Generate a field, property, or local variable in Visual Studio
Applies to: 
Visual Studio 
Visual Studio for Mac
Note
This article applies to Visual Studio 2017. 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
This code generation applies to:
C#
Visual Basic
What: Lets you immediately generate the code for a previously undeclared field, property, or local.
When: You introduce a new field, property or local while typing and want to properly declare it, automatically.
Why: You could declare the field, property or local before using it, however this feature will generate the declaration and type automatically.
How-to
Place your cursor on the line where there is a red squiggle. The red squiggle indicates a field, local or property that doesn't yet exist.
C#:
Visual Basic:
Next, do one of the following:
Keyboard
- Press Ctrl+. to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu.
Mouse
- Right-click and select the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu.
- Hover over the red squiggle and click the
icon that appears. - Click the icon that appears in the left margin if the text cursor is already on the line with the red squiggle.
Select one of the generation options from the drop-down menu.
Tip
Use the Preview changes link at the bottom of the preview window to see all of the changes that will be made before making your selection.
The field, property or local is created, with the type inferred from its usage.
C#:
Visual Basic:
