Tips and Tricks for Visual Studio

You can navigate in Visual Studio 2013 more easily by using the shortcuts in this topic. For more general information, see <PAVEOVER> Keyboard Shortcuts in Visual Studio. For information about how to optimize Visual Studio for accessibility, see Accessibility Tips and Tricks.

Window Management

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 for working in Team Web Access and Team Explorer.

See Also

Other Resources

Visual Studio Blog

Visual Studio Tips and Tricks Blog

Visual Studio Toolbox on Channel 9

Visual Studio UserVoice

Visual Studio Connect Bugs