Late binding is not very good if it isn't absolutely required, but ok...

Also, you should not change the designer code manually (that is why it is hidden). To change the accessibility of a control, you can set its Modifier property. This is essentially the same as changing the Friend keyword to Public manually, except that your change will be persisted. When you change the designer manually, you might see that the keyword Public will change back to Friend automatically when the designer is re-generated, so your changes are lost.

That said, if you absolutely want to see the designer, you just have to click the 'Show All Files' button (located in the toolbar of the Solution Explorer). The Form treeview item will now be able to expand and you can see the designer file.