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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 😀