What's new in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.9.5

Mar 26, 2024
  • Fixed a crash that occur on machines with older CPUs.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.9.4 (Mar 20, 2024)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9.4:
  • Addressed an issue where the code editor would become blank if it fails at loading a font.
  • Fixed an issue where document windows can get stuck in a very small, unusable size.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when compiling Unreal Engine.
  • Fixed these data structures that are not displayed correctly in VS Debugger: Concurrency::concurrent_unordered_set, Concurrency::concurrent_unordered_multiset, Concurrency::concurrent_unordered_map, Concurrency::concurrent_unordered_multimap.
  • Fixed a bug where keyboard shortcuts stopped working when opening the Create Pull Request window from the notification shown after pushing a branch.
  • Developer Community:
  • Update nuget package causes NullReferenceException
  • Visual studio isn't rebuilding when I start debugging after making changes to a file
  • Visual Studio can't access the font Cascadia Mono
  • Can't view code files, the window has no width and Reset Window Layout hasn't fix it
  • can't build a simple c++ hello-world console application
  • Internal compiler error after upgrading Visual Studio to 17.9.0
  • Internal Compiler Error: compiler file 'D:a_work1ssrcvctoolsCompilerUtcsrcp2main.c', line 235
  • 'LINK : error LNK2034: metadata inconsistent with COFF symbol table' when building a C++/CLI program referencing a native function, using VS 17.9.1
  • Keyboard goes wonky after Pull Request
  • sql server data tools not working
  • NuGetSDKResolver fails to load in 20H2 container because Newtonsoft.Json could not be loaded for some reason

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.10 Preview 2 (Mar 12, 2024)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.10 Preview 2
  • C++:
  • Inlay Hints for C# code in Razor Files:
  • You can now enable inlay hints for C# code in your Razor (.razor, .cshtml) files. Inlay hints display parameter names for literals and object instantiation inline with your code. Inlay hints can also display type hints for variables with inferred types (i.e. var) and lambda parameter types. This feature can be enabled via Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Advanced.
  • Inlay hints for Razor files:
  • View and Address Pull Request Comments in Visual Studio Editor
  • You can now view your GitHub and Azure DevOps pull request comments directly in your working file in Visual Studio. You remain in your context, making necessary code changes and interacting with your colleagues' suggestions, without switching contexts to the browser.
  • Enable the feature flag, "Pull Request Comments," and checkout the pull request branch to get started:
  • Notification to enable showing comments in files
  • You can navigate between files in the pull request and comments in the files using the toolbar.
  • Pull request comments in editor:
  • A known bug we're already working on improving for the next release is skipping deleted files or special file types that you cannot open from Solution Explorer. We'd love to hear your feedback as we improve on this customer-requested feature so let us know what you think here.
  • Improve Your Code Reviews with Generated Pull Request Descriptions
  • Similar to our generated Git commit message feature, you can now get a first draft for your pull request description created by GitHub Copilot. You'll get assistance in providing important context to your colleagues for their reviews and double check you're including the right changes in your pull request.
  • You'll need to verify you have an active GitHub Copilot subscription and the GitHub Copilot Chat Extension installed. Try it out by clicking the 'Add AI Generated Pull Request Description' sparkle pen icon within the Create a Pull Request window. Please share your feedback on this feature here.
  • Generate PR description with AI:
  • Unravel Your Commit History with GitHub Copilot:
  • Git history can be daunting to shuffle through, but it's often the best way to learn about a code base or help identify the origin of a bug. We've added a GitHub Copilot powered explain feature to the Commit Details window to make it easier to understand the contents of each commit.
  • You'll need to have an active GitHub Copilot subscription and the GitHub Copilot Chat Extension installed. Double click on any commit to open the Commit Details pane in the Git Repository window. Then, click on the 'Explain Commit' sparkle pen icon to get a summary of the changes side by side with the code. We plan to continue improving this feature so share your feedback here.
  • Explain commit message with AI:
  • Code Search and Navigation:
  • In All-in-one Search, we’ve made some changes to simplify the UI and improve readability. These changes include the removal of highlighting of matches in the query, removal of the status bar with counts of each result type, and move of the status messages to the filters row.
  • All-In-One Search UI changes:
  • Let us know what you think on Developer Community.
  • Improve the readability of Visual Studio with new text formatting options
  • We've addressed Italic Font Support in Visual Studio 2019, bringing Italic, strikethrough, and underline as additional options for text formatting thoughout the IDE.
  • Formatting comments to use Italic font:
  • To use the new options to personalize your experience, navigate to the "Fonts and Colors" page in Tools > Options > Environment where you'll find checkboxes for each of the previously mentioned options.
  • Image Hover Preview:
  • Any web, desktop, or mobile developer works with images often. You reference them from C#, HTML, XAML, CSS, C++, VB, TypeScript, and even in code comments. Some images are local, and some exist online or on network shares, while others only exist as base64 encoded strings. We refer to them in numerous ways in code, but always as string values that don’t show us what the image looks like. Until now.
  • Image Hover Preview:
  • We’ve included an editor tooltip that shows up when the mouse hovers over an image reference in the code editor. The tooltip shows the image in its original size but capped at maximum of 500 pixels wide and high. Below the preview image you’ll see the size in pixels and the file size in bytes. This feature was developed in close collaboration with the Visual Studio community. Thank you!
  • Debugging and Diagnostics:
  • .NET Counter profiler visualization with new UpDown and ObservableCounter instruments:
  • The .NET counter profiler in Visual Studio now introduces support for two innovative metrics: UpDown, enabling real-time tracking of values with both incremental and decremental changes, and ObservableCounter, which autonomously manages aggregated totals, offering customizable callback delegates for precise control. In the provided screenshot, "total-hats" illustrates an UpDown counter, while "orders-pending" demonstrates an ObservableCounter.
  • UpDown and ObservableCounter:
  • Moreover, we've implemented a filter flyout feature, enabling you to conveniently filter data points based on tags. This dynamically adjusts both summary and swimlane views according to the applied combinations.
  • UpDown and ObservableCounter Filter:
  • This enhancement significantly enhances flexibility, streamlining the monitoring of dynamic values in projects. For instance, in web application development, the UpDown counter can monitor user interactions such as page views, while the Observable Counter optimizes server resources by efficiently managing active session totals.
  • GC Insights in Managed Memory Window:
  • The managed memory window Insights tab now supports GC Insights. This feature provides a deeper understanding of your application's performance by shedding light on instances of induced Garbage Collection (GC). These instances are generally considered undesirable as they can impede the efficiency of your processes, since they involve manual intervention rather than allowing the Garbage Collector to autonomously manage memory allocation. Furthermore, GC Insights offers the ability to analyze these occurrences with time estimates, allowing you to better comprehend the impact of induced GC on their application's execution timeline.
  • GC_Insights:
  • SQL:
  • SSDT is Supported in Visual Studio for ARM64:
  • You can now create Database Projects in Visual Studio for ARM64. Some of the key features of SSDT that are available in this release are:
  • Database Projects (Open, Build, Publish)
  • Schema Compare
  • Data Compare
  • Query Editor
  • Table Designer
  • Database Properties Editor
  • Object Refactoring
  • Some Limitation of this release are as follows:
  • Debugger
  • IntelliSense
  • Database development in local machine using localdb
  • Windows Forms out-of-process designer:
  • Performance improvements in Windows Forms out-of-process designer
  • Through a fruitful collaboration with a key partner, we are thrilled to announce substantial enhancements to the WinForms server process TypeResolutionService. These enhancements have yielded remarkable design time performance improvements, ranging from 30% to an impressive 50% in typical line of business applications. Notably, these enhancements particularly shine during scenarios that trigger server process restart and designer reload, such as project rebuilds or adjustments in project references. At the heart of these performance improvements lies a new mechanism implemented by our team, prioritizing assemblies crucial for designer load. We encourage you to explore the updated designer and share your invaluable feedback through VS Feedback channel so that we can continue improving WinForms designer performance.
  • Microsoft Teams Development Tool (Teams Toolkit)
  • We updated UI words and strings about Microsoft 365 developer program according to the latest changes happened in Developer Program.
  • Extensibility:
  • You can now use the Visual Studio Installer that ships with Visual Studio 2022 version 17.10 Preview or later to export machine wide Marketplace extensions into a *.vsconfig file. This functionality builds upon the ability we shipped in 17.9 for the Visual Studio installer to load extensions that are specified in a *.vsconfig file. If there are other types of extensions you would like the ability to export, please let us know in the existing developer community suggestion ticket Ability to export non-marketplace or user context extensions into a *.vsconfig file.
  • Refer to the online documentation for more information about using *.vsconfig files.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.9.3 (Mar 12, 2024)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9.3:
  • VS now includes MAUI 8.0.7 (SR2); see here Release 8.0.7 · dotnet/maui (github.com) for the release notes.
  • Fixed a CLI bug where the compiler would crash when compiling a static initonly array.
  • Updating the Windows 11 SDK (10.0.22621.0) installed by Visual Studio to the February 2024 servicing build.
  • Developer Community:
  • Web.Config invalid after using Visual Studio 2022 Preview
  • launch.vs.json does not support comments
  • Update of extension doesn't start with Extension Manager UI Refresh
  • SQL72025 after upgrading to Visual Studio 2022 17.9.0
  • Property Designer for .NET Framework Projects Don't Always Load
  • Security advisories addressed:
  • CVE-2024-21392 A vulnerability exists in .NET where specially crafted requests may cause a resource leak, leading to a Denial of Service.
  • CVE-2024-26190 A Vulnerability exist in MsQuic.dll which might result in a peer to allocate small chunks of memory as long as connection stays alive.
  • CVE-2023-27911 This advisory is being republished to indicate that Autodesk® FBX® SDK is no longer supported in Visual Studio 2022.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.9.2 (Feb 28, 2024)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9.2:
  • Fixed an issue that under some conditions, a hang occurs when opening the fonts and colors dialog.
  • A fix was made to prevent a scalar memory load in the inline expansion of the std::round() functions from being changed into a vector access. Although the vector access does not change the result of the computation, it is longer and can fault when the scalar load would succeed.
  • Fixed an issue where in versions of Visual C++ before Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9, the _Alignas specifier was not applied correctly according to the ISO-C Standard when it appeared adjacent to a structured type in a declaration.
  • Developer Community:
  • Multiple Startup Projects Not Saving Configuration and/or crashing Visual Studio

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.9.1 (Feb 22, 2024)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9.1:
  • Updated the 16.11 MSVC toolset to 16.11.34 (14.29.30154.0) for customers who use the 16.11 C++ toolset with VS 17.9.
  • Fixed a bug where the libconcrt.lib used when static linking could contain an SSE 4.2 instruction that was illegal on older X64 systems.
  • Added support for char8_t as a built-in type for C++20 with /clr.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.34 (Feb 14, 2024)

  • Developer Community:
  • fatal error C1001: Internal compiler error
  • VS2022 is using too old node.js version 16 - any plans to upgrade?
  • Security advisories addressed:
  • CVE-2024-0057 A security feature bypass vulnerability exists when Microsoft .NET Framework-based applications use X.509 chain building APIs but do not completely validate the X.509 certificate due to a logic flaw.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.9.0 (Feb 14, 2024)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9
  • Visual Studio installation now requires .NET Framework 4.7.2:
  • Starting with Visual Studio 17.9.0, you will need to have .NET Framework 4.7.2 or above installed on your machine to install Visual Studio. To avoid any installation issues, we recommend that you download and install .NET Framework 4.7.2 before installing Visual Studio 17.9 or later.
  • Support for MCD (Multi-Column Distribution) in SSDT:
  • Users will be able to set the DW compatibility level during export now.
  • We have added a new database option in the Database Settings under the "Operational Tab". It is named as "DW Compatibility Level".
  • Possible values are Auto|10|20|30|40|50|9000 and it is only valid for Target - Microsoft Azure SQL Data Warehouse
  • Generated Commit Messages:
  • Use the new generated Git commit message feature to help you describe your set of changes. To try it out, you'll need an active GitHub Copilot subscription and the preview GitHub Copilot Chat Extension.
  • Click on the “Add AI Generated Commit Message” sparkle pen icon in the Git Changes window to generate a suggestion. GitHub Copilot will look at the file changes in your commit, summarize them, and then describe each changes. You can then "Insert AI Suggestion" or "Discard." Share your feedback on this feature here. We've already resolved the following issue with the icon appearing. See details.
  • Open a Pull Request in Visual Studio or in Browser:
  • To support GitHub and Azure DevOps users who prefer to use the browser view for creating pull requests, we've added a secondary link to help maintain current user flows.
  • Responsive Ref Labels in the Git Repository Window:
  • Your branch and tag labels now resize responsively to make it easier to see which branches you're looking at in the Git graph.
  • Discover and Activate Subscriber Benefits:
  • Your subscription comes with many additional benefits outside of the IDE. To discover and activate your benefits, you can now use the new diamond icon in the Visual Studio toolbar on the top right. This feature is only available for logged in Visual Studio Enterprise and Professional subscribers.
  • When you click on the icon, you'll see the top benefits that developers love the most. You can also easily access your subscriber portal to find additional benefits such as training resources, support, and product downloads.
  • Microsoft Teams development tools (Teams Toolkit):
  • New Features:
  • New AI Bot project template:
  • Create a GPT-like chat bot for Teams using the Teams AI Library.
  • Teams App Test Tool:
  • A new debug profile to debug, preview, and test your bot apps in a web browser experience with quick ways to mock Teams activity and chat experiences.
  • Adaptive Card Previewer:
  • Select the new Preview button that appears when editing an Adaptive Card JSON file to get a side-by-side preview that live updates as you edit.
  • Run YAML steps with CodeLens:
  • Select the new CodeLens triggers in teamsapp.yml or teamsapp.local.yml to quickly run a single lifecycle step.
  • Teams Toolkit documentation quick-link:
  • View Teams Toolkit docs using a new menu in Project > Teams Toolkit > Teams Toolkit Documentation
  • Preview Features:
  • This version of Teams Toolkit adds new project templates and features to support developing for Microsoft Copilot. Select Teams Toolkit: Develop Copilot Plugin in the Tools > Options > Preview Features menu.
  • Extend Copilot with a Message extension:
  • After enabling the Preview features, use the new Custom Search Results project template to build a bot-based Message extension that is setup to extend Copilot as a plugin. Teams Toolkit will check if your Microsoft 365 account has access to Copilot and warn you before you run your project.
  • AI Assistant Bot project template:
  • Create a chat bot that connects to the OpenAI Assistants API using the Teams AI Library and build your own copilot-like experience.
  • Enhancements:
  • Improved the account dialog for managing your Microsoft 365 identity for your apps with better recommendations for creating new M365 Developer accounts.
  • Updated Tab template to use the new interactive server rendering for Blazor in .NET 8.
  • Updated all project templates to support .NET 8
  • Full text support in Code Search:
  • In the all-in-one Code Search (Ctrl+T or Ctrl+,), you can now search for any word or string of characters across your solution, supplementing file and symbol results from your codebase. You can now search for local variable names, words in comments, parameter names, or any other string of characters across your codebase.
  • For a text-only view, you can filter down to just text results by doing one of the following:
  • Click the "text (x:)" button below the search bar,
  • Prefix your search query with "x:",
  • Use the keyboard shortcut Shift+Alt+F, or
  • Go to the menu option "Edit > Go To > Go To Text".
  • In the text-only experience, there are also the options to toggle "Match case", "Match whole word", and "Use regular expressions" through the button at the far right of the search bar.
  • Read more about the full text support in Code Search here.
  • If you don't get the text filter button in the Code Search window, then you can manually enable it by turning on the preview feature "Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features > Plain text search in All-In-One Search (requires restart)".
  • Multi-project configuration:
  • Now, you can easily set up and save profiles for launching specific projects within a multi-project solution for streamlined debugging. Simplify working with complex solutions, enhance debugging efficiency, and effortlessly share configurations with your team.
  • Multi-folder Open Support:
  • Now, you can open multiple folders in Visual Studio! Seamlessly work with a subset of folders or manage workloads spanning across unrelated folders on the same drive. Learn more about opening multiple folders!.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.10 Preview 1 (Feb 14, 2024)

  • Visual Studio Updates will now include Recommended Components:
  • Visual Studio offers a diverse array of tools and features for your coding tasks. As new technologies emerge, we integrate new components to enhance your software development experience. Some of these components will be recommended additions to the workloads you've already installed. So, to streamline your update experience, starting with 17.10 P1, Visual Studio will automatically install these new recommended components when you update Visual Studio. You can modify this setting in the Update Setting Dialog
  • Improved detection of Android emulator performance impacts:
  • Visual Studio will check for hardware acceleration when attempting to start the Android emulator and will display helpful dialogs explaining potential performance impacts. If your machine isn't configured or doesn't support hardware acceleration with the Windows Hypervisor Platform (WHPX), the Android Emulator hypervisor driver (AEHD) is now required. The Intel Hardware Accelerated Execution Manager (HAXM) is deprecated from Android emulator API level 33 and higher, and has been replaced by AEHD on Intel processors.
  • Support for MCD (Multi-Column Distribution) in SSDT:
  • Developers will now be able to set the DW compatibility level during export. We have added a new database option in the Database Settings under the "Operational Tab", it is referred to as "DW Compatibility Level". Possible values include Auto|10|20|30|40|50|9000, these are valid for Target - Microsoft Azure SQL Data Warehouse.
  • Debugging and Diagnostics:
  • Creating Conditional Breakpoints and Tracepoints from Expressions:
  • This upgrade simplifies debugging with new menu options: "Insert Conditional Breakpoint" and "Insert Tracepoint." You can now create breakpoints effortlessly using property or field names and values from autos, locals, watch windows, or DataTips. This makes debugging workflows easier, especially for complex expressions.
  • Simplifying memory usage investigations with the Memory Tool:
  • The new "Hot Path to Root" feature improves memory analysis by finding the most likely path to the root for calculating an object's total size. It transforms the heap graph into a tree, using shortcuts like prioritizing the shortest path and avoiding cycling paths to actual roots. This feature is a great starting point for memory investigations, known as the "Hot Path to Root" in the Memory Usage tool reference graph. You'll spot the hot path with a red icon in the tree below.
  • Attach to Process Dialog Revamp:
  • The Attach to Process dialog in Visual Studio has been greatly improved for better functionality and user-friendliness. These updates include seamless integration with Visual Studio themes, a more space-saving view with tooltips for connection info, and setting "Local" connection as the default for faster access. You can now easily switch between tree and list views, organize processes better with collapsible sections, and select code types with a simplified combobox. Moreover, the “Select/Track Window" feature is now easier to use, allowing two- way tracking, selecting a process highlights its window, and clicking on a window selects its process.
  • Targeted Instrumentation for EXE:
  • The Performance Profiler's Instrumentation Tool now allows targeted profiling for any executable (exe) file. After selecting an exe file, a targeted instrumentation dialog appears, similar to startup project profiling. This enhancement enables focused analysis of performance metrics for specific executables. Additionally, you can broaden the profiling scope by including extra Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs) using the 'Add Item' button, enhancing the examination of application performance.
  • Preview Unified Settings, the new Visual Studio settings experience:
  • Starting with Visual Studio 17.10 Preview 1, you'll be able to try out an early preview of Visual Studio's reimagined settings experience. While we're still working on the overall experience and are still in the process of moving settings over to the new experience, you'll be able to try it out and share your feedback today.
  • With the new settings experience, it's now easier than ever for you to configure, share, and store your customized settings. You'll have more room for configuring settings, the ability to customize settings at both the user (Visual Studio install) and open solution/folder level, enhanced settings search capabilities, JSON-based storage of your settings, and more.
  • In addition to what was mentioned above, you'll now find a gear icon that opens a menu for each setting. That menu gives you an easy way to reset customized settings to their default values or share feedback with us on a particular setting.
  • To try the new settings experience, navigate to Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features and nable the "Unified Settings Experience" checkbox or use the Tools > Options Experience menu flyout to switch from "Classic" to "Preview". Once you've done that, restart Visual Studio and access the new settings experience via Tools > Options.
  • This feature is still in active development. While all settings pages haven't been migrated from the existing experience to the Unifed Settings experience, you'll still be able to manage all of your settings as Unified Settings will link over to the old UI for non-migrated settings.
  • Your feedback will be invaluable in helping us prioritize which pages we migrate next. In addition to which pages you'd like to see migrated next, please share your overall impressions, how we can improve it, and any additional feedback you may have on this experience via Developer Community.
  • Build cloud native apps with .NET Aspire:
  • .NET Aspire is an opinionated, cloud ready stack for building observable, production ready, distributed applications. .NET Aspire is delivered through a collection of NuGet packages that handle specific cloud-native concerns. Whether you're building distributed, cloud-native applications using containerized resources like PostgreSQL and Redis, or Azure components like Storage or Service Bus, .NET Aspire will simplify your development experience and give you more visibility across your distributed apps with features like:
  • Multi-project startup and debug without needing to configure your solution
  • Built-in support for HTTP resiliency, health checks, and OpenTelemetry using a set of opinionated extensions and defaults
  • Convenient in-browser views of logs, metrics, and distributed traces of your containerized resources and .NET projects with the new .NET Aspire Dashboard launch experience
  • A new deployment methodology built atop the Azure Developer CLI (AZD), so you'll have multi-node deployment capability in most cases, without needing to write your own infrastructure code
  • Updates to generated Git Commit Messages:
  • We listened to your feedback and are shortening the output of our generated Git Commit features.
  • Linking work items to pull requests:
  • The number one request from Azure DevOps users when creating a pull request in Visual Studio was enabling work item linking. Now, you can use the Related Work Item section to view any work items you referenced in your pull request description and link work items to your pull request on Azure DevOps.
  • C++:
  • We have added support for pinning CMake targets in the CMake Targets View. There is a top-level folder now for Pinned Targets. You can pin any targets by right-clicking and selecting the Pin option in the context menu.
  • You can also unpin any target in the Pinned Targets folder by selecting Unpin:
  • The MSVC toolset will increment its minor version number from 19.39 (VS 2022 v17.9) to 19.40 (VS 2022 v17.10). The MSVC toolset will be version 19.40.33521.0 in the preview 1 release. For more details, see the MSVC Toolset Minor Version Number 14.40 in VS 2022 v17.10 blog post.
  • You can now use Build Insights to view your template instantiation information. Template instantiation collection must be activated in Tools > Options > Build Insights.
  • We have added additional Unreal Engine Macros to be indented in accordance with the UE Code Style.
  • You can now keep our Unreal Engine plugin needed for Unreal Engine Test Adapter running in the background, greatly reducing startup costs. This is an opt-in feature that can be activated via Tools > Options > Unreal Engine.
  • Known Issues:
  • Users who have privilege management software from Delinea installed may experience issues launching Visual Studio. Delinea is aware of this issue and has addressed it. Please contact them through https://delinea.com/support to get instructions on how to resolve this issue.”
  • Some developers are experiencing hangs when switching between build configurations (e.g. from Release to Debug). Affected developers can set the environment variable 'MSBUILDDISABLEFEATURESFROMVERSION=17.10'. This workaround is intended to mitigate the problem while we work towards a permanent solution. Additional details are available at the Developer Community site.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.33 (Jan 31, 2024)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9 Preview 5:
  • Keyboard navigation was disabled in an earlier 17.9 preview. This has been fixed and arrow keys can again be used for navigation and text selection.
  • Visual Studio is able to run form under the SYSTEM account.
  • Developer Community:
  • ClickOnce publishing of a Blazor Hybrid app seems to be broken on v 17.8.0
  • Cursor cannot be controlled with a keyboard in a unit-test result window
  • IEnumerable Visualizer get System.Threading.Tasks.TaskCanceledException
  • VS 17.8.3 Android emulator API 28 deployment fails "Emulator is not ready to be used"
  • 17.9.0 Preview 2 and 3 crashes when clicking "Manage extensions...", "Installed"
  • Running DEVENV with Local System account is not possible anymore, showing error "Invalid license data. Repair Visual Studio from the Control Panel."

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.8.6 (Jan 31, 2024)

  • Developer Community:
  • Incorrect coloring of parameters for CreateWindow and no quick info
  • Update VS 2022 to Node 18

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.9 Preview 4 (Jan 23, 2024)

  • The new version cannot use CreateWindow function properly
  • Update to Version 17.8.0 causes error "Type Binding is used like a markup extension.." in all XAML pages

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.9 Preview 3 (Jan 18, 2024)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9 Preview 3:
  • Adds Xcode 15.1 Support and API fixes, for full release notes please visit our macios releases page.
  • Developer Community:
  • T4 transformation fails after uprade to 17.8.0
  • Clickonce Manifest error after upgrading to Visual Studio 17.8
  • Microsoft Teams Toolkit:
  • New features:
  • Newly added Teams AI Bot template is to help you getting started with building a GPT-like chat bot with AI capabilities using Teams AI Library.
  • Teams AI Bot template
  • Teams Bot Test Tool: if you develop Teams Bot app, now you can use Teams App Test Tool to debug, preview and test your bot app in a web based imitated Teams chat environment. Select Teams App Test Tool debug profile.
  • Teams Bot Test Tool
  • Adaptive card previewer: Teams Toolkit now integrates the Microsoft Adaptive Card Previewer to help you preview and edit Adaptive Cards in a more intuitive way. Click on the Preview button in the definition file of the Adaptive Card, and preview in the right side.
  • Adaptive card previewer
  • Add CodeLens to trigger Teams Toolkit lifecycle steps: Teams Toolkit provides lifecycle actions and open the configuration definitions to developers in teamsapp.yml file. Now you can preview and trigger the predefined lifecycle actions using CodeLens of teamsapp.yml file.
  • CodeLens
  • Teams Toolkit Documentations: Access Teams Toolkit docs from menu "Project -> Teams Toolkit -> Teams Toolkit Documentation"
  • Documentations
  • Preview features:
  • This version of Teams Toolkit added several preview features to support developing for Microsoft Copilot. Turn on the preview feature flag to try out the new features. To turn on preview features: go to menu "Tools -> Options", select "Preview Features" in left panel, tick "Teams Toolkit: Develop Copilot Plugin".
  • Preview Feature Flag
  • Copilot app template: Want to develop for Microsoft Copilot? We onboard a new template for Microsoft Copilot app, start with this new template first!
  • Copilot app template
  • Check account permission to develop for Copilot: develop apps for Microsoft Copilot requires additional access, Teams Toolkit add account access precheck for you, please make sure you get the right permissions before starting your Copilot journey!
  • Check account permission for Copilot
  • AI Assistant Bot is powered by the Teams AI library and the OpenAI Assistants API, this template demonstrates how to build an intelligent chatbot within Teams.
  • AI Assistant Bot template
  • Enhancement:
  • New UI design of M365 account login dialog. We observed developers are easy to be blocked by M365 account don't have custom app permissions to continue developer Teams app. To unblock users from account issue, you should register M365 developer program to get free dev account. The links are provided in new UI design.
  • New UI design of M365 account login dialog
  • Tab template is updated to latest Blazor changes (interactive Server rendering) for .NET 8.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.8.5 (Jan 17, 2024)

  • Adds Xcode 15.1 Support and API fixes, for full release notes please visit our macios releases page.
  • Fixed an issue under which some customers, after changing the Target Framework for their Razor project, were unable to see components that were subsequently added.
  • Fixed a crash during startup of the Debug > Attach to Process dialog.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.8.4 (Jan 10, 2024)

  • Developer Community:
  • Target Android framework cannot be selected when the target runtime for Android is .NET 8 in .NET MAUI
  • The service 'Microsoft.VisualStudio.OLE.Interop.IOleUndoManager' must be installed
  • After upgrade to Visual Studio 17.8.0, Interactive REST Tests no longer work
  • Visual Studio 2022 Release 17.8 Hovering over variable in debug at breakpoint does not show value
  • 17.8 Preview 2 fails to load the IncrediBuild 'Extension Settings' options dialog
  • debug single step function does not work anymore in mixed debugger mode and shows error 0x8ede0018
  • Security Advisories Addressed:
  • CVE-2024-20656 A vulnerability exists in the VSStandardCollectorService150 service, where local attackers can escalate privileges on hosts where an affected installation of Microsoft Visual Studio is running.
  • CVE-2023-32027 This advisory is republished to address a Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Visual Studio.
  • CVE-2023-32025 This advisory is republished to address a Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Visual Studio.
  • CVE-2023-32026 This advisory is republished to address a Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Visual Studio.
  • CVE-2023-29356 This advisory is republished to address a Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Visual Studio.
  • CVE-2023-32028 This advisory is republished to address a Microsoft SQL OLE DB Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Visual Studio.
  • CVE-2023-29349 This advisory is republished to address a Microsoft ODBC and OLE DB Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Visual Studio.
  • CVE-2024-0057 A security feature bypass vulnerability exists when Microsoft .NET Framework-based applications use X.509 chain building APIs but do not completely validate the X.509 certificate due to a logic flaw.
  • CVE-2024-0056 A vulnerability exists in the Microsoft.Data.SqlClient and System.Data.SqlClient SQL Data provider where an attacker can perform an interception attack (sometimes called a MITM, or man-in-the-middle, attack) between the SQL client and the SQL server.
  • CVE-2024-21319 Microsoft is releasing this security advisory to provide information about a vulnerability in the ASP.NET Core project templates.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.33 (Jan 10, 2024)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • Updated MinGit to v2.43.0.1 which comes with OpenSSL v3.1.4 and addresses a regression where network operations were really slow under certain circumstances.
  • Security Advisories Addressed:
  • CVE-2024-20656 A vulnerability exists in the VSStandardCollectorService150 service, where local attackers can escalate privileges on hosts where an affected installation of Microsoft Visual Studio is running.
  • CVE-2023-32027 This advisory is republished to address a Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Visual Studio.
  • CVE-2023-32025 This advisory is republished to address a Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Visual Studio.
  • CVE-2023-32026 This advisory is republished to address a Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Visual Studio.
  • CVE-2023-29356 This advisory is republished to address a Microsoft ODBC Driver for SQL Server Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Visual Studio.
  • CVE-2023-32028 This advisory is republished to address a Microsoft SQL OLE DB Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Visual Studio.
  • CVE-2023-29349 This advisory is republished to address a Microsoft ODBC and OLE DB Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Visual Studio.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.9 Preview 2.1 (Jan 4, 2024)

  • Developer Community:
  • Visual Studio 2022 Preview freezes after web forms page opening

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.9 Preview 2 (Dec 13, 2023)

  • Auto Surround with Quotes or Brackets:
  • You can now easily surround a selection with bracket delimiters including: "double quotes", 'single quotes', (parentheses).
  • Auto Surround Quotes Brackets
  • To enable or disable this feature, go to Tools > Options > Text Editor and check the "Automatically surround selections when typing quotes or brackets" option.
  • SQL / SSDT::
  • Removing the red warning icon for Username in ADDefaultAuthentication
  • Enabled 3 new Authentication types keeping parity with Subsystem
  • ActiveDirectoryManagedIdentity - Microsoft Entra Managed Identity
  • ActiveDirectoryServicePrincipal - Microsoft Entra Service Principal
  • ActiveDirectoryDefault - Microsoft Entra Default
  • Standard bug fixes and performance improvements.
  • Benefit Awareness Diamond for Visual Studio Enterprise and Professional Subscribers:
  • A new icon will appear next to the identity picker in the upper right corner of the Visual Studio IDE. This feature will allow paid Visual Studio subscribers to learn more about included benefits as well as receive future updates.
  • Generated Commit Messages
  • Responsive Ref Labels in the Git Repository Window:
  • Your branch and tag labels now resize responsively to make it easier to see which branches you're looking at in the Git graph.
  • Responsive Ref Labels
  • Live Property Explorer Support with .NET MAUI:
  • Live Property Explorer (LPE) is now supported with .NET MAUI. View and tweak the properties of your app controls at runtime while debugging issues, optimizing performance, and investigating XAML properties. LPE joins the suite of your favorite XAML tools to be used in conjunction with XAML Live Preview and Live Visual Tree.
  • .NET MAUI app running with LPE and other XAML tools
  • Microsoft Teams Toolkit:
  • In the latest Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9 Preview 2 we made the following improvements:
  • Teams Toolkit templates now support developers to select the dotnet framework version per your preference. (We only support dotnet 6 in the past) Teams template support select dotnet version
  • Teams Toolkit templates now support to preview and debug in Outlook and Office.com.
  • Known Issues:
  • Users who have privilege management software from Delinea installed may experience issues launching Visual Studio. Delinea is aware of this issue and has addressed it. Please contact them through https://delinea.com/support to get instructions on how to resolve this issue.
  • Some users are experiencing issues deploying and debugging with iOS physical devices. iOS deployment fails with error MT1045. Debugging issues causes the app to terminate before debugging can start.
  • The properties window does not display properly for MAUI and Xamarin.Forms apps.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.9 Preview 1.1 (Nov 29, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.9 Preview 1.1
  • Fixed an issue in which the inclusion or reference to certain components, or certain particular calculated diagnostics messages, would cause features like completion and diagnostics to be inactive for a Razor project.
  • When the "Game Development with Unity" workload was installed, IntelliSense was not working properly for all non-Unity C# projects, due to an issue with the "Visual Studio Tools for Unity" component.
  • Developer Community
  • Every now and then Randomly visual studio preview just crashes with the latest update
  • Feature RazorTagHelper was unavailable due to internal error

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.8.2 (Nov 29, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.8.2:
  • Fixed an issue where, in certain situations, a document window can get stuck showing a loading message.
  • In some cases (when a project is located under a solution folder) you may see an error when saving the project. The project would get saved but you would see an error about unable to cast a COM object. This issue is now fixed so the error is no longer displayed.
  • Developer Community:
  • RemoteSemanticClassificationService.GetClassificationsAsync: SyntaxTree is not part of the compilation
  • When change to another file, VS get stuck on "loading editor components"
  • After upgrade to Visual Studio 17.8.0, Interactive REST Tests no longer work
  • ASP.NET Core web apps targeting .NET 5.0 and below stopped working after 17.8.0 update
  • could not create a .net framework console app

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.8.1 (Nov 22, 2023)

  • The updated version of IncrediBuild fixes an issue where building CMake projects using the standard build menu commands would incorrectly redirect the build to use IncrediBuild by default.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.32 (Nov 16, 2023)

  • Developer Community:
  • Rename Solution Folder in VS2019 results in Object Reference error
  • Security Advisories Addressed:
  • CVE-2023-36042 A denial of service vulnerability exists in Visual Studio where a malformed decorated name can result in an infinite loop.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.8 (Nov 14, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.8:
  • Preview 3 is dedicated to addressing community submitted feedback where we resolved nearly 100 Developer Community tickets. Our primary focus was improving stability and reliability while also introducing a few new features.
  • Git Tooling:
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • Fixed disable automatic multi-branch-history toggling of current/initial Git branch on Git Repository dialog. This avoids disrupting current flows while working in the Git Repository window.
  • Fixed Git branches side bar does not stay collapsed to better respect user preferences.
  • Fixed the MessageBar has low contrast in the new VS 2022 17.8.0 Preview 1.0 to make the infobar appear with appropriate contrast.
  • SQL:
  • Upgraded Microsoft.Data.SQLClient (MDS) from version 3.0 to version 5.0 in SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) Read more
  • Two new fields are added to Connect dialogue box
  • The Encrypt property now defaults to true (enabled) when connecting. If a server does not have a trusted certificate configured, the use of Trust Server Certificate set to true may be appropriate. For more details, please refer to the documentation
  • Additionally:
  • We added an overlay to the VS task bar icon to help you know when VS will update. When there is an update available and you have enabled the "Update on Close" option, the icon will appear. Once you close VS, an update will immediately start and as a result the icon will also disappear. For more information on Update on Close, please visit VS Update on Close
  • Productivity Features
  • GitHub Actions Tooling:
  • We addressed the unexpected behavior of the new GitHub Actions node in Solution Explorer appearing for repos not hosted on GitHub.com. The new node should now only appear for repos hosted on GitHub.com. Next, we are working on the ability to turn off the new node via Tools > Options.
  • Microsoft Teams Toolkit:
  • In the latest Visual Studio 2022 version 17.8 we introduce more project templates to fit in more business scenario and to make getting start simpler. New templates are:
  • an Echo Bot template which echoes user inputs. - a Link Unfurling template which is a type of Message Extensions app that can render URL links to adaptive cards. - a Custom Search Result template which is a Search type of Message Extensions apps that can allow users directly search and show results from chat area or search bar. - a Collect From Input and Process Data template which is an Action type of Message Extensions app that get users input, perform some logic and then send results back to users.
  • We also redesign our UI for you to easier select among templates, we add filters and tags for different type of templates.
  • Teams Toolkit Templates UI
  • Edit your Pull Request Descriptions with Markdown:
  • Use the Markdown editor with your pull request descriptions to render headers, bulleted lists, and other Markdown syntax by clicking on the "Preview" button. Enable this via Preview Features > Git Pull Request - Markdown.
  • Summary Diff Improvements:
  • Building on Preview 1, we've improved the Summary Diff UI and enabled expanding and collapsing specific regions in the summary view. This allows you to get a little more context on hidden lines when necessary. Try this out by clicking the Summary button in the upper right corner when you're comparing files or checking against previous versions of your code.
  • GitHub Avatars added to Git Repository Window:
  • See your GitHub avatars in the multi-branch graph in the Git Repository Window.
  • Multi-Repo Activation Setting:
  • In some workflows, it was important to control whether multi-repo was activated automatically. With a new setting you can keep your focus on an individual repository without seeing the multi-repository UI.
  • Code Search and Navigation:
  • As we’ve been working on performance and reliability improvements in All-In-One Search experience, we’ve also added a status bar that displays the count of each type of result that’s been returned.
  • GitHub Copilot:
  • Supercharging your productivity with Visual Studio gets a lot easier in the newest release of Visual Studio. GitHub Copilot autocomplete is now available as an optional component, making it far easier to install along with a new Visual Studio install or for an administrator to package with an update. A subscription is required to activate features; free trial is available.
  • Component details here: Visual Studio Enterprise workload and component IDs | Microsoft Learn.
  • Visual Studio Update Notification:
  • Noticed something new? For Visual Studio 2022, we added an overlay to the VS task bar icon to help you know when VS will update.
  • When there is an update available and you have enabled the "Update on Close" option, the icon will appear. Once you close VS, an update will immediately start and as a result the icon will also disappear. For more information on Update on Close, please visit VS Update on Close.
  • F#:
  • Conducted an overhaul of code fixes, resolving numerous bugs (details here).
  • Introduced a new code fix that changes equals (=) to a colon (:) in record field definitions: New F# code fix
  • Implemented an option to activate diagnostics for unopened files. This is turned off by default for performance considerations (details here).
  • Enhanced autocompletion in various scenarios including:
  • Anonymous record fields: Improved autocomplete in anonymous record fields
  • Union case fields: Improved autocomplete in union case fields
  • Discriminated union case fields: Improved autocomplete in discriminated union case fields
  • Enum case value expressions: Improved autocomplete in enum case value expressions
  • Addressed issues related to anonymous record handling in FSI (#15519).
  • Rectified misleading line numbers in FSI (#15384).
  • Unified tooltips for auto-properties: Unified tooltips for auto-properties
  • Bettered parameter name hints by hiding them for argument names that match with discriminated union fields: Improved parameter name hints
  • Resolved issues with navigation to the definitions of external enums and discriminated unions (#15270).
  • Fixed finding references for operators starting with '>' (#15386).
  • Debugging and Diagnostics:
  • Cross platform Enc/Hot Reload debugging support:
  • We have added support for Edit and Continue for F5 (with debugger) and Ctrl-F5 (no debugger) scenarios when diagnosing and debugging apps hosted on Linux containers or in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Please note the F5 debugging scenario relies on .NET 8 RC1 and above.
  • Debug Linux App Services via Attach to Process:
  • We are excited to unveil a powerful new feature that enables debugging of .NET processes in Linux App Services - via "Attach to Process".
  • This feature empowers developers to effortlessly debug and diagnose issues within their running Linux Azure App Services instances.
  • To attach to a process:
  • 1.Select Debug > Attach to Process (or press Ctrl+Alt+P) to open the Attach to Process dialog box.
  • 2.Check the Connection type. It should be "Microsoft Azure app Service"
  • 3.Set the Connection target to your Linux machine name.
  • 4.Select the correct available process and click "Attach"
  • BenchmarkDotNet IDiagnosers:
  • The Visual Studio Profiler now support BenchmarkDotNet IDiagnosers. These IDiagnosers play a crucial role in the aggregation of diagsessions originating within BenchmarkDotNet scenarios.
  • The Benchmark tab offers a visualization of the executed benchmarks. It also provides the ability to precisely choose a benchmark from the swimlane by a double-clicking on a specific row.
  • Alternatively, you have the option to navigate to the source file through the right-click context menu. The statistical data is sourced directly from BenchmarkDotNet and is presented in a structured grid format.
  • Enhanced Theme Support for Breakpoint Settings Window:
  • We have added a theming support to the Breakpoint Setting window, ensuring seamless consistency across Visual Studio's Light, Dark, and Blue themes.
  • .Net Counter Support for New Instruments via Meters API:
  • The .NET Counters tool now introduces integration of the .NET Meters API, encompassing new instrument options including "Counter" and "ObservableCounter"
  • The "Counter" keeps track of a value changing over time, with the caller reporting updates using "Counter.Add." In contrast, the "ObservableCounter" is like the Counter but the caller takes care of keeping track of the total value. Currently .NET Counters tool reports the rate of change in the total.
  • You can find these metrics in the list of the .NET counter metrics roster, offering enhanced visibility into system performance and resource utilization.Furthermore, we're actively planning to introduce additional instrument options in the future to enhance this capability even further.
  • Test Profiling with Diagnostics Hub:
  • We are thrilled to introduce an updated Test Profiling capabillity. When you right click on your test in Test Explorer and select "Profile," you can now select between a set of available tools including:
  • CPU Usage
  • GPU Usage
  • File IO
  • .NET Async
  • Events Viewer
  • Select which tools you want to use and click "Start" and a report will be provided.
  • Developer Community Suggestions: You asked, we listened:
  • Blank Solution project template missing 33 Votes
  • QuickFind selection lost / not respected. Keyboard shortcuts lost. 20 Votes
  • Visual studio ASAN throws critical error when fetching clipboard data 11 Votes
  • VS 2022 Watch window and breakpoints fail to evaluate expressions involving C++/CX hat (^) pointers 5 Votes
  • C++ IntelliSense for std::ranges::iota_view<size_t, size_t> error 5 Votes
  • ARM64 memchr implementation may not be standard conformant
  • Standalone React TypeScript project template fails with part of path not found
  • Csproj Editor does not open due to AndroidPackageFormat

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.9 Preview 1 (Nov 14, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.8:
  • Preview 3 is dedicated to addressing community submitted feedback where we resolved nearly 100 Developer Community tickets. Our primary focus was improving stability and reliability while also introducing a few new features.
  • Git Tooling:
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • Fixed disable automatic multi-branch-history toggling of current/initial Git branch on Git Repository dialog. This avoids disrupting current flows while working in the Git Repository window.
  • Fixed Git branches side bar does not stay collapsed to better respect user preferences.
  • Fixed the MessageBar has low contrast in the new VS 2022 17.8.0 Preview 1.0 to make the infobar appear with appropriate contrast.
  • SQL:
  • Upgraded Microsoft.Data.SQLClient (MDS) from version 3.0 to version 5.0 in SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) Read more
  • Two new fields are added to Connect dialogue box
  • The Encrypt property now defaults to true (enabled) when connecting. If a server does not have a trusted certificate configured, the use of Trust Server Certificate set to true may be appropriate. For more details, please refer to the documentation
  • Additionally:
  • We added an overlay to the VS task bar icon to help you know when VS will update. When there is an update available and you have enabled the "Update on Close" option, the icon will appear. Once you close VS, an update will immediately start and as a result the icon will also disappear. For more information on Update on Close, please visit VS Update on Close
  • Productivity Features
  • GitHub Actions Tooling:
  • We addressed the unexpected behavior of the new GitHub Actions node in Solution Explorer appearing for repos not hosted on GitHub.com. The new node should now only appear for repos hosted on GitHub.com. Next, we are working on the ability to turn off the new node via Tools > Options.
  • Microsoft Teams Toolkit:
  • In the latest Visual Studio 2022 version 17.8 we introduce more project templates to fit in more business scenario and to make getting start simpler. New templates are:
  • an Echo Bot template which echoes user inputs. - a Link Unfurling template which is a type of Message Extensions app that can render URL links to adaptive cards. - a Custom Search Result template which is a Search type of Message Extensions apps that can allow users directly search and show results from chat area or search bar. - a Collect From Input and Process Data template which is an Action type of Message Extensions app that get users input, perform some logic and then send results back to users.
  • We also redesign our UI for you to easier select among templates, we add filters and tags for different type of templates.
  • Teams Toolkit Templates UI
  • Edit your Pull Request Descriptions with Markdown:
  • Use the Markdown editor with your pull request descriptions to render headers, bulleted lists, and other Markdown syntax by clicking on the "Preview" button. Enable this via Preview Features > Git Pull Request - Markdown.
  • Summary Diff Improvements:
  • Building on Preview 1, we've improved the Summary Diff UI and enabled expanding and collapsing specific regions in the summary view. This allows you to get a little more context on hidden lines when necessary. Try this out by clicking the Summary button in the upper right corner when you're comparing files or checking against previous versions of your code.
  • GitHub Avatars added to Git Repository Window:
  • See your GitHub avatars in the multi-branch graph in the Git Repository Window.
  • Multi-Repo Activation Setting:
  • In some workflows, it was important to control whether multi-repo was activated automatically. With a new setting you can keep your focus on an individual repository without seeing the multi-repository UI.
  • Code Search and Navigation:
  • As we’ve been working on performance and reliability improvements in All-In-One Search experience, we’ve also added a status bar that displays the count of each type of result that’s been returned.
  • GitHub Copilot:
  • Supercharging your productivity with Visual Studio gets a lot easier in the newest release of Visual Studio. GitHub Copilot autocomplete is now available as an optional component, making it far easier to install along with a new Visual Studio install or for an administrator to package with an update. A subscription is required to activate features; free trial is available.
  • Component details here: Visual Studio Enterprise workload and component IDs | Microsoft Learn.
  • Visual Studio Update Notification:
  • Noticed something new? For Visual Studio 2022, we added an overlay to the VS task bar icon to help you know when VS will update.
  • When there is an update available and you have enabled the "Update on Close" option, the icon will appear. Once you close VS, an update will immediately start and as a result the icon will also disappear. For more information on Update on Close, please visit VS Update on Close.
  • F#:
  • Conducted an overhaul of code fixes, resolving numerous bugs (details here).
  • Introduced a new code fix that changes equals (=) to a colon (:) in record field definitions: New F# code fix
  • Implemented an option to activate diagnostics for unopened files. This is turned off by default for performance considerations (details here).
  • Enhanced autocompletion in various scenarios including:
  • Anonymous record fields: Improved autocomplete in anonymous record fields
  • Union case fields: Improved autocomplete in union case fields
  • Discriminated union case fields: Improved autocomplete in discriminated union case fields
  • Enum case value expressions: Improved autocomplete in enum case value expressions
  • Addressed issues related to anonymous record handling in FSI (#15519).
  • Rectified misleading line numbers in FSI (#15384).
  • Unified tooltips for auto-properties: Unified tooltips for auto-properties
  • Bettered parameter name hints by hiding them for argument names that match with discriminated union fields: Improved parameter name hints
  • Resolved issues with navigation to the definitions of external enums and discriminated unions (#15270).
  • Fixed finding references for operators starting with '>' (#15386).
  • Debugging and Diagnostics:
  • Cross platform Enc/Hot Reload debugging support:
  • We have added support for Edit and Continue for F5 (with debugger) and Ctrl-F5 (no debugger) scenarios when diagnosing and debugging apps hosted on Linux containers or in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Please note the F5 debugging scenario relies on .NET 8 RC1 and above.
  • Debug Linux App Services via Attach to Process:
  • We are excited to unveil a powerful new feature that enables debugging of .NET processes in Linux App Services - via "Attach to Process".
  • This feature empowers developers to effortlessly debug and diagnose issues within their running Linux Azure App Services instances.
  • To attach to a process:
  • 1.Select Debug > Attach to Process (or press Ctrl+Alt+P) to open the Attach to Process dialog box.
  • 2.Check the Connection type. It should be "Microsoft Azure app Service"
  • 3.Set the Connection target to your Linux machine name.
  • 4.Select the correct available process and click "Attach"
  • BenchmarkDotNet IDiagnosers:
  • The Visual Studio Profiler now support BenchmarkDotNet IDiagnosers. These IDiagnosers play a crucial role in the aggregation of diagsessions originating within BenchmarkDotNet scenarios.
  • The Benchmark tab offers a visualization of the executed benchmarks. It also provides the ability to precisely choose a benchmark from the swimlane by a double-clicking on a specific row.
  • Alternatively, you have the option to navigate to the source file through the right-click context menu. The statistical data is sourced directly from BenchmarkDotNet and is presented in a structured grid format.
  • Enhanced Theme Support for Breakpoint Settings Window:
  • We have added a theming support to the Breakpoint Setting window, ensuring seamless consistency across Visual Studio's Light, Dark, and Blue themes.
  • .Net Counter Support for New Instruments via Meters API:
  • The .NET Counters tool now introduces integration of the .NET Meters API, encompassing new instrument options including "Counter" and "ObservableCounter"
  • The "Counter" keeps track of a value changing over time, with the caller reporting updates using "Counter.Add." In contrast, the "ObservableCounter" is like the Counter but the caller takes care of keeping track of the total value. Currently .NET Counters tool reports the rate of change in the total.
  • You can find these metrics in the list of the .NET counter metrics roster, offering enhanced visibility into system performance and resource utilization.Furthermore, we're actively planning to introduce additional instrument options in the future to enhance this capability even further.
  • Test Profiling with Diagnostics Hub:
  • We are thrilled to introduce an updated Test Profiling capabillity. When you right click on your test in Test Explorer and select "Profile," you can now select between a set of available tools including:
  • CPU Usage
  • GPU Usage
  • File IO
  • .NET Async
  • Events Viewer
  • Select which tools you want to use and click "Start" and a report will be provided.
  • Developer Community Suggestions: You asked, we listened:
  • Blank Solution project template missing 33 Votes
  • QuickFind selection lost / not respected. Keyboard shortcuts lost. 20 Votes
  • Visual studio ASAN throws critical error when fetching clipboard data 11 Votes
  • VS 2022 Watch window and breakpoints fail to evaluate expressions involving C++/CX hat (^) pointers 5 Votes
  • C++ IntelliSense for std::ranges::iota_view<size_t, size_t> error 5 Votes
  • ARM64 memchr implementation may not be standard conformant
  • Standalone React TypeScript project template fails with part of path not found
  • Csproj Editor does not open due to AndroidPackageFormat

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.8 Preview 7 (Nov 8, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.8 Preview 7:
  • Updated Windows 11 SDK (10.0.22621.0) installed by Visual Studio to the Oct 2023 servicing build.
  • Fixed an issue where vcpkg artifacts would fail activation with vcpkg later than Aug 9th, 2023, including the copy of vcpkg bundled with Visual Studio.
  • .NET for iOS release notes can be found at https://aka.ms/macios-releases.
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • Cutting or Copying is slow or locking up VS

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.8 Preview 6 (Oct 31, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.8 Preview 6:
  • Fixed memory corruption on ARM64 when using the Team Explorer Work Item Editor or various Web Tools editing experiences.
  • .NET for iOS release notes can be found at https://aka.ms/macios-releases.
  • Fixed an issue with publishing of Azure Cloud Services (classic) and Azure Cloud Services (extended support) projects that selects a subscription different than the subscription currently saved in the publish profile.
  • Azure Active Directory has been rebranded as Microsoft Entra. New name for Azure Active Directory | Microsoft Learn. We are doing the same rebranding for the Authentication Types in SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT), when you access the Connect Dialogue box.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.8 Preview 5 (Oct 25, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.8 Preview 5:
  • Fixed an issue that may cause the following error to be reported when using .NET MAUI projects:MSB4057 The target "UpdateGeneratedFiles" does not exist in the project.
  • Fixed an issue in Open Folder Solution Explorer whereby the right-click "Add Debug Configuration" command would fail to add the selected configuration.
  • Fixed an issue that could result in an "Object reference not set to an instance of an object" error when publishing an Android app to the Google Play Store.
  • Fixed empty hot reload dialog when partially applying changes without a debugger attached.
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • C++ compiler diagnostics (notes) are missing from Error List when using MultiToolTask
  • Hot reload completely broken for Blazor in VS Preview 17.8 preview 3
  • The calling thread cannot access this object because a different thread owns it." on git source control output
  • XAML Intellisense stopped working after 17.7

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.7.6 / 2019 6.11.31 (Oct 24, 2023)

  • Fixed a hang when opening database projects in the presence of Devart extension.
  • Fixed a crash when adding a new sqllite (and similar) connected service from the Solution Explorer context menu.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.8 Preview 4 (Oct 18, 2023)

  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • Test Runner and Test explorer does not work anymore
  • Opening "Register Visual Studio" does not work
  • Error on puslishing DB project "the write operation failed. you must first acquire write access from dataschemamodelcontroller"
  • VC++ 2022 17.7 C26111 false positive

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.7.5 (Oct 10, 2023)

  • This fixes an issue where the configuration that was selected in previous Visual Studio sessions wasn't being restored.
  • The CMake cache no longer generates automatically when "Never run configure step automatically" is selected in the settings.
  • Fixed C++ modules bugs and added several modules throughput improvements. When using LTCG (/GL), in certain rare cases, the compiler could fail to realize that a global variable might be modified during program execution and instead incorrectly conclude it's constant, and improperly propagate it's initial value to locations where the global variable is used.
  • Updates .NET 7 MAUI to SR8. Fixes an issue where MAUI apps cannot compile with Xcode 15 when Linker was disabled. For full release notes please visit: https://github.com/xamarin/xamarin-macios/releases
  • Fixed several issues related to display DPI changes that could result in a crash or hang.
  • Fixed an issue where opening a folder would cause an error related to "Process Telemetry" to be displayed if certain Visual Studio Workloads or Individual Components are not installed.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.8 Preview 3 (Oct 10, 2023)

  • C++ and Game Development:
  • Added Problem Details window for navigation of structured diagnostics. Open it using the Details icon on an entry in the Error List.
  • Git Tooling:
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • Fixed disable automatic multi-branch-history toggling of current/initial Git branch on Git Repository dialog. This avoids disrupting current flows while working in the Git Repository window.
  • Fixed Git branches side bar does not stay collapsed to better respect user preferences.
  • Fixed the MessageBar has low contrast in the new VS 2022 17.8.0 Preview 1.0 to make the infobar appear with appropriate contrast.
  • SQL:
  • Upgraded Microsoft.Data.SQLClient (MDS) from version 3.0 to version 5.0 in SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) Read more
  • Two new fields are added to Connect dialogue box
  • The Encrypt property now defaults to true (enabled) when connecting. If a server does not have a trusted certificate configured, the use of Trust Server Certificate set to true may be appropriate. For more details, please refer to the documentation
  • Additionally:
  • We added an overlay to the VS task bar icon to help you know when VS will update. When there is an update available and you have enabled the "Update on Close" option, the icon will appear. Once you close VS, an update will immediately start and as a result the icon will also disappear.
  • We addressed an issue where Git SCC provider binds to non-Git folders in Open Folder mode and prevents other providers such as VisualSVN from working.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.31 (Oct 10, 2023)

  • Updated version of Git used by Visual Studio to v 2.41.0.3.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.8 Preview 2 (Sep 15, 2023)

  • Productivity Features:
  • GitHub Actions Tooling:
  • We addressed the unexpected behavior of the new GitHub Actions node in Solution Explorer appearing for repos not hosted on GitHub.com. The new node should now only appear for repos hosted on GitHub.com. Next, we are working on the ability to turn off the new node via Tools > Options.
  • Microsoft Teams Toolkit:
  • We are thrilled to announce that we onboarded more Teams app templates in this release, including:
  • an Echo Bot template which echos user inputs.
  • a Link Unfurling template which is a type of Message Extensions app that can render URL links to adpative cards.
  • a Custom Search Result template which is a Search type of Message Extensions apps that can allow users directly search and show results from chat area or search bar.
  • a Collect From Input and Process Data template wchih is an Action type of Message Extensions app that get users input, perform some logic and then send results back to users. We also refine the UI for you to easier select among templates, we add filters and tags for different type of templates.
  • Edit your Pull Request Descriptions with Markdown:
  • Use the Markdown editor with your pull request descriptions to render headers, bulleted lists, and other Markdown syntax by clicking on the "Preview" button. Enable this via Preview Features > Git Pull Request - Markdown.
  • Summary Diff Improvements:
  • Building on Preview 1, we've improved the Summary Diff UI and enabled expanding and collapsing specific regions in the summary view. This allows you to get a little more context on hidden lines when necessary. Try this out by clicking the Summary button in the upper right corner when you're comparing files or checking against previous versions of your code.
  • GitHub Avatars added to Git Repository Window:
  • See your GitHub avatars in the multi-branch graph in the Git Repository Window.
  • Multi-Repo Activation Setting:
  • In some workflows, it was important to control whether multi-repo was activated automatically. With a new setting you can keep your focus on an individual repository without seeing the multi-repository UI.
  • Code Search and Navigation:
  • As we’ve been working on performance and reliability improvements in All-In-One Search experience, we’ve also added a status bar that displays the count of each type of result that’s been returned
  • C++ and Game Dev:
  • We have now implemented support for the optional C11 threads library. This includes threads, mutexes, condition variables, and thread-local storage.
  • CMake version 3.27 now ships with Visual Studio in the Desktop Development with C++ workload.
  • You can now navigate to the CMake Targets View by right-clicking anywhere in your Solution Explorer and selecting Switch to CMake Targets View.
  • You can now also access the CMake Targets View by selecting it from the View dropdown.
  • The CMake Targets View has been simplified so that users don't have to click through folders without buildable executables to get to their desired target.
  • You can now view and edit files on your remote machine in Visual Studio through the Remote File Explorer window.
  • You can now easily make global functions 'static'.
  • When you have a free function that's not in an anonymous namespace and is missing a forward declaration in a header file, you'll receive a suggestion to mark it as static.
  • You can adjust this feature's settings by going to Tools > Options > Text Editor > C/C++ > IntelliSense.
  • F#:
  • Conducted an overhaul of code fixes, resolving numerous bugs (details here).
  • Introduced a new code fix that changes equals (=) to a colon (:) in record field definitions
  • Implemented an option to activate diagnostics for unopened files. This is turned off by default for performance considerations (details here).
  • Enhanced autocompletion in various scenarios including:
  • Anonymous record fields
  • Union case fields
  • Discriminated union case fields
  • Enum case value expressions
  • Addressed issues related to anonymous record handling in FSI (#15519).
  • Rectified misleading line numbers in FSI (#15384).
  • Unified tooltips for auto-properties
  • Resolved issues with navigation to the definitions of external enums and discriminated unions (#15270).
  • Fixed finding references for operators starting with '>'
  • Debugging and Diagnostics:
  • Cross platform Enc/Hot Reload debugging support:
  • We have added support for Edit and Continue for F5 (with debugger) and Ctrl-F5 (no debugger) scenarios when diagnosing and debugging apps hosted on Linux containers or in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Please note the F5 debugging scenario relies on .NET 8 RC1 and above.
  • Debug Linux App Services via Attach to Process:
  • We are excited to unveil a powerful new feature that enables debugging of .NET processes in Linux App Services - via "Attach to Process".
  • This feature empowers developers to effortlessly debug and diagnose issues within their running Linux Azure App Services instances.
  • To attach to a process:
  • 1.Select Debug > Attach to Process (or press Ctrl+Alt+P) to open the Attach to Process dialog box.
  • 2.Check the Connection type. It should be "Microsoft Azure app Service"
  • 3.Set the Connection target to your Linux machine name.
  • 4.Select the correct available process and click "Attach"
  • BenchmarkDotNet IDiagnosers:
  • The Visual Studio Profiler now support BenchmarkDotNet IDiagnosers. These IDiagnosers play a crucial role in the aggregation of diagsessions originating within BenchmarkDotNet scenarios.
  • The Benchmark tab offers a visualization of the executed benchmarks. It also provides the ability to precisely choose a benchmark from the swimlane by a double-clicking on a specific row.
  • Alternatively, you have the option to navigate to the source file through the right-click context menu. The statistical data is sourced directly from BenchmarkDotNet and is presented in a structured grid format.
  • Enhanced Theme Support for Breakpoint Settings Window:
  • We have added a theming support to the Breakpoint Setting window, ensuring seamless consistency across Visual Studio's Light, Dark, and Blue themes.
  • .Net Counter Support for New Instruments via Meters API:
  • The .NET Counters tool now introduces integration of the .NET Meters API, encompassing new instrument options including "Counter" and "ObservableCounter"
  • The "Counter" keeps track of a value changing over time, with the caller reporting updates using "Counter.Add." In contrast, the "ObservableCounter" is like the Counter but the caller takes care of keeping track of the total value. Currently .NET Counters tool reports the rate of change in the total.
  • You can find these metrics in the list of the .NET counter metrics roster, offering enhanced visibility into system performance and resource utilization.Furthermore, we're actively planning to introduce additional instrument options in the future to enhance this capability even further.
  • Test Profiling with Diagnostics Hub:
  • We are thrilled to introduce an updated Test Profiling capabillity. When you right click on your test in Test Explorer and select "Profile," you can now select between a set of available tools including:
  • CPU Usage
  • GPU Usage
  • File IO
  • .NET Async
  • Events Viewer
  • Select which tools you want to use and click "Start" and a report will be provided.
  • Enterprise Management:
  • Administrators can now easily initialize and prepare client machines before delegating standard users control to update, modify, and install from the Available tab. More information and context can be found in the Visual Studio 2022 version 17.8 Preview 2 blog post. This preview release offers administrators two new pieces of functionality:
  • ability to programmatically install just the installer by executing "vs_enterprise.exe install --installerOnly".
  • ability to customize the installer's Available tab and make custom layouts available.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.30 (Sep 13, 2023)

  • Security Advisories Addressed:
  • CVE-2023-36796This security update addresses a vulnerability in DiaSymReader.dll when reading a corrupted PDB file which can lead to Remote Code Execution.
  • CVE-2023-36794This security update addresses a vulnerability in DiaSymReader.dll when reading a corrupted PDB file which can lead to Remote Code Execution.
  • CVE-2023-36793This security update addresses a vulnerability in DiaSymReader.dll when reading a corrupted PDB file which can lead to Remote Code Execution.
  • CVE-2023-36792This security update addresses a vulnerability in DiaSymReader.dll when reading a corrupted PDB file which can lead to Remote Code Execution.
  • CVE-2023-36759This security update removes pgodriver.sys, where reading a malicious file can lead to Elevation of Privilege

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.7.4 (Sep 12, 2023)

  • Updated version of Git used by Visual Studio to v 2.41.0.3.
  • Fixed a crash while applying changes with hot reload on a decompiled module.
  • Ensures the security of the VS Installer Elevation Service by adding quotes to the path, preventing process hijacking along the path.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.7.3 (Aug 29, 2023)

  • Added support to list simulators and devices with Xcode 15 and removed the NewsstandKit hard link dependency.
  • Fixed an issue preventing the Visual Studio Installer from running when there is a symlink in the installer path.
  • The new Include Cleanup feature for C++ which was added in 17.7 has been causing crashes for users, so we have disabled it for now, with a view to re-enable in 17.8

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.7.2 (Aug 23, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.7.2:
  • Certain endpoint security and application control programs were inducing instability in Visual Studio. This has been addressed.
  • Fixed crashes experienced by some users of the "Install WSL For Me" experience.
  • Users who opened a folder containing a CMake project may have experienced an indefinite hang in Visual Studio. The race condition causing this hang has been identified and fixed.
  • Developer Community:
  • Remove Github actions from solution explorer
  • Diagnostic Suppressors are not taken into account in the QuickInfo tooltip with VS 2022 17.7

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.7.1 (Aug 15, 2023)

  • Developer Community:
  • Commented out code is not colored correctly
  • Output Window for Application disappear
  • Fixes Csproj Editor does not open due to AndroidPackageFormat
  • Solution Folders cannot be renamed

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.29 (Aug 12, 2023)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • Addressed an issue where VSWhere's all switch would not return instances in an un-launchable state.
  • Security Advisories Addressed:
  • CVE-2023-36897 Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime Spoofing Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability where unauthenticated remote attacker can sign VSTO Add-ins deployments without a valid code signing certificate.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.8 Preview 1 (Aug 10, 2023)

  • Productivity Features:
  • Add Reviewers to your PRs
  • Summary Diff
  • Multi-Repo limit increase
  • Case Preserving Find and Replace
  • C++ and game development:
  • Unreal Engine Snippets
  • Unreal Engine Test Adapter
  • Build Insights Functions View
  • Make member function const hints
  • Size and Alignment Hints
  • Debugging and Diagnostics:
  • .NET Counters Tool in Debugging Scenario
  • Razor Tooling:
  • Code Action for Event Handler Method Generation
  • Background Color for C# Code
  • JavaScript and TypeScript Development:
  • New React TypeScript and ASP.NET Combined Templates
  • Testing:
  • New IntelliTest now in Preview
  • Developer Community Suggestions: You asked, we listened:
  • Blank Solution project template missing 33 Votes
  • QuickFind selection lost / not respected. Keyboard shortcuts lost. 20 Votes
  • Visual studio ASAN throws critical error when fetching clipboard data 11 Votes
  • VS 2022 Watch window and breakpoints fail to evaluate expressions involving C++/CX hat (^) pointers 5 Votes
  • C++ IntelliSense for std::ranges::iota_view<size_t, size_t> error 5 Votes
  • ARM64 memchr implementation may not be standard conformant
  • Standalone React TypeScript project template fails with part of path not found
  • Csproj Editor does not open due to AndroidPackageFormat

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.7 (Aug 9, 2023)

  • Productivity Features:
  • Comparing Files
  • Copy and Trim Indentation
  • Multi-branch Git Graph
  • Create new GitHub Actions
  • Parallel Stack Filtering
  • Collapse All Descendants for Solution Explorer
  • Performance Improvements:
  • F5 Speed
  • All-in-One Search Responsiveness
  • Find in Files Search Improvements
  • C# Spell Checker Memory Consumption
  • C++ Unreal Engine Time to IntelliSense
  • Light Bulb Responsiveness
  • Solutions Load CPU Consumption
  • .NET development:
  • Auto-decompilation for External .NET Code ??– 29 votes
  • New Auto Insights for the CPU usage tool
  • C++ and game development:
  • Unreal Engine Macros Formatting for C++
  • Build Insights in Visual Studio (C++)
  • Unreal Engine Naming Convention Checker for C++
  • Improved Doxygen overload resolution
  • Unreal Engine Blueprint Find All References
  • Address Sanitizer continue_on_error Support
  • include Cleanup
  • Linux and embedded development with C++"
  • WSL Automatic Acquisition
  • Remote File Explorer Updates
  • Web Development:
  • npm Dependency Management in ASP.NET projects
  • Supporting Vite for React and Vue new project creation
  • HTTP Editor
  • Power Platform connected services
  • SSDT (SQL):
  • Support for Serverless SQL Pool in SSDT
  • Installation and Updates:
  • Rollback now preserves all user settings
  • Enterprise Management and Acquisition:
  • Ability for standard users to update and modify Visual Studio
  • Microsoft 365 development:
  • Microsoft Teams development tools (Teams Toolkit)
  • Other Developer Community Suggestions: You asked, we listened:
  • Cannot import anymore tables into edmx. "Running transformation: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object." 46 votes
  • Selection in Batch Build was not remembered after restart 41 votes
  • .vs folder grows unexpectedly large 32 votes
  • Call stack and other windows not rendering correctly 21 votes
  • SignTool Error: The /p option requires the /f option 12 votes
  • In MAUI,Can't Use F7 To Xaml and Use Shift+ F7 To CS 10 votes
  • Clicking pinned tab drags window out and unpin 9 Votes
  • MSVC compiler hangs on user defined operator overload 8 votes
  • HLSL Tools will crash Visual Studio when viewing shader files in Unreal Engine and the virtual file mapping has been provided 7 votes
  • error C1010 with VS 2022 version 17.6.0 Preview 3 and precompiled headers
  • SSDT IN VS 2022 IS TOTALLY BROKEN
  • Compiler crashes for analysis of code including specialization of class template with nested non-template class referring to containing class
  • VS failed to launch with random JSON dialog
  • Azure Function's host.json being ignored unless a manual rebuild is done or code is modified

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.7 Preview 6 (Aug 2, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.7 Preview 6:
  • Reduced memory impact from Xamarin iOS Pair to Mac configurations where the iOS SDK needed remote install.
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • SQL files syntax highlight not working
  • Load solution gets stuck on Android project
  • Deadlock when EnvDTE.Project.Save is called in certain moment

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.28 (Jul 26, 2023)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • error in creating project in web application

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.7 Preview 5 (Jul 25, 2023)

  • Reauthentication flows are now working as expected when using the "Windows authentication broker" as the default authentication mechanism.
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • Linux C++ Cross Platform with cmake - No Caching of realpath command
  • Error Running Test Case using MS Fakes on arm64(UnitTestIsolationException)
  • Error while using Visual Studio 2022 Schema Compare while comparing an Azure SQL DB schema with a VS Database Project

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.7 Preview 4 (Jul 18, 2023)

  • Fixes "Waiting for debugger" message on emulator when trying to debug .NET MAUI Android apps.
  • Fixing an issue with symbol loading when debugging MAUI projects.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.7 Preview 3 (Jul 11, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.7 Preview 3:
  • Addressed an issue where VSWhere's all switch would not return instances in an un-launchable state.
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • error C1010 with VS 2022 version 17.6.0 Preview 3 and precompiled headers
  • SSDT IN VS 2022 IS TOTALLY BROKEN
  • Compiler crashes for analysis of code including specialization of class template with nested non-template class referring to containing class
  • VS failed to launch with random JSON dialog
  • Azure Function's host.json being ignored unless a manual rebuild is done or code is modified
  • Developer Community Suggestions: You asked, we listened.
  • Add collapse project functionality to Visual Studio 6 votes
  • C++:
  • We have expanded our Address Sanitizer support with a new continue_on_error mode. This new runtime mode diagnoses and reports hidden memory safety errors, with zero false positives, as your app runs. Output to stdout with set ASAN_OPTIONS=continue_on_error=1, or to stderr with set ASAN_OPTIONS=continue_on_error=2. See AddressSanitizer continue_on_error for more details.
  • Added new "Include Cleanup" feature. This provides suggestions to add direct includes whenever indirect includes are detected, and identifies any unused includes. This feature is disabled by default. To enable it, navigate to Tools > Options > Text Editor > C/C++ > IntelliSense and select "Enable #include cleanup". You can learn more about this feature in the Include Cleanup blog post.
  • Productivity:
  • Solution Explorer:
  • We've added a "Collapse All Descendents" command to the context menu when you right-click on a node in Solution Explorer. You can use this to collapse the selected node as well as its descendent nodes. We've also mapped this as a shortcut via the Ctrl+Left arrow keys.
  • Extension Manager:
  • We're updating the Extension Manager to make it easier for you to find great extensions from the Visual Studio Marketplace and to make managing and keeping your existing extensions up to date a more seamless experience. The first preview of the modern Extension Manager is now available and can be enabled by checking the "Extension Manager UI Refresh" preview feature via Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features.
  • Extension Manager
  • .Net and Cloud development:
  • HTTP Editor
  • We've made updates to the HTTP Editor including a new Response View. The new Response View includes support for JSON highlighting as well as the ability to view; the raw response, the headers of the request and the request as it was sent to the web server.
  • The green play button to send the request was replaced by code lens actions.
  • Power Platform connected services:
  • We've added Connected Services support for Microsoft Power Platform.
  • You can create a custom connector to you Power Platform environment and create a dev tunnel to locally test and debug your Web API project.
  • Microsoft 365 development:
  • Teams Toolkit:
  • simplified Teams Tab app templates is provided in this version.
  • Several bug fix and UI improvements to ensure better user experience on Teams Toolkit.
  • SSDT (SQL):
  • Fixed issue with publish using Azure Interactive Dir to an Azure Debugger.
  • Changed the Nomenclature of SQL Serverless in the Target Platform to Azure Synapse Analytics Serverless SQL Pool.
  • Known Issues:
  • Visual Studio fails to stablish a debugger connection with .NET MAUI Android apps on some environments. Device shows "Waiting for debugger" message.
  • Pylance language server isn't starting in VS due to a "Node.js was not found" error.
  • Workaround:
  • Option 1: Rollback to the prior Preview
  • Option 2: Find the folder where node is stored, which is typically located at “C:Program FilesMicrosoft Visual Studio2022PreviewMSBuildMicrosoftVisualStudioNodeJs”, rename the subfolder “win-x64” in to “win-x86” and swap the node.exe in the root folder and the subfolder.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.6.5 (Jul 11, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.6.5:
  • Fixed an issue where switches over unsigned 64-bit integers could cause a crash on x86 and ARM targets.
  • Fixes an issue in which users of Visual Basic with the Entity Framework Designer may have experienced compilation errors after saving an edmx file.
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • WPF: XAML Designer has exited unexpectedly, ClickOnce does not work again.
  • VS Community 2022 V.17.6.2: Error saving an .edmx file
  • VSIXInstaller.exe in VS 2022 17.6.0 Preview 7: NullReferenceException, regression
  • Security Advisories Addressed:
  • CVE-2023-33127 .NET Remote Code Execution Vulnerability A vulnerability exists in .NET applications where the diagnostic server can be exploited to achieve cross-session/cross-user elevation of privilege (EoP) and code execution.
  • CVE-2023-33170 .NET Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability A vulnerability exist in ASP.NET Core applications where account lockout maximum failed attempts may not be immediately updated, allowing an attacker to try more passwords.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.6.4 (Jun 20, 2023)

  • Fixed an issue where Saving a C++ file sometimes results in the IDE hanging.
  • Fixed an issue when "Show All Files" mode is set for a VC project sometimes results from files in those projects will be missing in GoTo and FindInFiles.
  • Fixed '__declspec(property) causes syntax errors with C++20 and /clr
  • Fixed a race condition in ASAN initialization causing crashes on start up
  • When multiple test projects are run in sequence, vstest.console can consume a lot of CPU because it is constantly polling for data from testhost that is started but not executing yet. This was mitigated by disabling testhost pre-start. This regression was introduced in 17.6.0.
  • Fixes a MessagingRemoteException when an XCFramework is involved in MAUI targeting iOS. Ref xamarin/macios#18308.
  • This version of Visual Studio includes Win App SDK 1.3.230502000. See Windows App SDK release channels - Windows appsfor more details.
  • Includes servicing update 10.0.22621.1778 for Windows SDK for Windows 11. See Windows SDK for details.
  • Fixed a bug where document tabs could accidentally undock into a floating window.
  • Fixes some Visual Studio crashes on Solution Close.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.27 (Jun 15, 2023)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • ActiveControl Variable wizard will generate Activeproperties as well as functions, restoring the functionality from Visual Studio 2015.
  • As part of this update, to address CVE-2023-27909, CVE-2023-27910, and CVE-2023-27911, we are removing .fband .dae support. This is a third-party x86 component that is no longer supported by the author. Affected users should use the fbeditor.
  • Developer Community:
  • JSON Schemas don't work with localized Visual Studio
  • JumpThreading Fifor JT value numbering invalidation
  • Security Advisories Addressed:
  • CVE-2023-24897 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability in the MSDIA SDK where corrupted PDBs can cause heap overflow, leading to a crash or remote code execution.
  • CVE-2023-25652 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability where specially crafted input to git apply –reject can lead to controlled content writes at arbitrary locations.
  • CVE-2023-25815 Visual Studio Spoofing Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability where Github localization messages refer to a hard-coded path instead of respecting the runtime prefithat leads to out-of-bound memory writes and crashes.
  • CVE-2023-29007 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability in which a configuration file containing a logic error results in arbitrary configuration injection.
  • CVE-2023-29011 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability in which the Git for Windows executable responsible for implementing a SOCKS5 proxy is susceptible to picking up an untrusted configuration on multi-user machines.
  • CVE-2023-29012 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability in which the Git for Windows Git CMD program incorrectly searches for a program upon startup, leading to silent arbitrary code execution.
  • CVE-2023-27909 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses an Out-Of-Bounds Write Vulnerability in Autodesk® FBX® SDK where version 2020 or prior may lead to code execution through maliciously crafted FBfiles or information disclosure.
  • CVE-2023-27910 Visual Studio Information Disclosure Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability where a user may be tricked into opening a malicious FBfile that may exploit a stack buffer overflow vulnerability in Autodesk® FBX® SDK 2020 or prior which may lead to remote code execution.
  • CVE-2023-27911 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability where a user may be tricked into opening a malicious FBfile that may exploit a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in Autodesk® FBX® SDK 2020 or prior which may lead to remote code execution.
  • CVE-2023-33139 Visual Studio Information Disclosure Vulnerability This security update addresses a OOB vulnerability where the obj file parser in Visual Studios leads to information disclosure.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.6.3 (Jun 14, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.6.3:
  • A regression was introduced into the razor compiler that broke certain tag helpers with explicit partial classes. Until this bug is fixed customers can work around by pinning back to the 7.0.203 SDK.
  • Security Advisories Addressed:
  • CVE-2023-24897 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability in the MSDIA SDK where corrupted PDBs can cause heap overflow, leading to a crash or remote code execution.
  • CVE-2023-25652 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability where specially crafted input to git apply –reject can lead to controlled content writes at arbitrary locations.
  • CVE-2023-25815 Visual Studio Spoofing Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability where Github localization messages refer to a hard-coded path instead of respecting the runtime prefix that leads to out-of-bound memory writes and crashes.
  • CVE-2023-29007 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability in which a configuration file containing a logic error results in arbitrary configuration injection.
  • CVE-2023-29011 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability in which the Git for Windows executable responsible for implementing a SOCKS5 proxy is susceptible to picking up an untrusted configuration on multi-user machines.
  • CVE-2023-29012 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability in which the Git for Windows Git CMD program incorrectly searches for a program upon startup, leading to silent arbitrary code execution.
  • CVE-2023-27909 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses an Out-Of-Bounds Write Vulnerability in Autodesk® FBX® SDK where version 2020 or prior may lead to code execution through maliciously crafted FBX files or information disclosure.
  • CVE-2023-27910 Visual Studio Information Disclosure Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability where a user may be tricked into opening a malicious FBX file that may exploit a stack buffer overflow vulnerability in Autodesk® FBX® SDK 2020 or prior which may lead to remote code execution.
  • CVE-2023-27911 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability where a user may be tricked into opening a malicious FBX file that may exploit a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in Autodesk® FBX® SDK 2020 or prior which may lead to remote code execution.
  • CVE-2023-33139 Visual Studio Information Disclosure Vulnerability This security update addresses a OOB vulnerability where the obj file parser in Visual Studios leads to information disclosure.
  • CVE-2023-29331 .NET and Visual Studio Denial of Service Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability where the AIA fetching process for client certificates can lead to denial of service.
  • CVE-2023-24895 .NET and Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability in the WPF XAML parser where an unsandboxed parser can lead to remote code execution.
  • CVE-2023-24936 .NET and Visual Studio Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability This security update addresses a vulnerability in bypass restrictions when deserializing a DataSet or DataTable from XML, leading to an elevation of privilege.
  • CVE-2023-32032 .NET Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability A vulnerability exists in .NET using extracting the contents of a Tar file which may result in elevation of privileges.
  • CVE-2023-33126 .NET Remote Code Execution Vulnerability A vulnerability exists in .NET during crash and stack trace scenarios that could lead to loading arbitrary bin
  • CVE-2023-33128 .NET Remote Code Execution Vulnerability A vulnerability exists in .NET source generator for P/Invokes that can lead to generated code freeing uninitialized memory and crashing.
  • CVE-2023-33135 .NET Remote Code Execution Vulnerability A vulnerability exists in the .NET SDK during tool restore which can lead to an elevation of privilege.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.7 Preview 2 (Jun 13, 2023)

  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • Allow Visual Studio to install without admin rights
  • Cannot import anymore tables into edmx. "Running transformation: System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object."
  • Selection in Batch Build was not remembered after restart
  • Call stack and other windows not rendering correctly
  • SignTool Error: The /p option requires the /f option
  • In MAUI,Can't Use F7 To Xaml and Use Shift+ F7 To CS
  • Developer Community Suggestions. You asked, we listened:
  • Enhanced File Comparisons
  • Create Pull Requests
  • Enhanced Multi-branch Graph
  • Ability for standard users to update & modify Visual Studio
  • Auto-decompilation for External .NET Code
  • Modern C++ and game development:
  • C++:
  • Thanks to your feedback, we are happy to announce that Build Insights is now integrated with Visual Studio 2022! Build Insights provides you with valuable information needed when optimizing your C++ build times. Start your Build Insights .etl trace capture with the click of a button for your solution or projects. After compilation, Build Insights will create a diagnostic report that allows you to see expensive includes and navigate directly to header files. For power users, you can open Windows Performance Analyzer from within the report.
  • You can now search for references of UFUNCTIONs in Unreal Engine Blueprints with the new Blueprint Find All References. The Unreal Engine plugin "Visual Studio Integration Tool" is required.
  • One-click downloads of WSL are now available with the Linux and Embedded Workload. When you open a CMake project that can target Linux, a gold bar will open for you to click and open a WSL installation process. By default, it will install an Ubuntu machine.
  • The Connection Manager API is now publicly exposed for programmaticaly managing your connections.
  • We have added a search capability to the Remote File Explorer. You are now able to search for files based on where you are in your remote machine along the top bar, and then right-click to go to any found file’s location. Additionally, we have added two new buttons to the toolbar to improve the Remote File Explorer experience, one to go to the home directory and one to open tools options.
  • You can now use the Visualize Expansion option on macros to view the expansion of nested macros step-by-step.
  • Previously, when a specific function had a Doxygen comment, it did not appear in the Quick Info for each overload except for the one immediately following the comment. We now allow the documentation from another overload to be displayed in the Quick Info for all associated overloads.
  • .Net and Cloud development:
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • Autodecompilation for External .NET Code:
  • The Visual Studio Debugger supports Autodecompilation for external .NET code. Whenever you step into code that has been implemented externally, the debugger will automatically decompile it and display the point of execution.
  • This feature is particularly useful when analyzing call stacks, as you can double-click any stack frame and the debugger will navigate directly to the code. Additionally, you can debug the decompiled code and set breakpoints easily. All of the decompiled code is also shown under the External Sources node in Solution Explorer, make it easy to browse through the external files if needed.
  • If you wish to disable the automatic decompilation of external code, simply clear the "Automatically decompile to source when needed (managed only)" option under Tools > Options > Debugging.
  • New Auto Insights for CPU Usage tool:
  • The CPU usage tool now provides additional insights and details for scenarios involving certain methods and properties, such as Enum.HasFlag, Enum.ToString, String.StartsWith, String(char[]), ConcurrentDictionary.Count, ConcurrentDictionary.Keys/Values, and DateTime.Now.
  • Additionally, there is now an 'Ask Copilot' option that uses the Copilot chat extension. When triggered, Copilot chat will explain why the issue occurred and suggest a fix.
  • Parallel Stacks Filter:
  • The Parallel Stack Window now supports filtering options. With filtering, you can easily focus on just the frames and threads that matter to you, so you can achieve greater clarity and get more done in less time. In additional to filtering we have now added the ability to Drag Select frames from the parallel stack window. So now you can easily perform operations like copy/paste, flag/unflag or freeze/thaw for all the selected frames at once.
  • F#:
  • Added support for the new interpolated strings syntax with multiple dollar signs (details and RFC):
  • Introduced tooltips for inline hints:
  • Type hints
  • Parameter name hints
  • Fixed parameter name hints for nested function calls (#15156) and custom operations (#15119)
  • Fixed return type hints for cases where annotations are present alongside generic or type parameters (#15124)
  • Productivity:
  • Git Tooling Improvements:
  • Create a Pull Request:
  • You can now create a Pull Request, completing the entire inner workflow, in Visual Studio. Enter the New Pull Request window by clicking the link in the notification banner after pushing, or from the top-level menu via Git > GitHub/Azure DevOps > New Pull Request.
  • We plan to continue making updates to improve this Pull Request experience, so please share your feedback about this feature here.
  • Updates to Multi-branch Graph:
  • Building on the work from 17.7 preview 1, the multi-branch graph has a variety of UI improvements to improve readability and provide more ease interacting with multiple branches.
  • GitHub Actions Tooling Improvements:
  • Create new GitHub Actions workflow:
  • You can now create new GitHub Actions workflows from Solution Explorer. It supports Azure Container Apps and Azure Kubernetes Service as destinations, and it supports deploying multiple projects with a single workflow. When your project is under source control on GitHub.com, a new node appears in Solution Explorer representing GitHub Actions (if you are not seeing the new node, make sure "Show GitHub Actions in Solution Explorer" is checked under Tools > Options > Preview Features). Right-click and select "Create new" to try out the new experience.
  • Support for Serverless SQL Pool in SSDT:
  • We are providing the capability of importing a database from Serverless SQL Pool into SSDT. It can be done by the same process by which a regular database is imported.
  • Users will also be able to publish a whole new project in the Serverless SQL Pool. The target platform needs to be set as SQL Serverless
  • Regular SSDT operations like Schema Compare, Data Compare, Addition of external tables can be performed on these tables.
  • Enterprise Management:
  • The two new features below can help enterprises establish a clean separation of responsibilities. The Administrator can set user access permissions and prepare client machines within their organization to better control what the end user is allowed to execute. The end users, assuming they’ve been given the appropriate controls, will have the ability and can be responsible for installing from the Available tab, modifying, and updating Visual Studio.
  • Ability for standard users to update and modify Visual Studio
  • Non-admin users with standard permissions will now be able to execute Visual Studio installer functionality.
  • To enable this functionality, an administrator will need to perform two simple actions on the client machine: install the latest 17.7 installer, and set the new global policy.
  • The easiest way to acquire the 17.7 Preview 2 installer on the client machine is to install 17.7 Preview 2. If you don’t want to install the whole Preview product, you can cancel the Preview setup after the installer update has finished installing.
  • Set the global policy 'AllowStandardUserControl' REG_DWORD.
  • A value of 1 enables just update and rollback.
  • A value of 2 enables all installer functionality, including modify and install from Available tab.
  • Many users have requested this capability and we hope that our solution meets your needs. Please try it out and let us know what you think, particularly if there still any problems with this scenario.
  • Ability for administrators to add private layouts to the Installer's Available tab:
  • Enterprises will now be able to make their own custom network layouts available on the Installer’s Available tab by adding custom chanels to the client’s registry.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.6.2 (May 25, 2023)

  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • Syncfusion Controls like RibbonWindow and ChromelessWindows no longer rendering in designer preview
  • RoslynPackage fails to initialize due to SettingsEditorFactory dependency error

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.6.1 (May 22, 2023)

  • We have made some updates to whatsnew content.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.7 Preview 1 (May 17, 2023)

  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • Visual Studio 2022 Find And Replace - Find in Files - not finding text which is in a file 89 votes
  • .vs folder grows unexpectedly large 32 votes
  • Clicking pinned tab drags window out and unpin 9 Votes
  • MSVC compiler hangs on user defined operator overload 8 votes
  • HLSL Tools will crash Visual Studio when viewing shader files in Unreal Engine and the virtual file mapping has been provided 7 votes
  • Modern C++ and game development:
  • C++:
  • With the Unreal Engine Naming Convention checker, Visual Studio will now give you hints when your symbols are not conformant to the Unreal Engine coding style. After adding an .editorconfig file to your Unreal Engine project, Visual Studio will display naming convention warnings in the Error List and provide a Quick Fix option upon right-clicking. For more information, please visit Unreal Engine Naming Convention Checker.
  • Available as a preview feature, Visual Studio will detect and follow indentation and formatting rules for your Unreal Engine reflection macros. To turn on Unreal Engine specific formatting, search "Unreal Engine" in Options or go to Tools -> Options -> Text Editor -> C/C++ -> Code Style -> Formatting -> Unreal Engine and check "Apply special formatting for Slate declarative syntax and Unreal Engine reflection macros."
  • Added support for CMakePresets.json version 6. See the CMake documentation for details on what is available in this version.
  • Upgraded the version of LLVM shipped with Visual Studio to version 16. See the LLVM and Clang release notes for what is available in this version.
  • Added new intrinsics for overflow detection, such as _add_overflow_i32.
  • Productivity:
  • Code Search and Navigation:
  • We’ve tackled known issues regarding accuracy and performance, including:
  • Exact matches (e.g., exact file name matches) should be prioritized higher in the list.
  • Results list for previous search should not show up for new search query.
  • Results with the same name across different languages should be shown in the results list.
  • Results list should accurately update as you type.
  • Multi-Branch Graph and Git Repository Improvements:
  • We've implemented the first version of this suggestion, to enable visualizing multiple branches in the same graph along with other UI improvements.
  • You can select other branches to compare to the currently checked out branch or use the hover eye icon to toggle branches on and off in the graph, keeping track of your incoming and outgoing branches on the currently checked out branch with the new summary icons. Additionally, you can se avatars for the authors in Azure DevOps repos, get smoother graph rendering updates, and maximize your space by collapsing the branches panel or opening your commit details.
  • Compare Files:
  • In response to this highly upvoted ticket in Developer Community, you can now compare files in Solution Explorer.
  • Copy and Trim Indentation:
  • When you copy code from Visual Studio to another program (Outlook, Teams, Slack, etc), Visual Studio will now automatically fix the indentation for you.
  • Microsoft Teams development tools (Teams Toolkit)
  • We further improved the preview experience from 17.6 Preview, including:
  • Now we give developers the flexibility to specify the Teams manifest file path when they conduct any operation with manifest file.
  • Now you can customize the environment variable names by specifying in the teamsapp.yml file. Teams Toolkit will use the environment variables you specified.
  • .Net and Cloud development:
  • IntelliTest Support for .NET6 and NetStandard:
  • Now available in Preview, once enabled, the editor context menu “Intellitest (Preview)” will be enabled in net6 and netstandard code files.
  • Create Project will create a compatible test framework project into which generated tests can be saved and subsequently run using Test Explorer or through the CLI. This will create stubs of methods, but not actually probe your code to create asserts. This can be useful by itself to create a lattice into which you would inject your own code, but typically it’s a placeholder and provides a preview of all the methods supported in your code file. It’s not necessary to create a project before generating tests.
  • Generate Tests can be run for a single method or an entire class. This process will build and probe the target assembly. The Z3 Solver leverages symbolic execution to recommend testing parameters. Subsequently test code is emitted and profiled to capture and retain all test cases that increase coverage of the target code. The test set is continually deduped to retain parameters that maximize coverage and minimize repetition. The Intellitest results window displays probing status and the list of tests created with inputs, outputs, and assertion results. These tests can be saved to the created projects or to new projects as desired. Saving test provides the choice of an existing project or creating a new project into which the tests are saved.
  • F#:
  • Added inline return type hints
  • Since they are in preview and disabled by default. Enable them via Tools -> Options -> Text Editor -> F# -> Advanced -> Display return type hints
  • Added new bulk code fixes
  • See the full list of these code fixes in #15082:
  • Resolved an issue with parameter name hints crashing when using multi-line arguments
  • Added an option to customize Quick Info description width: Tools -> Options -> Text Editor -> F# -> QuickInfo -> Preferred description width in characters. See more details in #14964
  • Incorporated activity log into the output pane (for more information, refer to #15028)
  • Fixed bulk code fix for removing unused opens
  • Improved the speed of Quick Info link navigation

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.6.0 (May 16, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.6:
  • Please add a way to hide the available tab in the Visual Studio Installer
  • Ability to downgrade even when VS is installed from a layout 2 votes
  • Misoptimization for ARM64 in 17.6 preview 2, symmetrical comparison optimized out
  • VS hangs when shutting down solutions that contain C++ code.
  • C++ /CLR regression in VS 17.6 Preview 1 when using the new C++20 support 1 vote
  • Override editor feature doesn't work 3 votes
  • Windows Forms designer since VS 17.5: "Unable to cast object of type 'System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand' to type 'Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand' 13 votes
  • In certain scenarios break points are only being hit once when debugging a .NET MAUI app 1 vote
  • Unable to edit publish profile on VS 2022 1 vote
  • Unable to build WiX3 projects with msbuild that comes with 17.6 Preview 3
  • Git history fails with .vb files 1 vote
  • Angular project: break point is not hit and browser is not launched when debugging on VS 2022
  • Search eventually starts returning no results 11 votes
  • Sync with Active Document is not working in CMake Targets View 32 votes
  • Edge Developer Tools no longer included in Visual Studio
  • Getting build error after selecting automatically deploy the database project before unit tests are run option 21 votes
  • Build.Compile (Ctrl-F7) stopped working on some files after upgrading to 17.4 on CMake projects with Open Folder 7 votes
  • Using msbuild.exe from the command line for Xamarin.iOS is unable to find AppIcons and hangs on completion 7 votes
  • Large text string causes VS 2022 to hang 6 votes
  • __sanitizer_annotate_contiguous_container declared inconsistenly in 17.3.0 3 votes
  • Visual Studio crashes when opening a file is opened and then branch is changed and the file doesn't exist on that branch - Developer Community 1 vote
  • Sqlproj file not building when it has certain master db references provided by VS's inbuilt master.dacpac file - Developer Community (visualstudio.com) 20 votes
  • Visual Studio 17.5 broke SqlPackage.exe - Developer Community 19 votes
  • SQL Unit Tests fail after 17.5 due to Keyword not supported: 'multiple active result sets' - Developer Community (visualstudio.com) 1 vote
  • SSDT Advanced Settings will not persist - Developer Community (visualstudio.com) 15 votes
  • Unable to open sql files in database project - Developer Community (visualstudio.com) 3 votes

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.6 Preview 7 (May 10, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.6 Preview 7:
  • Fixed C++ IntelliSense crash with recursive #include via non-canonical path.
  • Fixed random crash when invoking Peek Definition in C++ Solutions.
  • For users of the Entity Framework tooling in Visual Studio, certain authentication types in their connection strings should now be correctly handled.
  • Fix for VS crash on using Undo command while drawing some controls on Windows Forms .NET designer.
  • Adds Xcode 14.3 support to .NET for iOS/tvOS/MacCatalyst/macOS SDKs and MAUI.
  • Updates .NET MAUI to 7.0.86 (SR6), see https://aka.ms/dotnet-maui-releases for release notes.
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • Breakpoints are not displayed after latest update
  • .Net MAUI Unable to build iOS app: Error code MSB4044
  • Cannot start my app services DefaultAzureCredential

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.6 Preview 6 (May 3, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.6 Preview 6:
  • Developer Community Highlights
  • XAML Accessibility Checker needs Go to source for issues found by checker tool.
  • Changed behaviour of TextTransform.exe leads to broken build configurations
  • Accessibility:
  • The Accessibility Checker is now able to navigate directly to the source for most detected issues when debugging MAUI or WPF projects.
  • MAUI projects need to be debugging on local windows.
  • When Go To Source is available, the Go To Source icon will be shown in the Accessibility Checker. Double clicking the row or pressing Enter while the row is selected will navigate to the XAML that defines the element.
  • In some cases, the Accessibility Checker may not be able to navigate directly to the element, but will attempt to get as close as possible. This may be a parent container.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.5.5 (May 1, 2023)

  • Fix for intermittent VS crash while scrolling Windows Forms .NET designer.
  • .NET 3.1 went out of support in December 2022. Mark it out of support in the Visual Studio setup UI so that it's visible to customers and can be removed with the new "Remove out of support components" button in Visual Studio setup.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.6 Preview 5 (Apr 25, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.6 Preview 5:
  • Adds Xcode 14.3 support to Xamarin.iOS and Xamarin.Mac.
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • Misoptimization for ARM64 in 17.6 preview 2, symmetrical comparison optimized out
  • VS hangs when shutting down solutions that contain C++ code.
  • C++ /CLR regression in VS 17.6 Preview 1 when using the new C++20 support
  • Override editor feature doesn't work
  • Windows Forms designer since VS 17.5: "Unable to cast object of type 'System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand' to type 'Microsoft.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand'
  • In certain scenarios break points are only being hit once when debugging a .NET MAUI app
  • Unable to edit publish profile on VS 2022

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.6 Preview 4 (Apr 18, 2023)

