1/9/2020 Productivity tips - Visual Studio | Microsoft Docs

Productivity tips for Visual Studio

8 minutes to read    

This articles discusses tips for Visual Studio features that help you write, navigate, and debug your
code more quickly and efficiently.

For information about helpful keyboard shortcuts, see Productivity shortcuts. For a complete list of
command shortcuts, see Default keyboard shortcuts.

Write code
Write code more quickly by using the following features.

Use convenience commands. Visual Studio contains various commands to help you
accomplish common editing tasks faster. For example, you can choose a command to easily
duplicate a line of code without having to copy it, reposition the cursor, and then paste it.
Choose Edit > Duplicate or press Ctrl+E,V. You can also quickly expand or contract a
selection of text by choosing Edit > Advanced > Expand
Selection or Edit > Advanced > Contract Selection, or by
pressing Shift+Alt+= or Shift+Alt+-.

Use IntelliSense. As you enter code in the editor, IntelliSense information, such as List
Members, Parameter Info, Quick Info, Signature Help, and Complete Word, appears. These
features support fuzzy matching of text; for example, the results lists for List Members
includes not only entries that start with the characters that you have entered but also entries
that contain the character combination anywhere in their names. For more information,
see Use IntelliSense.

Change auto-insertion of IntelliSense options as you enter code. By switching IntelliSense

to suggestion mode, you can specify that IntelliSense options are inserted only if you explicitly
choose them.

To enable suggestion mode, choose the Ctrl+Alt+Spacebar keys, or, on the menu bar,

choose Edit > IntelliSense > Toggle Completion Mode.

Use code snippets. You can use built-in snippets, or create your own snippets.

To insert a snippet, on the menu bar, choose Edit > IntelliSense > Insert

Snippetor Surround With, or open the shortcut menu in a file and choose Snippet > Insert
Snippet or Surround With. For more information, see Code Snippets.

Fix code errors inline. Quick Actions let you easily refactor, generate, or otherwise modify
code with a single action. These actions can be applied using the screwdriver   or light bulb 
 icons, or by pressing Alt+Enter or Ctrl+. when your cursor is on the appropriate line of
code. See Quick Actions for more information.

Show and edit the definition of a code element. You can quickly show and edit the module
in which a code element, such as a member, a variable, or a local, is defined.

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To open a definition in a pop-up window, highlight the element and then choose
the Alt+F12 keys, or open the shortcut menu for the element and then choose Peek
Definition. To open a definition in a separate code window, open the shortcut menu for the
element, and then choose Go to Definition.

Use sample applications. You can speed up application development by downloading and
installing sample applications from Microsoft Developer Network. You can also learn a
particular technology or programming concept by downloading and exploring a Sample Pack
for that area.

Navigate within your code

You can use various techniques to find and move to specific locations in your code more quickly.

Bookmark lines of code. You can use bookmarks to navigate quickly to specific lines of code
in a file.

To set a bookmark, on the menu bar, choose Edit > Bookmarks > Toggle Bookmark. You

can view all of the bookmarks for a solution in the Bookmarkswindow. For more information,
see Set bookmarks in code.

Search for symbol definitions in a file. You can search within a solution to locate symbol
definitions and file names, but search results don't include namespaces or local variables.

To access this feature, on the menu bar, choose Edit > Navigate To.

Browse the overall structure of your code. In Solution Explorer, you can search and
browse classes and their types and members in your projects. You can also search for symbols,
view a method's Call Hierarchy, find symbol references, and perform other tasks. If you choose
a code element in Solution Explorer, the associated file opens in a Preview tab, and the
cursor moves to the element in the file. For more information, see View the structure of code.

Find items faster

You can search across the IDE for commands, files, and options, in addition to filtering the contents
of tool windows to show only relevant information for your current task.

Filter the contents of tool windows. You can search within the contents of many tool
windows, such as the Toolbox, the Properties window, and Solution Explorer, but display
only items whose names contain the characters that you specify.

Display only the errors you want to address. If you choose the Filter button on the Error
List toolbar, you can reduce the number of errors that appear in the Error List window. You
can display only the errors in the files that are open in the editor, only the errors in the current
file, or only the errors in the current project. You can also search within the Error List window
to find specific errors.

Find dialog boxes, menu commands, options, and more. In the search box, enter keywords
or phrases for the items that you're trying to find. For example, the following options appear if

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you enter new project:

Quick Launch displays links to create a new project, to add a new item to a project, and to
the Projects and Solutions page in the Options dialog box, among others. Search results can
also include project files and tool windows.

Press Ctrl+Q to jump straight to the search box.

Debug code
Debugging can consume a lot of time, but the following tips can help you speed up the process.

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Test the same page, application, or site in different browsers. As you debug your code,
you can easily switch among the installed web browsers, including Page Inspector (Visual
Studio), without having to open the Browse With dialog box. You can use the Debug
Target list, which is on the Standard toolbar next to the Start Debugging button, to quickly
verify which browser you're using as you debug or view pages.

Set temporary breakpoints. You can create a temporary breakpoint in the current line of
code and start the debugger simultaneously. When you hit that line of code, the debugger
enters break mode. For more information, see Navigate through code with the debugger.

To use this feature, choose the Ctrl+F10 keys, or open the shortcut menu for the line of code
on which you want to break, and then choose Run To Cursor.

Move the execution point during debugging. You can move the current execution point to
a different section of code and then restart debugging from that point. This technique is
useful if you want to debug a section of code without having to recreate all of the steps that
are required to reach that section. For more information, see Navigate through code with the
debugger.

To move the execution point, drag the yellow arrowhead to a location where you want to set
the next statement in the same source file, and then choose the F5 key to continue
debugging.

Capture value information for variables. You can add a DataTip to a variable in your code
and pin it so that you can access the last known value for the variable after debugging has
finished. For more information, see View data values in Data Tips.

To add a DataTip, the debugger must be in break mode. Place the cursor on the variable, and
then choose the pin button on the DataTip that appears. When debugging is stopped, a blue
pin icon appears in the source file next to the line of code that contains the variable. If you
point to the blue pin, the value of the variable from the most recent debugging session
appears.

Clear the Immediate window. You can erase the contents of the Immediate window at
design time by entering  >cls  or  >Edit.ClearAll

For more information about additional commands, see Visual Studio command aliases.

Access Visual Studio tools

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You can quickly access the Developer Command Prompt, or another Visual Studio tool, if you pin it
to the Start menu or the taskbar.

1. In Windows Explorer, browse to %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start

Menu\Programs\Visual Studio 2017\Visual Studio Tools.

1. In Windows Explorer, browse to %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start

Menu\Programs\Visual Studio 2019\Visual Studio Tools.

2. Right-click or open the context menu for Developer Command Prompt, and then
choose Pin to Start or Pin to taskbar.

Manage files, toolbars, and windows

At any one time, you may be working in multiple code files and moving among several tool
windows as you develop an application. You can keep organized by using the following tips:

Keep files that you frequently use visible in the editor. You can pin files to the left side of
the tab well so that they remain visible regardless of how many files are open in the editor.

To pin a file, choose the file's tab, and then choose the Toggle Pin Status button.

Move documents and windows to other monitors. If you use more than one monitor when
you develop applications, you can work on portions of your application more easily by
moving files that are open in the editor to another monitor. You can also move tool windows,
such as debugger windows, to another monitor and tab dock document and tool windows
together to create "rafts." For more information, see Customize window layouts in Visual
Studio.

You can also manage files more easily by creating another instance of Solution Explorer and
moving it to another monitor. To create another instance of Solution Explorer, open a
shortcut menu in Solution Explorer, and then choose New Solution Explorer View.

Customize the fonts that appear in Visual Studio. You can change the font face, size, and
color that's used for text in the IDE. For example, you can customize the color of specific code
elements in the editor and the font face in tool windows or throughout the IDE. For more
information, see How to: Change fonts and colorsand How to: Change fonts and colors in the
editor.

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