Book Image

Visual Studio 2019 Tricks and Techniques

By : Paul Schroeder, Aaron Cure
Book Image

Visual Studio 2019 Tricks and Techniques

By: Paul Schroeder, Aaron Cure

Overview of this book

Visual Studio 2019 (VS 2019) and Visual Studio Code (VS Code) are powerful professional development tools that help you to develop applications for any platform with ease. Whether you want to create web, mobile, or desktop applications, Microsoft Visual Studio is your one-stop solution. This book demonstrates some of the most sophisticated capabilities of the tooling and shows you how to use the integrated development environment (IDE) more efficiently to be more productive. You’ll begin by gradually building on concepts, starting with the basics. The introductory chapters cover shortcuts, snippets, and numerous optimization tricks, along with debugging techniques, source control integration, and other important IDE features that will help you make your time more productive. With that groundwork in place, more advanced concepts such as the inner workings of project and item templates are covered. You will also learn how to write quality, secure code more efficiently as well as discover how certain Visual Studio features work 'under the hood'. By the end of this Visual Studio book, you’ll have learned how to write more secure code faster than ever using your knowledge of the extensions and processes that make developing successful solutions more enjoyable and repeatable.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
1
Section 1: Visual Studio IDE Productivity Essentials
9
Section 2: Customizing Project Templates and Beyond
13
Section 3: Leveraging Extensions for the Win

Windows shortcuts

Whether you are using Windows, macOS, or Linux, knowing basic shortcuts is critical to efficient navigation. First, we are going to warm up with a few essential Windows shortcuts every developer should know:

  • Win + X: This command opens the hidden Quick Link menu. Also known as the Power User menu, this provides shortcuts to common management, configuration, and other Windows tools. Forget app searches or hunting around Control Panel – jump straight into PowerShell or the Event Viewer using this feature:

Figure 2.1 – Win + X – Quick Link/Power User menu

  • Alt + F4: This command closes the current/active application. It prompts the user to save any changes and then shuts down the application.
  • Alt + Tab: This command allows you to toggle between open applications. This key combination switches between open applications; it is very useful for developers that tend to have many windows open simultaneously...