Command to collapse all sections of code?

Question

In Visual Studio, is there a command to collapse/expand all the sections of code in a file?

If anyone still happens to look for this info (13 years later, in 2022), please visit [https://code.visualstudio.com/shortcuts/keyboard-shortcuts-windows.pdf](https://code.visualstudio.com/shortcuts/keyboard-shortcuts-windows.pdf) - and try out Ctrl+K Ctrl+0 (this is the digit 0/zero) to "fold" (ie, collapse) all. Unfold using Ctrl+K Ctrl+J. — jsN00b, Aug 08 '22 at 16:22

score 3364 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 19 '20 at 04:59

3364

CTRL + M + O will collapse all.

CTRL + M + L will expand all. (in VS 2013 - Toggle All outlining)

CTRL + M + P will expand all and disable outlining.

CTRL + M + M will collapse/expand the current section.

CTRL + M + A will collapse all even in Html files.

These controls are also in the context menu under Outlining.

Right click in editor -> Outlining to find these controls. (After disabling outlining, use same steps to enable outlining.)

For outlining options: Go to Tools -> Options -> Text Editor -> C# -> Advanced -> Outlining for outlining options.

Tools -> Options -> Text Editor -> C# -> Advanced -> Outlining Right-click > Outlining menu

edited Oct 19 '20 at 04:59

Krist0f

63
9

answered Jun 11 '09 at 18:08

Bob

97,670
29
122
130

156

You can also right click in the editor an select: Outlining -> Toggle All Outlining – LBushkin Jun 11 '09 at 18:11
I love CTRL +M +P We have an id**t that nests regions 4 deep. – Jim Evans Jun 12 '09 at 15:37
27

ctrl+m ctrl+o is "collapse to definitions" which doesn't work when editting an xml file. For me ctrl+m ctrl+l expands all and collapses all (as toggle), but not always. I have one file open where it works and one where it only expands all, but not collapse all. Both are xml files. No idea why. – Matthijs Wessels Jan 13 '10 at 13:07
24

Just to inform (though this is pretty old): ctrl + m + o only collapses all FUNCTIONS, not the classes (or regions etc). ctrl +m + L will toggle expanding, collapsing everything. – paul23 Oct 11 '11 at 11:30
Ctrl + M + M works on selected text too. For instance, in a completely collapsed xml document with your cursor on an element Ctrl + M + M will expand that node but not its children. If you highlight through the closing tag Ctrl + M + M will expand all of that element's children too. – phloopy Nov 15 '11 at 21:57
15

For what it's worth, these work in Visual Studio 2012 as well – wjhguitarman Nov 01 '12 at 19:14
5

In VisualStudio 2013 ctrl+M+L toggles collapse state, ctrol+M+O doesn't do anything (HTML VIEW) – Ayyash Mar 18 '14 at 07:56
2

Collapse: `Magic -> Obfuscate` and Expand: `Magic -> Look` Just a helpful acronym to help me remember the hotkeys... It's the best I could come up with, but it works! – Levi Fuller Aug 17 '15 at 22:45
One specific method when I collapse all stays expanded, anybody know why? – John Demetriou Nov 11 '15 at 10:07
Thx, why this is the first place i saw CTRL+M + M. Just an extra note, Depending on what is highlighted, is what it will open, Function Name - just function - nothing thats collapsed inside of. Highlight all function code - will open and collapse all the highlighted text. – Yogurt The Wise Dec 08 '15 at 21:09
1

In Visual Studio 2017, collapsing regions via shortcut is disabled by default. To enable, check Tools > Options > Text Editors > c#> Advanced > Outlining > Collapse #regions when collapsing to definitions. – gkonuralp Sep 22 '17 at 11:29
1

