visual-studio.md

title	Visual Studio
date	2025-10-04 02:00:00 -0700
background	bg-[#2d6cdf]
tags	editor shortcut visual-studio
categories	Toolkit
intro	This Visual Studio quick reference cheat sheet shows its keyboard shortcuts for code editing, navigation, debugging, refactoring, Git, and test running.

Keyboard shortcuts for Windows

Code editing {.row-span-2}

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl Space	Complete word
Ctrl Shift Space	Show signature help
Alt ↑/↓	Move line up / down
Ctrl D	Duplicate line
Ctrl Shift L	Delete line
Ctrl Enter	Insert line below
Ctrl Shift Enter	Insert line above
Ctrl ↑/↓	Scroll line up / down
Ctrl PgUp/PgDn	Scroll page up / down
Shift mouse wheel	Scroll page horizontally
Ctrl /	Toggle line comment
Ctrl Shift /	Toggle block comment
Ctrl K D	Format document
Ctrl K F	Format selection
Ctrl I	Ask Copilot (inline chat)
Ctrl E W	Toggle word wrap
Ctrl R W	Toggle view whitespace
Shift Alt L S	Sort lines
Shift Alt L J	Join lines

{.shortcuts}

Search and replace

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl F	Find
Ctrl H	Replace
Ctrl Shift F	Find in files
Ctrl Shift H	Replace in files
F8 / Shift F8	Go to next / previous error

{.shortcuts}

Refactoring

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl . or Alt Enter	Show quick actions
Ctrl R M	Extract method
Ctrl R R	Rename
Ctrl R I	Extract interface
Ctrl R G	Remove and sort usings
Ctrl K E	Code cleanup
Ctrl K S	Surround with (if, try, etc.)
Shift Alt L S	Sort lines
Shift Alt L J	Join lines

{.shortcuts}

Navigation

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl Q or Ctrl Shift P	Feature search
Ctrl T	Code search
Ctrl G	Go to line
F8 / Shift F8	Go to next / prev error
F12	Go to definition
Alt F12	Peek definition
Ctrl F12	Go to implementation
Shift F12	Find all references
Alt Home	Go to base class
Ctrl - / Ctrl Shift -	Navigate backward / forward
Ctrl Backspace	Go to last edit location
Ctrl K N / Ctrl K P	Go to next / prev bookmark
Ctrl K L	Clear all bookmarks
F7 / Shift F7	Toggle designer and code view
F4	Properties

{.shortcuts}

Debugging

Shortcut	Action
F5	Start/continue debugging
Shift F5	Stop debugging
Ctrl F5	Start without debugging
F9	Toggle breakpoint
Ctrl Shift F9	Clear all breakpoints
F11	Step into
F10	Step over
Shift F11	Step out
Alt F5	Attach to process...
Alt R	Reattach to process
Alt F2	Launch profiler
Shift Alt F2	Relaunch profiler

{.shortcuts}

Multi-caret and selection

Shortcut	Action
Alt mouse click	Insert caret
Shift Alt ↑/↓	Insert caret above/below
Shift Alt ,	Insert next matching caret
Shift Alt .	Insert all matching carets
Shift Alt PgUp/PgDn	Move last caret up/down
Alt mouse drag	Column (box) selection
Shift Alt ←/→/↑/↓	Column (box) selection
Ctrl Alt mouse	Expand / collapse selection

{.shortcuts}

Projects and solutions

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl Shift N	New project
Ctrl Shift O	Open project
Ctrl B	Build solution

{.shortcuts}

File management

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl N	New file
Ctrl O	Open file
Ctrl Shift S	Save all
Ctrl Alt PgUp/PgDn	Go to document on left/right
Ctrl F4	Close tab
Ctrl K S	Save
Ctrl TAB	Cycle through tabs
Ctrl K R	Reveal active file in Explorer
F7 / Shift F7	Toggle designer and code view
F4	Properties

{.shortcuts}

Windows and display

Shortcut	Action
Shift Alt Enter	Toggle full screen
Ctrl dblclick on window	Toggle last dock/float location
Ctrl Alt 1-9	Switch saved window layout
Shift ESC	Close active tool window
Ctrl Alt L	Activate Solution Explorer
Ctrl + , C	Activate GitHub Copilot Chat
Ctrl + E	Activate Error List
Alt O	Activate Output window
ESC	Set focus on editor

{.shortcuts}

Git

Shortcut	Action
Alt G C	Git Changes window
Alt G M	Git Repository window
Ctrl Alt F3	Branch picker
Ctrl Alt F4	Repository picker
Ctrl E C	Git actions menu
Enter	Commit

{.shortcuts}

Unit testing

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl \ T	Test Explorer
Ctrl R A	Run all tests
Ctrl R T	Repeat last run
Ctrl R L	Run unit failure
Ctrl R F	Run failed tests
Ctrl R U	Run not run tests
Ctrl R Del	Clear all results

{.shortcuts}

Also see

• Visual Studio — Keyboard Shortcuts (Windows, Official PDF)
• Microsoft Learn — Default Keyboard Shortcuts (Windows)