I tent to forget the Visual Studio 2005 shortcuts really fast when I haven’t done any real coding and just Word “coding” for a while. The shortcuts are really important as they enhance my coding experience and boost my productivity (which makes my manager happy; which increase my bonus; which makes me even happier – it’s a full circle 🙂 ).
There are a bunch of standard Windows keyboard shortcuts which I will not discuss. But do take a look, as I doubt that you know all of them. More or less all can be used in Visual Studio.
These are essential Visual Studio 2005 keyboard shortcuts for C#
| Debugging | |
|---|---|
| F5 | Start debug. |
| Ctrl + F5 | Start without debug. |
| Shift + F5 | Stop debug. |
| F9 | Toggle breakpoint. |
| F11 | Step into method – Executes code one statement at a time, following execution into method calls. |
| F10 | Step over method – Executes the next line of code, but does not follow execution through any method calls. |
| Shift + F11 | Step out of method – Executes the remaining lines of a method in which the current execution point is located. |
| IntelliSense | |
| Ctrl + Space | List possible methods, classes etc. |
| Ctrl + Shift + Space | Displays the name, number, and type of parameters required for the specified method. |
| Ctrl + J | List members of a method. |
| Ctrl + K, I | Displays the complete declaration for the specified identifier in your code in a Quick Info tool tip. This includes exceptions! |
| Refactoring | |
| Ctrl + R, R | Rename dialog box, which allows renaming all references for an identifier. |
| Ctrl + R, O | Displays the Reorder Parameters dialog box, which allows changes to the order of the parameters for methods, indexers, and delegates. |
| Ctrl + R, V | Displays the dialog box, which allows removal of parameters from methods, indexers, or delegates by changing the declaration at any locations where the member is called. |
| Editing | |
| Ctrl + M, O | Collapses existing regions to provide a high-level view of the types and members in the source file. |
| Ctrl + M, L | Toggles all previously collapsed outlining regions between collapsed and expanded states. |
| Ctrl + M, M | Toggles the currently selected collapsed region between the collapsed and expanded state. |
| Ctrl + K, C | Inserts comments marking at the beginning of the current line or every line of the current selection. This also works in HTML and XML files. |
| Ctrl + K, U | Removes the comments marking at the beginning of the current line or every line of the current selection. This also works in HTML and XML files. |
| Ctrl + K, D | Formats the current document according to the indentation and code formatting settings specified. This also works in HTML and XML files. |
| Ctrl + K, X | Displays the Code Snippet Picker. The selected code snippet will be inserted at the cursor position. |
| Ctrl + K, S | Displays the Code Snippet Picker. The selected code snippet will be wrapped around the selected text. |
| Ctrl + Shift + V | Pastes text from the Clipboard ring to the cursor location in the file. Subsequent use of the shortcut key iterates through the items in the Clipboard ring. |
There are loads of other Visual Studio 2005 keyboard shortcuts for C# – you should check out this Microsoft poster or this complete list.
You can setup your own keyboard shortcuts under Tools | Options | Keyboard. The interface for setting up keyboard shortcuts sucks, but it is doable.
Keyboard shortcuts are not the only means of improving your productivity. Visual Studio snippets are a timesaver. They work by entering a snippet shortcut key and the pressing tab twice. Like “class + tab + tab”, then a class stub is created for you.
| class | Class stub |
| cw | Console.WriteLne |
| enum | Enum stub |
| exception | Exception class stub |
| prop | Property stub with getter and setter |
| propg | Property stub with getter only |
| #region | Code region stub |
| try | Try/Catch block |
| tryf | Try/Finally block |
The snippet I love the most is exception – this snippet generates complete exception class in accordance with Microsoft guidelines. I used to hate implementing custom exceptions because it was so cumbersome.
You can see all the default snippets under Tools | Code Snippets Manager or keyboard shortcut Ctrl K, B ;-). You can also implement your own or do as I do; Google it.
You shouldn’t memorize all shortcuts, but adopt those which make your everyday life easier. You should however, every ones in a while think of expanding your arsenal of shortcut.
Have I missed any really important keyboard shortcuts or snippets? What are your favorite keyboard shortcuts and snippets? Let me know – I am expanding my arsenal 😀