Tips and Tricks for Visual Studio
Note
This article applies to Visual Studio 2015. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here
You can navigate in Visual Studio more easily by using the shortcuts in this topic. For more general information, see Keyboard Shortcuts in Visual Studio. For information about how to optimize Visual Studio for accessibility, see Accessibility Tips and Tricks.
Window Management
| Command | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Drag Off Floating Tab Wells | Ctrl+click for multi-select |
| Maximize Floating Window | Double-click on title bar |
| Re-dock Floating Window | Ctrl+double-click title bar |
| Close Active Document | Ctrl+F4 |
| Show Open File List | Ctrl+Alt+Down |
| Show All Floating Windows | Ctrl+Shift+M |
Window Shortcuts
| Command | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Move/Dock Floating Windows | Win+Left / Win+Right |
| Maximize/Minimize Windows | Win+Up / Win+Down |
| Show Jump List | Win+Alt+n |
| Start New Instance | Win+Shift+n |
| Switch Between Windows | Win+n |
Visual Studio Search
| Command | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Solution Explorer Search | Ctrl+; |
| Place Focus in Search box in any tool window | Alt+` when the tool window has focus |
| Quick Launch | Ctrl+Q |
| Quick Launch Scope Results | - @opt Options - @cmd Commands - @mru Most recently used - @doc Open documents |
| Search in Tools Options | Ctrl+E |
Editor Find
| Command | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Quick Find | Ctrl+F |
| Quick Find Next Result | Enter |
| Quick Find Previous Result | Shift+Enter |
| Quick Find Expand Drop Down | Alt+Down |
| Dismiss Find | Esc |
| Quick Replace | Ctrl+H |
| Quick Replace Replace Next | Alt+R |
| Quick Replace Replace All | Alt+A |
| Find in Files | Ctrl+Shift+F |
| Replace in Files | Ctrl+Shift+H |
Code Editor
| Command | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| IntelliSense Suggestion Mode | Ctrl+Alt+Space (Toggle) |
| Force Show IntelliSense | Ctrl+J |
| Smart Tags | Ctrl+. |
| Snippet Picker | Ctrl+K,X or ?,Tab (VB) |
| Surround With | Ctrl+K,S |
| Show Quick Info | Ctrl+K,I |
| Navigate To | Ctrl+, |
| Go To Definition | F12 |
| Peek Definition | Alt+F12 |
| Go To Definition Stack | Ctrl+Shift+8 (Back), Ctrl+Shift+7 (Forward) |
| Navigate Highlighted References | Ctrl+Shift+Up (Previous), Ctrl+Shift+Down (Next) |
| Editor Zoom | Ctrl+Shift+> (In), Ctrl+Shift+< (Out) |
| Block Selection | Hold Alt and drag mouse, Shift+Alt+Arrow Keys |
| Move Line Up/Down | Alt+Up / Alt+Down |
| Peek Definition | Alt+F12 |
| Close the Peek Definition window | Esc |
| Promote the Peek Definition window to a regular document tab | Ctrl+Alt+Home |
| Navigate between multiple Peek Definition windows | Ctrl+Alt+- and Ctrl+Alt+= |
| Navigate between multiple Peek results | F8 and Shift+F8 |
| Toggle between the code editor window and the Peek Definition window | Shift+Esc |
Toolbars
| Command | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Add Buttons | Click toolbar overflow button |
| Find Combo in Standard toolbar | Ctrl+D |
| Find Textbox Command Mode | Type “>” |
| Create new alias | >alias NewAlias Command |
Debugging
| Command | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Start Debugging | F5 |
| Stop Debugging | Shift+F5 |
| Restart Debugging | Ctrl+Shift+F5 |
| Step Over | F10 |
| Step Into | F11 |
| Step Out | Shift+F11 |
| Run To Cursor | Ctrl+F10 |
| Set Next Statement | Ctrl+Shift+F10 |
| Set and Toggle Breakpoint | F9 |
| Disable Breakpoint | Ctrl+F9 |
| Immediate Window | Ctrl+Alt+I |
| Immediate Window Command Mode | Type “>” |
| Immediate Window Clear Buffer | >cls |
| Immediate Window Print Value | ?varname |
Application Lifecycle Management
See Keyboard shortcuts: Visual Studio Online, TFS web portal, and Team Explorer.