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

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

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

Add Buttons	Click toolbar overflow button
Find Combo in Standard toolbar	Ctrl+D
Find Textbox Command Mode	Type “>”
Create new alias	>alias NewAlias Command

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