@gkon - They also decide to change it to Ctrl + M + Ctrl + L (extra ctrl) ugh – SwDevMan81 Jan 18 '18 at 15:18
VS2017 Community Edition , C++ code ... almost works. Lambdas are ignored. But. CTRL+M+M works as advertised. – Mar 08 '18 at 19:03
Highlite a section of code with within a With xxx End With and hit CNTRL + M then CNTRL + H and it will add its own special code collapse – Argyle Ghost Apr 23 '18 at 11:48
works in vs community 2022. Also huge thanks.... i have always wanted regions to collapse. To date I had not noticed the 'Collapse Regions' checkbox. Soooo nice. – greg Jun 20 '22 at 14:43
to make this extra clear; when everyone say ctrl+m+something else it is actually ctrl+m and then press that key. Example: Ctrl+M then O. This happens in Visual Studio 2022 for C#. I'm not sure why it would be different for anything else, but just in case. – user2455808 Jun 27 '23 at 16:41

score 202 · Answer 2 · edited May 29 '18 at 07:21

202

The following key combinations are used to do things:

CTRL + M + M &rightarrow; Collapse / Expand current preset area (e.g. Method)

CTRL + M + H &rightarrow; Collapse / Hide (Expand) current selection

CTRL + M + O &rightarrow; Collapse all(Collapse declaration bodies)

CTRL + M + A &rightarrow; Collapse all

CTRL + M + X &rightarrow; Expand all

CTRL + M + L &rightarrow; Toggle all

There some options in the context menu under Outlining.

edited May 29 '18 at 07:21

Peter Ivan

1,467
2
14
27

answered Dec 20 '13 at 16:32

Bhavesh Kachhadiya

3,902
3
15
20

3

Ctrl-M,L is Toggle all, but definitely the Ctrl-M,A and Ctrl-M,X are the ones I was looking for... – sharpener Jul 29 '14 at 06:35
Very nice idea to remember easily. – Koray Sep 20 '19 at 13:44
how can you have "ctrl-M-M" ?? There is only one M key. – Nerdy Bunz Dec 26 '22 at 03:29

score 118 · Answer 3 · edited Jul 16 '21 at 19:46

118

CTRL + M + L expands all

CTRL + M + O collapses all

In the MSDN article "Default Keyboard Shortcuts in Visual Studio," see the section "Text Editor" if you're looking for other shortcuts - these 2 are just a few of the many that are available.

edited Jul 16 '21 at 19:46

Josh Correia

3,807
3
33
50

answered Jun 11 '09 at 18:20

Scott Ivey

40,768
21
80
118

5

As I commented in the top answer, ctl+m+o collapses to definition which doesn't work for xml files. ctl+m+l should toggle it, but for me it sometimes does and sometimes doesn't. – Matthijs Wessels Jan 13 '10 at 13:10
Normal pages the crtl+m+o collapse, the JScript outling is backwards, for mine, crtl+m+o expands, and the crtl+M+l expands. – Yogurt The Wise Aug 31 '12 at 18:27

score 43 · Answer 4 · edited Jul 16 '21 at 19:46

43

CTRL+M expands region.

CTRL+L collapses region.

edited Jul 16 '21 at 19:46

Josh Correia

3,807
3
33
50

answered Jun 11 '09 at 18:08

M4N

94,805
45
217
260

But it is only useful command when using js outlining extension, and I have 1000+ lines js file, this shortcut is a** saver! – Goran Obradovic Oct 21 '11 at 08:53
AND WORKS FOR XML! WOOO HOOO!! (+1 purely for technical reasons; i'd gladly pay you some rep :) This is going into my regular cheatsheet – Gishu Sep 12 '12 at 05:56

score 35 · Answer 5 · edited Mar 17 '11 at 17:01

35

Fold/Unfold the current code block – Ctrl+M, Ctrl+M
Unfold all – Ctrl+M, Ctrl+L
Stop outlining – Ctrl+M, Ctrl+P
Fold all – Ctrl+M, Ctrl+O

edited Mar 17 '11 at 17:01

answered Jun 11 '09 at 18:08

AvatarOfChronos

867
9
24

score 29 · Answer 6 · answered Jun 20 '17 at 09:08

29

In Visual Studio 2017, It seems that this behavior is turned off by default. It can be enabled under Tools > Options > Text Editors > C# > Advanced > Outlining > "Collapse #regions when collapsing to definitions"

