Using the keyboard instead of the mouse really helps a lot to improve coding speed and Visual Studio has provided many great features with keyboard shortcuts, along with providing functions to add our own shortcuts by just following a few steps.
Below are the keyboard shortcuts which I have divided into two sections - Windows Management and Editor Management.
Note
The "//" sign is used to add comments.
|
Window Management
|
| Open solution |
Ctrl+Shift+O //open window to navigate to the path to select a solution from drive to open |
| Search in Solution Explorer |
Ctrl+; //allow search items in the solution explorer |
| Add New Project |
Ctrl+Shift+N //open window to select new Project to add |
| Open Properties window |
F4 or Alt+Enter |
| Open Immediate window |
Ctrl+Alt+I |
| Build |
Ctrl+Shift+B |
| Run |
F5 |
| Restart |
Ctrl+Shift+F5 |
| Add Watch |
Ctrl+Alt+W |
| Quick Watch |
Shift+F9 or Ctrl+Alt+Q |
| Rename |
F2 //rename any file in VS solution |
| Close Current item |
Ctrl+F4 |
| Close All the document |
Ctrl+W // close all the documents which are opened; if it does not work, add own shortcut |
| Navigate to the previously opened file |
Ctrl+tab or Ctrl+Alt+ Down Arrow |
| Search in files |
Ctrl+Shift+F |
| Replace in files |
Ctrl+Shift+H |
| Navigate |
Ctrl+, |
|
Editor Management
|
| Add New File |
Ctrl+N |
| Add New Item |
Ctrl+Shift+A |
| Add Existing Item |
Alt+Shift+A |
| Save All |
Ctrl+Shift+S |
| Save current item |
Ctrl+S |
| Add class |
Type cl + tab tab |
| Add constructor |
Type ctro + tab tab same for other prop, if, for, intr, foreach, try etc. //very usefull to add new proerty, method, constructor, class, if else, try catch. just type 2-3 charactors and it will generate whoe syntax. |
| Multi line edit / vertical typing |
Hold Alt+Shift and move up/down/left/right |
| Comment |
Ctrl+K+C //just select the code and press the keys |
| Remove comment |
Ctrl+K+U |
| Quick fix |
Ctrl+. |
| Code Snippet |
Ctrl+K+X and choose |
| Surround with |
Ctrl+K+S |
| Move line up/down |
Up: ALT + ↑ Down: ALT + ↓ |
| Cut / Delete line |
Cut: Ctrl +L Delete: Ctrl+Shift+L //cut or delete line without selecting just place the cursor and press the keys |
| Collapse All |
C#: Ctrl+M+O Current Method: Ctrl+M+M Ctrl+M+A (HTML also) |
| Expand All |
Ctrl+M+L |
| Add/Remove Break Point |
F9 |
| Delete all break point |
Ctrl +Shift+f9 |
| Format code |
Ctrl +K+D |
| Got to definition |
F12 |
| Go to implementation |
Ctrl+F12 |
| Peek definition |
Alt+F12 |
| Find reference |
Shift+F12 |
| Navigate backward |
Ctrl + - |
| Navigate forward |
Ctrl + Shift + - |
Find a complete list for all the shortcuts here: visual studio keyboard shortcut
Add shortcuts
If any shortcut does not work then a new shortcut can be defined in Visual Studio. Follow the below steps to define shortcuts.
Go to Tool > option: The following window will appear.
Select keyboard in the left panel then type desired function in the "show command containing" box then select the command then move cursor to “Press shortcut keys” box and press the key for a new shortcut. If that shortcut is already defined for any other function it will display below, then click ok.
Please see below gif.