Essential Visual Studio Keyboard Shortcuts To Save Time

A useful list of essential Visual Studio keyboard shortcuts that every developer ought to know to be more productive and efficient.

By Tim TrottC# ASP.Net MVC • January 15, 2024
Essential Visual Studio Keyboard Shortcuts To Save Time

Visual Studio is a powerful Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that developers use to build, debug, and distribute code in various programming languages. Its extensive feature set and user-friendly design make it the go-to tool for many developers.

All developers should master the basic Visual Studio keyboard shortcuts to increase efficiency. Developers can use these shortcuts to quickly navigate, write, and debug code without taking their hands away from the keyboard. Some of the most important Visual Studio keyboard shortcuts are as follows:

Writing Code and Using the Editor

  • Ctrl + N - Create a new file.
  • Ctrl + S - Save the current file.
  • Ctrl + Shift + S - Save all files.
  • Ctrl + F - Search for text within a file.
  • Ctrl + Shift + F - Search for text within the entire project.
  • Ctrl + K + C - Comment out a line of code.
  • Ctrl + K + U - Uncomment a line of code.
  • Ctrl + . Bring up the smart tag list.
  • Ctrl + K + F - Format file or selection.
  • Ctrl + Space - Open Auto Complete.

Debugging

  • Ctrl + F5 - Run the current project.
  • Ctrl + Shift + B - Build the current project.
  • F9 - Set a breakpoint.
  • F5 - Start debugging.
  • F10 - Step over to the next statement.
  • F11 - Step into a function.

Navigating Code, Windows and Tabs

  • Ctrl + Shift + F12 - Go to a specific line in a file.
  • Ctrl + , - Go to a specific symbol in a file.
  • Ctrl + F12 - Go to a specific type declaration in a file.
  • Ctrl + Alt + F10 - Go to the definition of a symbol.
  • Ctrl + [ + S - Sync Current Document With Solution Explorer.

These are just a few essential Visual Studio keyboard shortcuts that every developer should know. Developers can become more productive and efficient when developing in Visual Studio through these shortcuts.

Related ArticlesThese articles may also be of interest to you

CommentsShare your thoughts in the comments below

My website and its content are free to use without the clutter of adverts, popups, marketing messages or anything else like that. If you enjoyed reading this article, or it helped you in some way, all I ask in return is you leave a comment below or share this page with your friends. Thank you.

There are no comments yet. Why not get the discussion started?

New comments for this post are currently closed.