Initial note: I'm not getting any responses over on superuser to my question, so please allow me to ask this here:
I inherited a VS solution with a bunch of unorthodox settings. I'm not at liberty to wipe out all those settings and start over. So there is 1 setting I want to change back to VS default but cannot find it.
In a normal/default VS c# environment, when you click the mouse on a line of code that hasn't been written yet (empty, no spaces, no code, no tabs), the cursor automatically positions to the beginning of where the line of code should begin. If it's just inside a foreach, if, or etc, it will indent a bit from the left edge according to tab rules, etc.
But in the weird VS settings I have, wherever I click, the cursor positions at that exact spot. So if I click on col 20 of the next line, the cursor remains at col 20 rather than auto-repositioning to col 5 or wherever it should be. This is SO annoying because I can't always eyeball where the cursor should be and I end up clicking at the end of the previous line, then hitting ENTER, at which time it goes to the next line and positions the cursor at the right place.
How can I fix this?
It is controlled by the Enable virtual space option. See Visual Studio options - Text Editor - C#. By default it is off/unchecked.
I resolved this issue by applying Sergey's suggested change (Visual Studio options -> Text Editor -> C# -> Enable Virtual Space [check]), but also enabled (Options -> Text Editor -> C# -> Tabs -> Smart).
I know that Ctrl+} will take you to the corresponding brace in Visual Studio, but say I'm in the middle of a gigantic function and I don't know where the top or the bottom is, is there a shortcut to get directly to the function declaration?
void function()
{
//so many lines of code
//can't see the top or the bottom curly brace
//can i get to the top of the function with a shortcut?
}
I have a fresh install of VS2017. As of 15.9.1, the default for me is Alt+Shift+[.
This is the shortcut for EditorContextMenus.Navigate.GoToContainingBlock. So you may have to execute this shortcut multiple times if you are a few block layers deep, but it'll get you where you want to go.
Alt+Ctrl+UP,Tab,Tab,Enter
This sequence will move you through Project selctor > Scope selector > Function selector > Current Function.
Ctrl+M,Ctrl+M
This sequence will toggle between collapse/expand current block.
Place cursor at any line that is immediately enclosed by the function. Collapse. Place cursor at the end of the collapsed function, i.e after { ... }. Expand the function to get to its last brace.
Note:
If you have difficulty in finding a line immediately enclosed by the function(for example, when the function has lots of nested blocks), you can always goto the beginning to collapse the function.
Update
With last updates Visual Studio, now default keyboard shortcut for EditorContextMenus.Navigate.GoToContainingBlock is Shift+Alt+[
Old Answer:
Visual Studio 2017 version 15.8.0 comes with a new shortcut Ctrl + Alt + UpArrow - Go to Enclosing Block.
Go to Enclosing Block (Ctrl + Alt + UpArrow) allows you to quickly
navigate up to the beginning of the enclosing code block.
Source
This command allows also move to function declaration if you are inside function.
If shortcut doesn't work for you
For the VSCode lovers, this key combination will bring you to the top of the function:
Ctrl-Shift-.
followed by ENTER
and for MAC users:
Cmd-Shift-.
followed by ENTER
I usually double press the white line that is located left of the code.
It closes the function but it also takes you to the declaration of the function.
You can do it with Macros for Visual Studio extension.
Here's the code for macros:
// BeginningOfFunction moves the caret to the beginning of the containing definition.
var textSelection = dte.ActiveDocument.Selection;
// Define Visual Studio constants
var vsCMElementFunction = 2;
var codeElement = textSelection.ActivePoint.CodeElement(vsCMElementFunction);
if (codeElement != null)
{
textSelection.MoveToPoint(codeElement.GetStartPoint());
dte.ActiveDocument.Activate();
}
It is one of the sample macros of the extension. Edited it a little, because for some reason sample didn't work for me. You can get to the end of the function by changing codeElement.GetStartPoint() to codeElement.GetEndPoint().
I found one trick in visual studio:
Place the cursor on the empty to get the context (name of the function), copy the name of the function, then click the drop down arrow where all functions will be listed, paste the function name, enter. Then you are at the beginning of that function!
Another alternative would be to use Edit.PreviousMethod. I prefer this option because even if your cursor lies in multiple nested block, you can get to the method definition in single keystroke! I have mapped Edit.PreviousMethod to ctrl + alt + , and Edit.NextMethod to ctrl + alt + . but you can set it to whatever you prefer.
To setup key binding, goto Tools.Options.Environment.Keyboard, then in Show Commands Containing textbox type edit.previousmethod, set focus on Press Shortcut Keys textbox and press the key combination you want, the hit Assign. Repeat for edit.nextmethod, then Ok.
Wondering if there is anyway way to expand/collapse the IF-ELSE code block in VS2010? Sometimes the code inside IF-ELSE is too long and I would like to hide it.
Anyway one know? Thanks a lot!
EDIT: Please be informed that I'm using #region & #endregion inside the IF-ELSE statement. Try looking for more convenient style like JScript extension does.
Go to the Options dialog box and select Text Editor, expand C/C++, and then click Formatting. Activate "Automatic outlining of statement blocks."
