locate the duplication and perform an "Extract Method" refactor in Visual Studio. Simian is a command line tool - but you can integrate it into Visual Studio via the extensibility of the External Tools menu.
The best way to configure Visual Studio to use Simian is to add seperate entries that will examine the whole solution, the current project and the current file:
Scan Whole Solution:
Scan Current File:
If you're wondering what $(ItemFileName) and $(ItemExt) mean - read the MSDN article "Arguments for External Tools".
Scan Current Project:
You can then add keyboard short-cuts to the external tools – for example below shows the keyboard options dialog for the mapping of Ctrl-Alt + \ I used for “Scan Solution” :
To find out the name of the external command you have created simply count the position of the item after “Create Guid” – Simian is 7th therefore it’s ExternalCommand7:
