Favorite Visual Studio keyboard shortcuts

Question

What is your favorite Visual Studio keyboard shortcut? I'm always up for leaving my hands on the keyboard and away from the mouse!

One per answer please.

Same questions have been asked here : http://stackoverflow.com/questions/20507/give-me-awesome-visual-studio-keyboard-short-cuts and here : http://stackoverflow.com/questions/26452/visual-studio-2005-shortcuts — Pascal Paradis, Sep 19 '08 at 03:22
the correct thing to do is relate these by tagging them similarly — Jeff Atwood, Mar 10 '09 at 22:57
Is there a keyboard shortcut to scroll to the start of the next or previous function? CTRL + UP or DOWN cursor key used to do this in VB and I really miss it. — Robin Bennett, Jul 27 '09 at 16:18
Eh, programmers and their keyboard shortcuts :) Apple proved long ago that they are usually slower than using the mouse (except for certain repeated sequences of actions), but they make you *feel* like you're going faster. That said, I'm a programmer, so I use a lot of shortcuts :) I find the toolbar buttons just fine, though, for commenting/uncommenting, navigating forward/backward, etc. Especially if your hand is already on the mouse. (An old but good reference: http://www.asktog.com/TOI/toi06KeyboardVMouse1.html.) — devuxer, Sep 29 '09 at 00:37
I think that's a load. I am much, much faster using only the keyboard than the mouse. I in fact HATE my mouse. Sucks that it is a necessity. — Kyle Rosendo, Nov 14 '09 at 14:52
@DanM, anything that "Apple proved" needs to be taken with a grain of salt. How is hunting for and moving the mouse to a small patch of pixels ever going to be quicker than a memorized key shortcut? Seriously, get your hand of it and back onto the keyboard ;) — Ash, Jan 29 '10 at 04:32
@Ash, you underestimate the time it takes to recall a piece of information and the time it takes to think. The time it takes to push keys on a keyboard is less than the time it takes to move a mouse to a small patch of pixels, but the time to prepare is far more. You don't notice the passage of time while you're recalling Ctrl-Shift-Whatever, but if you get out the stopwatch, it will be there. There are exceptions to every rule, so yeah, you may be quicker using Ctrl-Z than choosing Undo from the Edit menu, but for anything you don't use 100 times a day, I bet you're slower. — devuxer, Jan 29 '10 at 05:21
...I found this one even more amazing: http://www.asktog.com/SunWorldColumns/S02KeyboardVMouse3.html — devuxer, Jan 29 '10 at 05:27
@DanM, but that's just the point, muscle memory means there preparation time is virtually non-existent (any thinking is subconcious). This is what touch typing is entirely based on. I'm not a touch typer, but I can type memorized shortcut keys faster than I could verbalise what I have actually typed. In programming there are shortcuts that are less commonly used, so these can take longer to memorize, however this is where mnemonics can help. — Ash, Jan 29 '10 at 06:04
@Ash, I don't dispute what you're saying about muscle memory, but it takes thousands of repetitions to build up muscle memory to the point that it becomes subconscious. I don't see that happening for most keyboard shortcuts, except for the ones you really use constantly (like cut, copy, paste, undo). — devuxer, Jan 29 '10 at 07:27
@DanM, its not an all or nothing scenario. Using cursor keys to move to *arbitrary* positions in a document is silly, use the mouse. But as you get more experienced with shortcuts, keys are simply quicker for most other things. With the mouse, you're also having to deal with hand eye coordination, meaning it can be very fiddly. Suggestion: Try to focus on using keys more, for a month or so. You may find it hard going to start with, but your productivity will greatly benefit if you stick at it. But sticking at it is the key. — Ash, Jan 29 '10 at 08:10
@Ash, maybe we're not even disagreeing. I use a number of keyboard shortcuts and cursor keys all the time. My original comment was specifically dealing with some of the obscure shortcuts people were mentioning in this thread. I don't think my productivity would "greatly improve", for example, if I used Ctrl-K Ctrl-C every time I wanted to comment a block of code. A lot of times, I'm already selecting a block of code with the mouse, so it's quite natural and easy to click the "comment" button on the toolbar (and I bet you it's faster). — devuxer, Jan 29 '10 at 22:29
Ctrl + R + E = to create the equivalent Property of the fields. — Sravan, Nov 12 '13 at 18:53

score 227 · Answer 1 · edited May 07 '13 at 09:19

227

Ctrl + - and the opposite Ctrl + Shift + -.

Move cursor back (or forwards) to the last place it was. No more scrolling back or PgUp/PgDown to find out where you were.

This switches open windows in Visual Studio:

Ctrl + tab and the opposite Ctrl + Shift + tab

edited May 07 '13 at 09:19

gkc

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 01:50

Glennular

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This is made even better when you bind them to 'application specific' back and forward mouse buttons! – Joe Jan 21 '09 at 23:07
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I've been looking for this forever. I used to just use Ctrl+Z Ctrl+Y. – Paul Alexander Apr 23 '09 at 19:49
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Ctrl-Tab is a bit funny in VS for some reason - it doesn't just cycle like most apps. – Lucas Jones Jul 01 '09 at 21:28
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@Lucas Jones, It seems to cycle like Alt-Tab in Windows. Seems normal to me. – devuxer Sep 28 '09 at 23:59
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Pressing Ctrl + Tab once swaps between the current document and previous document, you don't even need to look at the popup window. – Ash Jan 27 '10 at 05:00
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I often cancel cycling between application windows (Alt+Tab) by pressing Esc. Doing so while cycling through document windows (Ctrl+Tab), however, pops up Windows' start menu. That just drives me nuts. – sbi Jun 02 '10 at 10:50
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@Lucas Jones: In VS2010, Ctrl+Tab is mapped by default to Window.NextDocumentWindowNav, which provides the "Alt+Tab"-like behavior. I've remappe Ctrl+Tab to Window.NextDocumentWindow which works similarly to the "cycling" behavior. Hope that helps! – Adam W. McKinley Jul 26 '11 at 21:48
The cursor positions are on the standard keyboard. I added the numeric keypad keys `Ctrl+Num+Minus` and `Ctrl+Num+Plus`. These are more intuitive than minus and shift-minus. This steals them from a design view zoom, which I never use. – goodeye Apr 01 '12 at 02:36
VS should allow choosing windows using `Ctrl+` like `Ctrl+1 for first window. It is possible in Firefox – shashwat Jun 27 '13 at 11:09

score 130 · Answer 2 · edited Nov 27 '12 at 13:16

130

For me, it's nothing to do about auto completing code, matching parenthesis or showing some fancy tool panel. Instead, it's just about letting me see the code.

With all the panels surrounding you, the area you use to actually write code becomes too small.

In this cases, Shift+Alt+Enter comes in to the rescue and gets the code window in focus in full screen mode. Hit it again, and you have all the panels back.

edited Nov 27 '12 at 13:16

Peter Mortensen

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 05:36

Pablo Marambio

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I always use Alt+V, U for the same effect :) But yeah fullscreen mode rocks. – korona Nov 07 '08 at 08:37
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BIG monitors work too =) – Beep beep Mar 11 '09 at 01:33
Agreed! I use this one all the time. VS10 will have floating panels which will help somewhat. – Paul Oct 28 '09 at 05:11
Having all the extra windows unpinned when in edit mode helps too. – Kevin Kibler Jan 22 '10 at 15:08

score 124 · Answer 3 · edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:16

124

Incremental Search - Ctrl + I

It's basically the find dialog box without the dialog box. Just start typing what you want to search for (look at the bottom status bar location to see what you've typed). Pressing Ctrl + I again or F3 searches for the next instance. Press Escape to quit. Starting a new search by pressing Ctrl + I twice repeats the last search.

edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:16

Jasper

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 02:02

Dara Kong

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Plus, it finds the first instance as you type. Ctrl-i after you hit a match searches to the next instance - and keeps you in search mode (which means you can add or change the search string). The search box is for suckers! – Aardvark Oct 04 '08 at 19:59
That's cool, I didn't know that, although I had on some occasions hit ctrl+I by mistake and wondered what the odd mouse pointer meant. :) – pipTheGeek Nov 07 '08 at 08:46
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One caveat with this that I've seen (in VS 2005 any way), it only searches through visible text. So if you have some collapsed in a region, for example, it won't search that. I don't know if this is a feature or a bug! – Adam Neal Jan 07 '09 at 21:00
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Sounds like the emacs search feature. – dicroce Mar 10 '09 at 23:15
@Adam: In my experience, the fact that VS ignores hidden text (e.g. inside collapsed regions) makes this feature almost useless. Incremental search is an awesome feature, I just with they hadn't crippled it in VS. – Kevin Kibler Jan 22 '10 at 15:05
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@CodeSavvyGeek: It's fixed in VS2010. – TheCloudlessSky Jun 28 '10 at 18:36
Hidden text not searcheable? This should be called excremental search, lol. VS2010 sp1 searches the hidden text too. – Valentin V Apr 22 '11 at 06:01
1

Actually, it is now in 2012 kind of merged with search(ctrl+f) into one feature – Marko Jul 13 '12 at 14:47

Ray · Answer 4 · 2009-10-14T01:44:40.797

98

Expand Smart Tag (Resolve Menu): Ctrl + . (period)

Expands the tag that shows when you do things like rename an identifier.

edited Oct 14 '09 at 01:44

answered Sep 19 '08 at 01:30

Ray

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Best shortcut ever. Use when you see a squiggly "~", under some code. : ) – Chad Moran Mar 04 '09 at 21:59
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This is my fave and only one I can remember. Alt-Enter is similar if you have resharper installed. – Daniel Mar 10 '09 at 20:14
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Also Shift-Alt-F10 is bound to this but probably harder – Ruben Bartelink Jun 26 '09 at 11:35
Good shortcut, but what it actually does is bring up the "Resolve" menu (so you can add a `using` statement or fully qualified namespace for a class)...it has nothing to do with tooltips. – devuxer Sep 29 '09 at 00:10
DanThMan, you're right, tooltip isn't the correct terminology, will update – Ray Oct 14 '09 at 01:43
This combine key may be called: quick fix (as equivalent in Eclipse: Ctrl + 1). – Thinhbk Jun 26 '12 at 10:40

score 95 · Answer 5 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:16

95

Ctrl+K, Ctrl+C Comment a block

Ctrl+K, Ctrl+U Uncomment the block

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:16

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 03:25

Ctrl K, D formats the entire document (proper indents, ws cleaned up, etc.) in mine. ? – John Dunagan Oct 21 '08 at 20:40
I typically customize the mapping to be CTRL+/ (comment) and CTRL+SHIFT+/ (uncomment). I find that nice and intuitive. – el2iot2 Jan 25 '09 at 21:53
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Ctrl-E, C and Ctrl-E, U also works. You dont have to release Ctrl after the first key either. – geofftnz Feb 09 '09 at 20:24
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I use CTRL+/ withy Resharper.Resharper_LineComment which with one shortcut toggles line comments on and off. – Myster Sep 28 '09 at 22:47
I use this often so I like to customize this as well to something easy on the fingers: Alt-[ to uncomment, and Alt-] to comment. – Jared Thirsk Jan 04 '13 at 00:05

score 77 · Answer 6 · edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:17

77

Stock Visual Studio? F12 - Edit.GoToDefinition.

Having DevExpress' Refactor! installed means that Ctrl + ` is my all-time fave, though ;)

edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:17

Jasper

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 01:25

moobaa

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-1, favor http://stackoverflow.com/questions/98606/favorite-visual-studio-keyboard-shortcuts/98826#98826 (But second CodeRush, though I tie it to Num 0) – Ruben Bartelink Jun 26 '09 at 11:43
love this and it couples well with [Control]+[-] – Digital Powers Feb 22 '13 at 19:06

score 71 · Answer 7 · edited Aug 08 '13 at 23:00

71

The TAB key for "snippets".

E.g. type try and then hit the tab key twice.

Results in:

try 
{           

}
catch (Exception)
{

    throw;
}

which you can then expand.

Full list of C# Snippets: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/vstudio/z41h7fat.aspx

edited Aug 08 '13 at 23:00

MatthewT

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 01:51

rbrayb

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Fantastic - knew about snippets, but not that you could get to them so quickly! – xan Mar 25 '10 at 15:26

score 61 · Answer 8 · edited Mar 13 '13 at 20:54

61

Ctrl+] for matching braces and parentheses.

Ctrl+Shift+] selects code between matching parentheses.

edited Mar 13 '13 at 20:54

Barn Monkey

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 02:30

Mark Cidade

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Unfortunately, unlike most other keyboard shortcuts this one is language neutral. For example on a Danish keyboard it is CTRL+Å. For all the different ones see this StackOverflow question: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1501921/go-to-matching-brace-in-visual-studio – Torben Junker Kjær Sep 09 '11 at 13:14
wow this one is great for looking through loooong lines of code someone else wrote – Jason Parker Jul 29 '13 at 15:27

score 60 · Answer 9 · edited Aug 30 '09 at 13:28

60

Ctrl+Shift+F

Good old Find In Files.

edited Aug 30 '09 at 13:28

Peter Mortensen

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 03:34

Rob

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score 51 · Answer 10 · edited Nov 27 '12 at 13:20

51

Ctrl+Space, Visual Studio gives the possible completions.

edited Nov 27 '12 at 13:20

Peter Mortensen

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 10:30

Sirish

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score 47 · Answer 11 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:34

47

Ctrl+K, Ctrl+D // Auto-(Re)Format

See Also: Answer

edited May 23 '17 at 12:34

Community

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 01:23

Nescio

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Particularly useful for messy XML files. – Damian Powell Nov 05 '09 at 11:29
to my VS, is CTRL + K, CTRL + Y :) – Elaine Jun 16 '11 at 07:07
and for me it's CTRL + K, CTRL + F – Daniel Bonetti Oct 23 '13 at 15:46

score 43 · Answer 12 · edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:19

43

Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V to duplicate the current line

Ctrl+L to delete the current line

Ctrl+F3 to search for the current selection

Ctrl+K, Ctrl+K to create a bookmark (which are useful)

Ctrl+K, Ctrl+N to go to the next bookmark

And, here is something even more interesting:
Press Ctrl+/ to put the cursor into a box where you can type commands.

For example, Pressing Ctrl+/ and type ">of ", now start typing the name of a file in your project, and it will autocomplete. This is a very fast way to open files in the current solution.

edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:19

Jasper

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 03:48

moltenform

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Control-L cuts the current line. Control-Shift-L deletes it. – Greg Nov 03 '08 at 14:52
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@Greg: Class, thanks. @Others: These are great ones, but fail to adhere to the questioner's one per line ask :- -1 :( – Ruben Bartelink Jun 26 '09 at 15:19
Also dup of http://stackoverflow.com/questions/98606/favorite-visual-studio-keyboard-shortcuts/101873#101873 – Ruben Bartelink Jun 26 '09 at 15:23
Ctrl + D duplicates the current line as well (and much shorter) – Ray Oct 14 '09 at 01:39
Ctrl+/ is great. Anyone know if there are any good docs on the commands I can use with this? – Damian Powell Nov 05 '09 at 11:25
1

@Ray: Ctrl + D isn't working for me. Is that with default Visual Studio shortcuts? It might be a ReSharper shortcut IIRC? – dariom Oct 01 '10 at 08:30
Yeah, I realised later (and updated my answer, but not my comment) that it's a resharper shortcut. – Ray Oct 01 '10 at 09:33
I have been using ctrl + x, ctrl + v for repeat a whole line, ctrl + x, cut a line :) – Elaine Jun 16 '11 at 07:08

score 40 · Answer 13 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:18

40

Ctrl+Shift+V paste / cycle through the clipboard ring

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:18

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 05:04

Wedge

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I've always found this feature too slow to be of any use. I wish they would improve its performance - sometimes its takes up to 20 seconds to load the items in the clipboard. – cbp Apr 06 '09 at 05:09
Use clipx if you want to do clipboard history. It spans all applications. http://www.bluemars.org/clipx/ – Tim Coker Jul 22 '10 at 16:44
in 2012 working great! than you :) – Marko Jul 13 '12 at 14:50
Wow this is awesome. This is a nice helper for all those times I thought I had "lost" my previous clipboard contents, it was still there the whole time. Thanks! – Jason Parker Dec 07 '12 at 15:36

score 34 · Answer 14 · edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:21

34

Shift+ESC

This hides/closes any of the 'fake window' windows in Visual Studio. This includes things like the Solution Explorer, Object Browser, Output Window, Immediate window, Unit Test Windows etc. etc. and still applies whether they're pinned, floating, dockable or tabbed.

Shortcut into a window (e.g. Ctrl + Alt + L or Ctrl + Alt + I) do what you need to do, and Shift + Esc to get rid of it. If you don't get rid of it, the only way to give it focus again is to use the same keyboard shortcut (or the mouse, which is what we're trying to avoid....)

Once you get the hang of it, it's immensely useful.

Grrr....The amount of times of hit Ctrl + F4 to close the 'window' only to see my current code window close was insane before I found this, now it only happens occasionally..

edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:21

Jasper

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answered Nov 10 '08 at 03:28

Gordon Hartley

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This is awesome!!! (shift+esc) I always build, have the output window fly out and have the mouse cursor hovering, which prevents it from autohiding. This makes me move my hands off the keyboard, which I HATE. But thanks to this, you've solved my single biggest annoyance with visual studio. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. – Tim Coker Jul 22 '10 at 16:46
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"If you don't get rid of it, the only way to give it focus again is to use the same keyboard shortcut" - Alt+F6 cycles through open tool windows, faster to press than Ctrl-W-stuff – user472875 Dec 05 '11 at 05:58
On MSVC 6.0 (or something even older?) [ESC] did the hiding (actually toggling IIRC) the output window. I have looked a long time for a replacement to that one, thanks! – Valmond Apr 21 '12 at 17:43
VS 2012 use Ctrl+Shift+[ instead of Ctrl+Alt+L - which navigates to the current file instead of navigating to last selected file in Solution Explorer. – yzorg Jan 24 '13 at 15:58

score 34 · Answer 15 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:21

34

I like Ctrl+M, Ctrl+M. To expand/collapse the current code block.

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:21

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 01:24

Adam Neal

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Seems like ctrl + m + m works as well. So you don't have to release the ctrl button after the first m. – Jason Parker Dec 07 '12 at 15:38
Every one of shortcuts is editable and the default often is that there is version with ctrl two times or the firts time. – Preza8 Jul 30 '13 at 09:41

score 34 · Answer 16 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:34

34

One that I use often but not many other people do is:

Shift + Alt + F10 then Enter

If you type in a class name like Collection<string> and do not have the proper namespace import then this shortcut combination will automatically insert the import (while the carret is immediately after the '>').

Update:

An equivalent shortcut from the comments on this answer (thanks asterite!):

Ctrl + .

Much more comfortable than my original recommendation.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:34

Community

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 01:26

Eric Schoonover

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This is for View.SHowSmartTag so any smart tag that appears will have their menu openw ith this (e.g., implement interface). I change this mapping to Alt+Down arrow. – Mark Cidade Sep 19 '08 at 02:29
I tend to hit Windows button -> down -> right -> enter, which to me is faster than repositioning my hands in a weird way in order to press Shift+Alt+F10+Enter. – Rahul Sep 19 '08 at 08:14
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You can do Ctrl + "." for the same purpose, and it's much, much more comfortable. – asterite Oct 27 '08 at 15:33
Yes, you can do Ctrl+".", but the original Shift + Alt + F10 will also work in other MS applications such as Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel and Word. – Dirk Vollmar Jan 21 '09 at 23:15
-1 as dup of one above (even if this was first, not surte if it was) – Ruben Bartelink Jun 26 '09 at 11:41

score 24 · Answer 17 · edited Nov 27 '12 at 13:22

24

Visual Studio 2005/2008 keybinding posters:

These don't cover customizations, but they're good reference materials and definitely helpful for finding new shortcuts.

Also, a macro that dumps all the current bindings to a HTML file:

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000315.html

edited Nov 27 '12 at 13:22

Peter Mortensen

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answered Mar 10 '09 at 22:59

Jeff Atwood

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VS 2010: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=92ced922-d505-457a-8c9c-84036160639f – RandomEngy Nov 14 '10 at 02:48

Justin R. · Answer 18 · 2009-08-28T18:25:25.837

24

My favorite: F12 (go to definition) and Shift+F12 (find references).

The latter is useful with F8 (go to next result).

Ctrl+- and Ctrl+Shift+- are mapped to my mouse's back and forwards buttons.

Ctrl+. is useful too, especially for adding event handlers and "using" statements.

edited Aug 28 '09 at 18:25

answered Sep 19 '08 at 01:59

Justin R.

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I use , for go to definition. Its much easier to reach than F12. , will do find all references, too. Most of the time when I'm browsing code, I have my left hand on keyboard and my right hand on the mouse, which means I can right click and press or for these as well, which is pretty quick. – Tim Coker Jul 22 '10 at 16:43

score 22 · Answer 19 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:44

22

Alt+Shift+arrow keys(←,↑,↓,→)

This allow you to select things in a block. Like you could select all of the "int" in the block and then search and replace to double for example.

**int** x = 1;
**int** y = 2;
**int** z = 3;

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:44

dance2die

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answered Nov 10 '08 at 03:31

Keith Elder

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Hey, i'm pretty sure this is acutally CTRL not ALT in all of the above examples... – JTech Jun 21 '12 at 11:03

score 19 · Answer 20 · edited Nov 27 '12 at 13:23

19

Open and set focus in Solution Explorer: Ctrl+Alt+L

edited Nov 27 '12 at 13:23

Peter Mortensen

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 01:24

SaaS Developer

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I usually hit "Esc" to get back. – SaaS Developer Dec 14 '09 at 16:58
Also, for ReSharper users, Alt+Shift+L focuses on the current file in the Solution Explorer. – Dmytro Shevchenko May 23 '13 at 21:28

Russell Myers · Answer 21 · 2012-08-18T16:13:15.547

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Ctrl+M, O. Can collapse and expand all sections of code in a particular file.

edited Aug 18 '12 at 16:13

answered Sep 19 '08 at 03:01

Russell Myers

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VS O8 link has been removed from the destination site. It says, due to possible copyright infringement. – John Dunagan Oct 21 '08 at 20:42
It's not Ctrl+M,0 but Ctrl+M,O (<- not zero but an O) – dance2die Mar 11 '09 at 02:34
If you want to expand again use CTRL + M, P – n00b Dec 05 '12 at 17:50

score 18 · Answer 22 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:38

18

One that other editors should take up: Ctrl+C with nothing selected will copy the current line.

Most other editors will do nothing. After copying a line, pasting will place the line before the current one, even if you're in the middle of the line. Most other editors will start pasting from where you are, which is almost never what you want.

Duplicating a line is just: Hold Ctrl, press c, then v. (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V)

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:38

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 03:34

Jerph

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This could also be annoying if you press Ctrl+C by mistake instead of Ctrl+V – shoosh Mar 10 '09 at 23:49
And CodeRush adds even more w/ Ctrl W and auto stuff on Ctrl-C.... – Ruben Bartelink Jul 01 '09 at 21:23

score 17 · Answer 23 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:37

17

CTRL+F5 (Start Without Debugging)

CTRL+SHIFT+B (Build Solution)

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:37

Beep beep

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 03:00

Giorgio Galante

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F7 is "build solution" for me. – korona Nov 07 '08 at 08:39
How to build not the entire but the selected solution?? – Narek Sep 11 '12 at 06:18

score 14 · Answer 24 · edited Nov 27 '12 at 13:12

Here is a list that I use frequently:

Ctrl + I: for progressive search. If you don't type anything after I, and keep pressing I (holding the Ctrl key down), it will search the last item you had searched. Ctrl + Shift + I will reverse search. You might also want to use F3 (and Shift + F3) once some search string is entered.

Ctrl + K Ctrl + C: For commenting highlighted region. If nothing is highlighted, current line will be commented. Naturally, you can just hold Ctrl and press K, C in succession.

Ctrl + K Ctrl + U: For uncommenting highlighted region. Works like above.

Ctrl + /: Will take the cursor to the small search box on top. You can type ">of filename" (without the quotes) to open a file. Very useful if your project contains multiple files.

Ctrl + K Ctrl + K: Will bookmark the current line. This is useful if you want to look at some other part of code for a moment and come back to where you were.

Ctrl + K Ctrl + N: Will take you to the next bookmark, if there are more than one.

Ctrl + -: Will take the cursor to its previous location

Ctrl + Shift + -: Will take the cursor to its next location (if it exists)

Ctrl + Shift + B: Build your project

Ctrl + C: Although this does the usual copy, if nothing is highlighted, it copies the current line. Same for Ctrl + X (for cut)

Ctrl + Space: Autocomplete using IntelliSense

Ctrl + ]: Will take you to the matching brace. Works with all kinds of braces: '(', '{', '['. Useful for big blocks.

F12: Will take you to the function definition/variable definition.

Alt + P + P: Will open up project properties. Although not many use this, it useful if you want to quickly change the command line arguments to your program.

F5: To start debugging

Shift + F5: To stop debugging

While debugging, you can use Ctrl + Alt + Q to add a quick watch. Other debugging shortcuts can be found in the debug drop down menu.

score 13 · Answer 25 · edited Mar 10 '09 at 23:02

13

Ctrl+F10

run to cursor when debugging. Looked for this for ages before I found the keyboard shortcut...

edited Mar 10 '09 at 23:02

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 08:57

Joel in Gö

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Sam Harwell · Answer 26 · 2010-01-10T15:47:00.087

12

By usage, the pair:

Ctrl+Enter: insert blank line above the current line.
Ctrl+Shift+Enter: insert blank line below the current line.

edited Jan 10 '10 at 15:47

answered Sep 17 '09 at 20:48

Sam Harwell

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CTRL + ENTER inserts above the current line on my VS2008. – Ash Jan 10 '10 at 13:44
Oops, I had them backwards. :o I don't even think about it anymore. :) – Sam Harwell Jan 10 '10 at 15:47
This is simple, but very useful. It could save a lot of keystrokes, thank you. – CMinus Feb 28 '10 at 05:04

score 12 · Answer 27 · edited Nov 27 '12 at 12:48

12

When the IntelliSense drop down is displayed, holding down Ctrl turns the list semi-transparent so you can see what is hidden behind it :)

edited Nov 27 '12 at 12:48

Peter Mortensen

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answered Sep 08 '11 at 16:29

Curtis

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If only I knew this before, I would have saved myself so much time and reliance on the Esc key :) – munnster79 Jul 19 '12 at 11:44

score 12 · Answer 28 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:36

12

If 'Favorite' is measured by how often I use it, then:

F10 : Debug.StepOver

:)

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:36

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 03:46

Scott Ferguson

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score 11 · Answer 29 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:34

11

Ctrl+Alt+P -> Attach to process

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:34

dance2die

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answered Oct 02 '08 at 14:12

Chris Ballance

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score 11 · Answer 30 · answered Jul 22 '10 at 16:54

11

Haven't seen this one ...

Ctrl + Up

Ctrl + Down

Scrolls the window without moving the cursor.

answered Jul 22 '10 at 16:54

Tim Coker

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It depends. On Visual Basic 2005 Express Edition (is a version of Visual Studio 2005 - 8.0.50727.42 (RTM 050727-4200)), it instead jumps to the previous/next subroutine (*Sub* or *Function*). It is still useful, though. – Peter Mortensen Nov 27 '12 at 13:00

score 8 · Answer 31 · answered Mar 10 '09 at 19:10

8

Select word: Ctrl+W

I can't live without that shortcut. Used over 100+ (or 200+) a day.

answered Mar 10 '09 at 19:10

dance2die

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The interesting thing is that it selects up on hierarchy. For example, within a block if you press Ctrl+W, it first select the word near to, if you press Ctrl+W again, now it selects the surrounding block and so on. – Alex. S. Oct 14 '10 at 16:10
In VS 2010 it's now been co-opted for multi-key window shortcuts. – RandomEngy Nov 14 '10 at 03:13
@RandomEngy - not in my VS2010 – Torben Junker Kjær Sep 13 '11 at 08:26
Maybe it's only for C# development settings? – RandomEngy Sep 13 '11 at 15:29

score 8 · Answer 32 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:45

8

Ctrl+Shift+S

Save all changed files. saved me quite a few times.

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:45

dance2die

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answered Mar 11 '09 at 00:01

shoosh

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score 7 · Answer 33 · edited Mar 10 '09 at 23:20

7

Ctrl+Shift+R Tools.RecordTemporaryMacro (again to stop recording)

Ctrl+Shift+P Tools.RunTemporaryMacro

Beats the heck out of trying to work out a regexp search and replace!

edited Mar 10 '09 at 23:20

dance2die

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answered Oct 22 '08 at 15:54

J Francis

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I just disabled these. I hit record by mistake trying for show whitespace Ctrl+R, Ctrl+W. The macros bog everything down, and it takes me a while to figure out what's going wrong. – goodeye Mar 22 '12 at 00:29

score 7 · Answer 34 · edited Nov 27 '12 at 12:53

7

Surround with: Ctrl + K , S.

It is great when you want to wrap some text in a tag.

edited Nov 27 '12 at 12:53

Peter Mortensen

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answered Oct 14 '10 at 09:46

TheLukeMcCarthy

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score 7 · Answer 35 · edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:22

7

Good old Ctrl+Tab for flipping back and forth between open documents.

Visual Studio actually provides a very nice Ctrl+Tab implementation; I especially appreciate that the Ctrl+Tab document activation order is most-recently-used order, rather than simple "left-to-right" order, so that Ctrl+Tab (press once and release) can be used repeatedly to flip back and forth between the two most-recently-used documents, even when there are more than two documents open.

edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:22

Jasper

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 01:48

Jon Schneider

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1

And dont forget you can arrow left in the popup to go to tool windows too.... – Ruben Bartelink Jul 01 '09 at 21:22
1

Another way to do this is to use Alt+W+2. This is go back and forth. Also allows for 3 way action using Alt+W+3, if you can remember the right order. – Robin Robinson Aug 05 '09 at 17:51

score 7 · Answer 36 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:22

7

Ctrl+R+T (Runs the current test)

Ctrl+R+A (Runs all tests in the project)

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:22

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 02:00

Ian P

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I wish there were a way to pop up the test results panel... – Tim Coker Jul 22 '10 at 16:47

score 7 · Answer 37 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:25

7

By far the most useful (after Ctrl+Shift+B) are:

Ctrl+K, C - to Comment out selection
Ctrl+k, U - to Uncomment a selection

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:25

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 04:12

Don

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In VS 2008 selection is Ctrl+E C to comment and Ctrl+E U to uncomment. I like them along with Ctrl+E D to reformat. – si618 Jan 22 '09 at 00:12
Dup of http://stackoverflow.com/questions/98606/favorite-visual-studio-keyboard-shortcuts/99276#99276 – Ruben Bartelink Jun 26 '09 at 15:17

score 4 · Answer 38 · edited Jan 29 '10 at 13:54

4

I like my code clean and arranged so my favorite keyboard shortcuts are the following:

Ctrl+K,D - Format document

Ctrl+K,F - Format selected code

Ctrl+E,S - Show white spaces

Ctrl+L - Cut line

Alt+Enter - Insert line below

edited Jan 29 '10 at 13:54

Herb Caudill

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 08:25

Germstorm

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score 4 · Answer 39 · edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:23

4

Ctrl + I for incremental search.

edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:23

Jasper

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answered Sep 28 '09 at 22:16

@FooBar : What does it mean? Incremental Search? – odiseh Feb 08 '10 at 10:13
@odiseh : Incremental search is where you start typing, and the selection keeps jumping to the first match of whatever you've typed so far. It usually saves you keystrokes, since you can just start typing until you've found what you're looking for. It also doesn't pop up a dialog. – Scott Smith Feb 28 '10 at 08:51

score 4 · Answer 40 · answered Mar 03 '11 at 21:30

4

In debug mode, Alt * jumps to the current breakpoint, where execution is stopped.

answered Mar 03 '11 at 21:30

Pierre

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score 4 · Answer 41 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:27

4

Ctrl+I for incremental search

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:27

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 02:35

phloopy

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It's Ctrl+I not an "L": fixed – dance2die Mar 11 '09 at 02:27
Dup of http://stackoverflow.com/questions/98606/favorite-visual-studio-keyboard-shortcuts/98846#98846 – Ruben Bartelink Jun 26 '09 at 15:17

score 3 · Answer 42 · edited Mar 10 '09 at 23:01

3

The combination Ctrl+F3 and Ctrl+Shift+F3 for finding selected and previous selected item works very well for me.

edited Mar 10 '09 at 23:01

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 13:37

Henk Marquering

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score 3 · Answer 43 · edited Aug 10 '12 at 18:45

3

Ctrl+Shift+space shows the syntax/overloads for the current function you are typing parameters for.

edited Aug 10 '12 at 18:45

Jainendra

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answered Jul 10 '09 at 13:02

Maslow

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score 3 · Answer 44 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:28

3

F9: toggle and un-toggle breakpoints!

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:28

dance2die

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answered Sep 21 '08 at 14:22

JohnIdol

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score 3 · Answer 45 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

3

Cutting and pasting lines

Everyone knows Ctrl + X and Ctrl + C for cutting/copying text; but did you know that in VS you don't have to select the text first if you want to cut or copy a single line? If nothing is selected, the whole line will be cut or copied.

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

1
1

answered Oct 02 '08 at 14:09

Herb Caudill

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I'm floored by how many people don't know/use this. I'm also floored that the C# editor team still can't get the cursor placement correct. – Sam Harwell Sep 17 '09 at 20:42
Interesting, I actually didn't know that but always used the Shift+Del combination to do the same thing... which is prolly why I never noticed this way. – Brandon Moore Dec 10 '11 at 01:41

score 3 · Answer 46 · edited Mar 10 '09 at 23:42

3

Showing hidden windows

ctrl+alt+L + Solution explorer
ctrl+alt+S + Server explorer
ctrl+alt+O + Output
ctrl+alt+X + Toolbox
ctrl+shift+W, 1 + Watch
ctrl+\, E + Error list
ctrl+shift+C + Class view

I like to use all my screen real estate for code and have everything else hidden away. These shortcuts keep these windows handy when I need them, so they can be out of the way the rest of the time.

edited Mar 10 '09 at 23:42

dance2die

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answered Oct 02 '08 at 14:10

Herb Caudill

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Or you could just remember one shortcut: Shift + Alt + Enter – Ash Jan 29 '10 at 04:06

score 3 · Answer 47 · answered May 31 '10 at 04:07

3

Open a newline above Ctrl + Enter

Open a newline below Ctrl + Shift + Enter

answered May 31 '10 at 04:07

kev

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score 3 · Answer 48 · edited Mar 10 '09 at 19:12

3

Alt + B + U - Build the current project.

edited Mar 10 '09 at 19:12

dance2die

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answered Dec 16 '08 at 21:00

etsuba

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Or Shift F6 in the C# bindings – Ruben Bartelink Jun 26 '09 at 15:25
1

Technically speaking, I think this should be 'Alt, B, U'. – Damian Powell Nov 05 '09 at 11:27

score 3 · Answer 49 · answered Mar 03 '11 at 22:04

3

Well, if you're really

always up for leaving my hands on the keyboard and away from the mouse!

Than you should go here

It's not really my favorite, it's just everything!

A shortcut a day will keep the mouse away.

answered Mar 03 '11 at 22:04

Oren A

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score 3 · Answer 50 · answered Apr 06 '11 at 19:10

3

Ctrl + , for 'Navigate To' window (link)

answered Apr 06 '11 at 19:10

hIpPy

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score 3 · Answer 51 · answered Sep 30 '11 at 08:27

CTRL + Alt + ↓

This causes the list of open files to pop open in the upper right corner of the editor window. The cool thing is that it is searchable so you can leave go of the keys and start typing the file name to shift the focus to that file. Very handy when you have zillions of files open.

score 3 · Answer 52 · edited Mar 10 '09 at 19:15

3

Ctrl + Alt + E = Exception/Catch Settings and code snippets

edited Mar 10 '09 at 19:15

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 02:40

RobS

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score 3 · Answer 53 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:56

3

I hate closing the extra tabs when I use "Start Debugging" on ASP.NET apps. Instead, I usually use "Start without Debugging" (Ctrl+F5).

If I end up needing to debug, I use Ctrl+Alt+P (Attach to Process)

and choose WebDev.WebServer.exe. Then I'm still on my previous page and I only have one tab open.

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:56

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 03:29

Jerph

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C-F5 is dup. Alt D P is alternative for Ctrl Alt P – Ruben Bartelink Jul 01 '09 at 21:37

score 3 · Answer 54 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:27

3

Ctrl+[ (Move to corresponding })

Ctrl+Shift+V (Cycle clipboard)

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:27

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 03:50

score 2 · Answer 55 · edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:28

2

Ctrl + W for selecting the current word

edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:28

Jasper

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answered Sep 28 '09 at 22:22

it says this one is a chord... – Steve Oct 14 '09 at 18:04

score 2 · Answer 56 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Commenting

Ctrl+K, Ctrl+C - Comment current item
Ctrl+K, Ctrl+U - Uncomment current item

The great thing about this is that it applies to the element you're currently in - you don't have to select a whole line of VB code to comment it, for example, you just type Ctrl+K, Ctrl+C to comment the current line. On an aspx page, you can comment out a big chunk of code - for example an entire ListView - by just going to the first line and hitting Ctrl+K, Ctrl+C.

score 2 · Answer 57 · edited Nov 27 '12 at 13:02

2

The combination Ctrl+U and Ctrl+Shift+U for converting a block of characters to all upper/lower case.

edited Nov 27 '12 at 13:02

Peter Mortensen

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answered Nov 14 '09 at 14:49

Macke

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score 2 · Answer 58 · edited Oct 27 '13 at 12:42

2

Ctrl + K + C - set current selected code to be comments Ctrl + K + U - set current selected comments to be code

edited Oct 27 '13 at 12:42

0x6C38

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answered Feb 28 '10 at 08:32

deype0

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score 2 · Answer 59 · edited Aug 30 '09 at 13:50

2

Some handy ones that I use often are:

Ctrl+J -> Forces Intellisence to pop up.

Ctrl+Alt+L -> Show the Solution Explorer.

edited Aug 30 '09 at 13:50

Peter Mortensen

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answered Dec 29 '08 at 18:30

Jeroen Landheer

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score 2 · Answer 60 · edited Oct 27 '13 at 12:43

2

Ctrl + BP (Previous bookmark), Ctrl + BN (Next bookmark)

edited Oct 27 '13 at 12:43

0x6C38

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answered May 08 '09 at 11:03

Rashmi Pandit

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score 2 · Answer 61 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:25

2

Ctrl+Shift+B - Build

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:25

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 02:01

ben

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-1: Dup of http://stackoverflow.com/questions/98606/favorite-visual-studio-keyboard-shortcuts/99126#99126 (Even if it breaks the 'one' request) – Ruben Bartelink Jun 26 '09 at 15:22

score 2 · Answer 62 · answered Sep 19 '08 at 04:07

2

There are some great tips and trips and shortcuts on Sara Ford's blog.

answered Sep 19 '08 at 04:07

JasonS

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score 2 · Answer 63 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:03

F7 and Shift+F7 to switch between designer/code view

Ctrl+Break to stop a build.

Great for those "oh, I realized this won't compile and I don't want to waste my time" moments.

Alt+Enter opens the resharper smart tag

Bookmark ShortCuts

Ctrl+K Ctrl+K to place a bookmark

Ctrl+K Ctrl+N to go to next bookmark

Ctrl+K Ctrl+P to go to previous bookmark

The refactor shortcuts.

Each starts with Ctrl+R.

Follow it with Ctrl+R for rename. Ctrl+M for extract method. Ctrl+E for encapsulate field.

score 2 · Answer 64 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:55

If you have your keyboard settings set to the "Visual C# 2005" setting, the window switching and text editing chords are excellent. You hit the first combination of Ctrl + Key, then release and hit the next letter.

Ctrl+E, C: Comment Selected Text
Ctrl+E, U: Uncomment Selected Text
Ctrl+W, E: Show Error List
Ctrl+W, J: Show Object Browser
Ctrl+W, S: Show Solution Explorer
Ctrl+W, X: Show Toolbox

I still use F4 to show the properties pane so I don't know the chord for that one.

If you go to the Tools > Customise menu option and press the Keyboard button, it gives you a list of commands you can search to see if a shortcut is available, or you can select the "Press Shortcut Keys:" textbox and test shortcut keys you want to assign to see if they conflict.

Addendum: I just found another great one that I think I'll be using quite frequently: Ctrl+K, S

pops up an intellisense box asking you what you would like to surround the selected text with. It's exactly what I've needed all those times I've needed to wrap a block in a conditional or a try/catch.

That Ctrl+K, S is awesome!!!. Coupled with successive Ctrl+W and you have a winner for fast coding. — Alex. S., Oct 14 '10 at 16:19

score 1 · Answer 65 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:08

1

Ctrl+M, Ctrl+O : collapse to definitions. I use it all the time together with #regions

(despite what Jeff says) to get an overview of the code on my screen.

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:08

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 09:04

Joel in Gö

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Me too!! I collapse to definitions, then drill down with Ctrl+M+M: Toggle Outlining Expansion – Tor Haugen Mar 11 '09 at 02:39

score 1 · Answer 66 · edited Nov 27 '12 at 12:48

1

Ctrl + K, D to auto format code.

edited Nov 27 '12 at 12:48

Peter Mortensen

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answered Apr 18 '12 at 18:40

Amal Dev

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score 1 · Answer 67 · edited Nov 27 '12 at 13:13

1

I'm a big fan of Ctrl + D + Q to open quickwatch while debugging.

edited Nov 27 '12 at 13:13

Peter Mortensen

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answered Jul 01 '09 at 02:21

Ehz

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score 1 · Answer 68 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:13

1

I just found out that Shift+F11 steps out of the current function.

This is very useful when you want to debug function foo in foo(bar(baz()). Use F11, Shift+F11 to jump in and out of bar and baz.

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:13

dance2die

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answered Sep 24 '08 at 09:31

score 1 · Answer 69 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:15

1

Alt+Shift+ Arrow keys(←↑↓→) or mouse moving = Block/Column selection

comes really handy

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:15

dance2die

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answered Sep 24 '08 at 09:31

Mladen

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score 1 · Answer 70 · answered Sep 17 '09 at 20:49

1

Ctrl+Shift+V multiple times cycles through the clipboard ring.

answered Sep 17 '09 at 20:49

Sam Harwell

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score 1 · Answer 71 · answered Sep 17 '09 at 20:51

1

Control+Apostrophe.

Oh wait, that was after I remapped it away from that god-awkward Alt+Shift+F10 or whatever it was.

When you remap options to help bind this away from it's original hard to hit shortcut, it becomes a lot lot more useful.

answered Sep 17 '09 at 20:51

MiffTheFox

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Really? i *love* Alt-Shift-F10! – RCIX Oct 28 '09 at 09:03
@RCIX - To clarify, I love what Alt+Shift+F10 does, but I don't love how hard it is to hit compared to Ctrl+Apostrophe. – MiffTheFox Oct 28 '09 at 15:21
1

Posting just the keys themselves is pointless. Most (sensible) people don't know what Alt+Shift+F10 because they've always used Ctrl + . – Ash Jan 29 '10 at 04:20

score 1 · Answer 72 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

1

Find and replace

Ctrl+F and Ctrl+H - Find, Find & replace, respectively
Ctrl+shift+F and Ctrl+shift+H - Find in files, Find & replace in files, respectively

"Find in files" has been an enormous productivity booster for me. Rather than jump to each result one by one, it just shows you a list of results in your entire project or solution. It makes it very simple to find sample code, or see if a function is used anywhere.

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

1
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answered Oct 02 '08 at 14:09

Herb Caudill

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And then F8/Shift-F8 to step the results – Ruben Bartelink Jul 01 '09 at 21:30

score 1 · Answer 73 · edited Oct 28 '09 at 11:47

1

It's simple, but

Ctrl + L

deletes the entire line. Great for fast code editing.

edited Oct 28 '09 at 11:47

Adam Neal

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answered Oct 28 '09 at 05:15

Paul

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score 1 · Answer 74 · edited Mar 10 '09 at 19:12

1

F7 toggles from design view to code view.

edited Mar 10 '09 at 19:12

dance2die

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answered Oct 04 '08 at 19:23

wusher

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score 1 · Answer 75 · answered Oct 22 '08 at 15:42

1

Not a keyboard shortcut, but with your mouse, you can use forward and backwards buttons on your mouse to go to previous locations in your code and return to your current location.

answered Oct 22 '08 at 15:42

You must be using an add-in because stock Visual Studio doesn't do this. I actually wrote (and still use) an add-in that does this. – Sam Harwell Sep 17 '09 at 20:43
@280Z28: Works for me in VS 2008. – sbi Jun 02 '10 at 10:44

score 1 · Answer 76 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:46

1

If you install Visual Assist X, which I highly recommend you do, these are useful:

Alt+O: Toggle current document between header/implementation (.h/.cpp)
Alt+G: Go to definition/declaration

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:46

dance2die

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answered Nov 07 '08 at 08:46

korona

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score 1 · Answer 77 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:46

1

F7 to build and then F8 to go to the errors and warnings one by one.

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:46

dance2die

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answered Nov 10 '08 at 07:10

Atempcode

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score 1 · Answer 78 · edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:33

1

I mapped all of the expand/collapse commands so that they can be used with the left and only so my right hand stays on my mouse.
Ctrl + E, Ctrl + E toggles expansion,Ctrl + E, Ctrl + D collapses all to definitions, Ctrl + E, Ctrl + A toggles all outlining.

edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:33

Jasper

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answered Jul 22 '10 at 16:52

Tim Coker

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Funny, I always prefer my hands to stay on the keyboard and try not to use the mouse. (The down-vote isn't mine, though.) – sbi Jul 22 '10 at 18:58
99% of the time i keep my hands on the keyboard, too. But there are times when I'm studying code that its convenient to have a hand on the mouse and being able to expand/collapse with just my left hand is very useful. – Tim Coker Jul 22 '10 at 19:45

score 1 · Answer 79 · edited Nov 27 '12 at 12:52

1

Ctrl + R + W to display whitespace (great for tab or space enforcement).

Also, holding down Alt while selecting with the mouse will create a rectangular region.

edited Nov 27 '12 at 12:52

Peter Mortensen

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answered Feb 24 '11 at 16:37

Pierre

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score 1 · Answer 80 · answered Mar 11 '09 at 01:24

1

Alt+F4 ;)

But on a more serious note, Ctrl+Space is probably hit a lot from me, in my limited usage of VS.

answered Mar 11 '09 at 01:24

ocharles

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-1: Duplicate (even if this was first, the other is upvoted) – Ruben Bartelink Jul 01 '09 at 21:31

score 1 · Answer 81 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:04

1

Ctrl+Shift+R -> Refactor with Resharper

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:04

dance2die

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answered Mar 11 '09 at 01:59

Chris

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score 1 · Answer 82 · answered Mar 11 '09 at 02:37

Ctrl+ E + D : Format Document

Tip for teams: Set up agreed-on formatting options in Visual Studio (they are very flexible), then export the settings to a .settings file for each developer to import.

Now if all developers learn to autoformat everything, it will not only produce perfect formatting consistency throughout the project with no effort at all, but also greatly reduce annoying false differences in the diff tool when merging multiple check-ins to Source Control.

Oh, I enjoy good tools!