Source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/0x6hx0kx.aspx
I'm using the full version of Visual Studio 2010, don't know if this is available in the express version.
you can add regions, regions are collapsable
#region Name
if()
{
///code
}
endregion
Try surrounding the if-else with a region:
#region regionName
if()
{
#region regionName
#endregion
}
else
{
}
#endregion
You can also select the block you want to hide and press Ctrl+M,Ctrl+H
or
Select the block -> right click it -> Outlining -> Hide Selection
So
You will have a '+' on the left to hide and show it when you want.
Go to Tools -> Options -> Text Editor -> C# -> Formatting -> Indentation. Tick "Indent open and close brackets".
I am developing an ASP.NET Ajax form, and decided to make most of the site in one page, because it isn't a very involved site (it's more of a form). In the codebehind, I have been making my code more organized by adding regions to it (inside are the click events of the controls, etc).
When I expand a region, all the subroutines and child regions are expanded. Is there an option in Visual Studio to prevent this from happening? I'd like to be able to expand a region, and then expand the region or subroutine I'd like to edit, rather than contracting all the subroutines and child regions to prevent me from getting distracted by my fat code. :)
These keyboard shortcuts should help. I believe you can collapse all regions and then, when you open one, it's child regions will remain collapsed. Not tested though.
Ctrl + M, Ctrl + M Collapse or expand the block you?re currently in.
Ctrl + M, Ctrl + O Collapse all blocks in the file
Ctrl + M, Ctrl + L Expand all blocks in the file
Try the "key chord": Ctrl+M, Ctrl+O, then use Ctrl+M, Ctrl+M to expand one at a time.
Although, I do think regions are evil, and you should do something about the fat code ;)
VS does not expand all nested regions by default. It keeps the state of the nested regions. There's no option in VS to have all nested regions collapsed or expanded explicitly when expanding a region.
You could use Ctrl-M Ctrl-L to toggle all regions in the file to collapsed and then use Ctrl-M Ctrl-M to navigate your way down the regions tree to the one you need.
You could also make use of the partial classes and split your codebehind in several source files.
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Visual Studio is such a massively big product that even after years of working with it I sometimes stumble upon a new/better way to do things or things I didn't even know were possible.
For instance-
Crtl + R, Ctrl + W to show white spaces. Essential for editing Python build scripts.
Under "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\8.0\Text Editor"
Create a String called Guides with the value "RGB(255,0,0), 80" to have a red line at column 80 in the text editor.
What other hidden features have you stumbled upon?
Make a selection with ALT pressed - selects a square of text instead of whole lines.
Tracepoints!
Put a breakpoint on a line of code. Bring up the Breakpoints Window and right click on the new breakpoint. Select 'When Hit...'. By ticking the 'Print a message' check box Visual Studio will print out a message to the Debug Output every time the line of code is executed, rather than (or as well as) breaking on it. You can also get it to execute a macro as it passes the line.
You can drag code to the ToolBox. Try it!
Click an identifier (class name, variable, etc) then hit F12 for "Go To Definition". I'm always amazed how many people I watch code use the slower right-click -> "Go To Definition" method.
EDIT: Then you can use Ctrl+- to jump back to where you were.
CTRL+SHIFT+V will cycle through your clipboard, Visual Studio keeps a history of copies.
Sara Ford covers lots of lovely tips: http://blogs.msdn.com/saraford/archive/tags/Visual+Studio+2008+Tip+of+the+Day/default.aspx
But some of my favourites are Code Snippets, Ctrl + . to add a using <Namespace> or generate a method stub.
I can't live without that.
Check out a great list in the Visual Studio 2008 C# Keybinding poster: http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/details.aspx?familyid=E5F902A8-5BB5-4CC6-907E-472809749973&displaylang=en
CTRL-K, CTRL-D
Reformat Document!
This is under the VB keybindings, not sure about C#
How many times do you debug an array in a quickwatch or a watch window and only have visual studio show you the first element? Add ",N" to the end of the definition to make studio show you the next N items as well. IE "this->m_myArray" becomes "this->m_array,5".
Incremental search: While having a source document open hit (CTRL + I) and type the word you are searching for you can hit (CTRL + I) again to see words matching your input.
You can use the following codes in the watch window.
#err - display last error
#err,hr - display last error as an HRESULT
#exception - display current exception
Ctrl-K, Ctrl-C to comment a block of text with // at the start
Ctrl-K, Ctrl-U to uncomment a block of text with // at the start
Can't live without it! :)
Stopping the debugger from stepping into trivial functions.
When you’re stepping through code in the debugger, you can spend a lot of time stepping in and out of functions you’re not particularly interested in, with names such as GetID(), or std::vector<>(), to pick a C++ example. You can use the registry to make the debugger ignore these.
