From time to time, folks seem to have issues with dialog boxes or tool windows disappearing. Most often, they are somehow off-screen and therefore unusable. For some dialog windows, the Visual Studio title bar turns gray, indicating the tool window does in fact have focus, it just can't be seen.

There are a couple steps you can follow to get your dialogs and windows back. First, if you don't mind rebuilding your window layouts, you can instantiate the dialog or tool window, and choose Windows | Reset Window Layout. This has worked for a number of people.

If you don't want to have to deal with resetting tool windows and the like, these steps are for you:

For a Tool Window:

1. Invoke the Find window (Ctrl+F or Ctrl+Shift+F)
2. Click Alt+Minus
3. Click the DownArrow
4. Click Enter
5. Use the arrow keys to move it back into view (it might take a little guesswork, but try hitting each direction arrow once first which might help re-orient it with the screen.

For a Dialog Box:

1. Hit Alt+Space to invoke the window menu.
2. Hit M for the Move command.
3. You should see the cursor change to a move icon and be at the edge of the screen closest to the (hidden) window.
4. Use the arrow keys to bring it back.

Do these tips work for you? If you've found another way to bring dialogs and windows back, let me know.