  • This fix considerably improves the performance for medium and large Forms and also fixes the erroneous generation of CType statements for big VB Forms (> 3,000 lines of code) when using controls/components which implement ISupportInitialize.
  • Fixed an issue where the Azure Subscriptions list is empty in the Azure Cloud Service publish dialog when a tenant requires MFA. With this fix, a "re-enter your credentials" link will appear enabling MFA for the signed in account.
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • Unable to build WiX3 projects with msbuild that comes with 17.6 Preview 3
  • git history fails with .vb files
  • Angular project: break point is not hit and browser is not launched when debugging on VS 2022
  • Search eventually starts returning no results

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.26 (Apr 11, 2023)

  • Issues Addressed in this release/l
  • Fixed an issue in IIS Express that could cause a crash when updating telemetry data.
  • Fixed a crash when invalid input is sent to the driver used during PGO training for kernel mode drivers.
  • Developer Community
  • iisexpress crashes in ntdll.dll
  • Security Advisories Addressed/l
  • CVE-2023-28296 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-28299 Visual Studio Spoofing Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-28262 Visual Studio Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-28263 Visual Studio Information Disclosure Vulnerability

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.6 Preview 3 (Apr 11, 2023)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.6 Preview 3:
  • C++:
  • Sync with Active Document now works in the CMake Targets View. It finds the first location that matches the file’s full path and syncs with that document.
  • We made improvements to the Solution - Close scenario, which makes closing a solution containing C++ projects faster. The overall perf improvements can make closing a solution in some cases from 20% faster for small codebases, to 50% faster in some cases for large solutions (1000+ projects). We expect the wins to be more noticeable in large projects. For Chromium, the improvements are typically 50% faster, saving 20 seconds of time.
  • The version of Incredibuild bundled through Visual Studio Installer has been updated to version 10.1.9. You can read the Incredbuild 10 release notes for detailed information on new features and the latest changes.
  • C++20 support for C++/CLI:
  • /std:c++20 can now be used in conjunction with /clr. This allows a wide range of C++20 constructs to be used with ISO C++ types. In particular, all C++20 headers can be #included in a /clr compilation without restrictions.
  • Two-phase name lookup (ISO C++ [temp.dep]) is now the default when /std:c++20 or /std:c++17 is specified. Specifying /Zc:twoPhase- is no longer required with /std:c++17. Managed templates and generics are an exception and will be compiled as before, without two-phase lookup semantics.
  • Coroutines are always compiled to native code and any calls from managed code will incur a managed->native transition penalty.
  • Concepts are supported for native types but use with managed types is forbidden and will result in a diagnostic.
  • Module support is not yet implemented. Restricted module import support will be forthcoming in a future release.
  • Git Tooling:
  • We made several updates in response to customer feedback including - Git: Can't undo changes while debugging and Visual Studio 2022 hangs when pasting in files, adding new files or deleting files.
  • Debugging, Diagnostics and Profiling:
  • The new breakpoint groups now support Undo for Delete. You can use “Ctrl-z” to undo you breakpoint groups delete operation.
  • Along with this, breakpoint groups now support dependent breakpoint groups. you can make your breakpoint groups dependent on other breakpoints, so that the group only activates when the prerequisite breakpoint is hit.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.5.4 (Apr 11, 2023)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.5.4:
  • This change fixes a crash when invalid input is sent to the driver used during PGO training for kernel mode drivers.
  • Fixed MSVC template operator resolution with ISO C++17 and ISO C++20
  • MSVC ASAN will ignore mapped-memory files when Rtl* memory functions are used to manipulate that memory.
  • Updates .NET MAUI to 7.0.81 (SR4), see https://aka.ms/dotnet-maui-releases for release notes.
  • Updates .NET iOS to 16.2.127.0, see release notes.
  • Updates .NET Android to 33.0.46.0
  • Addresses a fix in the configuration API that could lead to a double free vulnerability.
  • VSIXInstaller has been updated to prevent trust warning from being hidden in the UI.
  • Security Advisories Addressed:
  • CVE-2023-28260 .NET Remote Code Execution Vulnerability A vulnerability exists in .NET running on Windows where a runtime DLL can be loaded from an unexpected location, resulting in remote code execution.
  • CVE-2023-28296 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-28299 Visual Studio Spoofing Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-28262 Visual Studio Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-28263 Visual Studio Information Disclosure Vulnerability
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • VS2022 17.5 no longer allows use of connection string from app.config when using Entity Framework update wizard
  • iisexpress crashes in ntdll.dll
  • The Show Compact View button is missing in the (old) New Object dialog
  • Proprietary Visual Studio Extension forcing Save As dialog after upgrade from version 17.1 to 17.4
  • All refactor feature show no reference found

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.25 (Mar 15, 2023)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • Git 2.39 has renamed the value for credential.helper from "manager-core" to "manager". See https://aka.ms/gcm/rename for more information.
  • Updates to mingit and Git for Windows package to v2.39.2, which addresses CVE-2023-22490
  • Security Advisories Addressed:
  • CVE-2023-22490 Mingit Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-22743 Git for Windows Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-23618 Git for Windows Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-23946 Mingit Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.6 Preview 2 (Mar 15, 2023)

  • Removal of integrated Edge Developer Tools for ASP.NET web workload
  • C++:
  • In the latest version of the CMake Debugger, you can now view the state of current defined targets and tests with their properties. You can also now view directories in the Locals window. CMake Debugger
  • You can now use the Create Member Function feature to quickly add constructors and equality operators to your classes. When you have a class with fields, three dots will appear under the class name, and hovering over them will display a screwdriver icon. The drop-down from the screwdriver icon will display the new member function suggestions. With this, you can add a default constructor, constructor with all fields, equality operator, and equality operator with all fields. Create Member Function
  • HLSL (High Level Shading Language) is a DirectX-specific programming language used to create shaders in game development and rendering applications. The popular HLSL Tools extension by Tim Jones is now available as part of Visual Studio providing syntax highlighting, statement completion, go-to-definition, and more! To use HLSL Tools, please enable the component in the "Game development with C++" or "Game development with Unity" workload in the Visual Studio Installer.
  • Improved performance for Go To and All In One Search for C++ Symbols.
  • Microsoft Teams Development Tools (Teams Toolkit):
  • Add the feature flag "Teams App Configuration Improvements". The preview feature of Teams Toolkit enables developers to bring their existing internal and SaaS applications into Teams with Teams-native integration. In the teamsfxapp.yml file defines what Teams Toolkit engine does.
  • Add the deep link to open Teams Toolkit directly from Teams developer portal. You can now open Teams projects in developer portal and edit in Teams Toolkit.
  • Debugging, Diagnostics and Profiling:
  • Breakpoint Groups:
  • Visual Studio debugger now supports Breakpoint Groups,which can allow you to quickly and easily manage numerous breakpoints in organized groups.
  • You can create a new breakpoint group using the "New" dropdown in breakpoints window. To add a breakpoint to an existing group, right-click the breakpoint and choose "Add to Breakpoint Group". You can also drag and drop the breakpoint into the desired group. These breakpoint groups can be enabled, disabled, and deleted. The breakpoints can be toggled individually or in combination as needed.
  • Breakpoint Groups:
  • Memory Tool Insights Sparse Arrays:
  • Visual Studio Memory Analysis tool now has the ability to identify and display sparse arrays. You can see the list objects with sparse array under the Insights tab.
  • A Sparse Array is an array that is mostly filled with zero elements, which can be inefficient in terms of performance and memory usage. The memory analysis tool will automatically detect these arrays and show you how much memory is being wasted due to these zero values.
  • Sparse Array:
  • The debugger now supports the inclusion of .natstepfilter and .natjmc files within individual solutions, rather than the previous global location. This alteration allows for more efficient collaboration within teams, as these files can now be treated as any other file within a repository and shared accordingly.
  • Instrumentation tool:
  • The Visual Studio Instrumentation tool now supports C++ code, providing improved performance analysis. To access the instrumentation tool, go to Debug > Performance Profiler and select "Instrumentation" from the Profiler window that appears.
  • The Instrumentation Data View presents a list of functions ordered by longest-running, making it easier to identify potential bottlenecks. Additionally, the Hot Path section displays the call stack for the functions that are consuming the most CPU, providing further insight into performance issues.
  • Instrumentation tool:
  • Profiler Live Graph for .NET on WSL:
  • The Visual Studio profiling tools now also support live graphs while collecting from dotnet-monitor for WSL. The WSL live metrics are available for .NET object allocation, CPU usage, and the .NET counter tool.
  • While the tool is initially collecting data from dotnet-monitor for WSL you can see the real-time graphing for live counter information, then you can stop collecting and see detailed breakdown views of memory allocation, call trees, functions, collections, and other related data.
  • WSL_Live_Graph:
  • .NET Object Allocation tool:
  • The .NET Object Allocation tool now features the ability to import allocations from a .NET data provider using ETL file formats. For example, if you have an ETL file obtained from a .NET provider that contains allocation tick events, the tool can execute and display the allocations made within that data.
  • Git Tooling Enhancements:
  • Stage and Commit During Build:
  • You can now stage your changes and commit your staged items during a build. Committing directly is a risky operation since your files may change, but now you can stage them, verify your files are correct, and commit them - all while a build is running.
  • GitHub Issues and Azure DevOps Work Items - Improved Search:
  • Improving on our Issues and Work Items integration in the commit message, you now get better search results when querying for items that you haven't updated recently or that aren't related to you but are part of your project or repo. The search works by matching complete strings in your items' names. This can help minimize copy-pasting item ids between the browser and Visual Studio.
  • Improved Merge Dialog:
  • Updates to our Merge Dialog make it easier to understand how many files are being affected and warn you if there might be conflicts.
  • merge dialog
  • Git History Perf Improvements:
  • Drastic improvements to our Git History window now load previous commits faster, allowing you to dig into your file and folder history quicker than before!
  • git log demo
  • New Branch and Tag Naming Enhancements:
  • Improvements to the New Branch and New Tag dialogs automatically replace spaces with dashes to avoid invalid characters in the name.
  • new branch
  • Enterprise Management:
  • Host and Deploy Visual Studio layouts from your intranet:
  • IT Administrators will now be able to host and deploy layouts on an intranet website in addition to a file share. Using an intranet location can simplify layout maintenance and improve installation performance, particularly for those organizations that currently use multiple global network file shares. The scenario is currently targeted for IT Administrators to remotely deploy from. Visit the feedback site to view guidance for how to enable this experience and let us know if there’s any functionality missing that you would need.
  • Limit exposure to available products in the Installer:
  • We’ve updated the logic that controls what products are offered as available when you view the Visual Studio Installer’s “Available” tab. You should now have easy access to current Previews, as well as the ability to restrict exposure to certain products by disabling channels or using the new “HideAvailableTab” policy to disable the available tab altogether.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.5.2 (Mar 14, 2023)

  • Fixed a Razor compiler optimization bug in tag helper lookup that broke ViewComponent tag helpers in a number of cases.
  • This adds @bind:after support into the 17.5 release. This was originally added in 17.4 but was not correctly ported to the 17.5 code base.
  • In the All-In-One Search experience, the Preview Panel will be read-only for all results. We appreciate your patience as we work on ironing out details and fixing issues with the preview editing experience.
  • Updates to mingit and Git for Windows package to v2.39.2, which addresses CVE-2023-22490

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.6 Preview 1 (Feb 22, 2023)

  • GitHub Issues:
  • The GitHub Issues integration allows you to search and reference your issues from the commit message box in VS, in response to this suggestion ticket. You can reference an issue or a pull request by typing # or clicking on the # button in the lower right side of the commit message text box. If you weren't already authenticated to access related issues, you will now be prompted to sign in to take advantage of this feature.
  • Line Unstaging:
  • To continue improving our line-staging (aka interactive staging) feature, we've added unstage. You can now use the tool tip option to unstage changes, line by line, as requested here Unstage individual lines and hunks in a file - 4 votes
  • Arm64:
  • We continue to build native support for Arm64 on Windows 11 for the most popular developer scenarios. We now support the .NET Multi-platform App UI (MAUI) workload on Arm64 Visual Studio.
  • C++:
  • Available as a preview feature, you can now view Unreal Engine logs without leaving VS. To see the logs from the Unreal Engine Editor, click View > Other Windows > UE Log. To filter your logs, click on the "Categories" or "Verbosity" dropdowns. Since this is an experimental feature, feedback is greatly appreciated.
  • You can now import STM32CubeIDE projects for embedded development within Visual Studio with File > Open > Import STM32CubeIDE project. This generates a CMake project with device flashing and debugging settings for STLink. You must have the STM32CubeIDE installed with the board support package for your device. More details available here.
  • You can use the new CMake Debugger to debug your CMake scripts at build time. You can set breakpoints based on filenames, line numbers, and when CMake errors are triggered. Additionally, you can view call stacks of filenames and watch defined variables. Currently, this only works with bundled CMake, and projects targeting WSL or remote machines are not supported yet. We are actively working to add more support to the CMake debugger, and feedback is greatly appreciated.
  • With the new Remote File Explorer, you can browse, upload, and download files to your remote machine listed in the Connection Manager.
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • You can now use the IEnumerable and DataSet Visualizer to inspect your variables/objects when debugging .NET on Unix via SSH, Docker, or WSL.
  • The HTML and XML debugger visualizer is now fully themed and supports Visual Studio's blue, light, and dark themes.
  • The call stack window now supports search functionality. You can add desired search keywords in the search box, and the matching call stack frames will get highlighted. The window also had a new entry point for the parallel stacks providing quick access to the window while debugging.
  • The reattach to debugger process is now persistent to the solution/project across sessions. So you can reattach to processes that you were previously attached to, even after you open a new VS session.
  • The parallel stack window now has new copy functionality. You can double-click on a frame to copy the stack/ shift & select frames of interest / select particular by clicking on the line and copy and then paste into your local notepad/excel to evaluate further.
  • Sticky Scroll helps you orient where you are in the file and understand the context of the code you're looking at. As you scroll through your code, the class and method signatures and other headers will stick to the top of your screen. Clicking on a line in the header will navigate you to that code.
  • Enable in "Options > Text Editor > General > Sticky scroll (experimental)" by toggling the checkbox for "Group the current scopes within a scrollable region of the editor window". You can change the maximum number of lines with "Maximum sticky lines".

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.5 (Feb 21, 2023)

  • ASP.NET Output in the Integrated Terminal:
  • ASP.NET Core applications launched in Visual Studio now redirect output to the Integrated Terminal Tool Window instead of an external console Window.
  • Build container images without a Dockerfile:
  • With .NET 7, it is now possible to build and publish container images using just the .NET SDK. You do not need a Dockerfile and you can target any .NET runtime you want, including previous versions.
  • Colorize Tabs By Regular Expression:
  • Visually distinguish different files based on path-matching rules you define.
  • C++:
  • Added support for brace pair colorization to make distinguishing open and close brace pairs easier.
  • Std::move, std::forward, std::move_if_noexcept, and std::forward_like will now not produce function calls in generated code, even in debug mode. This is to avoid named casts causing unneccesary overhead in debug builds. /permissive- or a flag which implies it (e.g. /std:c++20 or std:c++latest) is required.
  • Added [[msvc::intrinsic]] to support the above item. This can be applied to non-recursive functions consisting of a single cast, which take only one parameter.
  • Added support for Linux Console in the Integrated Terminal which allows for terminal I/O.
  • Added initial experimental support for C11 atomic primitives (<stdatomic.h>). This experimental feature can be enabled with the /experimental:c11atomics flag in /std:c11 mode or later.
  • Added new set of experimental high-confidence checks to the Lifetime Checker for reduced noise.
  • Enabled a new preview feature, Remote File Explorer, to view the file directory on your remote machines within VS, as well as upload and download files to it.
  • Changed versioning of CMake executables shipped with Visual Studio to match Kitware versions.
  • Added support for Hot Reload to the CMake Project template.
  • Go To Definition for C++ will now use more subtle indicator of the operation taking more time, replacing the modal dialog from previous versions.
  • Started rollout of an experiment providing additional smart results in the C++ autocompletion and member list. This functionality was previously known as Predictive IntelliSense but now is using a new presentation method.
  • We now ship a native Arm64 Clang toolset with our LLVM workload, allowing native compilation on Arm64 machines.
  • Added localization to the Image Watch Extension (Note: this Extension is available in the Marketplace, and is not bundled through the Visual Studio Installer).
  • Added support for opening a Terminal window into the currently running Developer Container.
  • Made several improvements to IntelliSense macro expansion. Notably, we enabled recursive expansion in more contexts, and we added options to the pop up to copy the expansion to the clipboard or expand the macro inline.
  • Concurrent monitoring is now supported in the Serial Monitor. Concurrent monitoring allows you to monitor multiple ports at the same time, side by side! Simply press the plus button in order to open another Serial Monitor and get started.
  • You can now view properties from base classes modified in an Unreal Blueprint asset without leaving Visual Studio. Double-click in a Blueprint reference for a C++ class or property to open the UE Asset Inspector in Visual Studio.
  • Enabled running DevContainers on a remote Linux machine.
  • Enabled selection of multiple targets to build in the CMake Targets view.
  • Added support for CMakePresets.json version 5. See the CMake documentation for information of new features.
  • Enabled Test Explorer to build and test multiple CMake targets in parallel.
  • Added "Open container in terminal" option to Dev Containers.
  • Implemented standard library features:
  • P2508R1basic_format_string, format_string, wformat_string
  • P2322R6 ranges::fold_left, ranges::fold_right, etc.
  • P2321R2 views::zip (does not include zip_transform, adjacent, and adjacent_transform)

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.24 (Feb 15, 2023)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • Updated CPython interpreter to version 3.9.13.
  • Updated mingit and Git for Windows package to v2.39.1.1, which addresses CVE-2022-41903
  • Security Advisories Addressed:
  • CVE-2023-21566 Visual Studio Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-21567 Visual Studio Denial of Service Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-21808 .NET and Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-21815 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-23381 Visual Studio Code Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
  • CVE-2022-23521 gitattributes parsing integer overflow
  • CVE-2022-41903 Heap overflow in git archive, git log --format leading to RCE
  • CVE-2022-41953 Git GUI Clone Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.4.5 (Feb 14, 2023)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.4.5:
  • Fixed a regression in the STL that could cause copies of std::string not to be null-terminated when linking objects produced by older versions of Visual Studio 2022 with those produced by Visual Studio 2022 version 17.4 or later.
  • Fixed a binary compatibility break in std::async() for programs built with VS 2015, which could lead to crashes caused by an invalid_operation exception reaching a noexcept function.
  • Fixed a regression in the STL that caused std::find or std::count to fail when searching for negative signed integral values in ranges of unsigned integral elements.
  • Fixed a bug where returned variables would sometimes not appear in the Watch or Locals window of Visual Studio during debugging.
  • Multiple statements in a single code block which contained nested calls to the compiler intrinsic function '__builtin_offsetof' could cause the C++ compiler to crash. To avoid the crash, un-nest the __builtin_offsetof intrinsic calls.
  • Local variables are displayed and evaluated in Locals and Watch windows when debugging Windows Forms constructors.
  • Fixed an issue where @bind:get, @bind:set, and @bind:after attribute modifiers were not recognized, causing design time errors.
  • Fixed the change signature refactoring bug called out in Exception in ChangeSignatureCodeRefactoringProvider after wrong automatic closing brace placement · Issue #65298 · dotnet/roslyn (github.com).
  • Fixed an issue where the terminal would cause a crash when no workloads were installed and the machine didn't have the C++ redistributable package installed.
  • Resolves a problem where VS might freeze when opening a XAML file.
  • Updated CPython interpreter to version 3.9.13.
  • Adds Xcode 14.2 support.
  • Updates .NET MAUI to 7.0.59 (SR3), see https://aka.ms/dotnet-maui-releases for release notes.
  • Updates to mingit and Git for Windows package to v2.39.1.1, which addresses CVE-2022-41903
  • From Developer Community:
  • VC++ 17.4 has a problem with debugger watch
  • Compiler crash in MSVC 17.4.2 'msc1.cpp', line 1592
  • Solution Explorer item collapses by itself
  • Unit test startup fails with an exception when a test method is renamed
  • JSON Schema being written to solution folder
  • Debugging Xunit tests is not able to hit breakpoints
  • Getting build error after selecting automatically deploy the database project before unit tests are run option
  • WPF Designer Invalid value for property handler
  • VS 2022 Community Edition 17.4.2 cannot authenticate to Azure to get the subscriptions
  • Git - failed to start the configured compare tool
  • Symbols not loading when Azure DevOps Symbol server is enabled
  • IntelliTrace can't find PDB
  • Security Advisories Addressed:
  • CVE-2023-21566 Visual Studio Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-21567 Visual Studio Denial of Service Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-21808 .NET and Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-21815 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
  • CVE-2023-23381 Visual Studio Code Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
  • CVE-2022-23521 gitattributes parsing integer overflow
  • CVE-2022-41903 Heap overflow in git archive, git log --format leading to RCE
  • CVE-2022-41953 Git GUI Clone Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.5 Preview 6 (Feb 7, 2023)

  • Fixed the serialization of CSharpIdeCodeStyleOptions.Common options to address the this formatting option bug.
  • Fixed an issue with high CPU usage in the JSON editor.
  • Fixed an issue where tsconfig.json files were not being associated with the correct schema automatically.
  • Added support to install Google Android NDK side-by-side
  • Improvements to MAUI publishing reliability and error handling.
  • VS will install the correct .NET SDK architecture on remote Apple ARM64 machines.
  • Git 2.39 has renamed the value for credential.helper from "manager-core" to "manager". See https://aka.ms/gcm/rename for more information.
  • Developer Community:
  • Installing the emulator fails "Operation Failed: Installing Android Emulator v31.2.10"
  • Building an net*-iOS project which contains multiple iOS libraries can fail randomly when built in parallel
  • Pure White Razor Rendering
  • Intellisense stopped working with tsconfig.json files VS2022

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.5 Preview 5 (Jan 31, 2023)

  • Local variables are displayed and evaluated in Locals and Watch windows when debugging Windows Forms constructors.
  • Updates .NET MAUI to 7.0.59 (SR3), see https://aka.ms/dotnet-maui-releases for release notes.
  • The Accessibility Checker will now report the correct number of issues identified in a MAUI project.
  • Developer Community
  • Hot Reload - Edit and Continue dialog appears when not code changes:
  • Compile errors are shown only when the error containing file is shown
  • XAML designer intellisense is slow
  • Constant CPU consumption without doing anything
  • Pure White Razor Rendering (Semantic Coloring)

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.5 Preview 4 (Jan 24, 2023)

  • C++ IntelliSense's background indexing process no longer hangs when encountering a template parameter list nested inside a template default argument. For example, this might happen now that C++20 permits lambda expressions with explicit template parameter lists.
  • Adds Xcode 14.2 support.
  • This fix will allow customer who may find that XAML Hot Reload would not work on Android Device and Emulator with latest API 33 on previous Preview of 17.5, to work again.
  • Fixed an issue when uninstalling certain extensions which have a corresponding component installable via VS itself. If the component is not installed from VS, and just the extension is installed, we can fail to uninstall.
  • Fixed an issue where some customers who install the Windows Workflow Foundation component experience a crash in VS when they navigate to System Activities Components tab in Toolbox.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.5 Preview 3 (Jan 18, 2023)

  • Updates .NET MAUI to 7.0.58 (SR2), see https://aka.ms/dotnet-maui-releases for release notes.
  • This resolves an issue when uninstalling certain extensions which have a corresponding component installable via VS itself. If the component is not installed from VS, and just the extension is installed, we can fail to uninstall.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.4.4 (Jan 11, 2023)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.4.4:
  • Document Outline feature has been disabled for C# source files
  • Addressed an issue when Cascadia Code and Cascadia Mono font gets uninstalled during Visual Studio update process.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Visual Studio 17.4 crashes constantly when opening the Windows OS repository, with WAVE extension
  • Deadlock when EnvDTE.Project.Save is called in certain moment
  • Selection in Batch Build was not remembered after restart
  • Cannot close VS2022 - neither window close or File Exit works
  • VS fails to show the coredump summary page
  • Security Advisory:
  • CVE-2023-21538 .NET Denial of Service Vulnerability A denial of service vulnerability exists in .NET 6.0 where a malicious client could cause a stack overflow which may result in a denial of service attack when an attacker sends an invalid request to an exposed endpoint.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.23 (Jan 11, 2023)

  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2023-21538 .NET Denial of Service Vulnerability A denial of service vulnerability exists in .NET 6.0 where a malicious client could cause a stack overflow which may result in a denial of service attack when an attacker sends an invalid request to an exposed endpoint

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.22 (Dec 14, 2022)

  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2022-41089 Remote Code Execution A remote code execution vulnerability exists in .NET Core 3.1, .NET 6.0, and .NET 7.0, where a malicious actor could cause a user to run arbitrary code as a result of parsing maliciously crafted xps files.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.5 Preview 2 (Dec 14, 2022)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.5 Preview 2:
  • C++:
  • std::move, std::forward, std::move_if_noexcept, and std::forward_like will now not produce function calls in generated code, even in debug mode. This is to avoid named casts causing unneccesary overhead in debug builds. /permissive- or a flag which implies it (e.g. /std:c++20 or std:c++latest) is required.
  • Added [[msvc::intrinsic]] to support the above item. This can be applied to non-recursive functions consisting of a single cast, which take only one parameter.
  • Added support for Linux Console in the Integrated Terminal which allows for terminal I/O.
  • Added initial experimental support for C11 atomic primitives (<stdatomic.h>). This experimental feature can be enabled with the /experimental:c11atomics flag in /std:c11 mode or later.
  • Added new set of experimental high-confidence checks to the Lifetime Checker for reduced noise.
  • Enabled a new preview feature, Remote File Explorer, to view the file directory on your remote machines within VS, as well as upload and download files to it.
  • Changed versioning of CMake executables shipped with Visual Studio to match Kitware versions.
  • Added support for Hot Reload to the CMake Project template.
  • Go To Definition for C++ will now use more subtle indicator of the operation taking more time, replacing the modal dialog from previous versions.
  • In January, we will start rolling out an experiment providing additional smart results in the C++ autocompletion and member list. This functionality was previously known as Predictive IntelliSense but now is using a new presentation method.
  • We now ship a native Arm64 Clang toolset with our LLVM workload, allowing native compilation on Arm64 machines.
  • Added localization to the Image Watch Extension (Note: this Extension is available in the Marketplace, and is not bundled through the Visual Studio Installer).
  • Added support for opening a Terminal window into the currently running Developer Container.
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • std::move (and similar functions) result in poor debug performance and worse debugging experience - 29 votes
  • C/C++ Position of Open Braces setting keeps getting automatically changed - 13 votes
  • Intellisense not working with module headers - 6 votes
  • CMake + Ninja fails to parse include paths output(/showIncludes) - 5 votes
  • False positive c6031 warning from static analysis - 5 votes
  • Code Search and Navigation:
  • All-In-One Search:
  • We have improved the performance and relevancy of results in the All-In-One Search experience (Ctrl+Q for feature search, Ctrl+T for code search).
  • The Preview Panel now supports both C# and C++ code results. The preview will also be automatically displayed when you perform a search.
  • You can enable All-In-One Search: Tools > Manage Preview Features > "New Visual Studio Search experience (restart required)".
  • Sticky Scroll:
  • Sticky Scroll helps you orient where you are in the file and understand the context of the code you're looking at. As you scroll through your code, the class and method signatures will stick to the top of your screen.
  • Clicking on a line in the header will navigate you to that code.
  • Enable in Options > Text Editor > General > Sticky Scroll by toggling the checkbox for "Show the nested current scopes during the scroll at the top of the editor". You can change the maximum number of lines with "Define the maximum number of sticky lines to show".
  • Teams Toolkit Updates:
  • We made improvements to increase the transparency of Teams Toolkit operations, since we receive feedbacks that sometimes Teams Toolkit looks like a black box to end users.
  • The tasks performed by Teams Toolkit behind the scene are configured in teamsfx/app.yml file, and you can now edit it to customize the behavior of Teams Toolkit.
  • Teams Toolkit operations which support customization include Prepare Teams app dependencies, Provision in the cloud and Deploy to the cloud.
  • Improved the Add authentication code experience to help developers easily add single sign on using Teams identity to the Teams application.
  • Debugging and Diagnostics:
  • Text visualizer is enabled with additional tooling and string manipulation options such as URL Encode and Decode, Base64 Encode and Decode,JWT Decode etc.
  • The text visualizer and quick watch window now provide full theming support for dark, blue, and light VS themes.
  • The parallel and call stack windows will have indicator icons drawing attention to critical scenarios such as deadlock thread or blocked thread.
  • Setup and Updates:
  • Can now easily configure and add components to an offline layout by using an exported *.config file.
  • An option to persistently update on close is now available in the Tools Options, Environment, Product Updates dialog. This makes it easier and automatic to stay update to date and secure.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.4.3 (Dec 14, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.4.3:
  • Fixed a bug in the allocator that resulted in memory leaks when multiple C++ translation units were analyzed in the same compiler invocation.
  • Fixed a bug where thread_local variables caused the linker to emit the "fatal error LNK1161: invalid export specification" error.
  • Fixed a bug in the allocator that resulted in memory leaks when multiple C++ translation units were analyzed in the same compiler invocation.
  • Fixed the underlying exception leading to a gold bar with message "Diagnostic Analyzer Runner crashed" while editing C#/VisualBasic code
  • Improved the performance of submitting a feedback ticket on Developer Community when Recordings are attached.
  • Adds support for Xcode 14.1 for Xamarin.iOS and Xamarin.Mac.
  • Adds Xcode 14.1 support for .NET for iOS, tvOS, macOS, Mac Catalyst.
  • Updates .NET MAUI to 7.0.52 (SR1.1), see https://aka.ms/dotnet-maui-releases for release notes.
  • Fixes failure do deploy UWP apps to devices which were not already paired to a machine where Visual Studio runs.
  • The wasm-tools experience for VS arm64 will be enabled in VS 17.4.3. for .NET WebAssembly Build Tools and .NET 6.0 WebAssembly Build Tools. This enables blazor wasm publishing with AOT Compilation
  • From Developer Community:
  • thread_local causing fatal error LNK1161: invalid export specification on VS 2022
  • [17.4.0] .NET6 WinForms designer regression: designer cannot resolve dlls in project subdirectories
  • msbuild compilation failure after VS 2022 17.4 update install
  • Xamarin.Mac binaries are missing in 17.3.5
  • Security Advisory:
  • CVE-2022-41089 Remote Code Execution A remote code execution vulnerability exists in .NET Core 3.1, .NET 6.0, and .NET 7.0, where a malicious actor could cause a user to run arbitrary code as a result of parsing maliciously crafted xps files.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.21 (Nov 9, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • Added conditional guards to fix incorrect references in AMD64 optimizations for boost, stl_interfaces.
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2022-41119 Remote Code Execution Heap Overflow Vulnerbaility in Visual Studio
  • CVE-2022-39253 Information Disclosure Local clone optimization dereferences symbolic links by default

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.4 (Nov 8, 2022)

  • Arm64
  • This preview continues to build out our native Arm64 support on Windows 11. In addition to supporting .NET desktop development (WinForms and WPF), Desktop development with C++ (for MSBuild-based projects) and ASP.NET and Web development, we have now enabled the Universal Windows Platform development workload. Read our blog post to learn more.
  • C++:
  • Improved compiler error messages to provide more correct and useful information, especially for concepts.
  • Added experimental MSVC flag /experimental:log<directory> to output SARIF build logs to the specified directory.
  • Added support for C23 attributes to IntelliSense and continued progress in C++20 modules support.
  • Improved indexing performance when opening a new solution. Large projects could see a 20-35% improvement from 17.3.
  • Improved Named Return Value Optimisation (NRVO) by:
  • Enabling NRVO for cases which involve exception handling or loops.
  • Enabling NRVO even under /Od if the user passes the /Zc:nrvo flag or /std:c++20 or later or /permissive-.
  • Allowing users to disable NRVO with the /Zc:nrvo- flag.
  • Upgraded the version of LLVM shipped with Visual Studio to 15.0.1. See the LLVM and Clang release notes for what is available.
  • Added support to Visual Studio for vcpkg artifacts with CMake projects. For projects that include a vcpkg manifest the environment will be activated automatically on project open. You can learn more about this in the vcpkg environment activation in Visual Studio blog post.
  • You can now use Dev Containers for your C++ projects. You can learn more about this feature in our Dev Containers for C++ blog post.
  • Made IntelliSense respect the order of preincluded headers when one is a PCH. Previously, when a PCH was used via /Yu and force-included via /FI, IntelliSense would always process it first, before any other headers included via /FI. This did not match the build behavior, so with this change /FI headers are processed in the order they are specified.
  • Removed internal prefixes from CTest names in Test Explorer.
  • Updated the version of CMake shipped with Visual Studio to version 3.24.1. See the CMake release notes for what is available.
  • Android SDK update
  • Ant scripts have been removed, so users will no longer see Ant-based templates in the New Project dialog. For help migrating from Ant templates to Gradle templates, please see: Migrating Builds From Apache Ant (gradle.org)
  • Added support for building with NDK 23 and 24
  • Updated NDK component to the LTS version 23
  • Added vectorized implementations of ranges::min_element(), ranges::max_element(), and ranges::minmax_element()
  • We continue to track the latest developments in C++ standardization, support for the following C++ 23 features is available by including /std:c++latest in your compiler options
  • P2302 ranges::contains, ranges::contains_subrange
  • P2499 string_view Range Constructor Should Be explicit
  • P0849R8 auto(x): decay-copy In The Language
  • The compiler part is not yet implemented; the library part was implemented in C++20 mode when Ranges were initially implemented.
  • P0881R7 <stacktrace>
  • P2301R1 Add A pmr Alias For std::stacktrace
  • P1328R1 constexpr type_info::operator==()
  • P2440R1 ranges::iota, ranges::shift_left, ranges::shift_right
  • P2441R2 views::join_with
  • Added an option "Navigation after Create Declaration/Definition" to allow you to choose the navigation behaviour of the Create Declaration/Definition feature. You can select between peeking (the default) or opening the document, or no navigation.
  • Arm64 builds of Visual Studio now bundle Arm64 versions of CMake and Ninja.
  • Added support for CMake Presets version 4. See the CMake release notes for details of what is available.
  • Connecting to remote systems with the Connection Manager now supports SSH ProxyJump, which is used to access a SSH host via another SSH host (for example, to access a host behind a firewall).
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • Introduce the ability to rollback a Visual Studio Update - 438 votes
  • Compiler warnings after upgrading to 17.2.0 (C4311) - 49 votes
  • EnableClServerMode always rebuilds project and prevents up to date check - 30 votes
  • EnableClServerMode does not respect settings like compile as cpp for c files
  • EnableClServerMode reduces the process priority of cl.exe to low - 30 votes
  • C++ classes, structs and enums with C++ attributes are not visible by Intellisense - 23 votes
  • Throwing SEH from C++ catch-block causes unexpected behavior since 19.23 - 19 votes
  • lambda inside lambda with & capture passed to range based for loop causes C2512 in c++20, but is ok in c++17 - 13 votes
  • C++20 Modules: Bogus Intellisense error when importers use exported nested class
  • IntelliSense crashes with imported nested class with member type - 12 votes
  • Codegen bug relating to stack allocation - 11 votes
  • Test Adapter for Google Test with TYPED_TEST uses wrong names with an extra . - 11 votes
  • Inconsistent auto-tabulation behavior when writing an enum class - 8 votes
  • CMake Presets doesn't work for WSL2 on some distributive - 7 votes
  • Standard violation: enum underlying type cannot represent all its values - 6 votes
  • Underlying type of an unscoped enum? - 6 votes
  • Incorrect C/C++ IntelliSense error 'enable_if' attributes with conditions that are not constant values are not supported - 6 votes
  • /Zc:char8_t[-] ignored by IntelliSense, this genererating errors + squiggles that are not present when building. - 6 votes
  • Undeclared identifier error with lambda capture - 6 votes
  • Intellisense bug with standard-conforming preprocessor and __VA_ARGS__ comma elision - 5 votes
  • VS FOR LINUX. MSBuild fails on SOLUTION with cross-dependent Makefile project ! - 5 votes
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • DataTable visualizer is now upgraded with new improvements like filtering, sorting, exporting, and theming.
  • To export the data export in CSV/Excel format use the dropdown on the top right corner.
  • The Visualizer will also allow you to filter data based desired filter string. It will return all the rows that contain a value that matches the filter string. You can also export the filtered and sorted results in CSV/Excel format.
  • The visualizer window will be themed as per your selected Visual Studio theme.
  • Editor Features:
  • Audio Cues are now available in Visual Studio. To enable audio cues, go to Tools > Options, then head to Text Editor > General. In the Settings section, check the "Enable audio cues" option to enable audio cues. With this option checked, Visual Studio will play an audio cue when the caret in the editor arrives on a line with an error, breakpoint or warning. It will also play a cue when the line arrives on a line that has been added or removed when viewing a file in the diff view. These cues can be individual enabled or modified in the Settings Control Panel in Windows.
  • Holding down the shift key while rotating the mouse wheel over the editor will now cause the editor to scroll horizontally. The amount that the editor scrolls can be configured in Tools > Options under Text Editor > Advanced.
  • The current line number in the editor is is highlighted for higher visibility.
  • The Output pane now has a button that will prepend each line with a timestamp to allow developers an easier way to see how much time transpired between steps in longer running processes.
  • We fixed an issue that prevented printer settings from being saved correctly in some cases.
  • When selecting text in the editor, Visual Studio will now automatically highlight matching strings. To enable this feature, go to Tools > Options, then head to Text Editor > General. In the Display section, check the "Show selection matches" option. With this option checked, any time a single line of text of 100 characters or less is selected, any matches will immediately be highlighted.
  • F#:
  • We continue improving tooltips for F# identifiers, fixing a few edge cases:
  • Active patterns
  • Anonymous record fields
  • Exception names
  • Also fixed Visual Studio crashing for specifying --version in compiler flags
  • Tooltips for local functions now show argument names
  • Tooltips for local function arguments
  • Git Tooling:
  • Developer Community Highlights:
  • Allow multiple Git repositories to be active at once - 331 votes
  • "Stage Line" tooltip incredibly annoying when editing in the right panel of a Diff window - 6 votes
  • Other features:
  • Multi-repository support means you can have up to 10 active Git repositories at once, allowing you to work with a solution that spans more than one repository and perform git operations like committing, pulling, and pushing across several repositories at the same time. Start using multi-repo support by opening a solution or folder with projects across several repositories. Read our blog post to learn more and share your feedback.
  • Untrack and ignore tracked Git files
  • In line with a recent Git security update, we have enhanced the user experience of trusting single and multiple Git repositories by improving repository status and utilizing a new trust dialog.
  • Installation and Updates:
  • Rollback:
  • The ability to return to your previously installed version of Visual Studio is now feature complete. For more information, please visit Troubleshoot Visual Studio installation and upgrade issues.
  • What will happen?
  • Rolling back will return Visual Studio to the version installed prior to the last applied update. It will keep any modifications to selected components chosen since that last update. Local customizations such as your user settings and profiles will be removed. However, your common synchronized settings such as themes, fonts, key bindings, and windows layout will be restored.
  • As of now, you will be able to rollback to components that come with the VS instance and shared components such as SDKs and tools that are owned and managed only by VS. Per-machine extensions, system-wide components, and tools that are not managed by Visual Studio will remain in their current versions. However, per-user extensions will be uninstalled. Please refer to section “Components that are compatible” below for more information. 
  • What will happen to my security updates?
  • Security updates that are included in a release greater than the version you rolled back to will be removed which could make your device vulnerable. We recommend always updating back soon to the latest version to stay secure.  
  • Which versions support rollback?
  • For the Release channel, you can rollback to your previously installed version if it was either 17.0.10 or higher, or 17.1.7 or higher.
  • Components that are compatible  :
  • The following table outlines the type of components that are supported with the rollback feature. As a general rule of thumb, components that VS installs, and uses are included in the rollback attempt.  
  • RollbackComp:
  • Can I rollback if I am in a managed environment?
  • IT administrators can control this update behavior by using a policy that disables the ability to Rollback. Please refer to Configure policies for enterprise deployments for more information.
  • How can I Rollback?
  • You should be seeing “Rollback to previous version” from the More dropdown button on a product card after an update. 
  • RollbackHow:
  • From there, a warning pop up will appear and you will have the option to either cancel or proceed.
  • RollbackWarning:
  • Let us know your thoughts!
  • We would love to get your feedback on the rollback feature, so please give it a try and let us know what you think. You can share any feedback by visiting https://aka.ms/DeveloperCommunity-RollbackFeedback.
  • Remove out-of-support components:
  • The Visual Studio 2022 version 17.4 installer contains a new feature that enables you to easily bulk remove all components that Visual Studio installed that have transitioned to an out-of-support state. This will help you maintain a secure and compliant environment. Developers can initiate this action on updates or modifications, and IT Admins can enforce it by policy. For those enterprises that use layouts, it’s possible to configure the layout once, and then future administrator update will respect this setting. This functionality also works for Visual Studio 2017 and 2019 if those client machines have been updated to use the latest Visual Studio installer. For additional details on how this functionality works, please refer to the Visual Studio Administrators guide or refer to the blog post.
  • Configure Policies via Administrator Templates (ADMX):
  • Today we released the Visual Studio Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML), which makes it easy for IT admins to easily discover, manage and control Visual Studio behaviors that are available to be governed by policy. ADMX files are also easy to integrate with common management and deployment tools such as Group Policy Editor or Microsoft Endpoint Manager. Please find additional information here.
  • Visual Studio security updates now available through the Microsoft Update channel of Windows Update for Business
  • All Visual Studio security updates for all supported versions of Visual Studio are now available to modern cloud connected Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) joined devices that use Windows Update for Business and are managed by mobile device management solutions such as Microsoft Endpoint Manager (formerly known as Intune). You can enable this functionality on your client devices by setting the AdministratorUpdatesEnabled policy to 2. Refer to the blog post and the Visual Studio Administrators Guide for additional details.
  • IntelliCode:
  • When IntelliCode has a suggestion to offer that modify or deletes part of a single line of code, the suggestion is now shown as a "diff view" on the editor surface for C# users. By using the TAB key, users can accept the prediction.
  • Microsoft Teams Development Tools (Teams Toolkit):
  • With this new version of Teams Toolkit, updates are required to the Azure Active Directory template file, projectSettings.json, and the app manifest file. These updates are done automatically after performing a Teams Toolkit menu command, and don't change your project source code. The output window will shows the status of the update.
  • The Tab application type in the Microsoft Teams App project template wizard includes the option to configure single sign-on or not. Add it later using Project > Teams Toolkit > Add Authentiation Code. Learn more about Teams Toolkit in the docs: https://aka.ms/teams-toolkit-vs-docs
  • Markdown:
  • We have added a very early preview of our markdown editor for Visual Studio. To enable the markdown editor, go to Tools > Manage Preview Features, then check the "Markdown language service" option.
  • Once the feature is enabled, opening any .md file will open the new markdown editor in Visual Studio. To open the preview for the markdown, there is a Preview button at the bottom right of the editor (next to the Line and Column information).
  • This experience is a very early preview and we expect much of it to change. If you have feedback on the experience, please join the conversation here on Developer Community.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • There is a new Inline Rename UI that allows you to rename a type. Press Ctrl+R,R to bring up the new Inline Rename experience. Notice that the new UI will now show up under the type with an option to rename comments, strings, and symbol files.
  • There is now an option to disable Source Link and Embedded source. You can disable this in Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Advanced and deselect Enable navigation to Source Link and Embedded sources.
  • You can now easily view a file’s structure at a glance in the Document Outline window. The Document Outline window displays the symbol tree of the file in the editor helping you quickly navigate and edit project files. You can open Document Outline by going to View > Other Windows > Document Outline or by using the shortcut Ctrl+Alt+T.
  • Test tools:
  • Live Unit Testing now provides a button to reset all state. By going to Test > Live Unit Testing > Reset Live Unit Testing state for solution. Live Unit Testing Reset State
  • Live Unit Testing now supports Razor files.
  • Run Tests until failure helps you find flaky tests and will run your unit test until they reach a failure or until they reach the threshold set in Options.
  • View code coverage report scoped down to only the files/lines you have changed with the new Code Coverage Changeset report.
  • Performance improvements:
  • We have made performance improvement in the following areas of Visual Studio in this release :
  • Find & Replace in Files
  • Git branch switching
  • Unit Test Performance
  • Language service configuration switch optimization
  • Responsive File Save
  • C++ Indexing
  • Visual Studio on Dev Box:
  • As a Dev Box is not on your local network, you'll need to use a public IP to connect via internet to any Macs on your local network.
  • If the Android emulator won't load, ensure Hyper-V is enabled via {insert instructions here}. If the Hyper-V option was not checked off, enable it, then restart the Dev Box before trying to use the emulator.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Runtime Text Template behaviour changed in Visual Studio 2022 17.3.x
  • Terminal Default Profile Isn't Being Loaded Unless Developer PS Profile Is Deleted
  • Visual Studio clears dirty flag before calling OnBeforeSave
  • Internal error in UpToDateCheckImplicitConfiguredInputDataSource: ArgumentException: Must not be DateTime.MinValue
  • Details for Installed MAUI packages are missing NuGet Project PM UI
  • Regression in MFC class CSimpleStringT::CloneData, atlsimpstr.h (atlmfcinclude)
  • Hot Reload C# things there are changes when there are none
  • Task Failed - Activating language client HtmlLanguageClient: HtmlLanguageClient failed to initialize.
  • Introduce the ability to roll back a Visual Studio Update
  • Easily remove all out-of-support components
  • Visual Studio Administrator Template (ADMX/ADML) Preview Feedback
  • Intellicode Suggestions sometimes makes it impossible to type code (C#)

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.5 Preview 1 (Nov 8, 2022)

  • C++:
  • Made several improvements to IntelliSense macro expansion. Notably, we enabled recursive expansion in more contexts, and we added options to the pop up to copy the expansion to the clipboard or expand the macro inline.
  • Concurrent monitoring is now supported in the Serial Monitor. Concurrent monitoring allows you to monitor multiple ports at the same time, side by side! Simply press the plus button in order to open another Serial Monitor and get started.
  • You can now view properties from base classes modified in an Unreal Blueprint asset without leaving Visual Studio. Double-click in a Blueprint reference for a C++ class or property to open the UE Asset Inspector in Visual Studio.
  • Enabled running DevContainers on a remote Linux machine.
  • Enabled selection of multiple targets to build in the CMake Targets view.
  • Added support for CMakePresets.json version 5. See the CMake documentation for information of new features.
  • Enabled Test Explorer to build and test multiple CMake targets in parallel.
  • Code Search and Navigation:
  • We are continuing to improve the performance and relevancy of results in the All-In-One Search experience (Ctrl+Q for feature search, Ctrl+T for code search).
  • You can enable All-In-One Search: Tools > Manage Preview Features > "New Visual Studio Search experience (restart required)".
  • Git Tooling:
  • The Repository Picker in the status bar now has an active section to easily distinguish which repos are active in multi-repo scenarios.
  • Get started with GitHub in Visual Studio with a new Learning Series
  • Markdown:
  • Visual Studio now supports editing Markdown (.md) files.
  • To get started, open any file with a .md file extension.
  • Preview the processed HTML with the Preview button at the top left of the editor window. Shift+F7 can also be used to open the Preview. Use Ctrl+Alt+Up to move keyboard focus to the Preview button and press space bar to toggle the preview.
  • Debugging and Diagnostics:
  • The Managed Memory window will now show new auto insight for snapshots/dumps called Duplicate strings.
  • The new tab ”Insights” in Managed Memory window will show the list of strings that get allocated multiple times on the heap. Along with the total wasted memory i.e. number of instances minus one time the size of the string.
  • You can also go to instances by clicking “View Instances” button which shows a similar instance view as of the Memory window. It also shows the retention graph for the string objects.
  • All-In-One Search Updates:
  • With the new search experience, you can search both code and Visual Studio features in one spot.
  • ASP.NET Output in the Integrated Terminal:
  • ASP.NET Core applications launched in Visual Studio now redirect output to the Integrated Terminal Tool Window instead of an external console Window.
  • Colorize Tabs By Regular Expression:
  • Visually distinguish different files based on path-matching rules you define.
  • Edit Markdown Files:
  • Edit Markdown files directly in Visual Studio.
  • Quick Add new files:
  • Add new files to your projects without searching for a template.
  • Build container images without a Dockerfile:
  • With .NET 7, it is now possible to build and publish container images using just the .NET SDK. You do not need a Dockerfile and you can target any .NET runtime you want, including previous versions.
  • SQL Server 2022:
  • Use new T-SQL syntax introduced for SQL Server 2022
  • Windows authentication broker:
  • Get enhanced security and fewer prompts by enabling the Windows authentication broker.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.4 Preview 6 (Nov 1, 2022)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.4 Preview 6:
  • Visual C++ ARM64EC individual options have been removed and the content are now installed with the ARM64 options.
  • Includes servicing update 10.0.22621.755 for Windows SDK for Windows 11.
  • Fixed issue where XAML properties panel for .NET MAUI projects would display no properties.
  • Fixed an issue where under certain conditions, the MAUI app may crash when being detached from the debugger.
  • Fix an issue in the IEnumerable Debugger Visualizer that caused Visual Studio to crash when expanding or hiding columns.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Linkage specification in header unit module contradicts the usage of that function if it is defined without explicit linkage specification
  • Unexpected error C2440 with MSVC 17.4 Preview 2 when building with /Zc:lambda
  • Unexpected error C2664 in MSVC 17.4 Preview 2
  • VS 2022 17.4 Preview 3 : can't login (Could not establish trust relationship for the SSL/TLS secure channel) (Corporate Firewall)
  • VS17.4 preview 2.1 won’t highlight/jump to error message line in output window when double clicking on items in error list
  • Solution closes immediately after opening

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.4 Preview 5 (Oct 26, 2022)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.4 Preview 5:
  • Fixed an issue where the compiler could crash performing copy/move elision on a function with three or more return statements.
  • Implemented P2513R4 char8_t Compatibility and Portability Fix under /std:c++latest and /std:c++20 (ISO C++20 DR) See P2513R4: char8_t Compatibility and Portability Fix (open-std.org).
  • Fixed an issue with static virtual interface members not included in type parameter completion.
  • Fix for localization issues in Windows Forms .NET Designer.
  • Fixed the package Microsoft.NET.StringTools to be consumable from apps targeting netstandard2.0.
  • Fixed reverting an extension that overwrites a component extension (e.g. Textmate, LiveShare).
  • From Developer Community:
  • Runtime Text Template behaviour changed in Visual Studio 2022 17.3.x
  • Terminal Default Profile Isn't Being Loaded Unless Developer PS Profile Is Deleted
  • Visual Studio clears dirty flag before calling OnBeforeSave

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.4 Preview 4 (Oct 19, 2022)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.4 Preview 4:
  • Added support to for pattern in pattern matcher to handle suffix-less vectors.
  • Added the oneTBB version info to tbbmalloc.dll
  • Changed internal data structure access method so that this crash will not happen again.
  • Fixed numerous issues with modules where mixing header files and modules would issue bogus errors and/or incorrectly merge declarations.
  • Corrected a regression where forward-declaring an enumeration without a fixed underlying type after it is defined could cause an incorrect underlying type to be deduced.
  • Added a new conformance switch /Zc:enumTypes[-] to control Standard-conforming behavior for the deduced underlying types of some enumerations and enumerators. This is no longer enabled by default under /permissive- to avoid potential binary compatibility issues.
  • Fixed a bug where out variables of ref struct type would have an excessively wide escape scope, resulting in a compilation error at the call site where the out variable is declared.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Visual Studio to sometimes block stepping while debugging WPF applications. VS reported that changes were made that prevent the debugging session from continuing.
  • Fix for Visual Studio UI delay in Windows Forms .NET designer load and reload scenarios.
  • Update .NET MAUI to NET7 RC2
  • Adds support for Xcode 14.0 to .NET 7 for iOS/tvOS
  • Fixes a bug where the "Apply filter" dialog was not working correctly for MSA accounts.
  • Fixed an issue with the .NET Instrumentation tool could show frames taking greater than 100% of time
  • Under some circumstances, the SKU of the App Service created for an Azure Functions app that targets an App Service plan in an incorrect SKU.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.3.6 (Oct 12, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.3.5:
  • Adds support for Xcode 14.0 to .NET 6 for iOS/tvOS
  • .NET MAUI 6.0 Servicing Release
  • Addressed an intermittent crash when opening the debugger DataSet visualizer.
  • Administrators will be able to update the VS Installer on an offline client machine from a layout without updating VS.
  • Security Advisory:
  • CVE-2022-41032 .NET Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability A vulnerability exists in .NET 7.0.0-rc.1, .NET 6.0, .NET Core 3.1, and NuGet clients (NuGet.exe, NuGet.Commands, NuGet.CommandLine, NuGet.Protocol) where a malicious actor could cause a user to execute arbitrary code.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.20 (Oct 12, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • Made Resource View appear more reliably for projects that are reloaded
  • Administrators will be able to update the VS Installer on an offline client machine from a layout without updating VS.
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2022-41032 .NET Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability A vulnerability exists in .NET 7.0.0-rc.1, .NET 6.0, .NET Core 3.1, and NuGet clients (NuGet.exe, NuGet.Commands, NuGet.CommandLine, NuGet.Protocol) where a malicious actor could cause a user to execute arbitrary code.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.4 Preview 3 (Oct 11, 2022)

  • Added experimental MSVC flag /experimental:log<directory> to output SARIF build logs to the specified directory.
  • Added support for C23 attributes to IntelliSense and continued progress in C++20 modules support.
  • Improved indexing performance when opening a new solution. Large projects could see a 20-35% improvement from 17.3.
  • Improved Named Return Value Optimisation (NRVO) by:
  • Enabling NRVO for cases which involve exception handling or loops.
  • Enabling NRVO even under /Od if the user passes the /Zc:nrvo flag or /std:c++20 or later or /permissive-.
  • Allowing users to disable NRVO with the /Zc:nrvo- flag.
  • Upgraded the version of LLVM shipped with Visual Studio to 15.0.1. See the LLVM and Clang release notes for what is available.
  • Top updates in this release include:
  • Added .NET 7 RC2, 6.0.402, and 3.1.424 SDKs (MAUI remains at the RC1 version)

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.3.5 (Sep 27, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.3.5:
  • Fixed an issue where Visual Studio would get into a unresponsive state intermittently while closing WinForms .NET Designer.
  • When a user has HSTS enabled in their browser settings and adds a GitHub account to the Visual Studio keychain, an error message is displayed with a link to troubleshoot the issue.
  • Fixed an issue where Roslyn analyzers and source generators targeting version 4.3.0 would fail to load in Visual Studio.
  • Adds support for Xcode 14.0
  • From Developer Community:
  • Test Explorer hangs when stopping the Debug in UI tests with Selenium
  • Failed to pair to Mac with error "Could not install workload manifest for 'microsoft.net.workload.moon.toolchain'..."
  • Compiler warnings after upgrading to 17.2.0 (C4311)
  • Opening solution with large number of projects much slower in VS2022 17.3 than 17.2
  • Microsoft.VisualStudio.Component.TextTemplating unable to install on VS BuildTools 2022 17.3.3
  • Version mismatch between Roslyn in MSBuild and CodeStyle analyzers in the SDK
  • Visual Studio 2022 17.3.0 breaks IncrediBuild

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.4 Preview 2.1 (Sep 21, 2022)

  • Visual Studio will now install .NET 7.0 RC1 as the default SDK and runtime.
  • This release includes support for .NET 7.0 RC1 MAUI, Android, iOS and related workloads.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.4 Preview 2 (Sep 15, 2022)

  • Updates via Microsoft Endpoint Manager:
  • Visual Studio security updates will become available to modern cloud connected Azure Active Directory (AAD) joined devices that use Windows Update for Business and are managed by mobile device management solutions such as Microsoft Endpoint Manager (formerly known as Intune). You can now preview this functionality on your client devices by setting a Preview policy key. Refer to the 17.4 Preview 2 blog post for additional details and instructions on how to configure your devices so that the security updates will be available to them, and provide feedback here.
  • Microsoft Teams Development Tools (Teams Toolkit):
  • The Microsoft Teams Tab app template provided by Teams Toolkit is by defulat enable authentication using Teams identity in previous version. Now you can choose whether to include Single sign-on authentiation for your Teams App at the time you create the Teams app.
  • In case you decided not to include single sign-on feature for your Teams app, you can now choose to add it later anytime during development. The option is available at menu Project > Teams Toolkit > Add Authentiation Code.
  • After you added authentication code to your project, Teams Toolkit will prompt guidance on how to use. Please carefully read through the guidance.
  • For projects created using previous version of Teams Toolkit, Teams Toolkit will automatically update your project to run in lateset version.
  • Teams Toolkit will trigger the auto-update of project when you trigger any option in Teams Toolkit like Prepare Teams App Dependiencies or Debug etc.
  • The Project update includes adding new files(Azure AAD template file) to your project, adding configurations in your ProjectSettings file and manifest file. For complete details see the output logs when update.
  • Learn more about Teams Toolkit at https://aka.ms/teams-toolkit-vs-docs
  • F#:
  • We continue improving tooltips for F# identifiers, fixing a few edge cases:
  • Active patterns
  • Anonymous record fields
  • Exception names
  • Also fixed Visual Studio crashing for specifying --version in compiler flags
  • C++:
  • We have added support to Visual Studio for vcpkg artifacts with CMake projects. For projects that include a vcpkg manifest the environment will be activated automatically on project open. You can learn more about this in the vcpkg environment activation in Visual Studio blog post.
  • You can now use Dev Containers for your C++ projects. You can learn more about this feature in our Dev Containers for C++ blog post.
  • Made IntelliSense respect the order of preincluded headers when one is a PCH. Previously, when a PCH was used via /Yu and force-included via /FI, IntelliSense would always process it first, before any other headers included via /FI. This did not match the build behavior, so with this change /FI headers are processed in the order they are specified.
  • Removed internal prefixes from CTest names in Test Explorer.
  • Updated the version of CMake shipped with Visual Studio to version 3.24.1. See the CMake release notes for what is available.
  • Android SDK update
  • Ant scripts have been removed, so users will no longer see Ant-based templates in the New Project dialog. For help migrating from Ant templates to Gradle templates, please see: Migrating Builds From Apache Ant (gradle.org)
  • Added support for building with NDK 23 and 24
  • Updated NDK component to the LTS version 23
  • Added vectorized implementations of ranges::min_element(), ranges::max_element(), and ranges::minmax_element()
  • We continue to track the latest developments in C++ standardization, support for the following C++ 23 features is available by including /std:c++latest in your compiler options
  • P2302 ranges::contains, ranges::contains_subrange
  • P2499 string_view Range Constructor Should Be explicit
  • Audio Cues:
  • We have added two additional audio cues in this preview. To enable the audio cues, go to Tools > Manage Preview Features, then check the "Enable audio cues for the Editor".
  • The two new audio cues will be played when the caret arrives on a line that has been added or deleted when viewing a file in the diff viewer. These audio cues are added to the error, breakpoint and warning audio cues that were added in 17.3.
  • Markdown:
  • We have added a very early preview of our markdown editor for Visual Studio. To enable the markdown editor, go to Tools > Manage Preview Features, then check the "Markdown language service" option.
  • Once the feature is enabled, opening any .md file will open the new markdown editor in Visual Studio. To open the preview for the markdown, there is a Preview button at the bottom right of the editor (next to the Line and Column information).
  • This experience is a very early preview and we expect much of it to change. If you have feedback on the experience, please join the conversation here on Developer Community.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • There is a new Inline Rename UI that allows you to rename a type. Press Ctrl+R,R to bring up the new Inline Rename experience. Notice that the new UI will now show up under the type with an option to rename comments, strings, and symbol files.
  • There is now an option to disable Source Link and Embedded source. You can disable this in Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Advanced and deselect Enable navigation to Source Link and Embedded sources.
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • DataTable visualizer is now upgraded with new improvements like filtering, sorting, exporting, and theming.
  • To export the data export in CSV/Excel format use the dropdown on the top right corner.
  • The Visualizer will also allow you to filter data based desired filter string. It will return all the rows that contain a value that matches the filter string. You can also export the filtered and sorted results in CSV/Excel format.
  • The visualizer window will be themed as per your selected Visual Studio theme.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.19 (Sep 13, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • Made Resource View appear more reliably for projects that are reloaded
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2022-38013 .NET Denial of Service VulnerabilityA denial of service vulnerability exists in ASP.NET Core 3.1 and .NET 6.0 where a malicious client could cause a stack overflow which may result in a denial of service attack when an attacker sends a customized payload that is parsed during model binding.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.3.4 (Sep 13, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.3.4:
  • Stop issuing false positives for warning C4191.
  • This release fixes the following warning, "The value of the 'PublicKey' attribute in 'Microsoft .NET Framework 4.7.2 (x86 and x64)' does not match that of file 'C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft SDKsClickOnce BootstrapperPackagesDotNetFX472NDP472-KB4054530-x86-x64-AllOS-ENU.exe'. ", after publishing ClickOnce project in Visual Studio 17.3
  • Security Advisory:
  • CVE-2022-38013 .NET Denial of Service Vulnerability A denial of service vulnerability exists in ASP.NET Core 3.1 and .NET 6.0 where a malicious client could cause a stack overflow which may result in a denial of service attack when an attacker sends a customized payload that is parsed during model binding.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.3.3 (Aug 30, 2022)

  • Fixed an issue which would cause VS to hang when using rename in C# or VB.NET projects.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.3.2 (Aug 24, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.3.2:
  • Fixes the Toolbox -> Choose Items command when a non-English language is selected in Visual Studio.
  • The installer has been updated to handle internal dependencies that may be missing.
  • Invoking the Solution Explorer context menu will no longer cause VS to be unresponsive.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Feature unavailable due to an internal error
  • Live Unit Testing - Link to code in the body when test is a failure links to the file in the lut instead of the original file
  • VsixSignTool fails in pipeline with error code 80070020.
  • Error when publishing function app

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.3.1 (Aug 16, 2022)

  • Type less, code more:
  • IntelliCode is a powerful set of automatic code completion tools that understand your code context: variable names, functions, and the type of code you’re writing. This means that IntelliCode is able to complete up to a whole line at once, helping you code more accurately and confidently.
  • Develop apps faster:
  • Hot Reload for .NET and C++ will save you time. Just make a change, and Hot Reload applies your edits to the running app so you can see them. Immediately. Without stopping to rebuild.
  • Scales to any project:
  • Visual Studio 2022 is the best Visual Studio ever. Our first 64-bit IDE makes it easier to work with even bigger projects and more complex workloads. The stuff you do every day—like typing code and switching branches—feels more fluid more responsive. And out-of-memory errors? They’re about to be a distant memory.
  • Find and fix bugs fast:
  • Debugging isn’t your favorite part? It might be now. The built-in debugger in Visual Studio 2022 is now even smarter. You’ve got more power than ever to:
  • Tackle issues wherever your app is running—locally, on a device, a remote server, or in Azure.
  • Use smart breakpoints to pause and manage execution to inspect bugs.
  • Jump back to specific lines of code—no need to restart sessions or manually recreate your app’s state.
  • Designed for everyone:
  • Visual Studio 2022 reflects our broader commitment to an excellent experience for all developers with updated icons, a new dark theme, and a focus mode that reduces distractions. Plus: more control over fine-tuning your workspace, including your layout, fonts, themes, icons, menus, custom notifications, and update schedule.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.18 (Aug 10, 2022)

  • From Developer Community:
  • Coded UI in VS2019 - VS crashing when opening and/or expanding UI maps
  • Launching multiple startup projects fails with the error message
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2022-34716 .NET Information Disclosure Vulnerability An information disclosure vulnerability exists in .NET 6.0 and .NET Core 3.1 that could lead to unauthorized access of privileged information.
  • CVE-2022-31012 Remote Code Execution Git for Windows' installer can be tricked into executing an untrusted binary
  • CVE-2022-29187 Elevation of Privilege Malicious users can create a .git directory in a folder that is owned by a super-user
  • CVE-2022-35777 Remote Code Execution Visual Studio 2022 Preview Fbx File parser Heap overflow Vulnerability
  • CVE-2022-35825 Remote Code Execution Visual Studio 2022 Preview Fbx File parser OOBW Vulnerability
  • CVE-2022-35826 Remote Code Execution Visual Studio 2022 Preview Fbx File parser Heap overflow Vulnerability
  • CVE-2022-35827 Remote Code Execution Visual Studio 2022 Preview Fbx File parser Heap OOBW Vulnerability

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.4 Preview 1 (Aug 10, 2022)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.4 Preview 1:
  • Installation and Updates:
  • The Visual Studio installer that's debuting in this Visual Studio 2022 version 17.4 Preview 1 includes two new features: Rollback and Remove out-of-support components
  • The first feature included with the Visual Studio installer is Rollback – the ability to return to your previously installed version of Visual Studio.
  • What will happen?
  • Rolling back will return Visual Studio to the version installed prior to the last applied update. It will keep any modifications to selected components chosen since that last update. Local customizations such as your user settings and profiles will be removed. However, your common synchronized settings such as themes, fonts, key bindings, and windows layout will be restored.
  • As of now, you will be able to rollback to components that come with the VS instance and shared components such as SDKs and tools that are owned and managed only by VS. Per-machine extensions, system-wide components, and tools that are not managed by Visual Studio will remain in their current versions. However, per-user extensions will be uninstalled. Please refer to section “Components that are compatible” below for more information.
  • What will happen to my security updates?
  • Security updates that are included in a release greater than the version you rolled back to will be removed which could make your device vulnerable. We recommend always updating back soon to the latest version to stay secure.
  • Which versions support rollback?
  • You will be able to test the Rollback feature using the latest Visual Studio 2022 Preview version (17.4 P1).
  • Components that are compatible
  • The following table outlines the type of components that are supported with the rollback feature. As a general rule of thumb, components that VS installs, and uses are included in the rollback attempt.
  • RollbackComp:
  • Can I rollback if I am in a managed environment?
  • Due to your organizational policies and the requirement to be on the most secure version, your rollback attempt might be undone. We recommend that you be on the preview channel to test this feature out.
  • How can I Rollback?
  • You should be seeing “Rollback to previous version” from the More dropdown button on a product card after an update.
  • RollbackHow:
  • From there, a warning pop up will appear and you will have the option to either cancel or proceed.
  • RollbackWarning:
  • Let us know your thoughts!
  • We would love to get your feedback on the rollback feature, so please give it a try and let us know what you think. You can share any feedback by visiting https://aka.ms/DeveloperCommunity-RollbackFeedback.
  • The second new feature included with the Visual Studio installer is the ability to easily remove all of the components that have transitioned to an out-of-support state. Both Developers and IT administrators can invoke this action to bulk uninstall these unsupported components, which will facilitate maintaining a secure and compliant environment. Part of this feature is being delivered in Preview 1, and the rest will come online with Preview 2. For additional details on the Preview, please visit the RemoveOos preview details and feedback page.
  • Git Tooling:
  • Introduced the ability to un-track and ignore tracked Git files from both Solution Explorer and Git Changes tool windows
  • ignore and un-track from the Git Changes and Solution Explorer
  • Enhanced the user experiance of trusting single and multiple Git repositories by improving repository status and utilizing a new trust dialog. This enhancement addresses a recent Git security update that requires users to trust repositories owned by different users
  • Git branch switching performance enhancements. For more information read our VS2022 Performance Enhancements: Git Branch Switching Blog
  • .NET Productivity:
  • You can now easily view a file’s structure at a glance in the Document Outline window. The Document Outline window displays the symbol tree of the file in the editor helping you quickly navigate and edit project files. You can open Document Outline by going to View > Other Windows > Document Outline or by using the shortcut Ctrl+Alt+T.
  • Document Outline:
  • Arm64
  • This preview continues to build out our native Arm64 support on Windows 11. In addition to supporting .NET desktop development (WinForms and WPF), Desktop development with C++ (for MSBuild-based projects) and ASP.NET and Web development, we have now enabled the Universal Windows Platform development workload.
  • Read our blog post to learn more.
  • F#:
  • Tooltips for local functions now show argument names
  • Tooltips for local function arguments
  • C++:
  • Added an option "Navigation after Create Declaration/Definition" to allow you to choose the navigation behaviour of the Create Declaration/Definition feature. You can select between peeking (the default) or opening the document, or no navigation.
  • Arm64 builds of Visual Studio now bundle Arm64 versions of CMake and Ninja.
  • Added support for CMake Presets version 4. See the CMake release notes for details of what is available.
  • Connecting to remote systems with the Connection Manager now supports SSH ProxyJump, which is used to access a SSH host via another SSH host (for example, to access a host behind a firewall).
  • You can now use devcontainers for you cross platform C++ development with CMake. Just include a devcontainer.json file with your project just as you would for use with Visual Studio Code to enable the functionality. This is currently limited to C++ projects configured with CMakeLists.txt and CMakePresets.json.
  • Added integrations for vcpkg artifacts. vcpkg activate will be run in the background if a vcpkg-configuration.json file is found, and environment variables will be loaded for the new environment when it has completed.
  • We continue to track the latest developments in C++ standardization, support for the following C++ 23 features is available by including /std:c++latest in your compiler options
  • P0849R8 auto(x): decay-copy In The Language
  • The compiler part is not yet implemented; the library part was implemented in C++20 mode when Ranges were initially implemented.
  • P0881R7
  • P2301R1 Add A pmr Alias For std::stacktrace
  • P1328R1 constexpr type_info::operator==()
  • P2440R1 ranges::iota, ranges::shift_left, ranges::shift_right
  • P2441R2 views::join_with
  • Code Search and Navigation:
  • Introducing performance, reliability and UI enhancements to the All-In-One Search experience (Ctrl + Q). Now you can preview code and static images. As we continue to work on performance and reliability, there will temporarily be limitations in what results can be previewed.
  • You can enable All-In-One Search: Tools > Manage Preview Features > "New Visual Studio Search experience (restart required)".
  • Test tools:
  • Live Unit Testing now provides a button to reset all state. By going to Test > Live Unit Testing > Reset Live Unit Testing state for solution. Live Unit Testing Reset State
  • Live Unit Testing now supports Razor files.
  • Configuration:
  • Today we released the preview of the Visual Studio Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML). Right now, it's hard for IT admins to discover what all global policies exist for Visual Studio, and it’s equally hard for admins to integrate and manage these policies within commonly used IT Administration infrastructure and tools. The Visual Studio Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML) enable admins to easily discover, manage and control Visual Studio behaviors that are available to be governed by policy. Please find additional information and provide feedback on this Preview here.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Introduce the ability to roll back a Visual Studio Update
  • Easily remove all out-of-support components
  • Visual Studio Administrator Template (ADMX/ADML) Preview Feedback
  • Intellicode Suggestions sometimes makes it impossible to type code (C#)

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.3 (Aug 10, 2022)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.3:
  • MAUI workload GA Build
  • MAUI/Blazor CSS Hot Reload support
  • You'll now be able to try out a selection of new features in Visual Studio with each update, using our What's New feature.
  • Select each feature to learn more about the particular feature.
  • What's New in Visual Studio:
  • Apple Developer Accounts:
  • This preview includes initial support for Individual AppStoreConnect accounts which are needed for non-Enterprise Apple Developers.
  • To add an Individual account, open ToolsOptions and then select the "Apple Accounts" item located in the Xamarin section. In the "Apple Accounts", click the "Add Account..." button and select "Add Individual Account" and enter the AppStoreConnect API Key information.
  • Once the account is created, certificates and provisioning profiles can be accessed via the "View Details" button.
  • Known Issues:
  • Automatic Provisioning may not work correctly for Individual accounts in some cases. To work around this, follow the instructions for manual provisioning.
  • Audio Cues in the Editor:
  • We've introduced new audio cues in the Visual Studio editor. When enabled, Visual Studio will play sounds when the editing caret arrives on a line with a breakpoint, an error or a warning. By default, Visual Studio uses the same sounds as Visual Studio Code, but these sounds can be configured to the user's preference.
  • To enable audio cues, head to ToolsOptions and look for "Preview Features" under Environment. In the Preview Features, the new option is "Enable Audio Cues for the editor". If it's checked, the next time Visual Studio is started, the sounds will play.
  • To configure individual audio cues, tap the Windows key in either Windows 10 or Windows 11 and search for "Change system sounds". Under the Program Events, look for the "Microsoft Visual Studio" node in the Program Events tree. The new events are "Line has Breakpoint", "Line has Error" and "Line has Warning". This can be used to customize or disable individual sounds.
  • Git Tooling:
  • Line-staging support, a.k.a interactive staging with the ability to stage specific lines and/or chunks of code right from the editor and the diff view. To get started, stage one of your recent changes by selecting the corresponding color margin and utilizing the Peek Difference UI to stage your change.
  • C++:
  • The Arm64EC toolchain is no longer marked as experimental and is ready for production use.
  • The Visual Studio Terminal can now be used as an SSH client with your stored SSH connections. With the C++ for Linux Tools installed, open the Terminal tool window and the Terminal dropdown will be populated with your stored connections. If selected, they will open a new Terminal window inside Visual Studio and a pseudoterminal on your remote system. Control characters, colors, and cursor positional awareness are all supported.
  • Go to Definition will now remember the prior signature and navigate accordingly when a better match is not available (e.g. after you manually changed the signature of one of the pair).
  • Improved responsiveness of Go To All. Previously, results appeared after you stopped typing. In the new experience, results will show as you type.
  • In contexts requiring enum type completion (e.g. assignments to enum variables, case labels, returning enum type, etc.) the autocompletion list will now be filtered to just the matching enumerators and related constructs.
  • Added NuGet PackageReference support for C++/CLI MSBuild projects targeting .NET Core. This change was made to unblock mixed codebases from being able to adopt .NET Core. This does not work for other C++ project types or any C++ project types targeting .NET Framework. There are no plans to extend PackageReference support to additional C++ scenarios as the team is working on separate experiences involving vcpkg which will work for non-MSBuild scenarios and add additional functionality.
  • Added a Serial Monitor window for embedded development, available through Debug > Windows > Serial Monitor.
  • Improved C++ indexing by ~66% compared to 17.2.
  • Updated the version of CMake shipped with Visual Studio to version 3.23. See the CMake 3.23 release notes for details of what is available.
  • Upgraded the versions of LLVM tools shipped with Visual Studio to v14. See the LLVM and Clang release notes for details of what is available.
  • Updated the side by side Dev 16.11 C++ Toolset to version 14.29.30145.00. The latest version of the Dev 16.11 C++ Toolset contains important bug fixes, including fixing all remaining C++20 defect reports. For information about bug fixes, including C++20 defect reports in Dev 16.11, please see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/releases/2019/release-notes#16.11.14
  • We have made various improvements to the in-editor experience of C++ modules. "we're continuously working on improving the quality of the experience but encourage you to try in 17.3 and report remaining issues through Developer Community.
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • Diagnostics Analysis tools now include an analyzer that lists the unique call stacks in a memory dump along with the threads executing them.
  • IEnumerable visualizers now support data export in CSV format. Just use the dropdown on the top right corner and select CSV.The Visualizer will also allow you to filter data based desired filter string. The Visualizer will return all the rows that contain a value that matches the filter string. You can also export the filtered and sorted results in CSV/Excel format.
  • We also added the themeing support for IEnumerable and DataTable/DataSet visualizer, so both of these visualizer window are themed for Visual Studio’s dark, light and blue theme.
  • Starting 17.3 preview 3 debugger will automatically reload pervious decompiled artifacts like symbols and PDB files. If you choose to decompile at any previous session the artifacts will automatically be reloaded for all the next sessions and will get you to the decompiled sources faster in External Sources node. This will still honor your JMC settings.
  • Debugger now provides a new option to disable the load of NGEN or ready to load (RDR) images for managed code. You can change the settings under Tools > Options> Debugging > General > Prevent using precompiled images on module load or you can also easily search the settings using any of the keyword in the Visual Studio search bar.
  • You will now see the Exception stack frames inside the Call Stack window, so for all async exceptions, you can quickly load symbols or locate sources and go directly to the site of the exception. Exception stack frames inside the Call Stack window will provide functionalities of the actual call stack.Features like automatic navigation, quickly switching back and forth between frames, and symbol load / decompile options to get back to the source code where the exception was thrown.
  • General:
  • GitHub accounts now roam across machines when signing in on a new machine with the same personalization account (account shown in the top left of the account settings dialog).
  • Installer:
  • You can now update all side-by-side versions of Visual Studio with an “Update all” button on the installer.
  • Microsoft Teams Development Tools (Teams Toolkit):
  • The Microsoft Teams App project template has been improved and now creates various types of Teams app, including notification bot, command bot, tab app and message extensions. You can now create and debug various Microsoft Teams App using Teams Toolkit for Visual Studio.
  • We recommend creating a new project using the updated template for any existing Teams Apps you've created with previous versions of the Teams Toolkit.
  • You can now choose when to sign-in with your M365 identity and register Teams app resources using the Project > Teams Toolkit > Prepare Teams App Dependencies menu option.
  • Prepare Teams App Dependencies will register the Teams app and Bot for your Teams project.
  • Updates to the manifest.template.json files can be synchronized with Teams Developer Portal for local debug by selecting "Prepare Teams App Dependencies" menu option again at any time.
  • Updates to the manifest.template.json files can be synchronized with Teams Developer Portal for remote preview by selecting Project > Teams Toolkit > Update Manifest in Teams Developer Portal menu option.
  • You can preview manifest file before synchronization by right click manifest.template.json file and use Preview Manifest File menu option.
  • Use the Project > Teams Toolkit > Provision in the Cloud menu to create resources in an Azure subscription.
  • Use the Project > Teams Toolkit > Deploy to the Cloud menu to publish code to those resources.
  • You can open Teams app remotely in a browser that are created from the Provision menu using the Preview Teams app menu.
  • You can zip the Teams app and generate app package by select Project > Teams Toolkit > Zip App Package menu option for sharing and uploading purpose.
  • You can find all Teams Toolkit menu options by right click on the Teams app project, they are the same as the Project > Teams Toolkit menu.
  • Learn more about Teams Toolkit at https://aka.ms/teams-toolkit-vs-docs
  • .NET Productivity:
  • In C# 10 we introduced Global Usings. Global Usings adds usings to the top of a file invisibly and automatically. We now surface an icon at the top of your file to let you know if Global Usings are active in your file and if you click on the icon, it will show you what those Global Usings are. Global Usings
  • Peek Definition now supports source link, embedded source, and decompiled sources. Peek Definition
  • We added the following three options for collapsing and outlining views on file open:
  • Collapse #regions on file open
  • Collapse usings on file open
  • Collapse implementations from metadata on file open
  • You can now apply Fix All to both the Use expression body or block body and Convert to raw string literal refactoring.
  • We now have a code fix that fixes invalid constraints. Place your cursor on the diagnostic squiggle in the editor. Press Ctrl+. to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Fix constraint. Fix Constraint
  • We now have a refactoring that allows you to switch between top-level statements and the Program.Main style. Place your cursor on a top-level statement. Press Ctrl+. to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Convert to ‘Program.Main’ style program. Convert to Program.Main refactoring
  • We added additional scopes to the Fix All operation. In addition to applying the Fix All operation to a Document, Project, and Solution, you can apply Fix All to a Containing Member and Containing Type. Fix All Containing Members and Containing Types
  • We now automatically convert single line comments to doc comments when you add an additional forward slash to a single line comment.
  • We now have a code style option that allows you to warn on possible exceptions in a foreach loop. Foreach loops implicitly casts to derived types by design. This was necessary before generics existed but can lead to runtime exceptions in some cases.
  • Personalization:
  • Document management capabilities have been updated. Read our blog post to learn more.
  • These features include:
  • Tabs arranged in multiple rows.
  • Restore recent document.
  • Modified dirty indicator.
  • Dropdown shows names of invisible docs in italics.
  • Razor (ASP.NET Core) Editor:
  • The new Razor editor now has full completion support inside of an <attribute>.
  • The new Razor editor now correctly handles completion for HTML attributes when typing = “ ”.
  • The new Razor editor now support HTML, JavaScript, and CSS OnTypeFormatting.
  • Test tools:
  • Parallel Discovery is now enabled by default when running tests from the Test Explorer. This enables Visual Studio to use available cores to discover tests in parallel and reduce the time to see tests in the Test Explorer.
  • The Live Unit Testing window now has a status bar, similar to the Test Explorer. This should give you better insight on the operations ongoing in Live Unit Testing as well as visibly surface errors. Live Unit Testing Status Bar
  • vstest.console now supports running assemblies of different target platforms and target frameworks in one request.
  • Code Coverage now has a cache for static instrumentation for better performance.
  • Microsoft.CodeCoverage.Console is now added to the command line tools.
  • The default architecture for AnyCPU .NET Framework test projects changed from x86 to x64. This change unifies how the default architecture is determined across all types of test projects to be always based on the architecture of Visual Studio. Meaning that in x64 version of VisualStudio, x64 will be used, and in future ARM64 VisualStudio, ARM64 will be used. The same rule also applies to dotnet test, and vstest.console. To revert to using x86, navigate to Test > Processor Architecture for AnyCPU projects > x86
  • Remote Testing now supports test runs against remote arm64 windows environments.
  • The new build experience for [Live Unit Testing] is now enabled by default. Read our blog post to learn more.
  • You can now choose to see code coverage information on the editor margin by selecting "Margin Glyphs" in the Code Coverage Results window. Convert to raw string
  • Live Unit Testing now provides a button to reset all state. By going to Test > Live Unit Testing > Reset Live Unit Testing state for solution. Live Unit Testing Reset State
  • Live Unit Testing now supports Razor files.
  • TypeScript and JavaScript Development:
  • JavaScript and TypeScript files projects are now excluded from program analysis unless they are referenced by a tsconfig.json or jsconfig.json file. The result should be improved performance in large projects with lots of TypeScript and JavaScript files.
  • JavaScript (.esproj) projects that are referenced from an ASP.NET project now provide an option to include production build output in ASP.NET project publishing.
  • The TypeScript 4.7 language service and compiler are included in Visual Studio. See the TypeScript 4.7 announcement blog post for more.
  • The new multi-target JavaScript debugger is now used by default in Node.js (.njsproj) projects.
  • Auto-closing HTML tags in JavaScript and TypeScript React (.jsx/.tsx) files.
  • Fixed an issue where Automatic Type Acquisition (ATA) did not work when the default TypeScript language server is selected.
  • Fixed an issue where the dependencies node in Node.js (.njsproj) projects showed indirect dependencies when packages are restored using npm 7 or greater.
  • Security Advisory:
  • CVE-2022-34716 .NET Spoofing Vulnerability External Entity Injection during XML signature verification
  • CVE-2022-31012 Remote Code Execution Git for Windows' installer can be tricked into executing an untrusted binary
  • CVE-2022-29187 Elevation of Privilege Malicious users can create a .git directory in a folder that is owned by a super-user
  • CVE-2022-35777 Remote Code Execution Visual Studio 2022 Preview Fbx File parser Heap overflow Vulnerability
  • CVE-2022-35825 Remote Code Execution Visual Studio 2022 Preview Fbx File parser OOBW Vulnerability
  • CVE-2022-35826 Remote Code Execution Visual Studio 2022 Preview Fbx File parser Heap overflow Vulnerability
  • CVE-2022-35827 Remote Code Execution Visual Studio 2022 Preview Fbx File parser Heap OOBW Vulnerability
  • From Developer Community:
  • search in cmake view doesnt filter files
  • "Go To Document" (F12) for C++ #include statements fails when using /external:I
  • Error: Value cannot be null. Parameter name: path1
  • devenv crashes while debugging
  • Adding strings to resx file pops a modal error dialog
  • Add include quick-action adds header along INCLUDES <> path rather than relative header via ""
  • Outlining collapses code AFTER user navigates to it via search results item or go-to-definition, etc.
  • Tried to Hot Reload a .NET MAUI Blazor app and got an exception
  • Pasted Comments Indentation Issue
  • VS2019 standard exception headers: warning C5240: 'nodiscard': attribute is ignored in this syntactic position
  • C6389 false positive on main etc
  • XAML design mode in Blend 2019 (previously reported and closed)
  • Visual Studio 2022 : Double Clicking on solution file in the Source Control Explorer opens the sln file as plain text
  • Light Bulb Suggestion "Encode image in base64" Missing in Visual Studio 2022 CSHTML editor
  • CSS editor says ::deep is not a valid pseudo-element
  • After an install of 17.1.0 Preview 1.1, the IDE fails to launch with the following dialogs. Uninstalling and reinstalling fail to resolve.
  • The “CompareBuildTaskVersion” task could not be loaded from the assembly
  • MsBuild doesn't give /delayload flags to linker when using LLVM toolchain
  • env in launch.vs.json doesn't work for native
  • Support ::deep in .razor.css CSS isolation files to avoid validation warnings in the log
  • Blend 2022 'visual studio xml editor package' package did not load correctly'.
  • Code coverage not generating results with visualstudio2022testagent
  • The selected certificate is not valid for code signing
  • Project options parameter values are retained in the same instance rather than resetting after the project creation
  • .Net Async profiler tool doesn't show anything
  • spacing fix-up A && B -> A&& B
  • Git no longer supports 'preserve-merges', stop offering that option
  • After fresh install of Visual Studio 2022 Version 17.1 "devenv.exe" does not start.
  • PreFAST: integer status code works, class-holding-integer status code does not
  • Unable to add Windows Application Packaging Project to Xamarin Forms Solution in Visual Studio Community 2022
  • PreFAST: Incorrect Build break - error C2036: 'intarr (*)': unknown size
  • JSON Visualizer confused by array containing numbers with decimal point
  • Inline hints experience is very poor.
  • RequestExecutionQueue fails to dispose of a linked CancellationTokenSource
  • create app packages crashes visual studio with no info as to why
  • HTTP Configuration loaded as HTTPS configuration in Blazor Server Project
  • Visual Studio hangs when trying to do a renaming of classes
  • Syntax highlighting for variables/functions with keyword as name
  • IDE freezes when building a .NET 6 project
  • 'git' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
  • DkmCustomUIVisualizerInfo and random order in context menu
  • Can't run .NET MAUI project after adding it to a solution and setting it as the startup project
  • Visual studio 2022 hangs when pasting in files or adding new files
  • Autocompletion does not work with macro. (Visual Studio 2022 17.1)
  • Continuous high CPU usage by Microsoft.ServiceHub.Controller.exe
  • Crash of process devenv.exe System.NullReferenceException
  • VS 2022 crash on file rename in Solution Explorer
  • Format Document doesn't work on fxh
  • Breakpoints are not being hit when debugging Xamarin application in Visual Studio 2022
  • Generating a CMake cache using CMakePresets.json deletes folder content
  • Go To Files doesn't show files inside folders when using "Show all files"
  • Visual Studio should update Entitlements.plist when checking Health Kit option
  • What is new is causing a goldbar on startup for performance
  • MSIX Signing Extension Requires Basic Constraint extension but signtool.exe does not
  • CSS validation warnings displayed for scrollbar-width and scrollbar-color
  • Visual Studio 2022 crashes when selection "Select from Store" button
  • Hot Reload not working on real iOS device
  • Incorrect inheritance processing in CMakePreset.json
  • Installer UI inaccurately shows "All installations are up to date"
  • After using "Update All" button, all three instances show as up-to-date, but gray bar at the top still shows "Updating..."
  • .NET Maui C# hot reload not working (Windows + Android apps)
  • During debugging "Diagnostic Tools" setting failed with message: "Scratch directory does not exist!"
  • New project dialog crashes VS
  • Android SDK Manager and Device Manager not working
  • Create a pull request from Git Changes Tab
  • Property Window for XAML file for Xamarin Project is showing blank
  • (CMake): Consecutive configures will sometimes delete the cache beforehand
  • After recent VS 2022 preview 5.0 and as well as v6.0, I no longer can open the Web browser to create PR from the Git changes window
  • Live Unit Testing fails to start due to modified collection in HostedLiveUnitTestingCommands.GetOrchestratorActivityStateWhenRunningAsync
  • 1634213 - Pair To Mac fails with net6 when using external authenticated NuGet package sources
  • 10020587 - Pair to mac fails with MAUI RC1 since it requires .NET SDK 6.0.3
  • Can't Sign In When Reporting a Problem from Visual Studio Installer
  • After upgrading to VS2022, ARM64 crashing on item enumeration
  • Incorrect intellisense diagnostic for class template argument deduction involving variadic templates
  • Handle errors when opening SSRS projects under TFS
  • Compile Errors Appearing with the New Version
  • Xaml Designer System.NullReferenceException
  • EnvDTE.Solution.TemplatePath returns the wrong value in Visual Studio 17.3
  • A valid provisioning profile for this executable was not found
  • Xaml Designer System.NullReferenceException
  • Restoring a nuget package from a private devops feed fails with 401 in Visual Studio 2022 (17.2.4).
  • Publish can never confirm if the application started
  • Access Violation in KernelBase.dll!WriteFile while loading symbols
  • Visual distinction between downloaded/not downloaded items is awful in Source Control Explorer
  • WPF: Create Data Binding dialog freezes when adding value converter
  • Unable to create controller and view

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.3 Preview 6 (Aug 2, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.3 Preview 6:
  • Hot restart failed with warning "Xamarin.iOS does not support running or debugging the previous built version of your project"
  • Users debugging iOS applications in VS using the remote simulator will be able to continue debugging after the first time without the sessions being wrongly terminated.
  • NuGet authentication improvements when using Azure Artifacts feeds to reduce HTTP 401 unauthorized errors.
  • Xamarin Hot Restart now supports Individual Apple Developer Portal accounts.
  • Resolved a problem with Xamarin.iOS where the build would fail with error: "iOS code signing key '***' not found in keychain."
  • Fixed a regression in the signed in user's personalization profile when running on Windows 7 support.
  • Fixed an issue where under certain circumstances, publish to Azure App Service was reporting failure even though it had actually succeeded.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.3 Preview 5 (Jul 27, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.3 Preview 5:
  • Fixed a crash in the dialog that prompts users to sign in on first launch and when an upgrade requires an account to be reauthenticated.
  • Updated the side by side Dev 16.11 C++ Toolset to version 14.29.30145.00. The latest version of the Dev 16.11 C++ Toolset contains important bug fixes, including fixing all remaining C++20 defect reports. For information about bug fixes, including C++20 defect reports in Dev 16.11, please see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/releases/2019/release-notes#16.11.14

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.3 Preview 4 (Jul 20, 2022)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.3 Preview 4:
  • .NET MAUI Servicing Updates
  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.3 Preview 4:
  • Fix for an issue causing WinForms designer launch to fail for .NET projects on ARM64 machines.
  • Fixes the contrast between the background color and a hyperlink in a dialog.
  • Improve translation of text in first launch sign in dialog.
  • Fixed a bug where Top Insights in the CPU Usage tool were not being localized
  • Known Issues in 17.3 Preview 4:
  • From Developer Community:
  • Visual distinction between downloaded/not downloaded items is awful in Source Control Explorer
  • WPF: Create Data Binding dialog freezes when adding value converter
  • Unable to create controller and view

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.17 (Jul 13, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • Updated LibraryManager to accommodate changes to cdnjs API
  • From Developer Community:
  • Crash with ASAN and setmaxstdio

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.3 Preview 3 (Jul 13, 2022)

  • C++:
  • Upgraded the versions of LLVM tools shipped with Visual Studio to v14. See the LLVM and Clang release notes for details of what is available.
  • Microsoft Teams Development Tools (Teams Toolkit):
  • The Microsoft Teams App project template has been improved and now creates various types of Teams app, including notification bot, command bot, tab app and message extensions. You can now create and debug various Microsoft Teams App using Teams Toolkit for Visual Studio.
  • We recommend creating a new project using the updated template for any existing Teams Apps you've created with previous versions of the Teams Toolkit.
  • You can now choose when to sign-in with your M365 identity and register Teams app resources using the Project > Teams Toolkit > Prepare Teams App Dependencies menu option.
  • Prepare Teams App Dependencies will register the Teams app and Bot for your Teams project.
  • Updates to the manifest.template.json files can be synchronized with Teams Developer Portal for local debug by selecting "Prepare Teams App Dependencies" menu option again at any time.
  • Updates to the manifest.template.json files can be synchronized with Teams Developer Portal for remote preview by selecting Project > Teams Toolkit > Update Manifest in Teams Developer Portal menu option.
  • You can preview manifest file before synchronization by right click manifest.template.json file and use Preview Manifest File menu option.
  • Use the Project > Teams Toolkit > Provision in the Cloud menu to create resources in an Azure subscription.
  • Use the Project > Teams Toolkit > Deploy to the Cloud menu to publish code to those resources.
  • You can open Teams app remotely in a browser that are created from the Provision menu using the Preview Teams app menu.
  • You can zip the Teams app and generate app package by select Project > Teams Toolkit > Zip App Package menu option for sharing and uploading purpose.
  • You can find all Teams Toolkit menu options by right click on the Teams app project, they are the same as the Project > Teams Toolkit menu.
  • Learn more about Teams Toolkit at https://aka.ms/teams-toolkit-vs-docs
  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.3 Preview :
  • Support for native external data source is added. For more information about native external data source, see the documentation.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.2.6 (Jul 12, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • Removed authorization telemetry that was in some cases causing Visual Studio to show meaningless OS sign-in dialog during launch.
  • Updated LibraryManager to accommodate changes to cdnjs API
  • Fixed an issue that caused intelli-sense to stop working when an F# project was re-opened in the same edit session.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.2.5 (Jun 22, 2022)

  • Fixed bug in VC++ Runtime with broken links for MFC OLE Linking/Embedding Containers
  • Fixed an issue where a SxS install of VS2022 and VS2015 (or older) causes VS to fail scanning for extensions.
  • Improved validation of container names when provisioning Azure Container Apps.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.16 (Jun 15, 2022)

  • From Developer Community:
  • IntelliSense issues with C++ on VS 2019 v16.11.6 or newer, including VS 2022 17.0.5, 17.0.6 and 17.1.0
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2022-30184 .NET Information Disclosure Vulnerability A vulnerability exists in .NET 6.0 and .NET Core 3.1 within NuGet where a credential leak can occur.
  • CVE-2022-24513 Elevation of privilege vulnerability A potential elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Microsoft Visual Studio updater service improperly parses local configuration data.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.3 Preview 2 (Jun 15, 2022)

  • Apple Developer Accounts:
  • This preview includes initial support for Individual AppStoreConnect accounts which are needed for non-Enterprise Apple Developers.
  • To add an Individual account, open ToolsOptions and then select the "Apple Accounts" item located in the Xamarin section. In the "Apple Accounts", click the "Add Account..." button and select "Add Individual Account" and enter the AppStoreConnect API Key information.
  • Once the account is created, certificates and provisioning profiles can be accessed via the "View Details" button.
  • Known Issues:
  • Automatic Provisioning may not work correctly for Individual accounts in some cases. To work around this, follow the instructions for manual provisioning.
  • Arm64:
  • This preview includes native Arm64 support on Windows 11! This will be the first version of Visual Studio that will natively support building and debugging Arm64 apps on Arm-based processors. We will initially support:
  • Desktop development with C++ (for MSBuild-based projects)
  • .NET desktop development (WinForms, WPF)
  • ASP.NET and Web development
  • Audio Cues in the Editor:
  • We've introduced new audio cues in the Visual Studio editor. When enabled, Visual Studio will play sounds when the editing caret arrives on a line with a breakpoint, an error or a warning. By default, Visual Studio uses the same sounds as Visual Studio Code, but these sounds can be configured to the user's preference.
  • To enable audio cues, head to ToolsOptions and look for "Preview Features" under Environment. In the Preview Features, the new option is "Enable Audio Cues for the editor". If it's checked, the next time Visual Studio is started, the sounds will play.
  • To configure individual audio cues, tap the Windows key in either Windows 10 or Windows 11 and search for "Change system sounds". Under the Program Events, look for the "Microsoft Visual Studio" node in the Program Events tree. The new events are "Line has Breakpoint", "Line has Error" and "Line has Warning". This can be used to customize or disable individual sounds.
  • C++:
  • The ARM64EC toolchain is no longer marked as experimental and is available for production development
  • The Visual Studio Terminal can now be used as an SSH client with your stored SSH connections. With the C++ for Linux Tools installed, open the Terminal tool window and the Terminal dropdown will be populated with your stored connections. If selected, they will open a new Terminal window inside Visual Studio and a pseudoterminal on your remote system. Control characters, colors, and cursor positional awareness are all supported.
  • Go to Definition will now remember the prior signature and navigate accordingly when a better match is not available (e.g. after you manually changed the signature of one of the pair).
  • In contexts requiring enum type completion (e.g. assignments to enum variables, case labels, returning enum type, etc.) the autocompletion list will now be filtered to just the matching enumerators and related constructs.
  • Added NuGet PackageReference support for C++/CLI MSBuild projects targeting .NET Core. This change was made to unblock mixed codebases from being able to adopt .NET Core. This does not work for other C++ project types or any C++ project types targeting .NET Framework. There are no plans to extend PackageReference support to additional C++ scenarios as the team is working on separate experiences involving vcpkg which will work for non-MSBuild scenarios and add additional functionality.
  • Updated the version of CMake shipped with Visual Studio to version 3.23. See the CMake 3.23 release notes for details of what is available.
  • Added a Serial Monitor window for embedded development, available through Debug > Windows > Serial Monitor.
  • Improved IntelliSense C++ indexing by ~66%
  • Code Search and Navigation:
  • This preview introduces the ability to not only preview your code search results, but also make edits to your code all within the new All-In-One Search UI. Use Ctrl+t or Ctrl+, to launch the All-In-One Search UI. Then use the panel toggles located in the top right hand of the window to enable or disable code preview configurations.
  • Test tools:
  • Parallel Discovery is now enabled by default when running tests from the Test Explorer. This enables Visual Studio to use available cores to discover tests in parallel and reduce the time to see tests in the Test Explorer.
  • The Live Unit Testing window now has a status bar, similar to the Test Explorer. This should give you better insight on the operations ongoing in Live Unit Testing as well as visibly surface errors.
  • vstest.console now supports running assemblies of different target platforms and target frameworks in one request.
  • Code Coverage now has a cache for static instrumentation for better performance.
  • Microsoft.CodeCoverage.Console is now added to the command line tools.
  • The default architecture for AnyCPU .NET Framework test projects changed from x86 to x64. This change unifies how the default architecture is determined across all types of test projects to be always based on the architecture of Visual Studio. Meaning that in x64 version of VisualStudio, x64 will be used, and in future ARM64 VisualStudio, ARM64 will be used. The same rule also applies to dotnet test, and vstest.console. To revert to using x86, navigate to Test > Processor Architecture for AnyCPU projects > x86
  • .NET Productivity:
  • In C# 10 we introduced Global Usings. Global Usings adds usings to the top of a file invisibly and automatically. We now surface an icon at the top of your file to let you know if Global Usings are active in your file and if you click on the icon, it will show you what those Global Usings are.
  • Peek Definition now supports source link, embedded source, and decompiled sources.
  • We added the following three options for collapsing and outlining views on file open:
  • Collapse #regions on file open
  • Collapse usings on file open
  • Collapse implementations from metadata on file open
  • You can now apply Fix All to both the Use expression body or block body and Convert to raw string literal refactoring.
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • Diagnostics Analysis tools now include an analyzer that lists the unique call stacks in a memory dump along with the threads executing them.
  • General:
  • GitHub accounts now roam across machines when signing in on a new machine with the same personalization account (account shown in the top left of the account settings dialog).
  • TypeScript and JavaScript Development:
  • JavaScript and TypeScript files projects are now excluded from program analysis unless they are referenced by a tsconfig.json or jsconfig.json file. The result should be improved performance in large projects with lots of TypeScript and JavaScript files.
  • JavaScript (.esproj) projects that are referenced from an ASP.NET project now provide an option to include production build output in ASP.NET project publishing.
  • The TypeScript 4.7 language service and compiler are included in Visual Studio. See the TypeScript 4.7 announcement blog post for more.
  • The new multi-target JavaScript debugger is now used by default in Node.js (.njsproj) projects.
  • Auto-closing HTML tags in JavaScript and TypeScript React (.jsx/.tsx) files.
  • Fixed an issue where Automatic Type Acquisition (ATA) did not work when the default TypeScript language server is selected.
  • Fixed an issue where the dependencies node in Node.js (.njsproj) projects showed indirect dependencies when packages are restored using npm 7 or greater.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.2.4 (Jun 15, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.2.4:
  • Updated the side by side Dev 16.11 C++ Toolset to version 14.29.30145.00. The latest version of the Dev 16.11 C++ Toolset contains important bug fixes, including fixing all remaining C++20 defect reports. For information about bug fixes, including C++20 defect reports in Dev 16.11, please see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/releases/2019/release-notes#16.11.14
  • Fixed a Potential hang the first time a package is loaded (when we apply that package's settings via DTE.Properties) or in other scenarios that use DTE.Properties
  • From Developer Community:
  • Zero unit tests code coverage after updating VS 2022 tools to 17.2
  • Fixed an issue when the HostPath package fails with exit code 259, the exit code will be suppressed and reported as a warning, allowing Visual Studio setup to complete
  • Security Advisory:
  • CVE-2022-30184 .NET Information Disclosure Vulnerability A vulnerability exists in .NET 6.0 and .NET Core 3.1 within NuGet where a credential leak can occur.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.2.3 (Jun 1, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.2.3:
  • Adds the Windows SDK (10.0.22621) for Windows 11, version 22H2, as an optional component in the Visual Studio installer.
  • Resolved an issue where clicking "Create a Pull Request" wouldn't open the browser to the hosting provider's create pull request page.
  • Adds a notification when Git detects an unsafe repository that and allows marking the repository as safe.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Task Failed - Activating language client HtmlLanguageClient. VS 17.2.0.
  • Find In Files stopped working - The JSON-RPC connection with the remote party was lost before the request could complete
  • VS Tools for Unity: All Opened Files Get Closed When Saving
  • Visual Studio 2022 freezes when attempting source download to step into external library
  • VS 2022 ships outdated Azurite version

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.2.2 (May 25, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.2.2:
  • Fixed a crash in the Package and Publish wizard when working with WinUI projects that target the 1.1.0 version of the Windows App SDK.
  • From Developer Community:
  • iOS simulator black screen
  • GetSccFiles must be called on the UI thread
  • 17.2.0 no longer processes MsBuild variable values used in launchSettings.json
  • Visual Studio 2022 17.2.0 doesn't work with DirectX-Graphics-Samples repo

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.3 Preview 1.1 (May 23, 2022)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.3 Preview 1.1:
  • MAUI workload GA Build
  • MAUI/Blazor CSS Hot Reload support
  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.3 Preview 1.1:
  • 1634213 - Pair To Mac fails with net6 when using external authenticated NuGet package sources
  • 10020587 - Pair to mac fails with MAUI RC1 since it requires .NET SDK 6.0.3

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.15 (May 18, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • Fixed connections for Azure SQL Managed Instance in SQL Server Data Tools, including Schema Compare and SQL Server explorer. NoteSupport for Azure Arc enabled Managed Instance is pending a future release (In the Community)
  • From Developer Community:
  • Is SSDT Schema Compare broken for Azure DB Managed Instance connections?

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.2.1 (May 18, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.2.1:
  • Fixed false positive C26828 warnings on C++ enum types with overlapping values.
  • Fixed incorrect AddressSanitizer error reporting during scenarios where memory is allocated prior to ASAN initialization.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Managed C++ breaks on macro expansion with template deducing casts
  • MFC inconsistent annotationsC28301No annotations for first declaration of 'GetThisDispatchMap'

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.2.0 (May 11, 2022)

  • Installer:
  • For 17.2, we fixed an issue preventing customers from installing Visual Studio due to a GPO policy setting in the system registry. Visual Studio will now function the same way that WebView2 functions with regard to this installation.
  • Editor:
  • For 17.2, we have added a brand new global search experience to search for both code/symbols in you solution and features in Visual Studio that merges VS Search (Ctrl + Q) and Go To All (Ctrl + T). The new experience features a light-weight and dismissable UI, real-time symbol searching, nearly instant response times, powerful filtering mechanisms for files/types/members, and more! You can enable it Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features > "New Visual Studio Search experience".
  • Visual Studio can now automatically save code documents whenever the application loses focus. This feature can be accessed via Tools > Options > Environment > Document. If the "Autosave" option is checked, Visual Studio will attempt to save all dirty code documents whenever the Visual Studio application loses focus (e.g. when switching to another application in Windows).
  • C++:
  • In 17.1 we introduced peripheral register and rtos views for embedded developers. We are continuing to improve the capabilities of those views with usability improvements in 17.2. Users can now click a pin icon next to peripherals, registers, or fields to pin them the top of the Peripheral View.
  • Added compiler support for C++23 feature deducing this, available under the /std:c++latest flag.
  • Added inline parameter name and type hint support, toggled by pressing Alt+F1 or double-tapping Ctrl. This behavior can be customized under Tools > Options > Text Editors > C/C++ > IntelliSense.
  • Added experimental support for C++20 modules in CMake projects. This is currently only available with the Visual Studio (MSBuild) generator.
  • Added IntelliSense support for C++23 features deducing this and if consteval.
  • In 17.1 we introduced peripheral register and RTOS views for embedded developers. We are continuing to improve the capabilities of those views with usability improvements in 17.2:
  • The RTOS tool window is now hidden by default, this prevents showing a tool window with error messages that are not relevant when an RTOS is not being used.
  • When a user double clicks on an RTOS object in the tool window it adds a watch for the object.
  • When a user selects the stack pointer start/end values in the RTOS tool window it is opened in the memory window.
  • Thread awareness has been added for device targets for the call stack window.
  • Added implementaion of the remaining C++20 defect reports (a.k.a. backports). All C++20 features are now available under the /std:c++20 switch. For more information about the implemented backports, please see C++20 Defect Reports project on microsoft/STL GitHub repository and this blogpost
  • Added various C++23 Library featues, available under the /std:c++latest flag. For details about the new features, please refer to the STL Repo changelog
  • Improved performance of the initial C++ indexing by up to 20%, depending on the depth of the include graph.
  • Git Tooling:
  • Enhanced line staging experience by allowing stage line adornment to work in different diff modes (side by side, inline, left, right view).
  • Stage and Undo commands in peek toolbar now operate on the target hunk.
  • Added the ability to enable Git commit-graph for better history and Git operations performance.
  • Improved interactive staging by adding support for staging individual lines of code right from the editor and the diff view.
  • Enhanced the branch checkout experience, a.k.a branch switching by adding in more options and context for when there are un-committed changes.
  • Enhanced the detached HEAD experience by providing the option to keep or discard commits when switching to a branch.
  • Added an option to include license template when creating a new repository.
  • Line-staging support, a.k.a interactive staging with the ability to stage specific lines and/or chunks of code right from the editor and the diff view.
  • Azure DevOps connection detection enhancements making it easier to related work items to commits.
  • Visual Studio now consumes 64-bit Git for Windows.
  • Test tools:
  • You can now use a faster code coverage window with more flexible columns to organize and save your view. You can enable the code coverage experience improvements in Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features.
  • Remote Testing now supports test runs against remote arm64 windows environments.
  • Significant improvements across full functionality of Live Unit Testing are available under a preview feature flag including:
  • Supporting more solutions out-of-the-box than before
  • Better handling of large solutions
  • Better default behavior working with large test sets
  • Better cancellation abilities of test runs in progress
  • More configuration options with new Live Unit Testing wizard and Lutignore file
  • Enable this new Live Unit Testing build experience in Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features and read our blog post to learn more.
  • We are also previewing a more advanced test progress bar that includes more details on where the Test Explorer is in the test execution process with live updates.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • We now surface embedded source and Source Link as part of Go to Implementation if a referenced assembly has embedded source or Source Link. This allows you to navigate to the original source files that implement the target symbol.
  • In .NET 7 we added a new attribute called the StringSyntaxAttribute which will allow you to tell us what kind of data a string represents such as JSON, Regex, or DateTime. We added support for this attribute so you will get syntax highlighting for the new StringSyntaxAttribute for JSON.
  • We added a diagnostic message for the new JSON StringSyntaxAttribute when there is a misplaced string literal in an object literal to say that a colon is expected.
  • We now have a refactoring that wraps a collection of initializers for both Visual Basic and C#.
  • We now support embedded languages for the new C# 11 language feature raw string literals. To use raw string literals, set the language version in your project file to preview: <LangVersion>preview</LangVersion>.
  • Background Code Analysis now has more configuration options in Tools > Options allowing you to set the diagnostic scope to None in-order to turn off Background Code Analysis.
  • Code Cleanup now supports all code style options.
  • We added a new code fix for parameterless constructors inside of structs.
  • We added support for StringSyntaxAttribute so you will get syntax highlighting in Visual Studio based on the type of data that the string represents.
  • Quick Info will now display signatures of anonymous delegates.
  • Double clicking on inline parameter or type hints will now insert parameter or type names.
  • We added a new refactoring that removes unnecessary lambda expressions and calls the method group directly.
  • In C# 11 we added a new language feature called raw string literals. We now have a refactoring to convert a normal or verbatim string literal to a raw string literal.
  • NET Productivity:
  • There is a new change in the compiler to not allow parameterless constructors inside of structs. We added a new code fix that will automatically fix this.
  • In .NET 7.0 we added a new attribute called the StringSyntaxAttribute which will allow you to tell us what kind of data a string represents such as JSON, Regex, or DateTime. We added support for this so you will get syntax highlighting in Visual Studio based on the type of data that the string represents.
  • Double clicking on inline parameter or type hints will now insert parameter or type names.
  • We added a new refactoring that removes unnecessary lambda expressions and calls the method group directly. Place your cursor on an unnecessary lambda. Press Ctrl+. to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Remove unnecessary lambda expression.
  • In C# 11 we are adding a new language feature called raw string literals. We now have a refactoring to convert a normal or verbatim string literal to a raw string literal. To use raw string literals, set the language version in your project file to preview: <LangVersion>preview</LangVersion>. Place your cursor on a normal or verbatim string. Press Ctrl+. to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Convert to raw string.
  • Razor (ASP.NET Core) Editor:
  • The new Razor editor now shows you the colors inline for text document colors.
  • The new Razor editor now supports the ability to collapse regions.
  • The new Razor editor now supports the “wrap div” shortcut Shift+Alt+W.
  • IntelliCode:
  • For 17.1, IntelliCode started suggesting quick actions for C# based on a user's intent in the IntelliSense list. For 17.2, these are now shown as auto-suggested code that appears in the editor upon typing.
  • For 17.2, IntelliCode's suggestions for repeated edits also appear as auto-suggested code when the suggested edit only involves adding code. This applies to both edits that span single lines and multiple lines.
  • Container tools:
  • You can now add Docker Compose container orchestration support to an Azure Functions project and debug it locally.
  • We added .NET 7 support.
  • .NET Debugging with WSL:
  • Improved troubleshooting for configuration issues including an automated installation of WSL.
  • Service Fabric:
  • We added .NET 7 support
  • SQL Server Data Tools:
  • Added support for column-level encryption in SQL projects targeting in Azure Synapse Analytics.
  • Web Tools:
  • Creation of new Azure Function projects is now fully integrated into the general New Project dialog allowing you to pick and configure Azure Function triggers without the need for an additional dialog. You also get the option to create a dockerfile as part of the project creation. When further configuration through Connected Services is needed, the experience navigates you there and guides you through the rest of the steps.
  • You can now connect your application to PostgreSQL (Postgres - Official Image | Docker Hub), MongoDB (Mongo - Official Image | Docker Hub) and SQLite (Data Source=Sqllite.db) through the Connected Services experience
  • Warnings coming from scaffolded coded and its non-nullable properties will be hidden by default by adding the property "Nullable" with the value "annotions" in the corresponding .csproj file.
  • The Add Dependency dialog in Connected Services now features a search experience.
  • General:
  • Improved proxy support by detecting when users are behind a proxy and proactively prompting for credentials when Visual Studio needs to access online resources
  • Microsoft Teams development tools:
  • The Microsoft Teams App project template has been improved and now creates configuration files consistent with the teamsfx CLI, including the .fx folder.
  • We recommend creating a new project using the updated template for any existing Teams Apps you've created with previous versions of the Teams Toolkit.
  • We've removed account selection and automatic registration of Teams resources from the Microsoft Teams App project template.
  • You can now choose when to sign-in with your M365 identity and register app resources using the Project > Teams Toolkit > Configure Microsoft Teams App menu option.
  • Updates to the manifest.*.template.json files can be synchronized with Teams Developer Portal by selecting this menu item again at any time.
  • You can now create and debug Bots for Microsoft Teams.
  • Create a new project using the Microsoft Teams App project template and select the Bot capability.
  • Use the Project > Teams Toolkit > Configure Microsoft Teams app menu to register the app and Bot.
  • You can now create resources for Tabs and Bots in your Azure subscription.
  • Use the Project > Teams Toolkit > Provision in the Cloud menu to create resources in a subscription.
  • Use the Project > Teams Toolkit > Deploy to the Cloud menu to publish code to those resources.
  • You can open remotely hosted resources in a browser that are created from the Provision menu using the Preview Teams app menu.
  • Debugging & Diagnostics Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • We now support a new data visualizer to evaluate the IEnumerable interface implementations.
  • IEnumerable visualizer will help explore larger collections objects in tabular view.
  • We added support for Dependent Tracepoint.
  • Now you can set any breakpoint dependent on the tracepoint and vice versa.
  • If the breakpoint is dependent on tracepoint it hits only after the tracepoint is hit. (i.e., after the trace/log message is printed in the output window)
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • IEnumerable visualizer will help explore larger collections objects in a more streamlined way in the tabular/ data grid view.It supports IEnumerable collections where T can be simple types or complex types like dictionaries, encapsulated.
  • Whenever you have an IEnumerable code implementation, you will see a magnifying glass icon in the Value column of the Locals/ Watch window.You will also see the icon when you hover over a variable. Click the Icon, and you can access the IEnumerable visualizer.
  • You can use Hide columns to Hide duplicate data or expand columns to see more profound items in the complex data. Finally, you can Hide Childrens to get a more concise view of your data.
  • Issues Addressed in 17.2:
  • Fixed an issue where Account picker under "Azure Service Authentication" is broken and causes a restart of VS, and people using languages other than English were unable to pick a different account/add a new one for Azure Service Authentication.
  • This version of Visual Studio includes Win App SDK 1.0.3 see Windows App SDK release channels - Windows apps | Microsoft Docs for more details.
  • Fixed an issue where Solutions containing WiX projects crash on open.
  • Fixed an issue where Tooltips are not displayed properly on Daytona controls.
  • Updated the webview2 baseline in Daytona.
  • Fixed an issue where "Sync branch" would fail in the scenario where "local and remote branches have diverged" and "pull.rebase was unset".
  • Fixed issue where user building native C++ app targeting Android platform encounters build errors if workload "Mobile Development with .NET" is also installed.
  • Fixed a UI delay after Windows Forms .NET project load or build when Toolbox has not yet initialized.
  • Fixed missing bitwise enum warnings for some inputs.
  • Selecting "Load All Symbols" in the CPU Tool no longer causes blank lines to show in analysis.
  • IntelliSense is no longer extremely slow (taking almost a minute to respond) on a pattern used in the Vulkan SDK's C++ headers.
  • Addressed an issue that could pop up "CMake Integration" dialog and lead to CMake stop working after saving changes to your CMakeLists.txt.
  • Improved performance of build configuration switching with CMake projects
  • Improved performance when editing large Razor source files.
  • Fixed an issue in the CPU Usage Tool views where text was clipped by blue usage bars
  • Removed an incorrect message stating there are no top insights in the CPU Usage tool even when there are top insights.
  • Fixed a bug where "No insights found" message in CPU Usage tool was not properly localized
  • Fixed an issue preventing some customers from installing Visual Studio due to a GPO policy setting in the system registry. Visual Studio will now function the same way that WebView2 functions with regard to this installation.
  • Fixed issue ‘Unable to install any extension (vsix) for Visual Studio on an offline machine'.
  • Fixed the MonoToolchain and emsdk workload installation manifest.
  • From Developer Community:
  • CancellationToken's delay ignored in Xamarin.Android while using HttpClient
  • If I open a solution and then build it, and then expand test explorer I expect to see the tests in the list
  • Test explorer stuck "running" test
  • Error: Value cannot be null. Parameter name: path1
  • FO Bug Fix aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
  • There is a syntax error with the code hint for Intellicode
  • Stack Traces with depth between 21 and 23 in Test Explorer
  • x:Class Modifier in ResourceDictionary breaks auto completion support in VS when deployed as nuget package
  • WPF hot reload not available/working for one solution while it is for another one
  • Xamarin HotReload Caught exception in OnAfterSave
  • Go To Definition not working (but Peek Definition works)
  • Trying to open test log fails with file path too long
  • clang v13 ICE with /arch:AVX2
  • VS 2022 Hangs on Add new Item
  • "Show in Test Explorer" doesn't scroll the test case into view when the Test Explorer view is in "auto hide" mode
  • HasSharedItems is explicitly set to empty by VS causing AssignLinkMetadata to be skipped and fail shared projects builds
  • German translation: Buttons overlapping in hot reload message box
  • Publish: Unable to create publish profile PropertiesPublishProfilesAppService.pubxml
  • Tool crashes when using on a specific binary
  • 'git' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
  • Solution Loading Gives Error and Stops since 17.2 Preview 2
  • Property Window for XAML file for Xamarin Project is showing blank
  • Error LNK2013: BRANCH26 fixup overflow while linking ARM64EC binary
  • Compiler process gets stuck in infinite loop at 100% CPU load
  • ICE for variantclear analysis with pch in compiler version 17.2p2 (Office; 17.2)
  • Xamarin Visual Studio 2022: There was an error while loading your certificates
  • Internal compiler error in VS2022 17.2 preview2 targeting ARM
  • VS2022 XAML designer does not work when CopyLocal is false
  • Vulkan.hpp makes Intellisense slow in Visual Studio 2022
  • Bug when CMakeLists.txt in sub-directories (Unable to select CMakeLists.txt in root-folder)
  • ENC errors persist after successful build
  • SSDT schema compare fails for Azure SQL Managed Instance
  • NET MAUI iOS builds fail because Mac Agent does not install up to date MonoToolchain and emsdk workload manifests

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.3 Preview 1 (May 11, 2022)

  • Test tools:
  • Remote Testing now supports test runs against remote arm64 windows environments.
  • The new build experience for [Live Unit Testing] is now enabled by default. Read our blog post to learn more.
  • You can now choose to see code coverage information on the editor margin by selecting "Margin Glyphs" in the Code Coverage Results window. Convert to raw string
  • .NET Productivity:
  • We now have a code fix that fixes invalid constraints. Place your cursor on the diagnostic squiggle in the editor. Press Ctrl+. to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Fix constraint. Fix Constraint
  • We now have a refactoring that allows you to switch between top-level statements and the Program.Main style. Place your cursor on a top-level statement. Press Ctrl+. to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Convert to ‘Program.Main’ style program. Convert to Program.Main refactoring
  • We added additional scopes to the Fix All operation. In addition to applying the Fix All operation to a Document, Project, and Solution, you can apply Fix All to a Containing Member and Containing Type. Fix All Containing Members and Containing Types
  • We now automatically convert single line comments to doc comments when you add an additional forward slash to a single line comment.
  • We now have a code style option that allows you to warn on possible exceptions in a foreach loop. Foreach loops implicitly casts to derived types by design. This was necessary before generics existed but can lead to runtime exceptions in some cases.
  • C++:
  • Improved fallback of Go to Definition to suggest matching overloads if an exact match is not available (e.g. after signature change).
  • Razor (ASP.NET Core) Editor:
  • The new Razor editor now has full completion support inside of an <attribute>.
  • The new Razor editor now correctly handles completion for HTML attributes when typing = “ ”.
  • The new Razor editor now support HTML, JavaScript, and CSS OnTypeFormatting.
  • Installer:
  • You can now update all side-by-side versions of Visual Studio with an “Update all” button on the installer.
  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.3 Preview 1:
  • From Developer Community:
  • search in cmake view doesnt filter files
  • "Go To Document" (F12) for C++ #include statements fails when using /external:I
  • Error: Value cannot be null. Parameter name: path1
  • devenv crashes while debugging
  • Adding strings to resx file pops a modal error dialog
  • Add include quick-action adds header along INCLUDES <> path rather than relative header via ""
  • Outlining collapses code AFTER user navigates to it via search results item or go-to-definition, etc.
  • Tried to Hot Reload a .NET MAUI Blazor app and got an exception
  • Pasted Comments Indentation Issue
  • VS2019 standard exception headers: warning C5240: 'nodiscard': attribute is ignored in this syntactic position
  • C6389 false positive on main etc
  • XAML design mode in Blend 2019 (previously reported and closed)
  • Visual Studio 2022 : Double Clicking on solution file in the Source Control Explorer opens the sln file as plain text
  • Light Bulb Suggestion "Encode image in base64" Missing in Visual Studio 2022 CSHTML editor
  • CSS editor says ::deep is not a valid pseudo-element
  • After an install of 17.1.0 Preview 1.1, the IDE fails to launch with the following dialogs. Uninstalling and reinstalling fail to resolve.
  • The “CompareBuildTaskVersion” task could not be loaded from the assembly
  • MsBuild doesn't give /delayload flags to linker when using LLVM toolchain
  • env in launch.vs.json doesn't work for native
  • Support ::deep in .razor.css CSS isolation files to avoid validation warnings in the log
  • Blend 2022 'visual studio xml editor package' package did not load correctly'.
  • Code coverage not generating results with visualstudio2022testagent
  • The selected certificate is not valid for code signing
  • Project options parameter values are retained in the same instance rather than resetting after the project creation
  • .Net Async profiler tool doesn't show anything
  • spacing fix-up A && B -> A&& B
  • Git no longer supports 'preserve-merges', stop offering that option
  • After fresh install of Visual Studio 2022 Version 17.1 "devenv.exe" does not start.
  • PreFAST: integer status code works, class-holding-integer status code does not
  • Unable to add Windows Application Packaging Project to Xamarin Forms Solution in Visual Studio Community 2022
  • PreFAST: Incorrect Build break - error C2036: 'intarr (*)': unknown size
  • JSON Visualizer confused by array containing numbers with decimal point
  • Inline hints experience is very poor.
  • RequestExecutionQueue fails to dispose of a linked CancellationTokenSource
  • create app packages crashes visual studio with no info as to why
  • HTTP Configuration loaded as HTTPS configuration in Blazor Server Project
  • Visual Studio hangs when trying to do a renaming of classes
  • Syntax highlighting for variables/functions with keyword as name
  • IDE freezes when building a .NET 6 project
  • 'git' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
  • DkmCustomUIVisualizerInfo and random order in context menu
  • Can't run .NET MAUI project after adding it to a solution and setting it as the startup project
  • Visual studio 2022 hangs when pasting in files or adding new files
  • Autocompletion does not work with macro. (Visual Studio 2022 17.1)
  • Continuous high CPU usage by Microsoft.ServiceHub.Controller.exe
  • Crash of process devenv.exe System.NullReferenceException
  • VS 2022 crash on file rename in Solution Explorer
  • Format Document doesn't work on fxh
  • Breakpoints are not being hit when debugging Xamarin application in Visual Studio 2022
  • Generating a CMake cache using CMakePresets.json deletes folder content
  • Go To Files doesn't show files inside folders when using "Show all files"
  • Visual Studio should update Entitlements.plist when checking Health Kit option
  • What is new is causing a goldbar on startup for performance
  • MSIX Signing Extension Requires Basic Constraint extension but signtool.exe does not
  • CSS validation warnings displayed for scrollbar-width and scrollbar-color
  • Visual Studio 2022 crashes when selection "Select from Store" button
  • Hot Reload not working on real iOS device
  • Incorrect inheritance processing in CMakePreset.json
  • Installer UI inaccurately shows "All installations are up to date"
  • After using "Update All" button, all three instances show as up-to-date, but gray bar at the top still shows "Updating..."
  • .NET Maui C# hot reload not working (Windows + Android apps)
  • During debugging "Diagnostic Tools" setting failed with message: "Scratch directory does not exist!"
  • New project dialog crashes VS
  • Android SDK Manager and Device Manager not working
  • Create a pull request from Git Changes Tab
  • Property Window for XAML file for Xamarin Project is showing blank
  • (CMake): Consecutive configures will sometimes delete the cache beforehand
  • After recent VS 2022 preview 5.0 and as well as v6.0, I no longer can open the Web browser to create PR from the Git changes window
  • Live Unit Testing fails to start due to modified collection in HostedLiveUnitTestingCommands.GetOrchestratorActivityStateWhenRunningAsync

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.14 (May 11, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • Added the implementation for the remaining C++20 defect reports (a.k.a. backports). All C++20 features are now available under the /std:c++20 switch. For more information about the implemented backports, please see C++20 Defect Reports project on microsoft/STL GitHub repository and this blogpost
  • Updated Git for Windows version consumed by Visual Studio and installable optional component to 2.36.0.1
  • Fixed an issue with git integration, where if pulling/synchronizing branches that have diverged, output window would not show a localized hint on how to resolve it.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Visual Studio 2019 creates bad key vault secret value while configuring Azure Cloud Service remote desktop, breaking VS UI
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2022-29117 .NET Denial of Service Vulnerability A vulnerability exists in .NET 6.0, .NET 5.0 and .NET Core 3.1 where a malicious client can manipulate cookies and cause a Denial of Service.
  • CVE-2022-23267 .NET Core Denial of Service Vulnerability A vulnerability exists in .NET 6.0, .NET 5.0 and .NET Core 3.1 where a malicious client can cause a Denial of Service via excess memory allocations through HttpClient.
  • CVE-2022-29145 .NET Denial of Service Vulnerability A vulnerability exists in .NET 6.0, .NET 5.0 and .NET Core 3.1 where a malicious client can can cause a Denial of Service when HTML forms are parsed.
  • CVE-2022-24513 Elevation of privilege vulnerability A potential elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Microsoft Visual Studio updater service improperly parses local configuration data.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.2 Preview 6 (May 4, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.2 Preview 6:
  • Fixed an issue where Account picker under "Azure Service Authentication" is broken and causes a restart of VS, and people using languages other than English were unable to pick a different account/add a new one for Azure Service Authentication.
  • This version of Visual Studio includes Win App SDK 1.0.3 see Windows App SDK release channels - Windows apps | Microsoft Docs for more details.
  • Fixed an issue where Solutions containing WiX projects crash on open.
  • Fixed an issue where Tooltips are not displayed properly on Daytona controls.
  • Updated the webview2 baseline in Daytona.
  • Fixed an issue where "Sync branch" would fail in the scenario where "local and remote branches have diverged" and "pull.rebase was unset".
  • From Developer Community:
  • 'git' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
  • Solution Loading Gives Error and Stops since 17.2 Preview 2
  • Property Window for XAML file for Xamarin Project is showing blank

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.2 Preview 5 (Apr 26, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.2 Preview 5:
  • Fixed issue where user building native C++ app targeting Android platform encounters build errors if workload "Mobile Development with .NET" is also installed.
  • Fixed a UI delay after Windows Forms .NET project load or build when Toolbox has not yet initialized.
  • Fixed missing bitwise enum warnings for some inputs.
  • Selecting "Load All Symbols" in the CPU Tool no longer causes blank lines to show in analysis.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Error LNK2013: BRANCH26 fixup overflow while linking ARM64EC binary
  • Compiler process gets stuck in infinite loop at 100% CPU load
  • ICE for variantclear analysis with pch in compiler version 17.2p2 (Office; 17.2)
  • Xamarin Visual Studio 2022: There was an error while loading your certificates
  • Internal compiler error in VS2022 17.2 preview2 targeting ARM

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.1.6 (Apr 26, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.1.6
  • Fixed C++ compiler (CL.exe) sometimes crashing when running code analysis bitwise enum checks.
  • Fixed iPhone Simulator - Fatal error: Could not load the file 'System.Memory'
  • Fixed vctip.exe regression in VisualCPP SxS from 17.0.8
  • Fixed a bug in in VisualCPP SxS that prevented some applications built with Address Sanitizer (ASAN) to load in Windows 11.
  • Fixed another ASAN issue in VisualCPP SxS where multi-threaded applications with heap contention may experience deadlocks, false "wild pointer freed" reports, or a deadlock during process exit.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.1.5 (Apr 19, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.1.5:
  • Fixed vctip.exe regression from 17.1.4
  • Fixed issue ‘Unable to install any extension (vsix) for Visual Studio on an offline machine’.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Developer Community has a full list of fixes available in 17.1.
  • Launch-VsDevShell no longer works in strict mode
  • WebSocket connection to 'wss://...' failed. ASP .Net Core Web application. After update 17.1

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.2 Preview 4 (Apr 19, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.2 Preview 4:
  • IntelliSense is no longer extremely slow (taking almost a minute to respond) on a pattern used in the Vulkan SDK's C++ headers.
  • Addressed an issue that could pop up "CMake Integration" dialog and lead to CMake stop working after saving changes to your CMakeLists.txt.
  • Improved performance of build configuration switching with CMake projects
  • Improved performance when editing large Razor source files.
  • Fixed an issue in the CPU Usage Tool views where text was clipped by blue usage bars
  • Removed an incorrect message stating there are no top insights in the CPU Usage tool even when there are top insights.
  • Fixed a bug where "No insights found" message in CPU Usage tool was not properly localized
  • Fixed an issue preventing some customers from installing Visual Studio due to a GPO policy setting in the system registry. Visual Studio will now function the same way that WebView2 functions with regard to this installation.
  • Fixed issue ‘Unable to install any extension (vsix) for Visual Studio on an offline machine'.
  • From Developer Community:
  • VS2022 XAML designer does not work when CopyLocal is false
  • Vulkan.hpp makes Intellisense slow in Visual Studio 2022
  • Bug when CMakeLists.txt in sub-directories (Unable to select CMakeLists.txt in root-folder)
  • ENC errors persist after successful build

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.13 (Apr 19, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • Fixed vctip.exe regression from 16.11.12
  • Fixed a bug that prevented some applications built with Address Sanitizer (ASAN) to load in Windows 11.
  • Fixed another ASAN issue where multi-threaded applications with heap contention may experience deadlocks, false "wild pointer freed" reports, or a deadlock during process exit.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.12 (Apr 12, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • Fixed an issue that would cause some animations for test execution to run in the background even when the associated test executions were complete. This causes slowdowns that were especially noticeable on high refresh rate monitors. The fix should improve the experience of using VS on high refresh rate monitors.
  • Removed an unnecessary warning when connecting to a LiveShare server that didn't offer certain functionality used by the client.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Optimized Qt applications crash on startup on ARM64
  • I get an error Live Share: The user of the output channel works with limited functionality due to the absence of a dependent service.
  • Find in IVsTextImage does not work in VisualStudio 2019
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2022-24765 Elevation of privilege vulnerability A potential elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Git for Windows, in which Git operations could run outside a repository while seraching for a Git directory. Git for Windows is now updated to version 2.35.2.1.
  • CVE-2022-24767 DLL hijacking vulnerability A potential DLL hijacking vulnerability exists in Git for Windows installer, when running the uninstaller under the SYSTEM user account. Git for Windows is now updated to version 2.35.2.1.
  • CVE-2022-24513 Elevation of privilege vulnerability A potential elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Microsoft Visual Studio updater service improperly parses local configuration data.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.2 Preview 3 (Apr 12, 2022)

  • Installer:
  • For 17.2, Preview 3, we fixed an issue preventing customers from installing Visual Studio due to a GPO policy setting in the system registry. Visual Studio will now function the same way that WebView2 functions with regard to this installation.
  • Editor:
  • For 17.2 Preview 3, we have added a brand new global search experience to search for both code/symbols in you solution and features in Visual Studio that merges VS Search (Ctrl + Q) and Go To All (Ctrl + T). The new experience features a light-weight and dismissable UI, real-time symbol searching, nearly instant response times, powerful filtering mechanisms for files/types/members, and more! You can enable it Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features > "New Visual Studio Search experience".
  • C++:
  • In 17.1 we introduced peripheral register and rtos views for embedded developers. We are continuing to improve the capabilities of those views with usability improvements in 17.2. Users can now click a pin icon next to peripherals, registers, or fields to pin them the top of the Peripheral View.
  • Release notes on experimental C++20 modules support for CMake projects and deducing this support in the compiler were missed from the Preview 2 release notes. See below for details.
  • Git Tooling:
  • Enhanced line staging experience by allowing stage line adornment to work in different diff modes (side by side, inline, left, right view).
  • Stage and Undo commands in peek toolbar now operate on the target hunk.
  • Added the ability to enable Git commit-graph for better history and Git operations performance.
  • Test tools:
  • You can now use a faster code coverage window with more flexible columns to organize and save your view. You can enable the code coverage experience improvements in Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.1.4 (Apr 12, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.1.4:
  • Fixed an issue where calls to 'new' in templates did not find the correct 'operator new' function through argument-dependent lookup.
  • Fixed an issue in design time type resolution for Windows Forms .NET Framework designer that would otherwise cause designer load to fail.
  • Fixes "HotRestart.Tasks.DetectSigningIdentity" task failed unexpectedly.
  • Added installer command line to remove an unused channel.
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2021-43877 ASP.NET Core and Visual Studio elevation of privilege Vulnerability An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in ASP.NET Core Module (ANCM) that could allow elevation of privilege when .NET Core, .NET 5 and .NET 6 applications are hosted within IIS.
  • CVE-2022-24765 Elevation of privilege vulnerability A potential elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Git for Windows, in which Git operations could run outside a repository while seraching for a Git directory. Git for Windows is now updated to version 2.35.2.1.
  • CVE-2022-24767 DLL hijacking vulnerability A potential DLL hijacking vulnerability exists in Git for Windows installer, when running the uninstaller under the SYSTEM user account. Git for Windows is now updated to version 2.35.2.1.
  • CVE-2022-24513 Elevation of privilege vulnerability A potential elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Microsoft Visual Studio updater service improperly parses local configuration data.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.1.3 (Apr 1, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.1.3:
  • Introduced support for Apple Xcode 13.3.
  • Fixes iOS IPA generator error (ERROR ITMS-90207) using Xcode 13.3.
  • Fixes failed to synchronize account with Apple developer portal
  • Fixes issue where Visual Studio would hang/freeze when using TFVC for an extended period of time (over an hour).
  • Fixes error message "An incompatible SQL Server version was detected." when connecting to Azure SQL Managed Instance from Visual Studio SQL Server Data Tools.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.2 Preview 2.1 (Mar 23, 2022)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.2 Preview 2.1:
  • Fixes the MonoToolchain and emsdk workload installation manifest.
  • From Developer Community:
  • NET MAUI iOS builds fail because Mac Agent does not install up to date MonoToolchain and emsdk workload manifests

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.1.2 (Mar 22, 2022)

  • Fixed issue that would cause some animations for test execution to run in the background even when the associated test executions were complete. This causes slowdowns that were especially noticeable on high refresh rate monitors. The fix should improve the experience of using VS on high refresh rate monitors.
  • Disable automatically opening the Stack Trace Explorer window on opening Visual Studio. This can still be enabled in options.
  • Fixed a regression where drag-docking document tabs only worked with the dock adorner and not other document tabs.
  • Fixed a problem with sporadic linker hang.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.2 Preview 2 (Mar 16, 2022)

  • C++:
  • Added inline parameter name and type hint support, toggled by pressing Alt+F1 or double-taping Ctrl. This behavior can be customized under Tools > Options > Text Editors > C/C++ > Experimental
  • Added IntelliSense support for C++23 features deducing this and if consteval.
  • In 17.1 we introduced peripheral register and RTOS views for embedded developers. We are continuing to improve the capabilities of those views with usability improvements in 17.2:
  • The RTOS tool window is now hidden by default, this prevents showing a tool window with error messages that are not relevant when an RTOS is not being used.
  • When a user double clicks on an RTOS object in the tool window it adds a watch for the object.
  • When a user selects the stack pointer start/end values in the RTOS tool window it is opened in the memory window.
  • Thread awareness has been added for device targets for the call stack window.
  • Test tools:
  • Significant improvements across full functionality of Live Unit Testing are available under a preview feature flag including:
  • Supporting more solutions out-of-the-box than before
  • Better handling of large solutions
  • Better default behavior working with large test sets
  • Better cancellation abilities of test runs in progress
  • More configuration options with new Live Unit Testing wizard and Lutignore file
  • Enable this new Live Unit Testing build experience in Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features and watch for more details on the Visual Studio blog.
  • We are also previewing a more advanced test progress bar that includes more details on where the Test Explorer is in the test execution process with live updates.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • We now surface embedded source and Source Link as part of Go to Implementation if a referenced assembly has embedded source or Source Link. This allows you to navigate to the original source files that implement the target symbol.
  • In .NET 7 we added a new attribute called the StringSyntaxAttribute which will allow you to tell us what kind of data a string represents such as JSON, Regex, or DateTime. We added support for this attribute so you will get syntax highlighting for the new StringSyntaxAttribute for JSON.
  • We added a diagnostic message for the new JSON StringSyntaxAttribute when there is a misplaced string literal in an object literal to say that a colon is expected.
  • We now have a refactoring that wraps a collection of initializers for both Visual Basic and C#.
  • We now support embedded languages for the new C# 11 language feature raw string literals. To use raw string literals, set the language version in your project file to preview: <LangVersion>preview</LangVersion>.
  • Background Code Analysis now has more configuration options in Tools > Options allowing you to set the diagnostic scope to None in-order to turn off Background Code Analysis.
  • Code Cleanup now supports all code style options
  • Razor (ASP.NET Core) Editor:
  • The new Razor editor now shows you the colors inline for text document colors.
  • The new Razor editor now supports the ability to collapse regions.
  • Container tools:
  • You can now add Docker Compose container orchestration support to an Azure Functions project and debug it locally.
  • We added .NET 7 support.
  • .NET Debugging with WSL:
  • Improved troubleshooting for configuration issues including an automated installation of WSL.
  • Service Fabric:
  • We added .NET 7 support.
  • SQL Server Data Tools:
  • Added support for column-level encryption in SQL projects targeting in Azure Synapse Analytics.
  • Web Tools:
  • Creation of new Azure Function projects is now fully integrated into the general New Project dialog allowing you to pick and configure Azure Function triggers without the need for an additional dialog. You also get the option to create a dockerfile as part of the project creation. When further configuration through Connected Services is needed, the experience navigates you there and guides you through the rest of the steps.
  • You can now connect your application to PostgreSQL (Postgres - Official Image | Docker Hub), MongoDB (Mongo - Official Image | Docker Hub) and SQLite (Data Source=Sqllite.db) through the Connected Services experience
  • Warnings coming from scaffolded coded and its non-nullable properties will be hidden by default by adding the property "Nullable" with the value "annotions" in the corresponding .csproj file.
  • General:
  • Improved proxy support by detecting when users are behind a proxy and proactively prompting for credentials when Visual Studio needs to access online resources
  • Git Tooling:
  • Improved interactive staging by adding support for staging individual lines of code right from the editor and the diff view.
  • Enhanced the branch checkout experience, a.k.a branch switching by adding in more options and context for when there are un-committed changes.
  • Enhanced the detached HEAD experience by providing the option to keep or discard commits when switching to a branch.
  • Added an option to include license template when creating a new repository.
  • Microsoft Teams development tools:
  • The Microsoft Teams App project template has been improved and now creates configuration files consistent with the teamsfx CLI, including the .fx folder.
  • We recommend creating a new project using the updated template for any existing Teams Apps you've created with previous versions of the Teams Toolkit.
  • We've removed account selection and automatic registration of Teams resources from the Microsoft Teams App project template.
  • You can now choose when to sign-in with your M365 identity and register app resources using the Project > Teams Toolkit > Configure Microsoft Teams App menu option.
  • Updates to the manifest.*.template.json files can be synchronized with Teams Developer Portal by selecting this menu item again at any time.
  • You can now create and debug Bots for Microsoft Teams.
  • Create a new project using the Microsoft Teams App project template and select the Bot capability.
  • Use the Project > Teams Toolkit > Configure Microsoft Teams app menu to register the app and Bot.
  • You can now create resources for Tabs and Bots in your Azure subscription.
  • Use the Project > Teams Toolkit > Provision in the Cloud menu to create resources in a subscription.
  • Use the Project > Teams Toolkit > Deploy to the Cloud menu to publish code to those resources.
  • You can open remotely hosted resources in a browser that are created from the Provision menu using the Preview Teams app menu.
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • We now support a new data visualizer to evaluate the IEnumerable interface implementations.
  • IEnumerable visualizer will help explore larger collections objects in tabular view.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.11 (Mar 9, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release:
  • Fixed an issue with remote debugging, especially affecting Azure App Service, where authentication failures would sometimes fail with 'The connection with the remote endpoint was terminated' and Visual Studio would not prompt for credentials.
  • Improved performance on high refresh rate monitors.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Internal compiler error in fold expression with += operator on 16.11
  • consteval constructor and C7595
  • cl does not make special member functions implicitly constexpr
  • Can't have freestanding requires expressions
  • There are no configured extension galleries in VS 2019
  • Sql Server object explorer does not show indexes
  • SQL project does not build if it has File storage tables
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2020-8927 Vulnerability A Remote code Execution vulnerability exists in .NET 5.0 and .NET Core 3.1 where a buffer overflow exists in the Brotli library versions prior to 1.0.8.
  • CVE-2022-24464 Vulnerability A denial of service vulnerability exists in .NET 6.0, .NET 5.0, and .NET CORE 3.1 when parsing certain types of http form requests.
  • CVE-2022-24512 Vulnerability A Remote Code Execution vulnerability exists in .NET 6.0, .NET 5.0, and .NET Core 3.1 where a stack buffer overrun occurs in .NET Double Parse routine.
  • CVE-2021-3711 OpenSSL Buffer Overflow vulnerability A potential buffer overflow vulnerability exists in OpenSSL, which is consumed by Git for Windows. Git for Windows is now updated to version 2.35.1.2, which addresses this issue.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.1.1 (Mar 8, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.1.1:
  • From Developer Community:
  • Developer Community has a full list of fixes available in 17.1.
  • CMake->vcxproj regression in 17.1.0 when using CONFIG in custom command
  • VSSDK: VS 17.1.0 Preview 5.0 hangs after IVsObjectManager.UnregisterLibMgr()
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2020-8927 Vulnerability A Remote code Execution vulnerability exists in .NET 5.0 and .NET Core 3.1 where a buffer overflow exists in the Brotli library versions prior to 1.0.8.
  • CVE-2022-24464 Vulnerability A denial of service vulnerability exists in .NET 6.0, .NET 5.0, and .NET CORE 3.1 when parsing certain types of http form requests.
  • CVE-2022-24512 Vulnerability A Remote Code Execution vulnerability exists in .NET 6.0, .NET 5.0, and .NET Core 3.1 where a stack buffer overrun occurs in .NET Double Parse routine.
  • CVE-2021-3711 OpenSSL Buffer Overflow vulnerability A potential buffer overflow vulnerability exists in OpenSSL, which is consumed by Git for Windows. Git for Windows is now updated to version 2.35.1.2, which addresses this issue.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.1.0 (Feb 15, 2022)

  • C++:
  • A new Configure Preset template has been added to configure and build CMake projects on a remote macOS system with CMakePresets.json. You can also launch CMake targets on a remote macOS system and debug with the front-end of the Visual Studio debugger backed by GDB or LLDB.
  • You can now debug core dumps on a remote macOS system from Visual Studio with LLDB or GDB.
  • The versions of Clang and LLVM shipped with Visual Studio have been upgraded to v13.
  • Visual Studio's CMake integration will only activate when a CMakeLists.txt is identified at the root of the open workspace. If a CMakeLists.txt is identified at another level of the workspace, then you will be prompted to activate Visual Studio's CMake integration with a notification.
  • Added a new register visualisation window for embedded targets, available through Debug > Windows > Embedded Registers.
  • Added a new thread view for RTOS projects, available through Debug > Windows > RTOS Objects.
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • Added a new feature called StickyDataTips i.e., you can now keep your DataTips expanded until you click away. This gives a very easy way to evalute your objects whithin the DataTips. To enable this feature, check the checkbox "Keep expanded data tips open until clicked away" under Tools >Options > Debugging > General.
  • Added a support for Microsoft Azure App Services Attach to Process.
  • When building managed libraries developers can choose to embed their source files with the debug information (PDB file) that is produced by the build, and even embed the PDB file into the assembly itself. We now surface embedded source as part of Go to Definition if a referenced assembly has embedded source and the PDB is available. This allows you to navigate to the original source files that declare the target symbol. Place your cursor on a symbol and press F12 to navigate to the original source file.
  • There is now IntelliSense completion for await within an awaitable expression. Start typing an awaitable expression and notice how await will now show up in the completion list.
  • There is now a refactoring to move static members to a new type. Place your cursor on a static member. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Move static members to another type.... This will open a dialog where you can select the members that you would like to move. Move static members to another type refactoring
  • There is now a refactoring to simplify code to use the new C# 10.0 extended property patterns. Using extended property patterns reduces noise allowing you to reference nested members instead of nesting another recursive pattern. Place your cursor on a nested member reference. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Simplify property pattern. Simplify property pattern refactoring
  • There is now a refactoring that detects variable swaps and suggests using a tuple to swap values so instead of using a temporary variable in-order to swap arguments you can use a tuple. Place your cursor on a temporary variable assignment where you are swapping values. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Use tuple to swap values. Use tuple to swap values refactoring
  • The Code Definition Window now supports C# and Visual Basic. To use the Code Definition Window, either press (Ctrl+W,D) or select View > Code Definition Window. Next, place your cursor on an identifier to navigate and explore code.
  • C# and Visual Basic support in the Code Definition Window
  • There is now a refactoring to enable nullable reference types across a project. You can enable nullable reference types by adding the <Nullable>enable</Nullable> element to your project file or add the #nullable enable pragma to every source file in your project. To help streamline this process we now automatically include the <Nullable>enable</Nullable> for new .NET projects. For existing .NET projects, you can enable nullable reference types by placing your cursor on a #nullable enable pragma. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Enable nullable reference types in a project. Enable nullable references types across a project refactoring
  • Signature Help has improved its display when a tuple appears many times within a signature. The simplified view includes the Structural Type key to show you what is contained in the tuple.
  • You can now understand errors and warnings at a glance without needing to hover your cursor over a line of code with Inline Diagnostics. Inline Diagnostics is disabled by default so you will need to enable it in Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# or Basic > Advanced and select Display diagnostics inline (experimental). Inline Diagnostics
  • Editor:
  • Visual Studio can now automatically save code documents whenever the application loses focus. This feature can be accessed via Tools > Options > Environment > Document. If the "Autosave" option is checked, Visual Studio will attempt to save all dirty code documents whenever the Visual Studio application loses focus (e.g. when switching to another application in Windows).
  • The Code Cleanup feature can now be configured to be run whenever a file is explicitly saved. In Tools > Options under Text Editor > Code Cleanup, a new option allows users to enable the Code Cleanup on explicit save as well as to select the profile to run. Note that this option will not cause Code Cleanup to be run on autosave.
  • Git Tooling:
  • Added capability to compare branches in Visual Studio.
  • Introduced enhancements to the detached head state including the ability to checkout commits.
  • Multi-repo branching enhancements including the ability to create branches across different repositories at the same time (preview feature).
  • Added capability to include README file when creatting new Git repositories in Visual Studio.
  • Enhanced the ability to pin commonly used branches utilizing hover buttons.
  • Built a more discoverable UI for relating Work Items with new commits.
  • IDE:
  • Add your Github AE account using the integrated account management experience (Requires enabling GitHub Enterprise Server accounts).
  • Added ability to toggle color scheme to color your tabs by File Extension or Project.
  • Added capability to customize tab colors when color tabs are enabled. Right-click on a color tab and select Set tab color.
  • Installation and Updates:
  • We have reduced the number of reboots required after installation.
  • Required reboots were frequently caused by updating Visual C++ Runtime files in the system directory while they were in use. Those files are normally updated correctly; a reboot is needed only to clean up the replaced files. In these cases, the VS Installer now shows a recommended reboot dialog.
  • When the recommended reboot dialog is displayed, the customer may launch the Visual Studio IDE immediately (without rebooting).
  • Added information about LTSC channel expiration dates to the Update Settings dialog.
  • Added ability to programmatically change the source location of updates independently of actually performing the update. This enables IT admins to programmatically change the update channel.
  • Microsoft Azure App Services Attach to Process:
  • You can now attach to your .NET (Framework. Core, or 5+) for Windows App Service without a solution or project open. Open the Attach to Process Dialog > Change the Connection Type to Microsoft Azure App Services > Select Find > Select your Subscription and then find your App Service under the resource group and choose Okay. Find the process you want to connect to and select Attach.
  • Microsoft Teams developer tools:
  • Teams Toolkit is a Visual Studio Extension to help developers create experiences for Microsoft Teams and is part of the Microsoft Teams Framework (TeamsFx). Learn more about Teams Toolkit and TeamsFx on GitHub and in the Microsoft Teams documentation.
  • You may now choose the Microsoft Teams development tools component in the ASP.NET web development workload in the Visual Studio Installer.
  • Installing this component adds the Teams Toolkit extension. Use the new Microsoft Teams App project template to get started creating a new Teams tab application.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • We now surface embedded source and Source Link as part of Go to Definition if a referenced assembly has embedded source or Source Link. This allows you to navigate to the original source files that declare the target symbol. Place your cursor on a symbol and press F12 to navigate to the original source file. Source Link Navigation
  • There is now a Stack Trace Explorer Window that displays stack traces from the clipboard allowing you to click and navigate directly to the related code. By default, if you copy a stack trace from your solution and then switch focus to the Stack Trace Explorer window, the stack trace will automatically appear. To open the Stack Trace Explorer window, go to View > Other Windows and select Stack Trace Explorer. Stack Trace Explorer window
  • In Visual Studio 2019 we introduced a new UI for EditorConfig. EditorConfig files help to keep your code consistent by defining code styles and formats. These files can live with your code in its repository and use the same source control. This way the style guidance is the same for everyone on your team who clones from that repository. In this release we added Naming Styles to the EditorConfig UI. To add an EditorConfig file to a project or solution, right click on the project or solution name within the Solution Explorer. Select Add New Item. In the Add New Item dialog search for EditorConfig. Select the .NET EditorConfig template to add an EditorConfig file prepopulated with default options. Notice the new EditorConfig UI and the new Naming Styles option. EditorConfig Naming Styles
  • Other Improvements:
  • Go To Definition from source information in PDBs.
  • IntelliSense completion for await within an awaitable expression.
  • Move static members to a new type refactoring.
  • Simplify code to use the new C# 10.0 extended property patterns refactoring.
  • Detect variable swaps and suggest using a tuple to swap values refactoring.
  • Code definition window support for C# and Visual Basic.
  • Enable nullable reference types across a project refactoring.
  • Signature help simplified view improvements when a tuple appears many times within a signature.
  • Understand errors and warnings at a glance with inline diagnostics.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.2 Preview 1 (Feb 15, 2022)

  • Web Tools:
  • The Add Dependency dialog in Connected Services now features a search experience.
  • Git Tooling:
  • Line-staging support, a.k.a interactive staging with the ability to stage specific lines and/or chunks of code right from the editor and the diff view.
  • Azure DevOps connection detection enhancements making it easier to related work items to commits.
  • Visual Studio now consumes 64-bit Git for Windows.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • We added a new code fix for parameterless constructors inside of structs.
  • We added support for StringSyntaxAttribute so you will get syntax highlighting in Visual Studio based on the type of data that the string represents.
  • Quick Info will now display signatures of anonymous delegates.
  • Double clicking on inline parameter or type hints will now insert parameter or type names.
  • We added a new refactoring that removes unnecessary lambda expressions and calls the method group directly.
  • In C# 11 we added a new language feature called raw string literals. We now have a refactoring to convert a normal or verbatim string literal to a raw string literal.
  • Razor (ASP.NET Core) Editor:
  • The new Razor editor now supports snippets.
  • The new Razor editor now supports the “wrap div” shortcut Shift+Alt+W.
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • We added support for Dependent Tracepoint.
  • Now you can set any breakpoint dependent on the tracepoint and viseversa.
  • If the breakpoint is depedent on tracepoint it hits only after the tracepoint is hit. (i.e., after the trace/log message is printed in the output window)

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.1 Preview 6 (Feb 11, 2022)

  • Fixed an issue where the DataSet Custom Debugger Visualizer would not work for Remote and Azure App Service debugging scenarios.
  • Added support to cancel a pending "Hot Reload" operation.
  • Fixed incremental deployment issues with Xamarin Hot Restart.
  • Fixed and enabled Code Lenses support for TFS.
  • Fixed bug that would cause misaligned code colorization in Razor and LiveShare scenarios.
  • Visual Studio's C++ intellisense is improved when targeting CMake projects on macOS systems. Visual Studio now processes CMake's CMAKE_OSX_SYSROOT variable when searching for C++ headers.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.0.6 (Feb 9, 2022)

  • Updated the Visual Studio installer to properly record channel metadata
  • Added expiration date information to the 17.0 LTSC channel
  • Released Bulletins in the Visual Studio Installer for an install or update.
  • Updated the Visual Studio installer to improve the experience for remote enterprise deployment.
  • Updated the GitHub add account experience to improve its success rate

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.10 (Feb 9, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fixed an issue that has caused sporadic C++ linker crashes.
  • Silent bad codegen issue with x64.
  • An issue that prevented files from being deleted while they were being processed by background C++ static analysis.
  • Resolved an issue in C++ ATL CString equality operator under C++20 mode.
  • Fixed an issue that could have prevented an initializer from running in a load test scenario.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Missing comparison operators between LPCWSTR and CString in VS 16.11.8
  • x64 optimizer bug VC++2019 16.11.4
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2022-21986 Vulnerability A Denial of Service vulnerability exists in .NET 5.0 and .NET 6.0 when the Kestrel web server processes certain HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 requests.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.1 Preview 5 (Feb 2, 2022)

  • Fixed several issues where using omp task when combining the /openmp:llvm and /ZI would cause the compiler to crash or silently generate bad code.
  • Fixed an issue when Debugging Android applications when Fast Deployment is disabled.
  • Correct an issue causing C2567 when using /experimental:deterministic, /pathmap, and /clr.
  • Fix crashes in ARM64X thunks from /RTC flags.
  • Don't decorate already decorated ARM64EC symbols while linking.
  • We have fixed an issue with the Azure Container Apps workflow generation where the Service principal generation fails if a service principal with the same name is already present.
  • Added <=> and == operators to ATL CString
  • Updated the linker flags table to allow the -cgthreads and -pdbthreads to differ between in the GENRROFILE and USEPROFILE phases
  • A problem publishing projects that contain an x86 COM reference with ClickOnce has been fixed.
  • Fixes a VS crash bug, when adding multiple launch profiles in Manage Docker Compose Launch Settings dialog
  • Fix packaging of no-write-symbols,nodebug AOT'd assemblies within Xamarin.Android applications.
  • The C# compiler would generate incorrect codegen or crash in certain scenarios with interpolated string handlers and from-end indexers in deconstruction assignments. These issues have now been fixed. For more details, see https://github.com/dotnet/roslyn/issues/58514 and https://github.com/dotnet/roslyn/issues/58569.
  • Fix for an intermittent VS crash when WinForms .NET designer is open and some operations are performed on the project.
  • Add ARM64EC to /MACHINE options for link.exe.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.1 Preview 4 (Jan 26, 2022)

  • Fixed an issue where sometimes changes to the CMake Workspace settings file would not take effect.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.1 Preview 3 (Jan 22, 2022)

  • Web Tools:
  • When provisioning and selecting Azure resources Visual Studio remembers the selections you previously made for fields "Resource Group" and "Location" instead of always defaulting to the first entry in the list. Even when a previous selection is not available Visual Studio now calculates the nearest geographical location and picks that by default.
  • Publish profiles are now always listed alphabetically in the drop-down located at the top of the Publish summary page as well as the drop-down in the Visual Studio toolbar called Web One Click Publish.
  • Visual Studio can now generate GitHub Action workflows for Azure Container Apps.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.0.5 (Jan 21, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.0.5:
  • Addressed occasional instance where VSInstr would not exit when instrumenting a binary with volatile metadata causing Instrumentation Profiling to fail.
  • Fixed the problems where link.exe occasionally crashes or hangs when producing PDB along with binary.
  • Fixed a bug in C++ Concurrency::parallel_for_each that was crashing the calling process due to integer overflow.
  • Fixed a bug in ATL's CString comparisons under C++20 and C++Latest language modes.
  • Fixed a crash during the execution of a PGI-ed binary on arm64 and arm64ec when a large number of pogo probes were used.
  • Fixed an issue were optimizing very large functions could generate incorrect code.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.9 (Jan 12, 2022)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fixed an issue with being unable to debug applications multiple times when Windows Terminal is used as the default terminal.
  • Setup fix to unblock customers on restricted configurations
  • Fixed an issue that prevented a client from being able to update a more current bootstrapper. Once the client is using the bootstrapper and installer that shipped January 2022 or later, all updates using subsequent bootstrappers should work for the duration of the product lifecycle.
  • Addressed occasional instance where VSInstr would not exit when instrumenting a binary with volatile metadata causing Instrumentation Profiling to fail.
  • Fixed an issue were compiling C++ code with very large functions using /Og or #pragma optimize("g") can generate invalid code (bad codegen)
  • Fixed a bug in C++ Concurrency::parallel_for_each that was crashing the calling process due to integer overflow

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.1 Preview 2 (Jan 5, 2022)

  • C++:
  • A new Configure Preset template has been added to configure and build CMake projects on a remote macOS system with CMakePresets.json. You can also launch CMake targets on a remote macOS system and debug with the front-end of the Visual Studio debugger backed by GDB or LLDB.
  • You can now debug core dumps on a remote MacOS system from Visual Studio with LLDB or GDB.
  • The versions of Clang and LLVM shipped with Visual Studio have been upgraded to v13.
  • Visual Studio's CMake integration will only activate when a CMakeLists.txt is identified at the root of the open workspace. If a CMakeLists.txt is identified at another level of the workspace, then you will be prompted to activate Visual Studio's CMake integration with a notification.
  • Added a new register visualisation window for embedded targets, available through Debug > Windows > Embedded Registers.
  • Added a new thread view for RTOS projects, available through Debug > Windows > RTOS Objects.
  • Git Tooling:
  • Added capability to compare branches in Visual Studio
  • Introduced enhancements to the detached head state including the ability to checkout commits
  • Multi-repo branching enhancements including the ability to create branches accross different repositories at the same time (preview feature)
  • Line-staging support, a.k.a interactive staging with the ability to stage specific lines and/or chunks of code (preview feature)
  • Editor:
  • Visual Studio can now automatically save code documents whenever the application loses focus. This feature is currently a preview feature and can be accessed in ToolsOptions under EnvironmentPreview Features. If the "Autosave" option is checked, Visual Studio will attempt to save all dirty code documents whenever the Visual Studio application loses focus (e.g. when switching to another application in Windows).
  • The Code Cleanup feature can now be configured to be run whenever a file is explicitly saved. In ToolsOptions under Text EditorCode Cleanup, a new option allows users to enable the Code Cleanup on explicit save as well as to select the profile to run. Note that this option will not cause Code Cleanup to be run on autosave.
  • IDE:
  • Add your Github AE account using the integrated account management experience (Requires enabling GitHub Enterprise Server accounts)
  • Added ability to toggle color scheme to color your tabs by File Extension or Project.
  • Added capability to customize tab colors when color tabs are enabled. Right-click on a color tab and select Set tab color.
  • Razor (ASP.NET Core) Editor:
  • Razor will now add missing using directives if a quick action requires one.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • We now surface Source Link as part of Go to Definition, allowing you to navigate to the original source file.
  • We added a new Stack Trace Explorer window.
  • The EditorConfig UI now includes Naming Styles.
  • Test tools:
  • Code coverage tools can now produce the cobertura code coverage format. You can enable this in runsettings by adding <Format>Cobertura</Format> in the DataCollector configuration section in your runsettings file. This format can be viewed in the code coverage results window in Visual Studio Enterprise.
  • You can also collect with the cobertura format from the cli by either specifying it in the runsettings file or specifying it in a parameter. For the dotnet cli use dotnet test --collect:"Code Coverage;Format=Cobertura". For vstest use vstest.console.exe /collect:"Code Coverage;Format=Cobertura". The collect parameter will override the format specified in runsettings.
  • Issues addressed in this release of 17.1 Preview 2:
  • From Developer Community
  • Slow "Go to definition" in Visual Studio using UE5 Early Access (was Make IntelliSense work on large projects)
  • Bug in Visual studio 2022 + Xamarin + SignalR (method not found)
  • Git Repository window uses wrong date format (regression in VS 2022)
  • Visual Studio ran into an unexpected problem
  • Visual Studio 2022 Preview 7 stuck at "Waiting for IntelliSense to finish initializing..."
  • System.InvalidOperationException: No pending update
  • UseMultiToolTask causes change detection in a C++ precompiled header to break if a single cpp is compiled
  • Unable to resolve symbol '“WebAssembly”'
  • In a blazor page (*.razor) adding semi-colon to c# line of code causes cursor to jump
  • PackageId:Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestWindow.SourceBasedTestDiscovery;PackageAction:Install;ReturnCode:-2147024690;
  • Modules: std::any breaks in nontrivial code when importing a module
  • ARM64: incorrect code gen when compiler decides to pass by value
  • Error while compiling on WSL with Max Parallel Compilation Jobs >1
  • Using bitwise "|" when logical "||"was probably intended
  • "Find All References" feature in Visual Studio 2019 16.10.X version

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.0.4 (Dec 16, 2021)

  • Adds Xcode 13.2 Support.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.0.3 (Dec 15, 2021)

  • Bidirectional text control character rendering:
  • To prevent a potentially malicious exploit that allows code to be misrepresented, the Visual Studio editor will no longer allow bidirectional text control characters to manipulate the order of characters on the editing surface. A new option will cause these bidirectional text control characters to be shown with placeholders. The bidirectional text control characters will still be present in the code as this behavior only impacts what is rendered in the code editor.
  • VS with bidirectional text control characters replaced with placeholders:
  • This functionality is controlled in ToolsOptions. Under the Text EditorGeneral page there is an option for “Show bidirectional text control characters”, which will be checked by default. When checked, all bidirectional text control characters will be rendered as placeholders. Unchecking the option will revert to the previous behavior where these characters are not rendered.
  • A Unicode character is considered a bidirectional text control character if it falls into any of the following ranges: U+061c, U+200e-U+200f, U+202a-U+202e, U+2066-U+2069.
  • Fixed a crash in the Web Forms Designer
  • Fixed an issue where CSS completion for !important would insert text at the wrong location in HTML or Razor files.
  • Fixed a regression with Xamarin.Forms XAML Hot Reload conflicting with libraries that shared similar dependencies, such as SignalR. Xamarin.Forms XAML Hot Reload should now be able to interoperate no matter what is loaded in your application.
  • Fixed an issue where Project Overview Pages, Diagnostic Tools or Performance Profiler windows would sometimes be blank.
  • Fixed an issue in razor file editing where the cursor would sometimes jump to a different location mid-typing.
  • From Developer Community
  • Developer Community has a full list of fixes available in 17.0.
  • Bug in Visual studio 2022 + Xamarin + SignalR (method not found)
  • HtmlLanguageClient: HtmlLanguageClient failed to initialize. Microsoft Visual Studio Community 2022 Preview (64-bit) Version 17.0.0 Preview 5.0
  • Strange things happens in css editing in a .razor file (Blazor)
  • In a blazor page (*.razor) adding semi-colon to c# line of code causes cursor to jump
  • Security Advisory notice:
  • CVE-2021-43877 .NET Vulnerability An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in ANCM which could allow elevation of privilege when .NET core, .NET 5 and .NET 6 applications are hosted within IIS.
  • CVE-2021-42574 Bidirectional Text Vulnerability Bidirectional text control characters can be used to cause code to be rendered in the editor differently from what is contained on disk.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.0.2 (Nov 30, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in this release of 17.0.2:
  • Fix for silent-bad codegen with memmove-like operations with overlapping data
  • Added messaging in the output Window that appears when using C++ Modules or Header Units. This contains currently known issues using Modules or Header Units with IntelliSense.
  • Fix issue with CMake Overview Pages and CMakeSettings editor being stuck on "Waiting for IntelliSense to finish initializing..."
  • Corrected an issue where a templated destructor involved in a class hierarchy with data member initializers may be instantiated too early, potentially leading to incorrect diagnostics about uses of undefined types or other errors.
  • Added Python 3.9.7 to Python workload. Removed Python 3.7.8 due to a security vulnerability.
  • Fixed an issue where the Find Next (F3) and Find Next Selected (Ctrl+F3) would sometimes jump to the first occurrence in the file instead of the next occurrence.
  • Resolve issue where dates in version control user interfaces were not respecting the customer's operating system locale.
  • Address an issue on Windows 11 where customers set the Windows Terminal as default and the debugger can't stop debugging a console app properly and prevent future starts.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Developer Community has a full list of fixes available in 17.0.
  • It is impossible to search on selection if part of a single row is selected Visual Studio 2022
  • Blazor C# completion can occasionally show wrong information
  • PackageId:AndroidImage_x86_API25_Private;PackageAction:Install;ReturnCode:3;
  • Ctrl-F3 sometimes jumps to top of document
  • Ctrl-f3 has changed behavior from visual studio 2019 to visual studio 2022
  • Visual Studio 2022 Test Explorer always showing test as "Not Run"
  • Intellisense in blazor razor components
  • Visual Studio 2022 show wrong add/delete icons in source control tree
  • VS 2022 IntelliSense is taking a while or wont even come up in some scenarios.
  • Intellisense in Razor files (.cshtml) is still not working in VS 2022

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 6.11.7 (Nov 18, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Adds Xcode 13.1 support.
  • The bootstrappers now respect the --useLatestInstaller parameter, which causes the latest installer to be integrated into layout. This latest installer, which ships with Visual Studio 2022, enables the scenario where enterprises want to transition their clients from one layout location to another. For more information, refer to the Visual Studio Administrators Guide.
  • Fixed an issue wehre WAP projects would not appear in the startup projects tool bar combo box.
  • Fixed issue with Windows Application Projects (WAP) where, in certain circumstances, final application bundle contains wrong binaries.
  • Prevent opening "Team Explorer > Manage Connections" or "Git Changes" windows from causing TFVC solutions to be unloaded.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Starting Version 16.8.0 up to 16.9.1 becomes unresponsive and restarts frequently
  • IntelliSense error with std::source_location::current()
  • Visual Studio 2019 version 16.10 - UWP - Xamarin: Runtime exception 'Could not load file or assembly' after updating to Visual Studio 16.10
  • Visual Studio 2019 version 16.11.3 - Packaging UWP application fails
  • 16.11.6: Package 'AndroidImage_x86_API125_Private,version=10.0.0.3' failed to install

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.1 Preview 1.1 (Nov 17, 2021)

  • Issues addressed in this release of 17.1 Preview 1.1:
  • Under some circumstances the publish of a worker service to an Azure Container Apps would silently fail.
  • Fixed an issue where Visual Studio failed to start on Windows 7 machines.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.0.1 (Nov 16, 2021)

  • Fixed a crash when using batch builds.
  • Fixed a crash when launching Xamarin.Forms projects with XAML Hot Reload enabled.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 17.0.0 (Nov 8, 2021)

  • 64-bit:
  • devenv.exe is now 64-bit only
  • Azure Cloud Services:
  • Azure Cloud Service (classic) and Azure Cloud Service (extended support) projects are now supported.
  • C++:
  • The v143 build tools are now available through the Visual Studio installer as well as the standalone build tools.
  • The new Hot Reload experience is now available to native C++ applications when running under the debugger. It supports both MSBuild and CMake projects. For more information see our Hot Reload section below.
  • You can now build and debug natively on WSL2 without establishing a SSH connection. Both cross-platform CMake projects and MSBuild-based Linux projects are supported.
  • Visual Studio now supports the buildPresets.targets option in CMakePresets.json. This allows you to build a subset of targets in your CMake project.
  • The Project menu in CMake projects has been streamlined and exposes options to "Delete Cache and Reconfigure" and "View Cache".
  • CMake Overview Pages have been updated to support CMakePresets.json.
  • Implemented /scanDependencies flag for outputting C++20 module dependencies for CMake projects as described in P1689r3. This is a step towards support for building modules-based projects with CMake and we are working on completing this support in later releases.
  • You can now debug processes running on a remote systems from Visual Studio with LLDB.
  • We have upgraded the version of CMake shipped with Visual Studio to version 3.21. See the CMake 3.21 release notes for details on what is available.
  • LLVM tools shipped with Visual Studio have been upgraded to LLVM 12. See the LLVM release notes for details.
  • The MSVC toolset now defaults to SHA-256 source hashing in debug records. Previously, the toolset used MD5 for source hashing by default.
  • The Game development with C++ workload now installs the latest Unreal Engine with support with for Visual Studio 2022.
  • Made improvements in C++ IntelliSense when providing navigation and syntax highlighting for types from imported Modules and Header Units.
  • Improved C++ IntelliSense performance by optimizing cached header usage and symbol database access, providing improved load times to get into your code.
  • The IntelliSense Code Linter for C++ is now on by default, providing instant as-you-type suggestions and fix suggestions for common code defects.
  • Support for libfuzzer under the switch -fsanitize=fuzzer. See the documentation for more details.
  • We have improved null pointer dereference detection in our code analysis tooling.
  • Code analysis now enforces that return values of functions annotated with _Check_return_ or _Must_inspect_result_ must be checked.
  • Added support for gsl::not_null to code analysis.
  • Updated to NDK r21 LTS in C++ Mobile Development workload.
  • C++ AMP headers are now deprecated. Including <amp.h> in a C++ project will generate build errors. To silence the errors, define _SILENCE_AMP_DEPRECATION_WARNINGS. Please see our AMP Deprecation links for more details.
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • Attach to process dialog improvements
  • Exception helper improvements
  • Force Run to Click
  • Memory Dump Diagnostic Analysis
  • We have released a new type of breakpoint called Dependent Breakpoint, which allows you to configure a breakpoint to be enabled only if another breakpoint is first hit.
  • We have added more updates to the Extrenal Sources node , you can now see the module under the sub-node "Modules without Sources" and load the symbols form solution explorer itself.
  • Breakpoint Gutter improvements
  • Temporary Breakpoint
  • Drag and Drop Breakpoint
  • External Sources Node in Solution Explorer
  • Attach to process dialog improvements
  • Personalization:
  • Added Color Tabs for vertical and horizontal tabs
  • Added Theme Pack and worked with VS Code theme authors to launch collection of custom themes
  • Built Theme Converter to convert VS Code themes to work in Visual Studio 2022
  • Added capability to sync Visual Studio theme with Windows theme
  • Added new document management capabilities inclduding customizing tab width, bolding active document, and additional close button in docwell.
  • Editor:
  • Added subword navigation
  • Autosave is now available as a preview feature
  • Multi-caret copy/paste experience
  • Extensibility:
  • Removed APIs from Microsoft.VisualStudio.Language.Client assemblies
  • VS SDK contains several breaking changes and Visual Studio 2019 extensions will not work in 2022. See VSSDK documentation for more information.
  • VS SDK Reference assemblies are no longer installed to the VSSDKVisualStudioIntegrationCommonAssemblies folder. If your build was relying on these assemblies, please migrate your project to use NuGet packages instead. For offline scenarios:
  • Keep an in-org nuget feed from which to restore the nuget packages.
  • Check in the binaries.
  • Added ILanguageClient breaking change fixes
  • Cloud Services:
  • Azurite will be used for local emulation of Azure Storage instead of the older and no longer actively developed Azure Storage Emulator.
  • Git Tooling:
  • Multi-repo support under a preview flag for any Solution that spans different repositories (i.e. Solutions with projects hosted in different Git repositories)
  • Publish to Azure DevOps is now fully supported in the create git repository experience
  • Status bar enhancements including a new ability to view and open repositories from an empty VS and display a count of unpulled commits
  • The overflow menu on the Git Changes window is now available for local only repositories with additional git operations
  • Unified Diff toolbar containing the number of added/deleted lines and a discoverable configuration options
  • Commit details enhancements including a more responsive and user friendly UI
  • Help Menu:
  • During 17.0 we have remodeled the Help Menu with Get Started material and helpful Tips/Tricks.
  • Provides more collaboration with our development team by adding things such as access to Developer Community, Release Notes, the Visual Studio product Roadmap, and our Social Media pages.
  • Hot Reload Experience:
  • Hot Reload is now available to .NET developers through the Visual Studio debugger and without the debugger for many .NET 6 application types
  • Hot Reload is now available to C++ developers when using the Visual Studio Debugger
  • IntelliCode:
  • Whole line completions predict your next chunk of C# code based on your current context, and presents it as an inline suggestion to the right of your cursor.
  • Whole line completions are now compatible with the newest builds of JetBrains ReSharper. Note that updating the line completion context based on ReSharpers custom completions list item selection is not supported - if required, ReSharper users can opt to use Visual Studio native IntelliSense instead, as documented here
  • JavaScript/TypeScript:
  • We have released a new JavaScript/TypeScript project type that builds standalone JavaScript/TypeScript projects with additional tooling. You will be able to create Angular and React projects in Visual Studio using the framework version installed on your computer.
  • JavaScript and TypeScript testing is now available in the Visual Studio Test Explorer
  • NPM GUI available, so you can now download NPM modules the same way you download Nuget packages
  • .NET 6 SDK:
  • The .NET 6 SDK is included in Visual Studio 2022
  • .NET Productivity:
  • Introduce parameter refactoring can move a new parameter from the method implementation to its callers.
  • Track Value Source for data flow analysis
  • Option to underline variables that are re-assigned
  • Added search option in Generate Overrides dialog
  • Quick info for XML <code> tags now preserve whitespace and CDATA blocks
  • Find All References window will now group multi-target projects
  • Refactoring to remove repetitive types in Visual Basic
  • Go to Implementation will no longer navigate to members with abstract declarations that are also overridden.
  • Synchronize namespaces to match your folder structure from Solution Explorer
  • Configure background code analysis from Solution Explorer
  • Nullable reference types is now enabled by default for new .NET projects
  • C# 10.0 File-scoped namespace refactoring
  • Navigate to decompiled sources is now on by default
  • Refactoring to prefer null check over type check
  • XML comments will now automatically generate an <exception> tag when a method explicitly throws exceptions
  • Inheritance Margin is now enabled by default
  • Programming languages:
  • C#10
  • Razor (ASP.NET Core) Editor:
  • Reduced UI freezes and improved performance on solution startup
  • Faster semantic colorization up to 2x in some solutions
  • F7 (view code) support in Razor files
  • Snippet support in razor files which will complete a snippet session with a single tab instead of pressing tab-tab
  • Better formatting in @code blocks when there's nested HTML and Razor Components
  • Hot Reload support in Razor files
  • Performance improvements
  • Formatting and indentation enhancements
  • New Razor editor colors
  • TagHelpers are now colorized and have quick info classification support and completion tooltips
  • Angle brace highlighting and navigation for Razor constructs
  • Comments now have auto-completion, smart indentation, auto-inclusion of commenting continuations, and block comment navigation
  • Remote Testing:
  • Very early experimental preview of enabling running tests on remote environments such as linux containers, WSL, and over SSH connections.
  • Test tools support:
  • Show in Test Explorer
  • New versions of the test platform starting with 17.0 will not be able to run Generic tests and Ordered tests. These specific features only shipped as part of an early version of MSTestv1 and are not included in MSTestv2. We see very low usage of these features and ordered tests is now considered contrary to best testing practices.
  • Some test experiences will not be available in 17.0 including creating new TestSettings files and the TestSettings editor. Test runs will still be able to use TestSettings files, however TestSettings was replaced with RunSettings and we encourage users to migrate improved performance and functionality. Read more.
  • Web Load Test and Coded UI Test support updates. Coded UI Tests and [Web Load Tests](Cloud-based load testing service end of life | Azure DevOps Blog (microsoft.com) were officially deprecated in 2019. To minimize impact to users there is minimum support for these features in Visual Studio 2022. We strongly encourage users to move off Coded UI Test and Web Load Test.
  • Toolbox population for UWP Extension SDKs:
  • UWP Extension SDKs are now required to explicitly declare the types that they wish to appear in the Toolbox by listing them in their SdkManifest.xml file. The behavior of older versions of Visual Studio is unchanged; they will ignore the list of controls in the manifest and instead dynamically enumerate the control types in the SDK's assemblies.
  • Trusted Locations:
  • We have revamped the “Trust Settings” functionality and can now show a warning whenever untrusted code (e.g. files, projects or folders) is about to be opened inside the IDE.
  • Trust checks are now done at the solution folder level
  • User created projects are automatically added to the trusted list
  • Users can skip trust checks on temporary locations created by Visual Studio
  • Updates, LTSC's and Deployment:
  • With Visual Studio 2022, there will be multiple simultanouely supported servicing baselines that will release in the fall and in the spring. For more details, refer to Visual Studio Release Rhythm documentation and the Visual Studio 2022 Product Lifecycle.
  • The new installer that comes with Visual Studio 2022 now has the capability of configuring where the Visual Studio product should get its updates from. This allows you to choose updates from a different LTSC, or, if you're in a managed enterprise environment, you can configure the client to get its updates from a layout. The ability to configure the source for updates is new functionality that comes with the Visual Studio Installer, and thus the behavior is applicable to downlevel versions of Visual Studio too, such as Visual Studio 2019. For additional information about configuring the update channel, refer to the Update Visual Studio documentation. For additional information about making this work for network layouts, refer to the Visual Studio Administrators Guide.
  • IT Administrators can now report issues without having Visual Studio installed.
  • User Interface:
  • The default icons have been updated and refreshed.
  • Web Tools:
  • The Publish summary page now has actions to start / stop remote debugging and profiling under the '...' menu on the top right corner of the 'Hosting' section
  • The Connected Services page now has an action to launch Storage Explorer
  • The "ASP.NET Core Empty" template that comes with .NET 6 is using the new 'minimal APIs' paradigm for which we have started to add support
  • Azurite will be used for local emulation of Azure Storage instead of the older and no longer actively developed Azure Storage Emulator.
  • You can add authentication to your ASP.NET Core application using Microsoft identity platform through the Connected Services experience in Visual Studio.
  • WPF XAML Designer for .NET Framework:
  • The current WPF XAML Designer for .NET Framework is replaced with a new WPF XAML Designer for .NET Framework, based on the same architecture used for the WPF XAML Designer for .NET (.NET Core). The Visual Studio experience will look the same, but third-party control vendors need to support the new extensibility model since the previous model based on .design.dll and Microsoft.Windows.Design.Extensibility is deprecated. If you already created a .designtools.dll extension for .NET (.NET Core), that same extension will work for the new WPF XAML Designer for .NET Framework. Please refer to the migration document below for further information about how to migrate to the new extensibility model.
  • XAML Hot Reload:
  • XAML Hot Reload Changes - Minor changes to in-app toolbar and settings
  • XAML Live Preview:
  • XAML Live Preview is now available for WPF, UWP, WinUI and Xamarin.Forms developers running their apps in either Android Emulator or as a UWP desktop app. Live Preview captures a running applications user interface and brings it into a docked window within Visual Studio. This makes it easier to use XAML Hot Reload to change the app while seeing those changes inside Visual Studio itself, without the need to tab back and forth between the running app and Visual Studio while making live XAML code changes.
  • XAML Sample Data:
  • Design-Time Sample Data will now be added by default when creating DataGrid, ListBox, and ListView controls from the toolbox in WPF applications. To disable this behavior, uncheck ‘Automatically add sample data on element creation’ under Tools -> Options -> XAML Designer.”
  • To learn more about Sample Data , please visit the Sample Data documentation.
  • Improved XAML binding experience:
  • We’ve made a bunch of improvements to make data binding fast and easy, such as quick access to the Data Binding dialog from Property Inspector, ability to set binding from Quick Actions, ability to choose the property to bind to inside the Data Binding Dialog.
  • Known Issues:
  • Mobile Development with .NET:
  • Xamarin iOS deployment failing after iOS 15 update
  • Android Designer Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NullPointerException
  • iOS deployment fails in VS 2022
  • Android Device Manager does not have any base devices available
  • iOS app "Failed to install" on remote simulator
  • Traditional iOS Project property pages fail to open "Object null reference exception"
  • Failed to create an archive for Xamarin iOS
  • Failed to deploy to an iPhone, Error MT1001: Could not find an application at the specified directory
  • Python Tooling:
  • Python Profiler fails to launch because feature hasn't been added yet
  • Choosing "Python (Latest)" when creating a Conda environment displays "Python Version 0.0"
  • Formatter errors out with 'black' and 'autopep8' with "Invalid patch mode '' in: No newline at end of file". A quick work around is to add a newline to the end of the file and 'black and 'autopep8' will format correctly
  • Django web project commands (migrate, create, check, etc.) error out currently
  • Django completions in HTML files not working
  • IPython interactive mode does not work on Python 3.9
  • Even if a module is successfully installed, a warning will still be displayed in the output. A quick work around is to close and re-open the VS solution
  • C++ IntelliSense:
  • When importing a C++20 module or header unit, IntelliSense may stop working or 'There are too many errors' error is shown

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.1 Preview 1 (Nov 8, 2021)

  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • Added a support for Microsoft Azure App Services Attach to Process.
  • Git Tooling:
  • Added capability to include README file when creatting new Git repositories in Visual Studio
  • Enhanced the ability to pin commonly used branches utilizing hover buttons
  • Built a more discoverable UI for relating Work Items with new commits
  • .NET Multi-platform App UI (MAUI) Preview 10:
  • .NET MAUI Preview 10 is now available.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • Go To Definition from source information in PDBs.
  • IntelliSense completion for await within an awaitable expression.
  • Move static members to a new type refactoring.
  • Simplify code to use the new C# 10.0 extended property patterns refactoring.
  • Detect variable swaps and suggest using a tuple to swap values refactoring.
  • Code definition window support for C# and Visual Basic.
  • Enable nullable reference types across a project refactoring.
  • Signature help simplified view improvements when a tuple appears many times within a signature.
  • Understand errors and warnings at a glance with inline diagnostics.
  • XAML Hot Reload:
  • XAML Hot Reload now supports more end-to-end scenarios when using together with .NET Hot Reload.
  • XAML Live Preview:
  • XAML Live Preview now supports .NET MAUI apps (WinUI & Android).

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.0 Preview 7 (Oct 27, 2021)

  • Fixed a Visual Studio crash while using 'Menu' controls in Windows Forms .NET Framework designer.
  • Updated Xamarin.Forms Project Templates to include the latest released versions of Xamarin.Forms (5.0 SR6) and Xamarin.Essentials (1.7.0)
  • Setting C++ Project to use v142 toolset now works properly.
  • Fixed Hot Restart deployment error with iOS 15.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.0 Preview 6 (Oct 19, 2021)

  • Fix C++ IntelliSense for CMake projects when using a preset with a display name
  • IntelliSense in C# around the override keyword now works reliably in projects with source generators
  • Xamarin Profiler was missing from Setup
  • Improved solution close time

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.0 Preview 5 (Oct 13, 2021)

  • Summary of Issues Addressed in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.0 Preview 5:
  • Adds Xcode support.
  • Fixes a bug where Project Overview pages, and panels in Diagnostic Tools and the Performance Profiler could appear very zoomed in with some multiple monitor setups.
  • Warn when x13, x14, x23, x24, and d16-d31 are accessed in ARM64EC code.
  • Improved support for edits with Hot Reload in test runs. The following actions are no longer rude edits and are now supported with hot reload in test runs: adding tests, adding data rows in theories, adding classes, and adding async methods.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.0 Preview 4.1 (Sep 21, 2021)

  • Hot reloading changes to .cshtml and .razor files breaks tag helpers and components

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.0 Preview 4 (Sep 14, 2021)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.0 Preview 4:
  • Extensibility:
  • Removed APIs from Microsoft.VisualStudio.Language.Client assemblies
  • Programming languages:
  • C#10:
  • C++:
  • Support for libfuzzer under the switch -fsanitize=fuzzer. See the documentation for more details.
  • Hot Reload for C++ now supports CMake and OpenFolder projects.
  • Implemented /scanDependencies flag for outputting C++20 module dependencies for CMake projects as described in P1689r3. This is a step towards support for building modules-based projects with CMake and we are working on completing this support in later releases.
  • We have improved null pointer dereference detection in our code analysis tooling.
  • We have upgraded the version of CMake shipped with Visual Studio to version 3.21. See the CMake 3.21 release notes for details on what is available.
  • The MSVC toolset now defaults to SHA-256 source hashing in debug records. Previously, the toolset used MD5 for source hashing by default.
  • The Game development with C++ workload now installs the latest Unreal Engine with support with for Visual Studio 2022.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • Synchronize namespaces to match your folder structure from Solution Explorer
  • Configure background code analysis from Solution Explorer
  • .NET Hot Reload:
  • Improvements to user experience (new button with options), apply changes on save and settings
  • Support for Hot Reload .NET MAUI apps (iOS, Android and WinUI)
  • Improvements to ASP.NET scenarios
  • More edits now supported
  • XAML Hot Reload:
  • Improved support for XAML Hot Reload for .NET MAUI apps
  • Improved support for using both XAML and .NET Hot Reload in the same session for WPF and WinUI apps
  • XAML Live Preview:
  • Support added for .NET MAUI & Xamarin.Forms apps (Android Emulator)
  • Support added for WinUI 3 and UWP apps
  • Test tools:
  • Show in Test Explorer
  • Web Load Test and Coded UI Test support updates
  • JavaScript/TypeScript:
  • We have released a new JavaScript/TypeScript project type that builds standalone JavaScript/TypeScript projects with additional tooling.
  • NPM GUI available, so you can now download NPM modules the same way you download Nuget packages
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • We have released a new type of breakpoint called Dependent Breakpoint, which allows you to configure a breakpoint to be enabled only if another breakpoint is first hit.
  • We have added more updates to the Extrenal Sources node , you can now see the module under the sub-node "Modules without Sources" and load the symbols form solution explorer itself.
  • Summary of Issues Addressed in this Release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.0 Preview 4:
  • Added an installation path for .NET 6 MAUI workloads
  • Ensures that ATL string initialization occurs during static variable initialization, in the default AppDomain.
  • Release Package source mapping feature which will expand customers' control over their software supply chain. Improved vulnerabilities, deprecations, and combined messages in the installed tab warning icon tooltip.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.11.2 (Aug 25, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fixed an issue where CMake cache generation would fail, which blocked IntelliSense, build, and debug.
  • Fixed warning "Evaluating the function 'System.Diagnostics.TraceInternal.Listeners.get' timed out and needed to be aborted in an unsafe way" when starting debugging on some .NET and dotnet Core application.
  • From Developer Community:
  • CMake cache generation "hangs" after upgrade from vs2019 16.11.0 to 16.11.1
  • Could not find any resources appropriate for the specified culture or the neutral culture. Make sure "Microsoft.VisualStudio.Data.Providers.SqlServer
  • Build Selection stopped working VS 16.11

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.0 Preview 3.1 (Aug 17, 2021)

  • Fixes an issue installing the Microsoft.WebView2 package during Visual Studio installation, which would cause the entire installation to fail.
  • Fixed an issue where any users trying to apply code changes while in a break point under the debugger will see an indefinite progress bar without an option to cancel.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.11.0 (Aug 12, 2021)

  • Updated Help Menu:
  • Updated menu highlights Get Started material and helpful Tips/Tricks. It also provides access to Developer Community, Release Notes, the Visual Studio product Roadmap, and our Social Media pages.
  • New My Subscription menu item allows developers to make the most out of their subscriptions through benefit awareness and additional information!
  • Git tooling:
  • Access additional actions from the overflow menu in the branch picker in Git Changes window and status bar.
  • Hover over a branch name to see last commit details in a tooltip.
  • Access additional actions in the repository picker overflow menu from the status bar.
  • Hover over a repository name to see repository details such as local path and remote URL.
  • C++:
  • LLVM tools shipped with Visual Studio have been upgraded to LLVM 12. See the LLVM release notes for details.
  • Clang-cl support was updated to LLVM 12.
  • .NET Hot Reload:
  • .NET Hot Reload User Experience for editing managed code at runtime.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.0 Preview 3 (Aug 11, 2021)

  • Extensibility:
  • Added ILanguageClient breaking change fixes
  • Trusted Locations:
  • Added support for Git repositories as trusted locations
  • Trust checks are now done at the solution folder level
  • User created projects are automatically added to the trusted list
  • Users can skip trust checks on temporary locations created by Visual Studio
  • Added Group Policy support as a way to manage the trust functionality
  • Editor:
  • Added subword navigation
  • Autosave is now available as a preview feature
  • Multi-caret copy/paste experience
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • Breakpoint Gutter improvements
  • Temporary Breakpoint
  • Drag and Drop Breakpoint
  • External Sources Node in Solution Explorer
  • Attach to process dialog improvements
  • Memory Dump Diagnostic Analysis
  • JavaScript/TypeScript:
  • We have released a new JavaScript/TypeScript project type that builds standalone JavaScript/TypeScript projects with additional tooling.
  • JavaScript and TypeScript testing is now available in the Visual Studio Test Explorer
  • Git Tooling:
  • Basic multi-repo support under a preview flag for any Solution that spans different repositories (i.e. Solutions with projects hosted in different Git repositories)
  • Publish to Azure DevOps is now fully supported in the create git repository experience
  • Status bar enhancements including a new ability to view and open repositories from an empty VS
  • Commit details enhancements including a more responsive and user friendly UI
  • The overflow menu on the Git Changes window is now available for local only repositories with additional git operations
  • .NET Productivity:
  • Nullable reference types is now enabled by default for new .NET projects
  • Undo/Redo support for Remove Unused References
  • C# 10.0 File-scoped namespace refactoring
  • Navigate to decompiled sources is now on by default
  • Refactoring to prefer null check over type check
  • XML comments will now automatically generate an <excption> tag when a method explicitly throws exceptions
  • Inheritance Margin is now enabled by default
  • C++:
  • CMake Overview Pages have been updated to support CMakePresets.json.
  • You can now configure and build your CMake projects with CMake 3.21 and CMakePresets.json v3.
  • You can now debug processes running on a remote systems from Visual Studio with LLDB.
  • Made improvements in C++ IntelliSense when providing navigation and syntax highlighting for types from imported Modules and Header Units. This is an active area of investment for us, please continue to share your feedback on Developer Community using Help->Send Feedback.
  • Improved C++ IntelliSense performance by optimizing cached header usage and symbol database access, providing improved load times to get into your code.
  • The IntelliSense Code Linter for C++ is now on by default, providing instant as-you-type suggestions and fix suggestions for common code defects.
  • Updated to NDK r21 LTS in C++ Mobile Development workload.
  • Added support for gsl::not_null to code analysis.
  • Razor (ASP.NET Core) Editor:
  • Reduced UI freezes and improved performance on solution startup
  • Faster semantic colorization up to 2x in some solutions
  • F7 (view code) support in Razor files
  • Snippet support in razor files which will complete a snippet session with a single tab instead of pressing tab-tab
  • Better formatting in @code blocks when there's nested HTML and Razor Components
  • Hot Reload Experiences:
  • XAML Hot Reload Changes - Minor changes to in-app toolbar and settings
  • .NET/C++ Hot Reload - Various changes such as more supported edits, improvements for ASP.NET developers improvements to CTRL-F5 scenario and more. See below for details
  • Known Issue: Apply changes appears to hang when making changes while debugger is attached
  • Test Experience:
  • Hot reload is now available in your test experience! Speed up your test runs by not requiring full builds in between test runs after minor code edits.
  • Remote Testing - Debugging remote environments connected with docker and wsl is now available. You can also debug over SSH connections if you are connected to linux. For setup instructions see the details in the Preview 2 release notes.
  • User Interface:
  • As part of our goal to refresh the user interface for Visual Studio 2022, the default dark theme has been refreshed to improve contrast and assist in navigation and wayfinding.
  • You can now sync your Visual Studio theme with your Windows OS theme - if you have a Light system theme, Visual Studio's theme will be Blue. If you have a Dark system theme, Visual Studio's theme will be Dark. This can be enabled via Tools > Options > General > Use system settings.
  • Top Voted Issues From Developer Community:
  • Incorrect lock warnings by analyzer C26110
  • 16.10 upgrade breaks MSTest DataSourceAttribute with testrunconfig
  • MSVC global optimization of program results in incorrect output
  • IDE Freezes, tabs flicker under unknown conditions
  • Add support for instrumenting dlls with TLS callbacks (instrumented via vsinstr.exe)
  • VS2019 16.10 ASP.NET WEBFORM???????
  • Catastrophic failure (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8000FFFF (E_UNEXPECTED)) in MFC single document project
  • Primary template chosen over specialization leads to compilation error
  • Unable to update from Preview 1.1 to Preview 2.0. A cycle was detected in the dependency graph: Microsoft.VisualStudio.ComponentGroup.UWP.VC

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.0 Preview 2.1 (Jul 23, 2021)

  • Fixed a crash that may occur when launching or shutting down the Performance Profiler or Diagnostic Tools, or opening or closing Project Overview pages.
  • Fix a crash in Licensing when the English Language Pack is uninstalled.
  • Fixed an issue where document tabs get stuck in a layout loop.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.10.4 (Jul 20, 2021)

  • Top issues fixed in this release:
  • Remove use of disallowed registers in memset.
  • Fixed a codegen bug involving complicated nested expressions involving the bitwise-not operator.
  • Fixed shader debugging for VS Graphics Analyzer
  • Fixed an IntelliSense crash that occurred when processing static data members in in-class template specializations.
  • X64 VC Redist no longer removes runtime files when run with /installer /passive switches.
  • Corrected an issue where the include search order may be incorrect when prepended to "Include Directories".
  • We have fixed performance problem and false positives caused by one of the checker extensions that finds bugs in misuse of VARIANTs.
  • We have fixed performance problem caused by one of the checker extensions that finds bugs in misuse of enum values as index.
  • Introduces Live Share language services fix that restores major code editing features for collaboration session participants (code completion, syntax highlighting, errors, etc.)
  • Concurrency analyzer should no longer produce false warnings C26110 (failure to acquire lock) with auto-lock patterns.
  • C# and Visual Basic compilers fixed a crashed involving InternalsVisibleTo clashing with other assembly level attributes.
  • We have fixed an issue experienced by customers packaging their projects with Windows Application Packaging Projects, such as WPF NetCore apps and Project Reunion apps:

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.11 Preview 3 (Jul 16, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in 16.11 Preview 3:
  • Updated Clang/LLVM to version 12.
  • "Modules for Standard Library (experimental)" was missing, but has been restored.
  • Fixed an EDG assertion failure on nested co_yield.
  • Fixed an issue causing Microsoft Azure Tools for Visual Studio to trigger other .dlls to load in the About Box.
  • Fixed an accessibility issue causing High Contrast Account Settings to not show.
  • Fixed a formatting issue when using @{if(true)}.
  • Fixed an accessibility issue with screen readers failing to announce collapsed code headers.
  • Fixed the Luminosity contrast ratio for Country boundary Foreground/background color to be greater or equals to 3:1 so that visually impaired users can identify these controls.
  • Fixed an accessibility issue where Visible name and accessible name are not similar for "Server" edit field, "Site name" edit field and "Target Runtime" combo box.
  • Fixed a bug causing the screen reader to announce the Connecting status message information under Add SQL Server blade.
  • Filter was missing from the completion list in VB projects.
  • Fixed an issue causing Visual Studio to occasionally stop responding when loading Microsoft.Maui-net6.sln.
  • Fixed an error when building IOS project or XF project that showed the warning "Xamarin.iOS.Common.targets".
  • Fixed branch picker menu grouping.
  • Fixed an issue causing the repository below the selected repository to open instead of the desired repository.
  • Fixed a bug causing warnings for template functions to follow an incorrect ruleset.
  • Fixed a bug causing the Microsoft account dropdown to get truncated when resizing from 125% to 150% or 175% to 200%.
  • Fixed an accessibility bug where the narrator does not announce the label name.
  • Made it easier for users to access the "convert color to resource" button.
  • Made it easier for low vision users to view the focus on the "Select previous gradient stop" and "Select Next gradient stop" buttons.
  • Corrected issues with screen reader users not getting the proper information about buttons.
  • GitHub specific error messages were not always showing when pushing commits.
  • Fixed an issue causing warnings when trying to connect to SharePoint to provision workflow debugging prerequisites.
  • Fixed an issue causing network operations to not work with the Fork and the remote Fork branches in the Git repo window.
  • Fixed a Database Project issue where dragging a file from solution explorer into an opened one is deleting the file from the file system
  • Fixed an issue causing an exception in .cshtml and .razor files.
  • Fixed a slow display of files and icons in the Visual Studio IDE and Solution Explorer.
  • Fixed an error with Git messaging that reported 'It is not allowed to run multiple bulk file operations at a time.'
  • Improved ease of accessibility when accessing the controls for any path of the selected Profile.
  • Corrected an 'Error List' warning when publishing a Cloud Service project with a 'Single Page Application' template.
  • Fixes an issue where attempting to close the quick start window can cause Visual Studio to crash
  • Fixed an inability to publish database projects with null values and an 'str' parameter name.
  • Added support for SSDT MERGE statements.
  • Fixed an issue with F# Interactive where NuGet package references were no longer working.
  • Added ability to use Previous layout folders searching packages during layout operations.
  • Added additional accessibility improvements for keyboard only users in debugging and menu selection.
  • Fixed a localization error with Test Explorer.
  • Fixed an error causing builds to fail in C# VSIX projects.
  • Fixed an error where publishing failed in an ASP.NET Core App running on Docker (Windows/Linux) to Docker Container with error:"Current context "desktop-linux" is not found on the file system".
  • Converted to using the new DartLab instance which gives us the latest fixes and simplifies the YAML.
  • Fixed an issue when clicking "Go To Declaration" that resulted in the cursor jumping to an incorrect position.
  • Fixed EnC regression.
  • Fixed an error causing Visual Studio to stop responding when creating a Service Fabric application.
  • Fixed an error where the Container Orchestrator Support context item disappears after adding docker support for an Azure Function project with .NET 5(Isolated) type selected.
  • Fixed a situation where F5/Ctrl+F5 produced an error message, "Docker command failed with exit code1."
  • Added Service Fabric and Add Orchestra Support dialog.
  • Fixed a failure to restore NuGet deleted packages.
  • Fixed an error causing mstest projects to remove LUT windows after renaming.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Code analysis/PREfast performance regression from 16.6.4 to 16.9.4
  • Codeanalysis warning C6285 in STL functional.h in VS 16.10 preview 4. Worked in 16.10 preview 2
  • EnforceProcessCountAcrossBuilds emits code analysis warnings on system headers
  • Compile errors for external headers
  • Incorrect lock warnings by analyzer C26110
  • CMakePresets based generation on Linux Remote fails with "Error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object."
  • Unable to copy text from git repository view
  • Broken intellisense with template specialization
  • ICE: ARM64 optimizing for /std:c++latest
  • Error adding Apple Developer Account: A Parameter 'certificateType' has an invalid value: 'Unknown value:MAC_INSTALLER_DISTRIBUTION'
  • Functional(813) has warning C6285
  • ICE on C++20 modules + boost::asio
  • 16.9.2 Freezing when working on SQL Server project
  • Build Warning MSB4011 Since Last Xamarin and XCode Updates
  • How enable the multthread to compile source in Visual studio 2019 16.9 with clangcl

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.17.0 Preview 2 (Jul 15, 2021)

  • C++:
  • You can now build and debug natively on WSL2 without establishing a SSH connection. Both cross-platform CMake projects and MSBuild-based Linux projects are supported.
  • The v143 build tools are now available through the Visual Studio installer as well as the standalone build tools.
  • Visual Studio now supports the buildPresets.targets option in CMakePresets.json. This allows you to build a subset of targets in your CMake project.
  • The Project menu in CMake projects has been streamlined and exposes options to "Delete Cache and Reconfigure" and "View Cache".
  • Code analysis now enforces that return values of functions annotated with _Check_return_ or _Must_inspect_result_ must be checked.
  • LLVM tools shipped with Visual Studio have been upgraded to LLVM 12. See the LLVM release notes for details.
  • Clang-cl support was updated to LLVM 12.
  • C++ AMP headers are now deprecated. Including <amp.h> in a C++ project will generate build errors. To silence the errors, define _SILENCE_AMP_DEPRECATION_WARNINGS. Please see https://aka.ms/amp_deprecate for more details.
  • The new Hot Reload experience is now available to native C++ applications when running under the debugger. For more information see our Hot Reload section below.
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • Attach to process dialog improvements
  • Exception helper improvements
  • Force Run to Click
  • Memory Dump Diagnostic Analysis
  • .NET Productivity:
  • Introduce parameter refactoring can move a new parameter from the method implementation to its callers.
  • Track Value Source for data flow analysis
  • Option to underline variables that are re-assigned
  • Added search option in Generate Overrides dialog
  • Quick info for XML <code> tags now preserve whitespace and CDATA blocks
  • Find All References window will now group multi-target projects
  • Refactoring to remove repetitive types in Visual Basic
  • Go to Implementation will no longer navigate to members with abstract declarations that are also overridden.
  • Razor (ASP.NET Core) Editor:
  • Hot Reload support in Razor files
  • Performance improvements
  • Formatting and indentation enhancements
  • New Razor editor colors
  • TagHelpers are now colorized and have quick info classification support and completion tooltips
  • Angle brace highlighting and navigation for Razor constructs
  • Comments now have auto-completion, smart indentation, auto-inclusion of commenting continuations, and block comment navigation
  • Hot Reload:
  • Hot Reload (for both .NET and C++ code) makes it possible to make many types of code edits to your running app and apply them without needing to pause the apps execution with something like a breakpoint. In this release we continue to improve this feature, highlights include: Support for C++, .NET Hot Reload when running without debugger (CTRL-F5), support for more types of edits and more.
  • Trusted Locations:
  • We have revamped the “Trust Settings” functionality and can now show a warning whenever untrusted code (e.g. files, projects or folders) is about to be opened inside the IDE.
  • XAML Live Preview:
  • XAML Live Preview is now available for WPF developers as a first preview of this new experience. With Live Preview we enable the ability to capture a desktop apps UI and bring it into a docked window within Visual Studio, making it easier to use XAML Hot Reload to change the app and easily see the changes as you make them. This feature improves the XAML Hot Reload experience on a single screen device, while also making it possible to polish the apps UI with tools such as deep zooming, rulers, element selection and info tips.
  • Remote Testing:
  • Very early experimental preview of enabling running tests on remote environments such as linux containers, WSL, and over SSH connections.
  • User Interface:
  • The default icons have been updated and refreshed.
  • Azure Cloud Services:
  • Azure Cloud Service (classic) and Azure Cloud Service (extended support) projects are now supported.
  • JavaScript/TypeScript:
  • We have released a new JavaScript/TypeScript project type that builds standalone JavaScript/TypeScript projects with additional tooling. You will be able to create Angular and React projects in Visual Studio using the framework version installed on your computer.
  • JavaScript and TypeScript testing is now available in the Visual Studio Test Explorer
  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fixed an issue where a website failed to load when running ReactRedux with IIS Express.
  • Fixed an issue causing error message: "Uncaught ReferenceError: notifyHotReloadApplied is not defined".
  • Fixed a failure to connect to the server for 6.0 signalR projects when using Ctrl+F5.
  • Corrected an issue where the include search order may be incorrect when prepended to "Include Directories".
  • Fixed Database Project: Dragging a file from solution explorer into an opened one is deleting the file from the file system!
  • Top Voted Issues From Developer Community:
  • Not able to install any previous version of VS. Download fails because on invalid signature
  • Code analysis/PREfast warnings C26404, C26406, C26407 performance regression in CppCoreCheck::PointerSafetyXtension::SearchSmartPtrsAndReferences
  • Internal compiler error with std::to_array when the variable is global and of type char const*
  • Compile errors for external headers
  • C3493 with /std:c++latest using structured binding in lambda
  • Send Feedback button does not work in VS 2022 when Python tools installed
  • Aspx files broken after 16.10 update
  • C++ compiler generates invalid code for constexpr method
  • No warning for unused variable when declared const
  • C++ modules name collision
  • GC collects during method call on c++/cli ref class
  • Publishing Python Django with WebDeploy project fails since Visual Studio update to 16.9
  • ICE: ARM64 optimizing for /std:c++latest
  • VS 16.3.0 .NET Core 3.0 Blazor Server App source code grey-out and lose IntelliSense after deployment
  • iOS code signing key 'iPhone Distribution: Microframe Corp (xxxxx)' not found in keychain

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.11 Preview 3 (Jul 14, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in 16.11 Preview 3:
  • Updated Clang/LLVM to version 12.
  • "Modules for Standard Library (experimental)" was missing, but has been restored.
  • Fixed an EDG assertion failure on nested co_yield.
  • Fixed an issue causing Microsoft Azure Tools for Visual Studio to trigger other .dlls to load in the About Box.
  • Fixed an accessibility issue causing High Contrast Account Settings to not show.
  • Fixed a formatting issue when using @{if(true)}.
  • Fixed an accessibility issue with screen readers failing to announce collapsed code headers.
  • Fixed the Luminosity contrast ratio for Country boundary Foreground/background color to be greater or equals to 3:1 so that visually impaired users can identify these controls.
  • Fixed an accessibility issue where Visible name and accessible name are not similar for "Server" edit field, "Site name" edit field and "Target Runtime" combo box.
  • Fixed a bug causing the screen reader to announce the Connecting status message information under Add SQL Server blade.
  • Filter was missing from the completion list in VB projects.
  • Fixed an issue causing Visual Studio to occasionally stop responding when loading Microsoft.Maui-net6.sln.
  • Fixed an error when building IOS project or XF project that showed the warning "Xamarin.iOS.Common.targets".
  • Fixed branch picker menu grouping.
  • Fixed an issue causing the repository below the selected repository to open instead of the desired repository.
  • Fixed a bug causing warnings for template functions to follow an incorrect ruleset.
  • Fixed a bug causing the Microsoft account dropdown to get truncated when resizing from 125% to 150% or 175% to 200%.
  • Fixed an accessibility bug where the narrator does not announce the label name.
  • Made it easier for users to access the "convert color to resource" button.
  • Made it easier for low vision users to view the focus on the "Select previous gradient stop" and "Select Next gradient stop" buttons.
  • Corrected issues with screen reader users not getting the proper information about buttons.
  • GitHub specific error messages were not always showing when pushing commits.
  • Fixed an issue causing warnings when trying to connect to SharePoint to provision workflow debugging prerequisites.
  • Fixed an issue causing network operations to not work with the Fork and the remote Fork branches in the Git repo window.
  • Fixed a Database Project issue where dragging a file from solution explorer into an opened one is deleting the file from the file system
  • Fixed an issue causing an exception in .cshtml and .razor files.
  • Fixed a slow display of files and icons in the Visual Studio IDE and Solution Explorer.
  • Fixed an error with Git messaging that reported 'It is not allowed to run multiple bulk file operations at a time.'
  • Improved ease of accessibility when accessing the controls for any path of the selected Profile.
  • Corrected an 'Error List' warning when publishing a Cloud Service project with a 'Single Page Application' template.
  • Fixes an issue where attempting to close the quick start window can cause Visual Studio to crash
  • Fixed an inability to publish database projects with null values and an 'str' parameter name.
  • Added support for SSDT MERGE statements.
  • Fixed an issue with F# Interactive where NuGet package references were no longer working.
  • Added ability to use Previous layout folders searching packages during layout operations.
  • Added additional accessibility improvements for keyboard only users in debugging and menu selection.
  • Fixed a localization error with Test Explorer.
  • Fixed an error causing builds to fail in C# VSIX projects.
  • Fixed an error where publishing failed in an ASP.NET Core App running on Docker (Windows/Linux) to Docker Container with error:"Current context "desktop-linux" is not found on the file system".
  • Converted to using the new DartLab instance which gives us the latest fixes and simplifies the YAML.
  • Fixed an issue when clicking "Go To Declaration" that resulted in the cursor jumping to an incorrect position.
  • Fixed EnC regression.
  • Fixed an error causing Visual Studio to stop responding when creating a Service Fabric application.
  • Fixed an error where the Container Orchestrator Support context item disappears after adding docker support for an Azure Function project with .NET 5(Isolated) type selected.
  • Fixed a situation where F5/Ctrl+F5 produced an error message, "Docker command failed with exit code1."
  • Added Service Fabric and Add Orchestra Support dialog.
  • Fixed a failure to restore NuGet deleted packages.
  • Fixed an error causing mstest projects to remove LUT windows after renaming.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Code analysis/PREfast performance regression from 16.6.4 to 16.9.4
  • Codeanalysis warning C6285 in STL functional.h in VS 16.10 preview 4. Worked in 16.10 preview 2
  • EnforceProcessCountAcrossBuilds emits code analysis warnings on system headers
  • Compile errors for external headers
  • Incorrect lock warnings by analyzer C26110
  • CMakePresets based generation on Linux Remote fails with "Error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object."
  • Unable to copy text from git repository view
  • Broken intellisense with template specialization
  • ICE: ARM64 optimizing for /std:c++latest
  • Error adding Apple Developer Account: A Parameter 'certificateType' has an invalid value: 'Unknown value:MAC_INSTALLER_DISTRIBUTION'
  • Functional(813) has warning C6285
  • ICE on C++20 modules + boost::asio
  • 16.9.2 Freezing when working on SQL Server project
  • Build Warning MSB4011 Since Last Xamarin and XCode Updates
  • How enable the multthread to compile source in Visual studio 2019 16.9 with clangcl

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022.17.0 Preview 1.1 (Jul 4, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fixed an issue causing Test Explorer to run very slow.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Failure installing Visual Studio 2022 Preview on Windows Server 2022.
  • Visual Studio 2022 Preview 1 crashes the IDE when using Build All.
  • Xamarin Android Debugging with Android Emulator crashes and restarts Visual Studio 2022.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.10.3 (Jul 1, 2021)

  • Top Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Fixing an issue where Go To Definition on symbols imported from modules sometimes goes to the start of the module file rather than the symbol's definition.
  • Fixed an issue where visually impaired developers would face difficulty to identify the focus on the screen since the Luminosity ratio of border color is less than 3:1 for the text box.
  • Fixed Database Project: Dragging a file from solution explorer into an opened one is deleting the file from the file system.
  • Fixed an issue where using a merge statement in database projects will result in build errors.
  • No longer send paths on disk when reporting which extensions are installed.
  • Fixes an issue where attempting to close the quick start window can cause Visual Studio to crash.
  • Fix an issue where showing tool windows sometimes crash VS.
  • Fix for C++ Edit and Continue in user-code when unrelated G++/GCC generated symbols are loaded in the application.
  • Fixes private selector usages from the iAd framework.
  • Fixed a crash in VS which results from errors occurring in the XAML Designer
  • Fixed an issue with the Windows Application Packaging projects that reference .netcoreapp projects are generating a .msixbundle.
  • Fixing failure to conduct fast up-to-date check on WAP projects which was causing those projects to be built (instead of being skipped), even when project is up-to-date and does not need modifications, further causing increased incremental build times in IDE.
  • From Developer Community:
  • [C++, IntelliSense, 16.7.7] Size of member function pointer is wrong in Tooltip
  • 16.9.2 Freezing when working on SQL Server project
  • C++20 IntelliSense gives incorrect errors with range-v3 version 0.10.0
  • Intellisense issue with modules
  • Xamarin Forms iOS SkiaSharp DirectoryNotFoundException
  • Version 16.10.0 release editor problem - no longer possible to navigate code using the elements combo box
  • C++ 20 Modules: When clicking "Go To Declaration", the cursor jump position is incorrect
  • "Enable device code flow when adding an account" option is missing from v16.10
  • VS 2019 16.10.0 PackageInspectionFailed: Failed to load Info.plist from bundle, No such file or directory
  • App store package contain 32-bit files
  • 16.10.2 does not connect to Mac
  • vsftest: Testing NMI

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.10.2 (Jun 16, 2021)

  • Top Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • The concurrency checks in code analysis got smarter. They are harder to fool with complex control flow.
  • This fix restores the behavior for external headers by skipping analysis of external headers and suppressing warnings from external headers.
  • Fixed .aspx/ascx files where users may see incomplete IntelliSense or experience slow performance.
  • Fixed scalability issues with the Unity CodeLens provider when working on large projects.
  • Reinstated translated strings in the Azure Service Authentication options page.
  • Fixed intermittent visual code display issues when using Resharper extension.
  • Fixed an issue where certain tool windows, editors, and designers would be rendered too small to display any content.
  • Fixes Xamarin iOS missing app icon problems, either when running an app or when trying to publish it to the App Store.
  • Building projects with AOT+LLVM no longer fails with an XA3001 error.
  • After upgrading to Visual Studio 2019, version 16.10, under certain circumstances, publishing of UWP apps may fail with error message "The specified resource name cannot be found in the image file". This is now fixed.
  • Fixed an issue causing Visual Studio 2019 to stop responding when device configuration changes.
  • Fixes three issues in MSBuild:
  • Avoids MSB4017 errors when building in Azure DevOps.
  • $([MSBuild]::MakeRelative()) again preserves trailing slashes in its input.
  • Exclude globs with a trailing ** pattern again exclude files without . characters
  • From Developer Community:
  • Developer Community has a complete list of all of items shipping in this release.
  • ClickOnce won't publish a project.
  • ClickOnce Publish for .NET 5.0 fails when SelfContained=true and the project references another project.
  • ClickOnce does not work again. -> Could not find a part of the path
  • ClickOnce Publish: metadata file could not be found (wrong directory used), publish works on CLI
  • ClickOnce tries to gather libraries from the wrong folder, when publishing! (.Net 5)
  • After update Visual Studio 2019 Version 16.10.0 build ClickOnce is not working.
  • Build regression in 16.10.0 with EWDK
  • Publish has encountered an error.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.10.1 (Jun 9, 2021)

  • Top Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Fixed an issue causing a crash with the IntelliSense compiler.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause Visual Studio 2019 instances from closing if the Test Explorer is open in the solution.
  • Fixed a failure when developers would build partial solutions from the command line.
  • Fixed a failure in ClickOnce Publish for .NET Core applications.
  • Fixes an issue where the call stack window can crash Visual Studio 2019.
  • Fixes build error "Metadata file '***binDebugNativeLibrary.dll' could not be found" when building iOS Binding projects.
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2021-31957 ASP.NET Denial of Service Vulnerability
  • A denial of service vulnerability exists when ASP.NET Core improperly handles client disconnect.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.10.0 (May 27, 2021)

  • C++:
  • All C++20 features are now available under the /std:c++latest switch. While MSVC’s implementation of the C++20 standards (as currently published by ISO) is feature complete, some key C++20 library features are expected to be amended by upcoming Defect Reports (ISO C++20 bug fixes) that may change them in an ABI-incompatible way. Please see Microsoft/STL Issue #1814 for more details.
  • C++20 immediate functions & constinit support added in 16.10
  • The final pieces of <chrono>: new clocks, leap seconds, time zones, and parsing
  • Implementation of <format> for text formating
  • /openmp:llvm is now available on x86 and ARM64, in addition to x64
  • Include directories can now be designated as external with customized compilation warning levels and code analysis settings.
  • Added the /await:strict switch to enable C++20-style coroutines in earlier language modes.
  • Debugger visualization of std::coroutine_handle<T> now displays the original coroutine function name and signature and the current suspend point.
  • Added support for CMakePresets.
  • You will now be required to accept or deny the host key fingerprint presented by the server when adding a new remote connection in Visual Studio.
  • Added an /external switch to MSVC for specifying headers which should be treated as external for warning purposes.
  • Docker Tools improvements:
  • Ability to create a launch profile that configures which services to start in your Compose file.
  • Ability to tag an image.
  • Added a Volumes tab for containers.
  • Added a Labels tab for containers.
  • Added a Labels tab for images.
  • Containers are now grouped by Compose project.
  • Editor:
  • For folks who want a less crowded experience, line spacing can be modified by searching for "line spacing" in Visual Studio Search (Ctrl+Q). The option is under Text EditorGeneral.
  • Find in Files and Find all References have a control to keep results. Based on feedback from our community, we've added an option to toggle the "Keep Results" option to on by default. This option can be found by searching for "keep search results by default" in Visual Studio Search (Ctrl+Q). The option is under EnvironmentFind and Replace. Note that users are currently limited to 5 results for Find in Files and 5 more results for Find all References.
  • A new option in Find in Files allows users to run additional searches and append those results to a previous search.
  • Editor Extensibility:
  • The behavior of the code that manages IntraTextAdornmentTags has changed. With this change, just like with any other ITagger, you must raise a tags changed event when the underlying tags change. Otherwise, your tags may never be updated.
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • Diagnostic Analysis of memory dumps now includes Managed Linux core dumps.
  • Git Productivity:
  • Jump to the web with deep links to create a new pull request and view PRs on GitHub or Azure DevOps from the Git menu.
  • Checkout local and remote branches with a single select from the branch picker.
  • Remove items from the repository picker through the context menu.
  • Turn on automatic loading of the solution when opening a Git repository through Git > Settings.
  • Toggle behavior of double-clicking to check out branches from the Git Repository window through Git > Settings.
  • Sync (Pull then Push) your branch with multiple remotes from the Git Changes window overflow menu.
  • Customize your visible Git Changes window toolbar actions (Fetch, Pull, Push, Sync) from the overflow menu.
  • Open your repository in the browser from the Git Changes window overflow menu.
  • Search and checkout local and remote branches from the status bar.
  • Search and switch between local Git repositories from the status bar.
  • Fixed an issue where local repositories list in the Git menu wasn't loading on Visual Studio launch.
  • Add nested project sub-repos to your local repositories list when opening a repository.
  • Keep solution open when switching repositories through Git > Settings.
  • Turn off open folder when opening repositories through Git > Settings.
  • Sync your branch with the remote from the unpushed commits button in the status bar, and from the Sync command in Git Menu.
  • Fetch and pull from the Git Repository window history pane even when there are no incoming commits.
  • View Commit Details and the comparison of file changes embedded in the Git Repository window.
  • Automatically re-connect or prompt to establish initial Azure DevOps connection when opening an Azure DevOps Git repository.
  • Merge and rebase with visible branch names, replacing confusing Source / Target terminology.
  • Improved performance and reliability for source control glyphs in Solution Explorer.
  • Preserve incoming/outgoing sections in Git Repository window even when empty.
  • Consolidated Fetch/Pull/Push dropdowns for multiple remotes in Git Changes window to a single Action menu.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • Argument completion in method calls
  • EditorConfig UI
  • Visually inspect and navigate the inheritance chain
  • IntelliSense completion for casts, indexers, and operators
  • Debugger support for Source Generators
  • Code cleanup support for Visual Basic
  • Edit and Continue (EnC) updates
  • Remove Unused References
  • Smart Break Line
  • Simplify LINQ expression refactoring
  • IntelliSense completion for Enum values
  • IntelliSense completion mode setting
  • Code style preference for new lines
  • Find All References support for Source Generators
  • Razor (ASP.NET Core) Preview Editor:
  • IntelliSense completion updates
  • Go to Definition support for generic components
  • New code style configuration for tabs and spaces
  • Razor text editor in Tools Options is now called Razor (ASP.NET Core)
  • Test Experience Accessibility improvements:
  • Console.Writeline now shows in the Test Explorer
  • Test output can now preserve tags so hyperlinks and stacktrace links are navigable even from the log files.
  • Log files are created for a single test result when output is over 300 characters or if there are over 10 files attached to the test result.
  • Log files can also now open in preview so it’s easier to manage your tabs.
  • Log files and the Test Explorer support Ctrl PgUp/PgDn for navigating the cursor and Shift+Ctrl PgUp/PgDn for selection.
  • The log file editor is now using the IVsTextView interface which means it will now be able to open very large text files. This should eliminate the need for users to Copy All truncated logs and open them in a separate editor such as Notepad. For MSTest, we now also include a single log file that aggregates all the output instead of only having individual log files for each data row.
  • You can now get cross-platform code coverage at the command-line on Ubuntu and Alpine with the dotnet cli. For users interested in getting code coverage on machines targeting those platforms you can now add the same code coverage collection commands that you'd normally use on windows. See more documentation for dotnet test.
  • There is now an expand all button next to the collapse all button in the Test Explorer. This command has been available through keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+A, Ctrl+ right arrow), but more feedback indicated adding a button was worth the additional UI. As always, thank you for letting us know what you think via http://developercommunity.visualstudio.com/.
  • There are also some slight changes to how the Test Explorer shows "staleness." "Staleness" is the grayed out or "faded" test results that indicate the result was not from the latest test run. If a result is not a part of the most recent test run it will appear as stale. Previously, new test discoveries (or even old test results that were rediscovered) were also shown with solid icons. This caused some confusion on why some 'Not Run' tests were faded and why others were not. This change will reduce the complexity of staleness.
  • With the persisted test results feature (added in version 16.2) you can see test results from the last test run even if you've closed and re-opened Visual Studio. This helps users remember where they left off and gives more context without requiring another test run. We also modified the behavior of persisted results so they will always appear stale. This better indicates that they were not from a test run that executed during the current Visual Studio session.
  • Web Tools:
  • Switch to V2 of API for Azure AD provisioning
  • Azure App Configuration as a Connected Service now supports dynamic configuration
  • Windows Application Packaging Project Dependencies Tree:
  • Added a "Dependencies Tree" to the WAP Project
  • XAML Tooling Improvements:
  • Improved XAML IntelliSense and XAML Hot Reload for Xamarin.Forms customers
  • Introduced XAML Sample Data for select ItemsControls in WPF
  • Added new lightbulb for quick access to commonly edited properties
  • Added new lightbulb in the XAML Editor to help create a view-model
  • Service Fabric Tools:
  • Introducing StartupServices.xml in Service Fabric Applications

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.11 Preview 1 (May 25, 2021)

  • Fixed an issue with C++20 Modules IntelliSense where some language constructs would cause the compiler to crash.
  • Fixed an issue that will cause a small amount of additional memory to leak.
  • Fixed an API breaking change on AudioUnitPropertyIDType.
  • Developers using UWP unit test framework who wish to run their tests on remote devices or emulators were unable to run the tests on remote devices.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.9.6 (May 19, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fixes "Cannot access a disposed object. Object name:'System.Net.Http.StringContent'" when trying to create a certificate or running Automatic Provisioning.
  • We have fixed a problem that prevents the iOS Hot Restart feature to work correctly.
  • From Developer Community
  • Developer Community has a complete list of all of items shipping in this release.
  • Here are some of the top voted issues released in 16.9.6:
  • Bad code generated with /O2
  • Error adding Apple Developer Account: authentication service is unavailable
  • fatal error C1001: Internal compiler error (compiler file 'D:a01_work4ssrcvctoolsCompilerUtcsrcp2main.c', line 213)
  • VS 16.9.5 cannot deploy iOS app

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.10 Preview 4 (May 18, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release
  • Fixed a resource leak which lead to degraded memory usage.
  • Fixed incorrect red squiggles and missing IntelliSense functionality around use of C++20 ranges and concepts.
  • Fixed a problem causing the "Toggle Header/Code" to occasionally fail with Unicode filenames.
  • Fixed a problem causing IntelliSense to get stuck and sometimes cause Visual Studio 2019 to crash.
  • Fixed an issue causing an occasional crash with C++ caused by Visual Studio trying to access null memory.
  • Fixed a C++ issue causing Visual Studio 2019 to crash when a specific character set was typed.
  • VC++ module templates incorrectly makes function template specialization visible.
  • Fixed a problem causing code failures around cmath intrisics not being compatible with the CUDA compiler.
  • Fixed an issue preventing legacy F# projects from loading.
  • Fixed a NotSupportedException in IntelliSense.
  • Additional fields were added to the compilation options section of portable PDBs that can be used for rebuild provenance work. The version number of that section will be at least 2 when that information is present.
  • Fixed an MSBuild crash when building large codebases.
  • Fixed a problem where navigation bars do not work with all .ts or .js files.
  • Solved in issue where the Managed collector stops responding.
  • Fixed an issue where IVsTestConsoleWrapper.CancelDiscovery() does not work for discovery operations involving multiple .NET Core test assemblies
  • Fixed an issue causing developers using utf-8 encoded language couldn't see the right message on the test summary pane in their preferred language.
  • Customers using keyboard couldn't find a easy way to navigate between Tool window and Test Window Table Control
  • The "Test run finished" message was not displayed at the end of logs.
  • Test output log messages were not correctly obeyed in some cases.
  • Added an environment variable on test summary truncation limit.
  • Fixed several WinForms .NET Core scenarios causing Visual Studio 2019 to crash with specific, rare scenarios around navigation, deletion, and clicking of forms.
  • Fixed an issue preventing a project from being loaded in Visual Studio 2019 when building a project containing specific constructs with MSBuild.
  • Fixed a crash around a missing file extension.
  • Fixed a crash in Visual Studio 2019 preventing Container Tool Windows to view any Linux containers will crash when trying to view another container while on the "Ports" tab.
  • Fixed a problem causing the Diagnostics event window to not open when using F5.
  • Fixed issue leading to Intellicode not starting on first opened file.
  • Fixed a memory leak in RemoteServiceBroker.
  • Document pin state is restored when reopening solutions.
  • Fixed a problem causing tags to not be highlighted when searching specific phrases in the New Project Dialog.
  • Improved visibility of button boundaries.to assist with accessibility.
  • Fixed additional memory leaks.
  • Fixed a "File not found" error when debugging Linux C++.
  • Fixed a "Step Into Specific" functionality bug in Hot Reload.
  • Fixed a debugging issue with ARM64 where it was selecting the incorrect runtime arch.
  • Fixed a Visual Studio 2019 launching issue around tailored bootstrappers.
  • Extensions were failing to uninstall when removing them through the Visual Studio extension manager.
  • Fixed an issue preventing customers from sseeing templates installed via .NET 6.
  • Fixed an issue causing Visual Studio 2019 to crash if developers used the comand line dotnet new after previously creating a template in Visual Studio.
  • Unblocked a feature in Hot Restart in Windows when developers tried to build a Xamarin iOS Forms application for a local device.
  • Fixed an accessibility issue causing developers to be told a UI element is on screen when it is actually off screen.
  • Fixed some issues with the property generation lightbulbs around DataTypes and DataTemplates.
  • Added "View All Properties" to Common Properties Provider.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.9.5 (May 12, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fixed an issue where Office tooling did not work as expected when using exports.
  • Fixed a Visual Studio 2019 crash that occurred during certain virtual calls between x64 and ARM64EC DLLs.
  • Resolved false-positive when running multi-threaded ASan-instrumented code.
  • Fixed a project failure producing the error "HRESULT E_FAIL has been returned from a call to COM component".
  • Fixes a problem when opening a C++ file on startup that would occasionally cause Visual Studio 2019 to stop responding.
  • Fixed an issue with CmakeSettings.json configuration of files in which new settings failed to persist.
  • Internal compiler error that was caused by analyzing a source file when the file path contains one or more non-ASCII characters has been fixed.
  • Fixed an issue in opening coverage files where one library has multiple entries in code coverage file.
  • Fixed a bug causing customers who login with non-work accounts with remote desktop enabled could result in access denial.
  • Fixed a bug causing Visual Studio 2019 to crash when developers were customizing their menus and clicked on a separator in the customize dialog.
  • Floating document windows are restored when opening a solution.
  • Fixed an issue causing updates to fail when an administrator creates a new layout of Visual Studio for deploying updates. The client machine update will fail since the layout has moved locations.
  • Fixed an issue causing a project build with fast deployment enabled will fail or deployment will take a long time.
  • Added Xcode 12.5 Support.
  • Fixed an issue causing updates to fail when an administrator creates a new layout of Visual Studio for deploying updates. The client machine update will fail since the layout has moved locations.
  • Security Advisory Notice
  • CVE-2021-27068 RCE possible when planting python.exe in nested folder:
  • A remote code execution vulnerability exists when opening a workspace with python code and that workspace contains a python.exe in a scripts subfolder.
  • CVE-2021-31204 .NET Core Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability:
  • An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in .NET 5.0 and .NET Core 3.1 when a user runs a single file application on Operating Systems based on Linux or macOS.
  • From Developer Community
  • Developer Community has a complete list of all of items shipping in this release.
  • Here are some of the top voted issues released in 16.9.5:
  • Visual Studio not restoring prior open documents on solution load if closed with floating windows.
  • Incorrect C26497: The function 'fun' could be marked constexpr
  • CMakeSettings.json does not change variables when using dialog.
  • Clicking on divider in toolbar editor causes crash of Visual Studio 2019.
  • Building Xamarin iOS binding project not longer works in Visual Studio v16.9.
  • Message: There was an error activating the remote language server.
  • Since upgrading to 16.9.2. I'm getting an error about remote language server.
  • [accepts invalid] msvc will accept [[maybe_unused]] on an invalid location
  • Visual Studio v16.9 link.exe exits with 57009.
  • Code Generation Bug in Optimization.
  • Error adding Apple Developer Account: authentication service is unavailable.
  • ASAN runtime causes random AV's in windows.storage.dll.
  • Visual Studio extension failed to load.
  • Visual Studio 2019 Upgrade to 16.9.4 Causes Compile/Link Error.
  • MsBuild 16.9 incremental build broken.
  • Crash in Visual Studio trying to customize a toolbar.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.10 Preview 3.0 (May 11, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Add C++ Build Insights for developers wanting more information about the time modules, header units, and precompiled headers in their builds.
  • Improved C++ IntelliSense for C++20 modules and header units.
  • Fixed in issue that would have caused developers using CMakePresets to be unable to use custom settings.
  • In CMake projects, we made the focus dot line easily visible to accommodate accessibility needs.
  • Added additional support for localized content in new features.
  • Fixed a bug causing build failures for developers using Docker Compose.
  • Fixed async hang during LSP server initialization.
  • Improved User Interface around solution and document open scenario performance for all Visual Studio 2019 customers.
  • Fixed a bug causing error messages to show in a language other than the preferred.
  • Fixed a bug causing workflow to fail for net50 users trying to publish to CI/CD pipelines in GitHub Actions.
  • Fixed a bug causing the Suggested Actions Panel to show with no visible suggestions.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.10 Preview 2.1 (Apr 26, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fixed a Known Issue in 16.10 Preview 2 with XAML Hot Reload.
  • Fixed an issue in an event handler file causing a crash.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.10 Preview 2 (Apr 15, 2021)

  • Git Productivity:
  • Search and checkout local and remote branches from the status bar.
  • Search and switch between local Git repositories from the status bar.
  • Fixed an issue where local repositories list in the Git menu wasn't loading on Visual Studio launch.
  • Add nested project sub-repos to your local repositories list when opening a repository.
  • Keep solution open when switching repositories through Git > Settings.
  • Turn off open folder when opening repositories through Git > Settings.
  • Sync your branch with the remote from the unpushed commits button in the status bar, and from the Sync command in Git Menu.
  • Fetch and pull from the Git Repository window history pane even when there are no incoming commits.
  • View Commit Details and the comparison of file changes embedded in the Git Repository window.
  • Access added functionality from the Action menu in the Git Changes window.
  • Automatically re-connect or prompt to establish initial Azure DevOps connection when opening an Azure DevOps Git repository.
  • Merge and rebase with visible branch names, replacing confusing Source / Target terminology.
  • Editor:
  • For folks who want a less crowded experience, line spacing can be modified by searching for "line spacing" in Visual Studio Search (Ctrl+Q). The option is under Text EditorGeneral.
  • Find in Files and Find all References have a control to keep results. Based on feedback from our community, we've added an option to toggle the "Keep Results" option to on by default. This option can be found by searching for "keep search results by default" in Visual Studio Search (Ctrl+Q). The option is under EnvironmentFind and Replace. Note that users are currently limited to 5 results for Find in Files and 5 more results for Find all References.
  • A new option in Find in Files allows users to run additional searches and append those results to a previous search.
  • C++:
  • C++20 Ranges are now feature complete! Make sure you're compiling with /std:c++latest to try it out.
  • Added the /await:strict switch to enable C++20-style coroutines in earlier language modes.
  • Debugger visualization of std::coroutine_handle<T> now displays the original coroutine function name and signature and the current suspend point.
  • Added support for CMakePresets.
  • You will now be required to accept or deny the host key fingerprint presented by the server when adding a new remote connection in Visual Studio.
  • Added an /external switch to MSVC for specifying headers which should be treated as external for warning purposes.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • Argument completion in method calls
  • EditorConfig UI
  • Visually inspect and navigate the inheritance chain
  • IntelliSense completion for casts, indexers, and operators
  • Debugger support for Source Generators
  • Code cleanup support for Visual Basic
  • Edit and Continue (EnC) updates
  • Test Experience Accessibility improvements:
  • Console.Writeline now shows in the Test Explorer
  • Test output can now preserve tags so hyperlinks and stacktrace links are navigable even from the log files.
  • Log files are created for a single test result when output is over 300 characters or if there are over 10 files attached to the test result.
  • Log files can also now open in preview so it’s easier to manage your tabs.
  • Log files and the Test Explorer support Ctrl PgUp/PgDn for navigating the cursor and Shift+Ctrl PgUp/PgDn for selection.
  • The log file editor is now using the IVsTextView interface which means it will now be able to open very large text files. This should eliminate the need for users to Copy All truncated logs and open them in a separate editor such as Notepad. For MSTest, we now also include a single log file that aggregates all the output instead of only having individual log files for each data row.
  • Razor (ASP.NET Core) Preview Editor:
  • IntelliSense completion updates
  • Go to Definition support for generic components
  • New code style configuration for tabs and spaces
  • Razor text editor in Tools Options is now called Razor (ASP.NET Core)
  • Docker Tools improvements:
  • Ability to create a launch profile that configures which services to start in your Compose file.
  • Ability to tag an image.
  • Added a Volumes tab for containers.
  • Added a Labels tab for containers.
  • Added a Labels tab for images.
  • Containers are now grouped by Compose project.
  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fixed a regression where developers using CmakeSettings.json to configure their projects noticed the settings were not persisting.
  • Fixed an issue where developers using Visual Studio or msbuild to build an F# project occasionally saw a load error on startup of the compiler.
  • Fixed an error causing a crash in Visual Studio when a user opens a Razor file.
  • Fixed an issue for developers using native UWP testing with WinUI dependencies were not able to discover or execute their tests.
  • Improvements in stability to the experience with WinForms Core Designer for .NET Core.
  • Fixed an issue where users with a clean install of Visual Studio running third-party management software installed or have a pinned terminal tool window would occasionally not load correctly.
  • Fixed an issue Visual Studio 2019 to stop responding after opening the team explorer window.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Visual Studio Merge Branches showing wrong branch name.
  • Visual Studio 2019 Frequent error: "The application called an interface that was marshalled for a different thread".
  • Starting tests from a code file (e.ge., using Ctrl+R, T) tries to load LiveShare components even when not installed.
  • ClickOnce Publish for .NET Core 3.1 and .NET 5.0 may fail when project references a class library project with different Target Runtime.
  • Fixed E1504: Internal error when using C++20 modules.
  • C++ IntelliSense doesn't recognize "using enum".
  • Visual Studio 2019 Enterprise RTM - .NET SDK-based projects (TargetFrameworkMoniker .NET 4.7.2).
  • Fixed an error parsing the config output.
  • "The 'VslsFileSystemProviderVSCorePackage' package did not load correctly" message displays when LiveShare is not installed.
  • Building Xamarin iOS binding project no longer works in Visual Studio v16.9.
  • Toolset 16.9 regression vcxproj producing static libraries: pdb is not copied to the output anymore.
  • Connection to remote Linux machine uses incorrect destination path.
  • Fixed a copy initialization: overload resolution issue.
  • Incorrect IntelliSense squiggle with us of range-v3 library.
  • Gold bar following an exception in DiagnosticDataSerializer.ReadDiagnosticDataArray.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.9.4 (Apr 14, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fixed a SFINAE bug causing an error with some forms of template names in non-dependent base classes.
  • Fixed case where IntelliCode is trying to log into a temporary directory and access to the temporary directory was denied.
  • An issue where some Visual Studio functionality was limited when third-party privilege management software is also installed has been resolved.
  • Addressed an issue where customers repeatedly start debugging on XBox, more and more kernel resources are consumed. Eventually requiring the XBox to be restarted, which would lose any state.
  • Addressed a hang when debugging native code with Insider Preview builds of Windows.
  • Fixed an accessibility bug with keyboard focus.
  • Added back missing Xamarin templates (iOS/Android Class Library, iOS/Android Bindings Library, Android Wear, Xamarin.UITest) in the New Project dialog. These templates were hidden by mistake.
  • For C++ CMake-based projects targeting Linux using an SSH connection, the destination directory specified in CMakeSettings.json by the remoteCMakeListsRoot property has been restored to the previous behavior in VS 16.8, where the destination of the copy corresponds to the source directory's root. Details in the ticket Connection to remote Linux machine uses incorrect destination path.
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2021-27064 Visual Studio Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
  • A remote code execution vulnerability exists when the Visual Studio installer executes the feedback client in an elevated state.
  • CVE-2021-28313 / CVE-2021-28321 / CVE-2021-28322 Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
  • An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector incorrectly handles data operations.
  • From Developer Community
  • Developer Community has a complete list of all of items shipping in this release.
  • Here are some of the top voted issues released in 16.9.4:
  • Visual Studio 16.8 upgrade broke linkage dependencies from MakeFile projects.
  • Error "The 'Environment Package Window Management' package did not load correctly" when launching Visual Studio 16.9 after an upgrade.
  • Toolset 16.9 regression vcxproj producing static libraries: pdb is not copied to the output anymore.
  • Visual Studo freezes during Win32 debugging.
  • Connection to remote Linux machine uses incorrect destination path.
  • Cannot find Xamarin Android Binding Library template in Visual Studio 2019.
  • Could not start Visual Studio due to an error: System.InvalidOperationException: Controller is not responding to incoming requests.
  • SFINAE bug: 'Failed to specialize alias template' in Visual Studio 2019 16.9.
  • ASAN is incompatible with RTC.
  • After updating to vision Visual Studio 2019, I get this error in the editor.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.9.3 (Apr 1, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fixed a crash in MSBuild that occurred when trying to build a solution with MSBuild.exe that contains a web site project.
  • Fixed a crash scenario caused by some dependencies on ServiceHub.
  • Fixed a blocking issue where users of XAML Visual Diagnostics Tool on Xbox or IoT devices were prohibited from remote debugging.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Developer Community has a complete list of all of items shipping in this release.
  • Here are some of the top voted issues released in 16.9.3:
  • There was an error in web.config.
  • Have to select publish profile before publishing
  • After updating from 16.8 to 16.9 ServiceHub.Host.CLR.X86 stops working
  • Visual Studio 2019 v 16.9.2 crashes when opening XAML editor.
  • Issues with the latest Visual Studio 2019 update

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.9.2 (Mar 17, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Update ARM64X global function pointer names
  • Fix for extracting first OBJ of an ARM64X LIB with link -lib -extract
  • Fixed an error were code compiled with Address Sanitizer and optimzations may produce bad code generation that causes Visual Studio 2019 to crash.
  • Fixed a crash caused by adding functions through the Dialog Editor in the Resource Editor
  • Nuget.org will no longer need to be removed as a package source twice
  • Improved NuGet package parsing performance
  • Fixed an error message about deprecated APIs customer received when using Azure SQL Database node in Server Explorer
  • Fixed an issue causing an error message indicating the CascadePackage did not load correctly
  • Fixed an issue causing a building project with fast deployment enabled to fail deployment or take additional time
  • Fixed an issue causing Hot Reload to now show saved changes under the "Full page" mode
  • Fixed an issue with Hot Reload causing Live Visual Tree to not work or apply changes.
  • From Developer Community
  • Developer Community has a complete list of all of items shipping in this release.
  • Here are some of the top voted issues released in 16.9.2:
  • Escape sometimes no longer cancels inline Find Dialog in c#
  • Xamarin forms application deployed with hot restart to iphone crash
  • Performance Profiler reports incorrect session duration
  • Xamarin.Forms HotReload not working since VS2019 16.9.0

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.9.1 (Mar 10, 2021)

  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2021-21300 Git for Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability:
  • A remote code execution vulnerability exists when Visual Studio clones a malicious repository.
  • CVE-2021-26701 .NET Core Remote Code Execution Vulnerability:
  • A remote code execution vulnerability exists in .NET 5 and .NET Core due to how text encoding is performed.
  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fix for emission of incorrect ARM64EC metadata to OBJs.
  • Fixed an issue where C++ with FixIts turned on which is the default option, would see error squiggles upon opening code.
  • In some cases, C++ IntelliSense tries to use extremely large numbers of include paths and becomes non-responsive.
  • Increased stability of Live Share in C++ scenarios.
  • Fixed an issue where IntelliCode would stop loading symbols.
  • Improves solution load and close time in scenarios when users have the new experimental Razor editor enabled.
  • Fixed a crash scenario in ServiceHub that could happen after opening the Extensions and Updates dialog and then shutting down Visual Studio.
  • Fixed an error that would give a message that no updates were available when checking for updates on slower machines.
  • Improves performance of launching WAP projects from Visual Studio during incremental changes.
  • Fixed an issue causing setup to fail launching when using the Italian locale.
  • Fixed an upgrade scenario that would cause the installer to stop responding for a very long time while the .NET core tempalte cache is intialized.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Developer Community has a complete list of all of items shipping in this release.
  • Here are some of the top voted issues released in 16.9.1:
  • Optimizer wrongly removing active code
  • d1initall11 is causing C26019
  • Install takes a long time to complete during upgrade to Visual Studio 2019 16.9