answered Jun 20 '17 at 09:08

Gelásio

1,899
1
19
18

score 28 · Answer 7 · edited Jul 16 '21 at 19:47

28

CTRL + M + A collapses all

works for me, whereas

CTRL + M + O

does not

edited Jul 16 '21 at 19:47

Josh Correia

3,807
3
33
50

answered Jun 20 '13 at 00:39

Ray

488
4
11

score 25 · Answer 8 · edited Jul 16 '21 at 19:48

25

Press

CTRL + A

Then

CTRL + M + M

To compress all, including child nodes, in XML-files.

edited Jul 16 '21 at 19:48

Josh Correia

3,807
3
33
50

answered Aug 28 '13 at 08:06

Carl

369
3
3

Terse and useful – Rohullah Rajaee Rad Jan 04 '23 at 11:11

score 18 · Answer 9 · edited Jul 16 '21 at 19:48

18

In Visual Studio 2013:

CTRL + M + A collapses all

CTRL + M + L expands all

edited Jul 16 '21 at 19:48

Josh Correia

3,807
3
33
50

answered Nov 28 '13 at 03:07

Nathan Chase

2,071
2
18
15

score 16 · Answer 10 · edited Mar 19 '13 at 14:08

If you mean shortcut then

CTRL + M + M: This one will collapse the region your cursor is at whether its a method, namespace or whatever for collapsing code blocks, regions and methods. The first will collapse only the block/method or region your cursor is at while the second will collapse the entire region you are at.

http://www.dev102.com/2008/05/06/11-more-visual-studio-shortcuts-you-should-know/

score 14 · Answer 11 · edited Dec 16 '15 at 15:52

14

Below are all what you want:

Collapse / Expand current Method

CTRL + M + M

Collapse / Expand current selection

CTRL + M + H

Collapse all

CTRL + M + O

CTRL + M + A

Expand all

CTRL + M + X

CTRL + M + L

edited Dec 16 '15 at 15:52

Zameer Ansari

28,977
24
140
219

answered Oct 30 '15 at 14:41

Harishh

149
1
3

score 14 · Answer 12 · edited Aug 29 '16 at 16:51

14

Are you refering to the toggle outlining?

You can do: Control + M then Control + L to toggle all outlining

edited Aug 29 '16 at 16:51

lime

6,901
4
39
50

answered Jun 11 '09 at 18:09

CodeLikeBeaker

20,682
14
79
108

score 4 · Answer 13 · edited Dec 16 '15 at 15:26

4

To collapse all use:

Ctrl + M and Ctrl+A

All shortcuts for VS 2012/2013/2015 available at http://visualstudioshortcuts.com/2013/

edited Dec 16 '15 at 15:26

Zameer Ansari

28,977
24
140
219

answered Jul 13 '15 at 13:55

Ahmad

1,462
15
23

score 4 · Answer 14 · edited Dec 26 '17 at 19:51

4

None of these worked for me. What I found was, in the editor, search the Keyboard Shortcuts file for editor.foldRecursively. That will give you the latest binding. In my case it was CMD + K, CMD + [.

edited Dec 26 '17 at 19:51

Nipun Wijerathne

1,839
11
13

answered Nov 10 '17 at 14:08

mclhrn

145
11

Thanks. This is probably the latest shortcut that works – codetinker Feb 01 '18 at 03:10

score 3 · Answer 15 · answered Mar 18 '17 at 05:29

3

if you want to collapse and expand particular loop, if else then install following plugins for visual studio.

answered Mar 18 '17 at 05:29

Juned Ansari

5,035
7
56
89

score 3 · Answer 16 · edited Nov 23 '18 at 08:16

3

Collapse All - Ctrl + M + O

Expand All - Ctrl + M + L

edited Nov 23 '18 at 08:16

Agilanbu

2,747
2
28
33

answered Jul 30 '18 at 09:35

Vikas Chaturvedi

477
4
7

score 2 · Answer 17 · answered Sep 30 '16 at 22:41

2

In case of ugrading to Visual Studio 2010, 2012, 2013 or 2015, there's a Visual Studio extension to show current registered keyboard shortcuts, IntelliCommand.

answered Sep 30 '16 at 22:41

Abdulhameed

322
3
13

score 2 · Answer 18 · answered Feb 08 '17 at 15:44

Visual Studio can help you find the answer to your question in a couple of different ways.

