Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The tool on the cover of Visual Studio Hacks is a voltmeter. Voltmeters, which were originally produced in 1888, are instruments used to measure differences of electric potential, commonly called voltage. An ideal voltmeter is an open circuit and therefore has infinite resistance. Although it is not actually possible to make a physical voltmeter with infinite resistance, a well-designed voltmeter has a very high resistance so that it does not have an appreciable affect on the current or voltage it is measuring. To accomplish this, a large resistor is placed in series with the galvanometer. The resistor controls the current produced by the galvanometer, which is quite small to begin with. Most voltmeters are based on the d'Arsonval galvanometer and are of the analog type, meaning they use moving coils to give voltage readings that can vary over a continuous range as indicated by a scale and pointer. Modern digital mechanisms give readings as numerical displays and generally have a higher order of accuracy than analog instruments. This type of voltmeter provides outputs that can be transmitted over distance, can activate printers or typewriters, and can feed into computers.

Mary Brady was the production editor, and Norma Emory was the copyeditor for Visual Studio Hacks. Katherine T. Pinard was the proofreader. Matt Hutchinson and Mary Anne Weeks Mayo provided quality control. Ellen Troutman-Zaig wrote the index. Lydia Onofrei provided production assistance.

Hanna Dyer designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is an original photograph by DJ Soft Tools V39 CD. Karen Montgomery produced the cover layout with InDesign CS using Adobe's Helvetica Neue and ITC Garamond fonts.

David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted by Joe Wizda to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Helvetica Neue Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano, Jessamyn Read, and Lesley Borash using Macromedia MX and Adobe Photoshop CS. This colophon was written by Lydia Onofrei.