For Visual Studio 2005, you have to go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio \8.0\NativeDE\StepOver and add string values containing regular expressions for each function or set of functions you wish to exclude; e.g.
std::vector.*::.*
TextBox::GetID
You can also override these for individual exceptions. For instance, suppose you did want to step into the vector class’s destructor:
std::vector.*::\~.*=StepInto
You can find details for other versions of Visual Studio at http://blogs.msdn.com/andypennell/archive/2004/02/06/69004.aspx
Ctrl-F10: run to cursor during debugging. Took me ages to find this, and I use it all the time;
Ctrl-E, Ctrl-D: apply standard formatting (which you can define).
TAB key feature.
If you know snippet key name, write and click double Tab. for example:
Write
foreach
and then click tab key twice to
foreach (object var in collection_to_loop)
{
}
2. If you write any event, write here
Button btn = new Button();
btn.Click +=
and then click tab key twice to
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Button btn = new Button();
btn.Click += new EventHandler(btn_Click);
}
void btn_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
throw new Exception("The method or operation is not implemented.");
}
btn_Click function write automatically
in XAML Editor, Write any event. for example:
MouseLeftButtonDown then click tab
MouseLeftButtonDown="" then click tab again
MouseLeftButtonDown="Button_MouseLeftButtonDown" in the code section Button_MouseLeftButtonDown method created.
Sara Ford has this market cornered.
http://blogs.msdn.com/saraford/default.aspx
More Visual Studio tips and tricks than you can shake a stick at.
Some others:
The Visual Studio 2005 and 2008 3-month trial editions are fully-functional, and can be used indefinitely (forever) by setting the system clock back prior to opening VS. Then, when VS is opened, set the system clock forward again so your datetimes aren't screwed up.
But that's really piracy and I can't recommend it, especially when anybody with a .edu address can get a fully-functional Pro version of VS2008 through Microsoft Dreamspark.
You can use Visual Studio to open 3rd-party executables, and browse embedded resources (dialogs, string tables, images, etc) stored within.
Debugging visualizers are not exactly a "hidden" feature but they are somewhat neglected, and super-useful, since in addition to using the provided visualizers you can roll your own for specific data sets.
Debugger's "Set Instruction Pointer" or "Set Next Statement" command.
Conditional breakpoints (as KiwiBastard noted).
You can use Quickwatch etc. to evaluate not only the value of a variable, but runtime expressions around that variable.
T4 (Text Template Transformation Toolkit). T4 is a code generator built right into Visual Studio
Custom IntelliSense dropdown height, for example displaying 50 items instead of the default which is IMO ridiculously small (8).
(To do that, just resize the dropdown next time you see it, and Visual Studio will remember the size you selected next time it opens a dropdown.)
Discovered today:
Ctrl + .
Brings up the context menu for refactoring (then one that's accessible via the underlined last letter of a class/method/property you've just renamed - mouse over for menu or "Ctrl" + ".")
A lot of people don't know or use the debugger to it's fullest - I.E. just use it to stop code, but right click on the red circle and there are a lot more options such as break on condition, run code on break.
Also you can change variable values at runtime using the debugger which is a great feature - saves rerunning code to fix a silly logic error etc.
Line transpose, Shift-Alt-T
Swaps two line (current and next) and moves cursor to the next line. I'm lovin it. I've even written a macro which changed again position by one line, executed line transpose and changed line position again so it all looking like I swapping current line with previous (Reverse line transpose).
Word transpose, Shift-Ctrl-T
When developing C++, Ctrl-F7 compiles the current file only.
Document Outline in the FormsDesigner (CTRL + ALT + T)
Fast control renaming, ordering and more!
To auto-sync current file with Solution Explorer. So don't have to look where the file lives in the project structure
Tools -> Options -> Projects and Solutions -> "Track Active Item in Solution Explorer"
Edit: If this gets too annoying for you then you can use Dan Vanderboom's macro to invoke this feature on demand through a keystroke.
(Note: Taken from the comment below by Jerry).
I'm not sure if it's "hidden", but not many people know about it -- pseudoregisters. Comes very handy when debugging, I've #ERR, hr in my watch window all the time.
Ctrl-Minus, Ctrl-Plus, navigates back and forward where you've been recently (only open files, though).
I don't use it often, but I do love:
ctrl-alt + mouse select
To select in a rectangular block, to 'block' boundaries.
As noted in comments,
alt + mouse select
Does just a plain rectangular block.
Here's something I learned (for C#):
You can move the cursor to the opening curly brace from the closing curly brace by pressing Control + ].
I learned this on an SO topic that's a dupe of this one:
“Hidden Secrets” of the Visual Studio .NET debugger?
CTRL + Shift + U -> Uppercase highlighted section.
CTRL + U -> Lowercase the highlighted section
Great for getting my SQL Statements looking just right when putting them into string queries.
Also useful for code you've found online where EVERYTHING IS IN CAPS.
Middle Mouse Button Click on the editor tab closes the tab.
To display any chunk of data as an n-byte "array", use the following syntax in Visual Studio's QuickWatch window:
variable, n
For example, to view a variable named foo as a 256-byte array, enter the following expression in the QuickWatch window:
foo, 256
This is particularly useful when viewing strings that aren't null-terminated or data that's only accessible via a pointer. You can use Visual Studio's Memory window to achieve a similar result, but using the QuickWatch window is often more convenient for a quick check.