Susan Ibach is a developer evangelist at Microsoft Canada.

If you've moved from one location to another you can use the keyboard sequence + – to move to the previous location and then you can return using Ctrl+Shift+ –.

When you have multiple files open at the same time, you might want a way to quickly move back and forth between two or three different locations in your code. Navigate Forward/Backward Ctrl+–/Ctrl+Shift+– You can use the Esc key to close the preview. If you've installed Visual Studio 2013, there's a new keyboard shortcut - Alt+F12 - that will give you a preview of the method being called inline. Sometimes, you just want a quick look at the method. Go To Definition will navigate to the called method however, many times you don't need to navigate to the code. When you're going through your code and you want to examine the code in the method you're calling, many programmers will use the F12 key or the pop-up menu option Go To Definition. If you select a block of code and use the key sequence Ctrl+K+C, you'll comment out the section of code.

Whether it's because you're trying to track down a 'but,' or experimenting with code change, from time to time you'll want to comment and uncomment blocks of code. It doesn't delete the code, it just removes the icon that lets you expand and collapse. The key sequence Ctrl+M+U will remove the collapsible region. Did you know you can create your own collapsible regions? If you select a section of code and then use the key sequence Ctrl+M+H, you turn that region into a collapsible/expandable region.

If you use the Alt+Down Arrow keys, the line of code selected moves down.Ĭreate Collapsible Region Ctrl+M+H/Ctrl+M+UĬhances are you've noticed the '+' and '-' symbols in the margins that let you collapse and expand your classes and functions. If you put the cursor on a line of code and use the Alt+Up Arrow keys, the line of code you've selected moves up. This keyboard shortcut is new in Visual Studio 2013. There's a good chance at least one of them will be new to you. Here are five of my favorite keyboard shortcuts in Visual Studio.

Visual studio hotkeys