Type Ctrl + Q to access Quick Launch, and then enter "collap". Quick Launch will display something like:^†

Menus (1)
    Edit -> Outlining -> Collapse to Definitions (Ctrl+M, Ctrl+O)
NuGet Packages (1)
    Search Online for NuGet Packages matching 'collap'

From there, enter "outlining" to find other menu entries related to outlining:

Menus (5)
    Edit -> Outlining -> Toggle Outlining Expansion (Ctrl+M, Ctrl+M)
    Edit -> Outlining -> Toggle All Outlining (Ctrl+M, Ctrl+L)
    Edit -> Outlining -> Stop Outlining (Ctrl+M, Ctrl+P)
    Edit -> Outlining -> Stop Hiding Current (Ctrl+M, Ctrl+U)
    Edit -> Outlining -> Collapse to Definitions (Ctrl+M, Ctrl+O)
Options (4)
    Text Editor -> Basic -> VB Specific (Change outline mode, Automatic inser...
    ...

However, note that Quick Launch will show you only those commands that are available as Visual Studio menu entries. To find other keyboard-related commands related to collapsing sections of code, in the Visual Studio menu bar click:

Tools -> Options -> Environment -> Keyboard

This will display the keyboard section in the Options dialog box. In the "Show commands containing" text box, enter "edit.collap". Visual Studio will display a list that is something like:

Edit.CollapseAllincurrentblock    
Edit.CollapseAllOutlining           Ctrl+M, Ctrl+A (Text Editor)
Edit.CollapseBlockcurrentblock
Edit.CollapseCurrentRegion          Ctrl+M, Ctrl+S (Text Editor)
Edit.CollapseTag                    Ctrl+M, Ctrl+T (Text Editor)
Edit.CollapsetoDefinitions          Ctrl+M, Ctrl+O (Text Editor)

You'll need to click each command to see its associated keyboard shortcut.

^† My examples taken from Visual Studio 2013.

score 0 · Answer 19 · answered Oct 02 '19 at 17:15

0

In Visual Studio 2019:

Go to Tools > Options > Keyboard.

Search for Edit.ToggleAllOutlining

Use the shortcut listed there, or assign it the shortcut of choice.

answered Oct 02 '19 at 17:15

Andrew

18,680
13
103
118

score 0 · Answer 20 · edited Oct 01 '21 at 12:21

0

In short, through "Tools … Settings":

In short through tools settings

edited Oct 01 '21 at 12:21

Adrian Mole

49,934
160
51
83

answered Oct 01 '21 at 12:03

kapil kaushik

1

1

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Community Oct 01 '21 at 16:26

score 0 · Answer 21 · answered Sep 02 '23 at 11:32

0

For outlining options: Go to Tools -> Options -> Text Editor -> C# -> Advanced -> Outlining for outlining options.

There's an option for regions.

answered Sep 02 '23 at 11:32

Steve Tses

11
3

score -1 · Answer 22 · edited Nov 23 '18 at 11:21

-1

If you want to collapse/expand an area within a class/method (instead of collapsing the entire class/method), you may create custom regions as follow:

 #region AnyNameforCollapsableRegion

 //Code to collapse

 #endregion

Reference

edited Nov 23 '18 at 11:21

Agilanbu

2,747
2
28
33

answered Nov 09 '17 at 03:43

Rajkumar S

94
3

1

This is not at all what regions are for. Regions are for maintainability and readability in code and should be used to group like methods, classes, etc. – Bmize729 Feb 28 '20 at 05:54

Command to collapse all sections of code?

22 Answers22

Linked

Related