Ctrl + Shift + →) to highlight/select entire word(s). Great when used in combination with the Shift key (e.g. When the cursor is over a block of code, this shortcut will bring up the quick actions and refactoring (Lightbulb or screwdriver icon) menuĬtrl + ← and Ctrl + →: Moves cursor one word to the left or right ⬅️➡️ This is incredibly useful especially when used in conjunction with the Go to Definition / Ctrl + F12 function.Ĭtrl +. Moves the cursor, backwards and forwards through the history of visited cursor locations in file(s). Ctrl + M, O: Ctrl is held down, while M is pressed and then O is pressed.Ĭtrl + - and Ctrl + Shift + -: Navigate backwards and forwards 🧭 , is used to indicate a sequence of keys is to be pressed.Į.g. Ctrl + Shift + -: Ctrl and Shift can be held down at the same time while the - key is pressed multiple times. In some cases (like the example below), the final key can be tapped to perform the action multiple times (while still holding down the initial two keys)Į.g. + indicates a combination of keys is to be pressed to perform the action. Some of these shortcuts are not just Visual Studio shortcuts, and also be leveraged in other applications (such as VS Code). This is by no means an exhaustive list - however I have no doubt a massive benefit can be gained by learning just a few of these. Could using keyboard shortcuts make a person more productive? Definitely yes.īelow is a list of useful Visual Studio shortcuts I use the most often and find the more useful in my day to day development.Does not using keyboard shortcuts make a person any less of a developer? Definitely not.Is there anything wrong with not making use of keyboard shortcuts? Definitely not.Thus, more programming time and more productivity!

The more shortcuts a person is familiar with, the more the unnecessary time wasting can be minimized.

It’s time two hands are not on the keyboard writing code. Having often been involved in assisting, troubleshooting and debugging code with fellow developers, it is apparent that the developers which are familiar with their IDE, and make use of the shortcuts, generally (but not always!) resolve tasks quicker and more efficiently than those that don’t.Įvery hand reach for the mouse, every unnecessary cursor movement, every menu click is potentially a waste of time. That number is just made up, but with years of experience on my side, it honestly feels fairly accurate to me! So I confess I have no empirical evidence to backup the up to 20% more productive claim.

Useful visual studio shortcuts