Question: In sharepoint 2007, when you were looking at a list there was already a default drop down box to change the list view.

![Sharepoint 2007 View Selection](https://i.stack.imgur.com/h4Osm.png)

Now that we have upgraded to Sharepoint 2010, we have noticed that this drop down box is hidden in the ribbon control "List" tab which you have to click then you can select the drop down box value.

![Sharepoint 2010 First Click to View Selection](https://i.stack.imgur.com/mjlIB.png)
![Sharepoint 2010 Second Click to View Selection](https://i.stack.imgur.com/BLMnn.png)

Is there a way to add the drop down box to the default view in Sharepoint 2010?

Answer: 
It is important that you get an understanding of how the SharePoint platform fits together. Have a look at the architecture and understand how different components relate to each other. This is a link to an architectural overview:
<http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg552610.aspx>

Setup a sandpit and play around with the environment. Gain an understanding of the different elements (lists, libraries, security, sites, central administration, services).

This link has some ideas for some courses/exams:
<http://blogs.msdn.com/b/pandrew/archive/2008/05/01/getting-started-with-sharepoint-development.aspx>

This link has some other detailed learning material such as videos and labs:

<http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/aa905692>

<http://www.learningsharepoint.com/2010/10/30/sharepoint-2010-development-tutorial-videos-2/>

<http://praveenbattula.blogspot.com/2010/05/free-sharepoint-2010-developer-tutorial.html>

The MSDN site is a great reference for SharePoint API information.

Setup a development environment for SharePoint and run through some tutorials - you need a local instance of SharePoint installed on your development environment.
Here are some tutorial links:
<http://dotnetguts.blogspot.com/2008/06/sharepoint-development-tutorial.html>
I am ringing my own bell here, but I think the first thing to understand about SharePoint is that you can do a lot out of the box, before starting developing. 

I have seen too many cases where people start developing from scratch when 90% of the expected features are already there. Sure, sometimes with SharePoint the issue is to know where to find it...

My personal choice is to follow live resources like blogs or Twitter, because Web development is changing so fast these days. You'll find that the SharePoint online community is very active. You can start with Microsoft's own blog:

<http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/blog>