I see Sung Meister lists the same command, but with a different key combination. Myself, I use the Visual C# environment settings, I guess he doesn't. — Tor Haugen, Mar 11 '09 at 02:42

score 1 · Answer 83 · edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:29

1

Insert snippet:

Ctrl+K, Ctrl+S

I use if often for try..catch and #region

edited Sep 08 '11 at 16:29

Jasper

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answered May 27 '09 at 19:00

callisto

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I instead just type `try` or `#region` and then hit TAB, TAB. (But that might be helpful if you forget which snippets, such as for Dr. WPF's big list of property snippets for WPF: [link](http://drwpf.com/blog/2007/11/17/my-wpf-code-snippets/)) – Jared Thirsk Jan 06 '13 at 11:36

score 1 · Answer 84 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:03

1

Ctrl+Shift+8 - Backtracks go to previous "F12/ Go to definition"

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:03

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 05:18

vzczc

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Ctrl + Shift + 7 is the complementary shortcut to do that - go fwd to next Go To Def invoked in the chain. – Gishu Nov 07 '08 at 08:29

score 0 · Answer 85 · edited Feb 24 '11 at 19:30

0

Ctrl+X

This cuts (to clipboard) the current line of code.

edited Feb 24 '11 at 19:30

Greg

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 08:11

Morten Christiansen

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This "cuts" the line. Ctrl+ L for delete. – Alex. S. Oct 14 '10 at 16:26

score 0 · Answer 86 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:11

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Nothing beats Ctrl+Shift+B - Building the solution!!

As far as navigation control, Ctrl+- and Ctrl++ is nice...

But I prefer Ctrl+K+K ---> creates bookmark...

and Ctrl+K+N ---> to navigate to the next bookmark... awesome stuff...

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:11

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 11:07

RWendi

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score 0 · Answer 87 · answered Sep 19 '08 at 13:47

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Another useful Find short key sequence is Ctrl (+ Shift) F --> ALT C --> ALT W for switching between exact and fuzzy searches.

answered Sep 19 '08 at 13:47

Henk Marquering

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score 0 · Answer 88 · edited Oct 27 '13 at 12:38

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I'm addicted to some very subtle stuff in http://blog.jpboodhoo.com/UsefulVSKeySequencesShortcuts.aspx

e.g. Alt-W U to auto collapse everything when in Full screen mode when it all gets too much

edited Oct 27 '13 at 12:38

0x6C38

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answered Jul 01 '09 at 21:26

Ruben Bartelink

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score 0 · Answer 89 · answered Sep 05 '12 at 17:03

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Ctrl + .

To include a missing library.

answered Sep 05 '12 at 17:03

PriestVallon

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Looks like you don't use Resharper don't you. – NucS Sep 19 '13 at 11:13

score 0 · Answer 90 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:12

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Save LOTS of time copy and cutting:

Ctrl+C with no selection in the line: copies the whole line
Ctrl+X with no selection - cuts the whole line

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:12

dance2die

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answered Sep 24 '08 at 09:26

RoyOsherove

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only it was written BEFORE the other one. thanks! – RoyOsherove Jul 23 '09 at 06:13

score 0 · Answer 91 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:16

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Ctrl+K, Ctrl+D - Format the current document.

Helped me fix indentation and remove unneeded spaces quickly

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:16

dance2die

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answered Sep 24 '08 at 09:54

Dror Helper

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score 0 · Answer 92 · answered Sep 24 '08 at 12:19

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"prop" and hit tab.. stubs out property for you...

answered Sep 24 '08 at 12:19

CSharpAtl

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score 0 · Answer 93 · edited Oct 27 '13 at 12:41

0

Paste in loop Ctrl + Shift + V

Expand Collapse current block - Ctrl + M + M

Code Snippet - for creating property type prop and press tab.

edited Oct 27 '13 at 12:41

0x6C38

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answered Aug 30 '09 at 13:38

MRG

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score 0 · Answer 94 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:17

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Ctrl+M, Ctrl+L will expand every collapsed bit of code. It is the opposite of Ctrl+M, Ctrl+O

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:17

dance2die

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answered Sep 30 '08 at 15:56

Franck Mesirard

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score 0 · Answer 95 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

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Turn line wrapping on and off

Ctrl+E, Ctrl+W

Sometimes you want to see the flow of the code with all of your indents in place; sometimes you need to see all 50 attributes in a GridView declaration. This lets you easily switch back and forth.

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

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answered Oct 02 '08 at 14:08

Herb Caudill

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score 0 · Answer 96 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Format document

   Ctrl+K, Ctrl+D

On an aspx page, this takes care of properly indenting all of your markup and ensures that everything is XHTML compliant (adds quotes to attributes, corrects capitalization, closes self-closing tags). I find that this makes it much easier to find mismatched tags and to make sure that my markup makes sense. If you don't like how it's indenting, you can control which tags go on their own line and how much space they get around them under Tools/Options/Text Editor/HTML/Format/Tag Specific Options.
In your C# or VB code, this will correct any capitalization or formatting issues that didn't get caught automatically.
For CSS files, you can choose compact (one definition per line), semi-expanded, or expanded (each rule on its own line); and you can choose how it handles capitalization.

score 0 · Answer 97 · edited Mar 10 '09 at 19:14

0

Refresh javascript intellisense and code coloring.

ctrl+shift+J

I've found intellisense for Javascript to be flaky - this usually straightens it out.

edited Mar 10 '09 at 19:14

dance2die

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Herb Caudill

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score 0 · Answer 98 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Outlining

ctrl+M, ctrl+M - Collapse/expand current element
ctrl+M, ctrl+O - Collapse all (gives you a nice overview of a complex class, for example)
ctrl+M, ctrl+O - Toggle all

This works both in VB/C# code (e.g. collapse/expand a function) and in an aspx page (e.g. collapse/expand a GridView definition).

One very nice use of this is to cut or copy a big chunk of markup or code: For example, to move a big, sprawling <table> or <asp:gridview> definition:

Go to the first line
ctrl+M, ctrl+M to collapse it
ctrl+X to cut it (you don't have to select it, as long as your insertion point is still in that line)
Move to where you want it and ctrl+V to paste.

score 0 · Answer 99 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

0

Snippets

Each snippet has a shortcut that you can access by typing a word then tab. The one I use the most is for a standard property definition; just type property then tab.

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

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answered Oct 02 '08 at 14:10

Herb Caudill

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On my VS2008 the default is prop{TAB}, not property. – Ash Jan 10 '10 at 13:45

score 0 · Answer 100 · answered Oct 28 '09 at 05:26

0

Ctrl + M, L - Expands all regions

answered Oct 28 '09 at 05:26

Evan

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score 0 · Answer 101 · edited Oct 27 '13 at 12:42

0

I don't think that any shortcut is remaining for me to mention so let me mention a shortcut that I would love Visual Studio to have :-) One shortcut that I really miss and that is present in Eclipse is "Open Resource" (Ctrl + Shift + S) which allows you to type in a file name and the IDE displays the files matching it. Really useful when you are working with bid code bases!

edited Oct 27 '13 at 12:42

0x6C38

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answered Nov 14 '09 at 14:02

Aayush Puri

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See [Ctrl+/](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/98606/favorite-visual-studio-keyboard-shortcuts/1441130#1441130). – sbi Jun 02 '10 at 10:42

score 0 · Answer 102 · edited Mar 10 '09 at 19:12

0

Open a file without using the mouse:

CTRL + ALT + A (opens command window) Followed by >open somedoc

I didn't see this one yet. Can't believe how many cool shortcuts have been posted here!

edited Mar 10 '09 at 19:12

dance2die

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answered Oct 08 '08 at 05:19

score 0 · Answer 103 · answered Dec 06 '09 at 06:16

0

Ctrl+A, K, F

Select all, prettyprint.

answered Dec 06 '09 at 06:16

James Jones

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score 0 · Answer 104 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:20

0

Here's a link to a list of Shortcuts I find usefull (VS2003) but some still apply,

My favorite being F12 and Ctrl+- to navigate to the declaration and back

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:20

dance2die

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answered Oct 22 '08 at 15:50

CheGueVerra

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ctrl +'-' goes back to the last line your cursor was on in my VS – johnc Mar 05 '09 at 06:54

score 0 · Answer 105 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:51

0

Ctrl+- and Ctrl+Shift+-

Alt+D, P Attach the debugger to the application.

(first letter of any application you want to debug, works most of the time)

Ctrl+Shift+F

Ctrl+I (incremental seach)

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:51

dance2die

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answered Oct 27 '08 at 15:18

Think these are all dups (and questioner asked for 1 per answer) – Ruben Bartelink Jul 01 '09 at 21:35

score 0 · Answer 106 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:47

0

Simple one. F8 : Go to next build error.

Found that now it will work in any sort of list window (the ones that cluster together at the bottom usually.

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:47

dance2die

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answered Nov 07 '08 at 08:32

Gishu

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e.g. the find in files results – Ruben Bartelink Jul 01 '09 at 21:33
1

and Shift F8 in reverse order – Ruben Bartelink Jul 01 '09 at 21:34

score 0 · Answer 107 · answered Jul 23 '10 at 16:19

0

People have mentioned Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V to paste a line when nothing is selected but I use Ctrl+X to move lines of code regularly.

answered Jul 23 '10 at 16:19

Andrew Boes

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score 0 · Answer 108 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:29

0

Hmmm, nobody said F1 for help.

Could it be that Google is faster and better for getting at the information that you need.

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:29

dance2die

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answered Dec 16 '08 at 20:34

Ron Todosichuk

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Hit F1, make a coffee, go to google, type in your query (one finger typing), fully read each search return on the first 3 1/2 pages, find your answer and fix the code, catch a train home, do the cryptic crossword, have a beer, sleep in, go to work and have a coffee, check your pc, and wait ... – johnc Mar 05 '09 at 06:48
There's nothing more frustrating than accidentally hitting F1 – hacker Mar 11 '09 at 17:24
Perhaps F1 should just open a browser pointed at Google in a Visual Studio tab. I love how Google is better at finding reference materials than most web site's own searches (and most application's built-in references in this case). – Triynko Oct 28 '09 at 05:44

score 0 · Answer 109 · edited Mar 10 '09 at 22:43

0

VS 2008

Ctrl+E,D : Format Code
Ctrl+M,O : Collapse To Definitions
Ctrl+Z : Undo :)
F9: Breakpoint
Ctrl+Shift+F9 : Delete All Breakpoints

edited Mar 10 '09 at 22:43

dance2die

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answered Dec 20 '08 at 11:13

score 0 · Answer 110 · answered Oct 01 '10 at 08:13

Hopefully this hasn't already been posted, apologies if so. I've just come across a useful keyboard shortcut in Visual Studio 2008. With the QuickWatch window open, highlight a row with a string value in it and hit Space Bar. The text visualiser window will appear with the value in it.

I have found it quite useful for checking jQuery innerText values as the QuickWatch window by default is too small to show longer strings fully.

score 0 · Answer 111 · answered Oct 14 '10 at 15:23

0

Visual Studio 2010 Keybinding Posters

answered Oct 14 '10 at 15:23

TheLukeMcCarthy

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score 0 · Answer 112 · answered May 05 '11 at 19:53

0

Ctrl+Shift+Alt+B Rebuild Solution.

Ctrl+R, Ctrl+T Debug Tests in Current Context

answered May 05 '11 at 19:53

Jakub Linhart

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score 0 · Answer 113 · edited Jun 02 '10 at 10:47

0

The ones I use all the time:

ctrl+] Matching Brace
ctrl+shift+] Select to the end of brace
ctrl+shift+q Untabify
ctrl+k,ctrl+c comment out the currently selected block
ctrl+k,ctrl+u uncomment out the currently selected block
alt+mouse move vertical selection
ctrl+alt+x toolbox
ctrl+shift+b build

edited Jun 02 '10 at 10:47

sbi

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answered Mar 10 '09 at 21:18

Aaron Saarela

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score 0 · Answer 114 · edited Mar 10 '09 at 22:44

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Ctrl+Shift+F4 to close all windows. You have to map it yourself:

Instructions:

In Visual Studio, go to Tool | Options
Under Environment select Keyboard
In Show commands containing, enter Window.CloseAllDocuments. You should get a single entry in the listbox below it
Put the cursor in Press shortcut keys and press Ctrl+Shift+F4.
Click OK

Credit to Kyle Baley at codebetter.com. I modified his example to use shift instead of alt because it was easier on my hands.

edited Mar 10 '09 at 22:44

dance2die

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answered Mar 10 '09 at 21:33

Eric Bock

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I bind this to Ctrl+W (close window) and Ctrl+Shift+W (close all windows) to match several other programs. – Sam Harwell Sep 17 '09 at 20:45

score 0 · Answer 115 · answered Mar 11 '09 at 01:55

0

I've mapped File.Close to CTRL+SHIFT+W. That and CTRL+TAB mean you can close exactly whichever files you want.

answered Mar 11 '09 at 01:55

Jonathan Parker

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score 0 · Answer 116 · edited Nov 27 '12 at 12:51

0

I am surprised not to find this one on the list as I use it all the time:

Ctrl + K, Ctrl + M - Implement method stub.

Write a call to a non-existent method, and then use that shortcut to create the method in the right place, with the right parameters and return value, but with a method body that just throws a NotImplementedException.

Great for top-down coding.

edited Nov 27 '12 at 12:51

Peter Mortensen

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answered Jun 16 '11 at 07:57

Jackson Pope

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score 0 · Answer 117 · edited Nov 27 '12 at 12:48

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I think Ctrl + K + D is definitely my favourite. I use it more than any other shortcuts. It helps to format the document according to the indentation and code formatting settings specified by us.

edited Nov 27 '12 at 12:48

Peter Mortensen

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answered Jul 03 '11 at 12:19

Joyce

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score 0 · Answer 118 · edited Oct 27 '13 at 12:40

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Here are my favourite debugging keyboard shortcuts:

F5 : start debugger / run to next breakpoint
Shift+F5 : stop debugging
F10 : step over next statement
F11 : step into next statement
Ctrl+F10: run to the cursor location
F9 : add or remove breakpoint

edited Oct 27 '13 at 12:40

0x6C38

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answered Apr 27 '09 at 16:15

Phillip Ngan

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score 0 · Answer 119 · edited Oct 27 '13 at 12:41

0

Use Emacs-like keybinding, it's TAB :P

edited Oct 27 '13 at 12:41

0x6C38

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 02:25

score 0 · Answer 120 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:10

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What Ray said. Ctrl + ..

I really didn't like the smart tags (those little blue and red underscores that appear wanting to help you) until I found out that you don't need to waste time trying to hover the mouse over the exact pixel that gets the menu to show.

I think Ctrl + . to open the smart tag menu saves me about five minutes every day and reduces my blood pressure considerably.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:10

Community

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 02:35

Hamish Smith

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I think default was "Alt+Shift+F10"... Mine was overwritten by Resharper... – dance2die Mar 10 '09 at 23:44

score 0 · Answer 121 · edited Mar 10 '09 at 23:23

0

Ctrl+Shift+S // Save

Ctrl+Shift+B // Build

edited Mar 10 '09 at 23:23

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 02:55

Dan Coates

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score 0 · Answer 122 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:29

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I have two that I use a lot, the first is standard, the second you have to map:

Ctrl+A, Ctrl+E, F (Select All, Format Selection)

Ctrl+E, R (Remove Unused Usings and Sort)

Both help pay down the "cruft debt" early and often

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:29

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 03:10

lesscode

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score 0 · Answer 123 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:58

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Ctrl+K then Ctrl+H to add a line of code to the built in task/todo list

(Ctrl+Alt+K). Very handy!

edited Mar 11 '09 at 01:58

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 03:32

ine

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score -1 · Answer 124 · edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:06

-1

Ctrl+- and Ctrl+Shift+-. But if you are a keyboard lover then go for Resharper

edited Mar 11 '09 at 02:06

dance2die

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answered Sep 19 '08 at 07:24

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It doesn't even state what do actually do... – Jasper Sep 08 '11 at 16:31

Favorite Visual Studio keyboard shortcuts

124 Answers124

Cutting and pasting lines

Showing hidden windows

Commenting

Find and replace

Turn line wrapping on and off

Format document

Refresh javascript intellisense and code coloring.

Outlining

Snippets

Linked