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.9.0 (Mar 4, 2021)

  • C++:
  • Address Sanitizer:
  • Our address sanitizer support on Windows is now out of experimental and has hit general availability.
  • Expanded RtlAllocateHeap support, fixed a compatibility issue with RtlCreateHeap and RtlAllocateHeap interceptors when creating executable memory pools.
  • Added support for the legacy GlobalAlloc and LocalAlloc family of memory functions. You can enable these interceptors with ASAN_OPTIONS=windows_hook_legacy_allocators=true.
  • Updated error messages for shadow memory interleaving and interception failure to make problems and resolutions explicit.
  • The IDE integration can now handle the complete collection of exceptions which ASan can report.
  • The compiler and linker will suggest emitting debug information if they detect you're building with ASan but not emitting debug information
  • You can now target the LLVM version of the OpenMP runtime with the new CL switch /openmp:llvm. This adds support for the lastprivate clause on #pragma omp sections and unsigned index variables in parallel for loops. The /openmp:llvm switch is currently only available for the amd64 target and is still experimental.
  • Visual Studio CMake projects now have first class support for remote Windows development. This includes configuring a CMake project to target Windows ARM64, deploying the project to a remote Windows machine, and debugging the project on a remote Windows machine from Visual Studio.
  • The version of Ninja shipped with Visual Studio on Windows has been updated to version 1.10. Please see the Ninja 1.10 release notes for details on what is included.
  • The version of CMake shipped with Visual Studio has been updated to version 3.19. Please see the CMake 3.19 release notes for details on what is included.
  • Marked many lock/guard types in the STL as nodiscard: https://github.com/microsoft/STL/pull/1495
  • IntelliSense:
  • Improved the stability and functionality of providing imported modules and header units completion in IntelliSense.
  • Added Go-to-definition on module imports, indexing support for export { … }, and more accurate module reference for modules with the same name.
  • Improved the language compliance of C++ IntelliSense by adding support for Copy-initialization of temporary in reference direct-initialization, __builtin_memcpy and __builtin_memmove, Fixing inconsistencies between constexpr and consteval functions, Lifetime-extended temporaries in constant expressions, and Similar types and reference binding.
  • Added completion for make_unique, make_shared, emplace and emplace_back which provides completion based on the type parameter specified.
  • MSVC now determines the correct address sanitizer runtimes required for your binaries. Your Visual Studio project will automatically get the new changes. When using address sanitizer on the command line, you now only need to pass /fsanitize=address to the compiler.
  • Visual Studio's Connection Manager now supports private keys using the ECDSA public key algorithm.
  • Updated the versions of LLVM and Clang shipped in our installer to v11. Read the release notes for LLVM and Clang for more information.
  • Visual Studio will now use CMake variables from toolchain files to configure IntelliSense. This will provide a better experience for embedded and Android development.
  • Implementation of the More Constexpr Containers proposal, which allows destructors and new expressions to be constexpr. This paves the way for utilities like constexpr std::vector and std::string.
  • Extended support for C++20 modules IntelliSense, including Go To Definition, Go To Module, and member completion.
  • Abbreviated function templates are now supported in the MSVC compiler.
  • Javascript/TypeScript:
  • There is now support for Edge Chromium based WebView2 JavaScript/TypeScript debugging for applications such as WPF, WinForms and WinUI 3 projects. This can be enabled by selecting the JavaScript debugger from the Project Properties dialog box. Details on how to get started to can be found here
  • Debugger:
  • Added a new Auto Analyzer that inspects threads for deadlocks.
  • Auto Analyzer that inspects threads for deadlocks
  • Added a new Auto Analyzer that inspects the .NET Core Finalizer queue and detects potentially blocking objects.
  • Auto Analyzer that inspects the .NET Core Finalizer queue
  • Visual Studio now filters out redundant repeating frames from the call stack when the debugger stops on a StackOverflow Exception. It is now possible to see the base of the stack where an infinite recursion originated, which hopefully makes it easier to investigate these kinds of bugs.
  • Filters out redundant repeating frames from the call stack when the debugger stops on a StackOverflow Exception
  • Profiler:
  • Added new dynamic instrumentation scenario that is faster (doesn't require VSInstr) and allows .NET Core applications to be instrumented without needing PDBs.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • There is now IntelliSense completion for preprocessor symbols.
  • Solution Explorer now displays the new .NET 5.0 Source Generators.
  • Go To All won't display duplicate results across netcoreapp3.1 and netcoreapp2.0.
  • Quick Info now displays compiler warning IDs or numbers for suppressions.
  • Using directives will now automatically get added when copying

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.10 Preview 1 (Mar 3, 2021)

  • .NET Productivity:
  • Remove Unused References
  • Smart Break Line
  • Simplify LINQ expression refactoring
  • IntelliSense completion for Enum values
  • IntelliSense completion mode setting
  • Code style preference for new lines
  • Find All References support for Source Generators
  • Web Tools:
  • Switch to V2 of API for Azure AD provisioning
  • Azure App Configuration as a Connected Service now supports dynamic configuration
  • Git Productivity:
  • Improved performance and reliability for source control glyphs in Solution Explorer.
  • Preserve incoming/outgoing sections in Git Repository window even when empty.
  • Consolidated Fetch/Pull/Push dropdowns for multiple remotes in Git Changes window to a single Action menu.
  • Debugging & Diagnostics:
  • Diagnostic Analysis of memory dumps now includes Managed Linux core dumps.
  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • From Developer Community:
  • .sqlproj not updating with changes
  • Array access in compound literals initializers gives incorrect offsets
  • Visual Studio 2019 Preview 2 standard c++ library modules issues/comments
  • Visual Studio 2019 still wipes CMakeBuild directory each time I touch CMakeFiles.txt or CMakeSettings.json
  • MSVC does not respect constexpr if within lambdas
  • Noexcept default constructor
  • Pragma warning(push, )) does not disable all warnings for its scope if /Wall is set
  • Constexpr-if and unused parameter
  • Can't declare constexpr initializer_list
  • C++latest confuses calling convention in template parameter

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.9 Preview 5 (Feb 25, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • some issues with Address Santizer where use of some switches such as /MTd or /Od will hit a build break and generate confusing errors.
  • a Visual Studio 2019 crash when using IntelliSense/tag parse.
  • Made it so C# code changes do not log to a temporary directory by default.
  • an issue where developers with multiple projets in their solution who use WithEvents and the .NET 5 SDK would be unable to build their solution.
  • an issue in the C# source generated files in Solution Explorer where some of the information was missing
  • an error where code coverage reports are not generated for libraries which run under the IIS processes.
  • an issue surfacing when developers opened more than one Visual Studio instance had test results from the open solution removed from the test window.
  • an issue where developers were unable to consistently navigate within Test Explorer while using a keyboard.
  • Added some accessibility naming of focusable elements for users of the Task Runner Explorer (TRX) using screenreaders.
  • Fix for intermittent Visual Studio crash due to WinForms .NET Framework designer load failure.
  • an issue where the Package Manager UI button does not always respond when clicked.
  • Updated background colors in the Visual Studio light theme based on customer feedback.
  • an issue preventing some developers from accessing azure resources when launching a program under a debugger.
  • an issue with IntelliCode Find & Replace where the proposed find would not be displayed properly.
  • an out of memory leak that would cause Visual Studio to stop responding.
  • a crash in Visual Studio that prevented it from loading a solution.
  • an issue preventing profiles from not being set when users attempt to restore the terminal profiles.
  • an issue where navigating from a metadata file to another metadata file resulted in failures.
  • an issue that caused failures in creating a public GitHub repository.
  • a bug where users debugging UWP applications could cause Visual Studio to crash.
  • an issue in the Diagnostics Tools or Performance Profiler where no data was available.
  • an issue where developers could not use RichNav features on loose files.
  • Added prevention of installing Visual Studio on unsupported operating systems through the command line.
  • a delay in templates being rendered in the new project dialog.
  • Developers who generate a GitHub workflow profile for API Management were not able to use '-' without an invalid name warning.
  • Allow developers to create Spring Cloud or GitHub actions profiles without needing to reload the project/solution.
  • Added Xcode 12.4 support.
  • the accessibility of a configuration screen when a developer with no emulator starts an application.
  • an issue where TextColor="Accent" was unsupported by XAML IntelliSense with Hot Reload.
  • Developers using accessibility to work with Live Visual Tree had a missing name in the toolbar button.
  • From Developer Community:
  • False warning C26815
  • Xamarin Hot Restart does not recognize Itunes install
  • ASAN x64 - Missed detection of stack buffer overflow during a write in release mode
  • Address sanitizer works absolutely strange
  • Internal Compiler Error is triggered with /analyze when an edge case with bit fields and enums is encountered
  • Deadlocking with dbghelp in 16.8.3
  • PDBs keep growing in size on incremental links
  • C6237 has not been updated to work with constexpr
  • CPU Profiler does not gather statistics
  • Unexpected Visual Studio 2019 crash when docking or splitting windows
  • Running Azure dependent API locally fails in Microsoft.Asal.TokenService.exe
  • Application Timeline Performance Profiler won't capture any diagnostics
  • There seems to be some errors in this target-typed conditional expression.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.8.6 (Feb 25, 2021)

  • Issued Addressed in this Release of Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8.6:
  • a high priority bug blocking developers from pushing code to Azure Functions or other Azure resources from Visual Studio 2019.
  • VS 16.8.5 Create a Git repository - Create a new GitHub repository - PUBLIC (unchecked Private option) - FAIL

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.9 Preview 4 (Feb 10, 2021)

  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fixed an issue where developers saw a degredation of the debugging experience when the debugger did not understand the class/structure debug records.
  • Addressed several F# compiler and tools issues
  • Fixed an intermittent issue that caused a warning on 'record' usage.
  • Fixed compile time errors for any user using the Winforms Core Designer and also using a global resource in their project.
  • Fixed an issue causing a yellow banner to erroneously display.
  • Consistency fix for source generator API changes between Visual Studio 2019 and .NET SDK
  • Addressed an issue where developers trying out the Cloud Services extended support Preview could not see the template.
  • Fixed an issue where users who have only ASP.NET and Web development workloads in Visual Studio 2019 won't be able to scaffold docker-compose projects.
  • Fixed a LiveShare and GitHub Codespace error where developers would not see diagnostics about closed documents in error lists.
  • Fixed a hang in Razor, LiveShare, and GitHub Codespaces where periodic semantic tokenization overlaps when a user types quickly.
  • Fixed a memory leak caused by developers having a large number of C# documents open while performing completion operations in each of those documents.
  • Fixed performance issues caused by extra loading of non-ngened images.
  • Fixed an issue where users trying the New Git Experience who have non-English/ENU localization settings did not have their Fetch/Push/Pull buttons highlighted or shown on the Git Changes page.
  • Added an "X" button to close the branches view in the Git Repo window in the New Git Experience.
  • Fixed a memory leak in debugging which caused the performance debugger diagnostics tool window to load, and sometimes cause the product to stop responding if it failed to start the session.
  • Fixed an issue causing the Counter Tool in Diagnostics Hub to not open version 16.8 reports in version 16.9.
  • Fixed an issue preventing developers from creating Azure Web Job templates when the .NET Core "Show All Templates" preview feature is enabled.
  • Fixed an issue causing .NET applications failures in launching when trying a preview release of .NET 6.0
  • From Developer Community:
  • Fixed an issue causing Visual Studio 2019 to crash when docking or splitting windows.
  • Visual Studio is freezing when scrolling through CodeLens
  • Cannot Disable Message: "Package restore on project open is disabled. Change the npm package management"
  • Cannot associate UWP app with Store
  • New Git Experience: The new conflict window breaks files with non-UTF8 encoding
  • Eevenv.com suppresses all warnings and errors.
  • Object reference not set to an instance of an object
  • C++ IntelliSense completion fails to work wtih windows-clang-x64 mode if a template argument is not provided
  • Modules and chaiscript: Internal compiler error
  • Cannot rename file with different capitalization
  • Ctrl+F3 closes the new Find in Files window

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.8.5 (Feb 10, 2021)

  • CVE-2021-1639 TypeScript Language Service Remote Code Execution Vulnerability:
  • A remote code execution vulnerability exists when Visual Studio loads a malicious repository containing JavaScript or TypeScript code files.
  • CVE-2021-1721 .NET Core Denial of Service Vulnerability:
  • A denial-of-service vulnerability exists when creating HTTPS web request during X509 certificate chain building.
  • CVE-2021-24112 .NET 5 and .NET Core Remote Code Execution Vulnerability:
  • A remote code execution vulnerability exists when disposing metafiles when a graphics interface still has a reference to it. This vulnerability only exists on systems running on MacOS or Linux.
  • Issued Addressed in this Release of Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8.5:
  • Fixed an issue where x86 Microsoft.VCLibs Appx installed under ExtensionSDKs updated with correct signature.
  • Fixed a memory leak when using C++ DesignTime features.
  • Fixed an issue where an exception would occur if a password is not remembered when importing an existing database into an SSDT project.
  • Fixed an issue where the publish button is disabled the first time customers publish .NET Core projects to a folder or other hosting targets.
  • Fixed a hang that occasionally occurred when developers opened the publish profiles view page.
  • Adds Xcode 12.4 support.
  • Items From Developer Community:
  • Fixed an issue where .sqlproj is not updating with changes.
  • Visual Studio 2019 crashes with OOM failures on Chromium solutions.
  • Bug in optimization compiler of Visual Studio 2019 version 16.7.6
  • Visual Studio crashes when Adding New Item -> Table on a Database project.
  • VSDIIUnregisterServer is slowing Visual Studio 2019 down.
  • Unexpected Visual Studio 2019 crash when docking or splitting windows.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.9 Preview 3 (Jan 21, 2021)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2019 version 16.9 Preview 3
  • C++
  • You can now target the LLVM version of the OpenMP runtime with the new CL switch /openmpllvm. This adds support for the lastprivate clause on #pragma omp sections and unsigned index variables in parallel for loops. The /openmpllvm switch is currently only available for the amd64 target and is still experimental.
  • Visual Studio CMake projects now have first class support for remote Windows development. This includes configuring a CMake project to target Windows ARM64, deploying the project to a remote Windows machine, and debugging the project on a remote Windows machine from Visual Studio.
  • The version of Ninja shipped with Visual Studio on Windows has been updated to version 1.10. Please see the Ninja 1.10 release notes for details on what is included.
  • The version of CMake shipped with Visual Studio has been updated to version 3.19. Please see the CMake 3.19 release notes for details on what is included.
  • Marked many lock/guard types in the STL as nodiscard https//github.com/microsoft/STL/pull/1495
  • IntelliSense
  • Improved the stability and functionality of providing imported modules and header units completion in IntelliSense.
  • Added Go-to-definition on module imports, indexing support for export { … }, and more accurate module reference for modules with the same name.
  • Improved the language compliance of C++ IntelliSense by adding support for Copy-initialization of temporary in reference direct-initialization, __builtin_memcpy and __builtin_memmove, Fixing inconsistencies between constexpr and consteval functions, Lifetime-extended temporaries in constant expressions, and Similar types and reference binding.
  • Added completion for make_unique, make_shared, emplace and emplace_back which provides completion based on the type parameter specified.
  • Address Sanitizer
  • Expanded RtlAllocateHeap support, fixed a compatibility issue with RtlCreateHeap and RtlAllocateHeap interceptors when creating executable memory pools.
  • Added support for the legacy GlobalAlloc and LocalAlloc family of memory functions. You can enable these interceptors with ASAN_OPTIONS=windows_hook_legacy_allocators=true.
  • Updated error messages for shadow memory interleaving and interception failure to make problems and resolutions explicit.
  • The IDE integration can now handle the complete collection of exceptions which ASan can report.
  • The compiler and linker will suggest emitting debug information if they detect you're building with ASan but not emitting debug information
  • Javascript/TypeScript
  • There is now support for Edge Chromium based WebView2 JavaScript/TypeScript debugging for applications such as WPF, WinForms and WinUI 3 projects. This can be enabled by selecting the JavaScript debugger from the Project Properties dialog box. Details on how to get started to can be found here
  • Test Explorer There is now support for running Karma, Jasmine, Mocha, Jest and Tape tests in all project types, including .NET and .NET Core
  • Debugger
  • Added a new Auto Analyzer that inspects threads for deadlocks.
  • Visual Studio now filters out redundant repeating frames from the call stack when the debugger stops on a StackOverflow Exception. It is now possible to see the base of the stack where an infinite recursion originated, which hopefully makes it easier to investigate these kinds of bugs.
  • .NET Productivity
  • There is now IntelliSense completion for preprocessor symbols.
  • Solution Explorer now displays the new .NET 5.0 Source Generators.
  • Go To All won't display duplicate results across netcoreapp3.1 and netcoreapp2.0.
  • Quick Info now displays compiler warning IDs or numbers for suppressions.
  • Test Explorer audio cues and accessibility updates
  • You can now configure audio cues with the Test Explorer, the Group By menu is more accessible for screen readers, and viewing long test output is easier with clickable links opening log files directly.
  • Web Tools
  • Enhanced .NET support for Azure App Configuration as a Connected Service
  • XAML Tools (WPF, WinUI, UWP & Xamarin.Forms)
  • Improved MVVM Support In this release, we introduced a new dialog that allows you to quickly create a view-model and declare it as the DataContext for the XAML page. Setting the DataContext will enhance IntelliSense when working with data bindings – such as the ability to create properties in the view-model, Go To Definition, and completions.
  • A lightbulb item within the XAML editor now allows you to create a new ICommand property in your view-model. When the editor is unable to resolve a binding for a Command, this feature looks for ICommand implementations within, or referenced by, your project. It then allows you to quickly generate a field, command, and execute method without leaving the XAML editor.
  • Issues Addressed in this Release
  • From Developer Community
  • Visual Studio 2019 produces incorrect code when using an infinite loop construct with explicit continue and break statements.
  • "Validation (CSS 4.0) warnings appear with no option to change to CSS 3.0 validation
  • Intellisense scss map reports unexpected character sequence
  • Diagnostic Tools pane is blank/corrupted in VS 2019
  • VS for Linux Build cancel (Ctrl+Break) Not work on complex solutions! VS not closable!
  • A git merge and not commit operation bug
  • Adding a new Report (.rdl) fails with error "Member not found 0x80020003 DISP_E_MEMBERNOTFOUND"
  • Modules and chaiscript internal compiler error
  • Remote linux debug path broken with shared project reference
  • Task Runner Explorer Broken in 16.8
  • c2833 with operator decltype
  • Default VB.Net Core WinForms Project gets error creating Settings.
  • Microsoft Azure Tools Method not found 'Void Microsoft.WindowsAzure.ServiceModel.Service.set_IsSLBPartialGS(Microsoft.WindowsAzure.ServiceModel.Expr
  • __is_nothrow_constructible intrinsic ignores potentially-throwing argument conversions
  • You can not choose /permissive in "Conformance mode"
  • Linux link fails with project reference
  • Visual Studio forces the user to use its High Contrast theme when Windows is in High Contrast mode

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.8.4 (Jan 13, 2021)

  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2021-1651 / CVE-2021-1680 Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
  • An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector incorrectly handles data operations.
  • CVE-2020-26870 Visual Studio Installer Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
  • A remote code execution vulnerability exists when the Visual Studio Installer attempts to show malicious markdown.
  • CVE-2021-1723 ASP.NET Core and Visual Studio Denial of Service Vulnerability
  • A denial of service vulnerability exists in the way Kestrel parses HTTP/2 requests.
  • Issued Addressed in this Release of Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8.4:
  • Fixed an issue where C#-specific IntelliCode components may not be installed if IntelliCode had previously been installed from the Visual Studio Marketplace in older versions of Visual Studio
  • Transitive project references are now respected when a PackageReference projects references packages.config projects with PackageReference dependencies.
  • Adds Xcode 12.3 support.
  • Fixes x86_64 watchOS 7.0+ simulator support
  • From Developer Community:
  • After 16.8 update getting lot of code analysis errors despite certain rules set to warning
  • A .NET Core 3.1 or .NET 5.0 application installed by ClickOnce may fail to start after being installed.
  • C33005 false positive with _variant_t
  • Git merge and commit operation bug
  • Unable to view Task or parallel stacks information with net5.0-windows* TFM
  • Clicking update on SQL Schema Compare does not save changes to sqlproj file
  • Database Project: Dragging a file from solution explorer into an opened one is deleting the file from the file system!
  • Intellicode model training fails on Visual Studio 2019
  • Open LiveShare collaboration sessions fail

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.8.3 (Dec 10, 2020)

  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2020-17156 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
  • A remote code execution vulnerability exists when Visual Studio clones a malicious repository.
  • Issued Addressed in this Release of Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8.3:
  • Fixed an internal compiler error when a nested function template is defined outside of the parent class.
  • Fixed incorrect error C2355 when 'this' is used in the initializer of a non-static data member.
  • Ruleset loading error has been fixed for custom ruleset using /analyze:ruleset option with /analyze:rulesetdirectory and/or /analyze:projectdirectory option.
  • Fix for an intermittent crash in Visual Studio while using WinForms .NET Core designer.
  • .NET 5.0.1 insertion into Visual Studio v 16.8.3
  • Fixed an issue where some of the UI context activiated tool windows can cause Visual Studio to crash.
  • Fixed Push from Manage Branches page when there is no Git remote tracking branch.
  • Added Xcode 12.2 support.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Event name should have at least three parts separated by a slash
  • Customizing Toolbar does not keep

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.9 Preview 2 (Dec 9, 2020)

  • Git Productivity:
  • Commit changes with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Enter
  • C++:
  • MSVC now determines the correct address sanitizer runtimes required for your binaries. Your Visual Studio project will automatically get the new changes. When using address sanitizer on the command line, you now only need to pass /fsanitize=address to the compiler.
  • Visual Studio's Connection Manager now supports private keys using the ECDSA public key algorithm.
  • Updated the versions of LLVM and Clang shipped in our installer to v11. Read the release notes for LLVM and Clang for more information.
  • Visual Studio will now use CMake variables from toolchain files to configure IntelliSense. This will provide a better experience for embedded and Android development.
  • Test Experience improvements in code coverage:
  • .NET Productivity:
  • Using directives will now automatically get added when copying and pasting types to a new file.
  • IntelliSense completion will now automatically insert a semicolon as a commit character for object creation and method completion.
  • Semantic colorization for C# 9.0 records.
  • Refactoring that removes unnecessary discards.
  • Refactoring that converts a verbatim and regular string to an interpolated string preserving curly braces that were intended to go in the output.
  • Code fix in Visual Basic that removes the shared keyword when you convert methods that are shared to a module.
  • .NET Web Tools:
  • Deploy your Steeltoe applications to Azure Spring Cloud using Visual Studio Publish (e.g. right-click > Publish in Solution Explorer).
  • Visual Studio Installer:
  • The Visual Studio Installer no longer elevates on launch
  • The Visual Studio Installer now supports HDR displays
  • The Visual Studio Installer supports the Navigator screen reader
  • Installer updates have been streamlined into the Visual Studio update
  • The Visual Studio Installer adds dark theme support
  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fix for an intermittent crash in Visual Studio while using WinForms .NET Core designer.
  • Fix Push from Manage Branches page when there is no Git remote tracking branch.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.8.2 (Nov 21, 2020)

  • Issued Addressed in this Release of Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8.2:
  • Fixed for optimization bug in loops.
  • Fixed internal compiler error in implementation of guaranteed copy elision (C++17 feature).
  • Fixed build perf regression for large uses of anonymous types.
  • Resolved an issue where a gold bar with the message "Specified argument was out of the range of valid values" would appear when editing C# code.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause a MissingMethodException when building a project that had T4 templates.
  • Fixes an issue where the search in the New Project Dialog could return zero results.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.8.1 (Nov 13, 2020)

  • Issued Addressed in this Release of Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8.1:
  • Fixed a high-impacting issue where “The 'SourceExplorerPackage' package did not load correctly.” warning pops up when cloning a repo in Team Explorer. When users encountered this problem, it would cause the product to stop responding.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.8.0 (Nov 11, 2020)

  • Summary of What's New in this Release of Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8
  • F#:
  • F# 5 is now released alongside .NET 5
  • Performance improvements and fixes for Visual Studio tooling via F# Tools version 11.0.0
  • Full release notes available on GitHub
  • C++:
  • C++20 Coroutines are now supported under /std:c++latest and the <coroutine> header.
  • IntelliSense now provides support for C++20 <concepts> and <ranges> headers, and rename and browsing for concept definitions.
  • Our STL now has support for the majority of C++20 Ranges.
  • Conditionally trivial special member functions are now supported in MSVC.
  • C11 and C17 are now supported under the /std:c11 and /std:c17 switches.
  • Additional STL improvements include full support for std::atomic_ref, std::midpoint and std::lerp and std::execution::unseq, optimizations for std::reverse_copy, and more.
  • Upgraded version of CMake shipped with Visual Studio to CMake 3.18.
  • Our code analysis tools now support the SARIF 2.1 standard: the industry standard static analysis log format.
  • Missing build tools in Linux projects will now issue a warning in the toolbar and a clear description of the missing tools in the error list.
  • You can now debug Linux core dumps on a remote Linux system or WSL directly from Visual Studio.
  • For C++ Doxygen comment generation, we added additional comment style options (/*! and //!).
  • Additional vcpkg announcements
  • Compiler support for lambdas in unevaluated contexts
  • /debug:full link performance improved by multi-threading pdb creation. Several large applications and AAA games see between 2 to 4 times faster linking.
  • The Visual Studio debugger now has support for char8_t.
  • Support for ARM64 projects using clang-cl.
  • Intel AMX intrinsics support.
  • Debugger:
  • .NET Core Linux core dump debugging support
  • .NET and .NET Core Auto Analysis
  • .NET and .NET Core memory hot path auto analysis
  • Experimental Razor Editor Updates:
  • Blazor light bulbs
  • C# light bulbs
  • Enhanced Razor formatting
  • Rename Razor components in markup from .razor files
  • Go-to-definition on Blazor component tag namespace
  • C# hover colorization
  • C# completion toolitip colorization
  • Go-to-definition/implementation for Razor, including closed files
  • Find All References in closed Razor files
  • Improved Razor editing preformance and stability for large projects and solutions
  • Fakes with SDK Style Projects:
  • When using the new Fakes support for SDK style projects some users encountered the following error when generating shims
  • Git Productivity:
  • Learn more about how to use all the Git features in our new online documentation
  • Open the Git Repository window at any time through the Git Changes window, the View menu, and the Status bar
  • Fetch, Pull, and Push from multiple remotes in the Git Changes window
  • View success and error messages for Git commands at the top of the Git Repository window
  • Create a new branch from an Azure DevOps work item
  • Open a Git repository from a list of your local repositories in the Git menu
  • The default source control provider is now Git instead of TFVC
  • Single click to switch between branch histories in the Git Repository window
  • Access the new Git windows in read-only mode as a guest in a Live Share session
  • View and select from a list of solutions in Solution Explorer after opening a repository
  • Modify the history view and search for commits through a tool bar in the Git Repository window
  • Fetch, pull, and push from the incoming and outgoing commits sections in the history graph of a branch
  • Get prompted to create a pull request after pushing a branch to your remote
  • View branch names in the merge and rebase commands in the branch list context menu
  • Access Git commands through the context menu in Solution Explorer and the Editor
  • Observe clone progress through a new modal dialog with the option to move the process to the background
  • IntelliCode:
  • Get personalized IntelliCode completions in Visual Studio documentation
  • Keep your IntelliCode completions up-to-date with your codebase and share as part of your team's CI workflow documentation
  • .NET Productivity:
  • Roslyn analyzers are now included in the .NET 5.0 SDK
  • Refactoring that introduces the new C# 9 not pattern matching syntax when a suppression operator is present
  • Inline method refactoring to help replace usages of static, instance, and extension method within a single statement body
  • Code fix to convert instances of typeof to nameof in C# and GetType to NameOf in Visual Basic
  • C# and Visual Basic support for inline parameter name hints that inserts adornments for literals, casted literals, and object instantiations prior to each argument in function calls
  • Refactoring that extracts members from a selected class to?a?new base class in both C# and Visual Basic
  • Code cleanup has new configuration options that can apply formatting and file header preferences set in your EditorConfig file across a single file or an entire solution
  • Code fix to remove the in keyword where the argument should not be passed by reference
  • Refactoring that introduces the new C#9 pattern combinators and pattern matching suggestions such as converting == to use is where applicable
  • Code fix to make a class abstract when you are trying to write an abstract method in a class that is not abstract
  • IntelliSense completion in DateTime and TimeSpan string literals automatically appear when the first quote is typed
  • Code fix to remove unnecessary pragma suppressions and unnecessary SuppressMessageAttributes
  • Rename and Find All References understands references to symbols within the target string of global SuppressMessageAttributes
  • ByVal fades to say it's not necessary along with a code fix to remove the unnecessary ByVal in Visual Basic
  • Interactive window support for multiple runtimes, such as .NET Framework and .NET Core.
  • Added a new RegisterAdditionalFileAction API that allows analyzer authors to create an analyzer for additional files.
  • Visual Studio 2019 IDE:
  • Add your Github account using the account management experience
  • In this release, the legacy Find in Files experience has been deprecated and all users are being moved to the new experience. The Editor team is working with folks who leave feedback in Developer Community who are experiencing issues with the modern Find in Files experience.
  • The ClickOnce publish provider is now available for .NET Core 3.1 and .NET 5.0 Windows Desktop Apps.
  • XAML Tools (WPF, UWP, & Xamarin.Forms):
  • XAML Binding Failures diagnostic improvements
  • XAML Hot Reload Settings moved to "Debugging > Hot Reload"
  • Toolbox population from unreferenced NuGet packages
  • JavaScript/TypeScript:
  • The JavaScript/TypeScript debugger now supports debugging service workers, web workers, iFrames, and your page JavaScript all at the same time! In addition, the new debugging experience adds support for debugging your back-end node server applications and client-side JavaScript in the browser simultaneously. This feature is still experimental. You can enable the new debugging experience in the Debugging options menu
  • You can now trigger refactors anywhere they might be available by using the code action shortcut (ctrl + .). You don't even need to select any text - TypeScript is now smart enough to look around your cursor location for the best available refactors!
  • You can now fine tune which packages TypeScript searches for automatic import completion. This can lead to performance improvements in some projects with a lot of dependencies. For more details, please reference the TypeScript 4.0 (release notes)[https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/release-notes/typescript-4-0.html]
  • We added a message in the output pane showing which types we install to support intellisense. We recommend adding a tsconfig to your project to customize which types are used.
  • Please note we include the TypeScript 4.0 compiler and language service
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2020-17100 Visual Studio Tampering Vulnerability:
  • A tampering vulnerability exists when the Python Tools for Visual Studio creates the python27 folder. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run processes in an elevated context.
  • Issues Addressed in this Release:
  • Fixed an issue where compiling in Visual Studio 2019 16.7 with the Intel C++ Compiler's 80-bit long double emits compiler errors, preventing projects from building.
  • Fixed an issue where Live Unit Testing would refuse to start in some scenarios.
  • .NET 5.0.RC2 added to Visual Studio 2019 v16.8 Preview 4
  • Fixed a bug where an occasional Git operation would begin and never finish.
  • Added additional functionality to Visual Studio Codespaces creation and connection. Sign-up for GitHub Codespaces for Visual Studio to give it a try.
  • Fixed a bug causing Visual Studio 2019 to crash or stop responding when closing or navigating away from ASP.NET Core solutions.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.9 Preview 1 (Nov 10, 2020)

  • Git Productivity:
  • Push all tags from the Git Changes window
  • .NET Productivity:
  • A refactoring that suggests using new(…) in non-contentious scenarios
  • A code fix that removes redundant equality expressions for both C# and Visual Basic
  • The .NET Code Style (IDE) analyzers can now be enforced on build
  • The Syntax Visualizer shows the current foreground color for enhanced colors
  • A new tooltip when hovering over the diagnostic ID for pragma warnings
  • When you type the return key from within a comment the new line is now automatically commented out
  • Inline parameter name hints enhancements
  • C++:
  • Implementation of the More Constexpr Containers proposal, which allows destructors and new expressions to be constexpr. This paves the way for utilities like constexpr std::vector and std::string.
  • Extended support for C++20 modules IntelliSense, including Go To Definition, Go To Module, and member completion.
  • Debugger:
  • Added a new Auto Analyzer that inspects the .NET Core Finalizer queue and detects potentially blocking objects.
  • .NET:
  • .NET Core Debugging with WSL 2
  • Experimental Razor Editor Updates:
  • HTML and C# semantic colorization
  • Renames of C# symbols reflected in closed Razor files
  • More C# light bulbs in Razor files
  • Further improvements to mixed content formatting in Razor files

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.7.7 (Oct 28, 2020)

  • Added Xcode 12.1 GM support.
  • Update of MSVC 14.16, 14.20, 14.24, and 14.26 toolsets to match latest servicing releases.
  • Fixed a bug that caused a crash when renaming a type and file currently not open in the editor.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.8 Preview 5 (Oct 20, 2020)

  • USE_ATL_THUNK2 macro from atlstdthunk.h cannot be undefined
  • Frequent crashes of Visual Studio Community 2019 16.7.x
  • Going to NuGet Package Manager Crashes Visual Studio
  • asan with avx2 reports stack-buffer-overflow
  • Unable to close VisualStudio - Cannot access a disposed object
  • An exception of type NullReferenceException has been encountered.
  • Visual Basic Analyzer Template issues
  • VS crashes while typing in .cs file
  • New Variant Checks in C++ Code Analysis (VS 2019 Update 8 Preview 3) don't occur/work
  • Improves VM usage when displaying New Project or new File Dialog for the first session after a fresh install or a VS update.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.7.6 (Oct 14, 2020)

  • Get the message "Working on it" when switching to a tab
  • Visual Studio Feedback - new Web-Browser based Version crashes due to proxy failure
  • Unable to build xamarin.ios library project with .xib interface declaration on specific version of VS
  • Cannot generate shim for System.DateTime
  • IntelliCode suggestion, filtering compilation errors
  • Inserting .NET Core SDK 3.1.403 into Visual Studio 2019
  • Fixed a bug that affects debugging https enabled Service Fabric Application.
  • Support Service Fabric nuget packages with external dependencies.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.8 Preview 4 (Oct 13, 2020)

  • In This Release of Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8 Preview 4:
  • Fixed an issue where compiling in Visual Studio 2019 16.7 with the Intel C++ Compiler's 80-bit long double emits compiler errors, preventing projects from building.
  • Fixed an issue where Live Unit Testing would refuse to start in some scenarios.
  • .NET 5.0.RC2 added to Visual Studio 2019 v16.8 Preview 4
  • Fixed a bug where an occasional Git operation would begin and never finish.
  • Experimental Razor editor updates:
  • The new experimental Razor editor now supports the following Razor editing features:
  • Blazor light bulbs:
  • Extract to code behind*:
  • Create component from tag*
  • Add @using directive for component
  • Fully qualify component tag name
  • C# light bulbs
  • Add @using directive
  • Fully qualify type name
  • Enhanced Razor formatting. We now format more mixed HTML & C# content. In cases where we don't know how to format the document we no-op.
  • Only works in local Razor scenarios, not supported yet in Codespaces or Live Share.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.8 Preview 3.2 (Oct 1, 2020)

  • Added additional functionality to Visual Studio Codespaces creation and connection. Sign-up for GitHub Codespaces for Visual Studio to give it a try.
  • New Known Issue: Quick Info does not work in C++ files when connected to a Codespace

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.7.5 (Oct 1, 2020)

  • Incorrect code gen on ARM64 with vector math (DirectXMath.h)
  • Faulty type casts : VS.2019 V16.7.1, native C++
  • C++ builds with Windows SDK 8.1 fail after upgrade to Visual Studio 16.7
  • With VC++ 16.7 ABI change in vtable.
  • fatal error C1001: Internal compiler error with 16.7.0
  • CET/EHCONT Exception handling metadata is broken in vcruntime140.dll. This fix may have an increased chance of requiring a reboot of the machine in order to install an updated VC++ Redistributable package.
  • PGO switch MEMMAX seems not respected
  • [19.26.28900] New compiler causing possible bad codegen
  • Code analysis crashed with buffer underflow
  • Fixed a bug in the C++ compiler when importing classes with methods containing a combination of default arguments and [params] / [ParamArray] argument list.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.8 Preview 3.1 (Sep 26, 2020)

  • Added additional Visual Studio Codespaces support. Sign-up for GitHub Codespaces for Visual Studio to give it a try.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.7.4 (Sep 22, 2020)

  • Adds Xcode 12.0 GM support.
  • Adds support for setting a Color set as Accent Color in the Info.plist editor.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.8 Preview 3 (Sep 16, 2020)

  • Visual Studio IDE:
  • Add your GitHub account using the familiar Visual Studio account management experience. The version control, integrated terminal and other features will then be able to leverage your account credentials to satisfy their GitHub authentication needs.
  • Git Productivity:
  • Create a new branch from an Azure DevOps work item
  • Open a Git repository from a list of your local repositories in the Git menu
  • The default source control provider is now Git instead of TFVC, which you can change from Tools - Options - Source Control
  • C++:
  • C++20 Coroutines are now supported under /std:c++latest and the header. Support for our legacy behaviour is available under <experimental/coroutine> and the /await switch.
  • IntelliSense now provides support for C++20 and headers, and rename and browsing for concept definitions. There is a known issue that we expect to address in Preview 4.
  • Our STL now has support for the majority of C++20 Ranges. You can track our progress on our ranges GitHub issue.
  • Conditionally trivial special member functions are now supported in MSVC.
  • C11 and C17 are now supported under the /std:c11 and /std:c17 switches.
  • Additional STL improvements include full support for std::atomic_ref, std::midpoint and std::lerp and std::execution::unseq, optimizations for std::reverse_copy, and more. You can find all the updates in our Changelog.
  • We have upgraded the version of CMake shipped with Visual Studio to CMake 3.18.
  • Our code analysis tools now support the SARIF 2.1 standard: the industry standard static analysis log format. You can read more about the format SARIF format in the official specification.
  • Missing build tools in Linux projects will now issue a warning in the toolbar and a clear description of the missing tools in the error list.
  • You can now debug Linux core dumps on a remote Linux system or WSL directly from Visual Studio.
  • For C++ Doxygen comment generation, we added additional comment style options (/*! and //!).
  • As-you-type linter and fixups are now available in Visual Studio. Configure using Tools->Options->Text Editor->C/C++->CodeStyle->Linter + Fixups.
  • Additional [vcpkg announcements](https://aka.ms/vcpkg/team)
  • NET Productivity:
  • .NET compiler platform (Roslyn) analyzers inspect your C# or Visual Basic code for security, performance, design, and other issues. Starting in .NET 5.0, these analyzers are included with the .NET SDK. Code analysis is enabled, by default, for projects that target .NET 5.0 or later. You can enable code analysis on projects that target earlier .NET versions by setting the EnableNETAnalyzers property to true. You can disable code analysis for your project by setting EnableNETAnalyzers to false. You can also use the Project Properties window to enable/disable .NET analyzers. To access the Project Properties window right-click on a project within Solution Explorer and select Properties. Next, select the Code Analysis tab where you can either select or clear the checkbox to Enable .NET analyzers.
  • There is now a refactoring that introduces the new C# 9 not pattern matching syntax when a suppression operator is present. Place your cursor on the suppression operator. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Use pattern matching.
  • There is now an inline method refactoring that helps you replace usages of a static, instance, and extension method within a single statement body with an option to remove the original method declaration. Place your cursor on the usage of the method. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu.
  • Creating a new C# or Visual Basic file from a template respects EditorConfig code style settings. The following code styles will automatically get applied when creating new files: file headers, sort using directives, and place using directives inside/outside namespaces.
  • Debugger:
  • .NET Core Linux core dump debugging support:
  • Debugging managed Linux core dumps on Windows has been difficult realize until now, it would usually mean setting up another Linux environment that exactly mirrored production and then installing a set of tools for the analysis. Thankfully with Visual Studio 2019 16.8 preview 3 you can simply drag and drop a managed Linux core dump directly into your IDE and immediately start debugging.
  • .NET and .NET Core Auto Analysis:
  • Asynchronous (async) programming has been around for several years on the .NET platform but has historically been difficult to do well. We have introduced and managed memory dump analyzer that helps identify the follwoing ant-patterns:
  • Sync-over-Async
  • Async Void
  • .NET and .NET Core memory hot path auto analysis:
  • This allows customers to intuitively view the dominating object types in their memory heap by using flame annotations in the Diagnositcs Memory Tool window.
  • XAML Tools (WPF, UWP & Xamarin.Forms):
  • XAML Hot Reload Settings moved to "Debugging > Hot Reload": In this release we have completed the XAML Hot Reload settings migration for Xamarin.Forms to the new location under “Debugging > Hot Reload”. This means customers who previously found the Xamarin.Forms XAML Hot Reload settings under “Xamarin > Hot Reload” will now find
  • Toolbox population from unreferenced NuGet packages: In this release we have added support for TargetFrameworkMoniker-specific VisualStudioToolsManifest.xml files when populating Toolbox with controls from unreferenced NuGet packages. So, for example, your package could expose different sets of controls to .NET Core 3.1 and .NET 5.0 projects.
  • Improving MVVM Support: When authoring a XAML document, you can set d:DataContext to get accurate binding IntelliSense for the XAML document. In the past, manually specifying the data-context type was cumbersome; you had to leave the XAML document, find the desired view-model type, copy and paste its namespace and name into the d:DataContext declaration. In this release we’re introducing a new feature that allows you to quickly declare a d:DataContext via a lightbulb that suggests possible view-model candidates.
  • Experimental Razor editor updates:
  • The new experimental Razor editor now supports the following Razor editing features:
  • Rename Razor components in markup from .razor files.
  • To enable the experimental Razor editor, go to Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features, select Enable experimental Razor editor, and then restart Visual Studio.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Get the message "Working on it" when switching to a tab
  • Visual Studio S2019 Debugger Confused by multiple variables with same name
  • String literal delimiter highlights after bracket
  • Unable to define a coroutine with a promise_type that is not default constructible
  • C/C++ IntelliSense: No member list appears after typing var. after an arithmetic operator in C files
  • Codelens references not updating when making code changes in another file
  • Go To Definition goes to std::function constructor instead of lambda arg's class
  • HLSL Shader Compiler fails to create output directory for header files
  • nexpected error C2027: use of undefined type when using templates with /permissive
  • D9025: overriding '/sdl-' with '/GS-'
  • constexpr appears to dislike reference-to-pointer
  • The document is already open as a project or a solution and cannot be opened in an editor at this time.
  • Coverage on switch expression dropped in 16.7
  • C5045 warning firing even though I have it disabled

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.7.3 (Sep 9, 2020)

  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2020-1130 Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability:
  • An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector improperly handles data operations. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run processes in an elevated context.
  • CVE-2020-1133 Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability:
  • An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector improperly handles file operations. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run processes in an elevated context.
  • CVE-2020-16856 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability:
  • A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Visual Studio when it improperly handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user.
  • CVE-2020-16874 Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
  • A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Visual Studio when it improperly handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user.
  • CVE-2020-1045 Microsoft ASP.NET Core Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability:
  • A security feature bypass vulnerability exists in the way Microsoft ASP.NET Core parses encoded cookie names. The ASP.NET Core cookie parser decodes entire cookie strings which could allow a malicious attacker to set a second cookie with the name being percent encoded.
  • Additional Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Fixed a compiler crash for switch statements or switch expressions that use pattern matching.
  • Restored the "Stop Debugging(Shift +F5)" workflow for Unit Testing by terminating the test run.
  • Prevent VS crash on switching project configuration when WinForms .NET Core designer has unsaved changes.
  • Out of support versions of .NET Core will no longer be reinstalled during a repair or upgrade if they were removed outside of VS setup.
  • Fixed an issue where External Dependencies weren't accurately searched in Find in Files.
  • Reintroduced the "Commit..." button in the Git submenu in Solution Explorer's context menu.
  • Fixed a bug that caused the TFVC Check-in Notes label to be invisible.
  • Fix crash when using WinForm designer in SDK-style csproj with multiple target frameworks.
  • Fixed issue where <d:Style.DataContext> was reporting an invalid markup error.
  • Top Issues Fixed from Developer Community in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.7.3:
  • VS 2019 cannot find the commit code function after the modified commit code
  • WinForms Designer not load Forms with visual inheritance. VS CRASH!
  • Find in Files--Some *.h files are not included in the search even though they clearly belong to a project
  • Regression c++ background intellisense hangs on opensslconf.h fron a unc path in 16.7
  • C++ refactoring by change signature forgets header files
  • TFVC check-in notes not displayed in vs 2019
  • WPF XAML Designer - Style Data Context Design Time
  • Stop Debugging (Shift+ F5) does not stop the test run VS 2019 update 16.7.2.
  • VS2019 won't open folder with CMake project

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.8 Preview 2.1 (Sep 1, 2020)

  • Fixed a bug causing Visual Studio 2019 to crash or stop responding when closing or navigating away from ASP.NET Core solutions.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.8 Preview 2 (Aug 26, 2020)

  • Git Productivity:
  • Single click to switch between branch histories in the Git Repository window
  • Access the new Git windows in read-only mode as a guest in a Live Share session
  • View and select from a list of solutions in your repo in Solution Explorer after opening a repository
  • List of Views in Solution Explorer
  • Experimental Razor editor updates
  • The new experimental Razor editor now supports the following Razor editing features:
  • Go-to-definition on Blazor component tag names
  • C# formatting when typing in pure C# blocks
  • C# hover colorization
  • C# completion toolitip colorization
  • To enable the experimental Razor editor, go to Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features, select Enable experimental Razor editor, and then restart Visual Studio.
  • .NET Productivity
  • There is now C# and Visual Basic support for inline parameter name hints that inserts adornments for literals, casted literals, and object instantiations prior to each argument in function calls. You will first need to turn this option on in Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# or Basic > Advanced and select Display inline parameter name hints (experimental). The inline parameter name hints will then appear in C# or Visual Basic file.
  • You can now extract members from a selected class to a new base class with the new Extract Base Class refactoring. Place your cursor on either the class name or a highlighted member. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Pull member(s) up to new base class. The new Extract Base Class dialog will open where you can specify the name for the base class and location of where it should be placed. You can select the members that you want to transfer to the new base class and choose to make the members abstract by selecting the checkbox in the Make Abstract column.
  • Extract Base Class:
  • Once you select Ok you will see the new base class added along with its members.
  • There is now a code fix to convert instances of typeof(<QualifiedType>).Name to nameof(<QualifiedType>) in C# and instances of GetType(<QualifiedType>).Name to NameOf(<QualifiedType>) in Visual Basic. Using nameof instead of the name of the type avoids the reflections involved when retrieving an object. Place your cursor within the typeof(<QualifiedType>).Name. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Next, select from one of the following options:
  • For C#, select Convert typeof to nameof:
  • Convert typeof to nameof
  • For Visual Basic, select Convert GetType to NameOf:
  • Convert GetType to NameOf
  • Code cleanup has new configuration options that can apply formatting and file header preferences set in your EditorConfig file across a single file or an entire solution.
  • Formatting and File Header support in Code Cleanup:
  • XAML Tools (WPF, UWP & Xamarin.Forms)
  • XAML Hot Reload Settings moved to “Debugging > Hot Reload” – as part of a bigger effort that will be completed across multiple 16.8 Preview release, we’re starting to consolidate the XAML Hot Reload settings across WPF, UWP and eventually Xamarin.Forms into a unified settings location. In this release we’ve started this process by moving the existing desktop settings out of the “Debugging > General > Enable UI Debugging Tools for XAML” and into a new location under “Debugging > Hot Reload”. No settings will be changed during this migration so all your existing choices will continue to stay in effect. Also, for the first time ever we’re enabling the ability to disable/enable XAML Hot Reload support per-platform, meaning you can disable these experiences for WPF, UWP or both.
  • Xamarin.Forms “changes only” XAML Hot Reload now supports UWP – in this release we begin to rollout support for a highly requested feature that enables the new changes only XAML Hot Reload support in Xamarin.Forms Projects when targeting UWP. Please note this feature is still in development, and while editing XAML will now trigger updates in the running app other features such as in-app toolbar (element selection, etc.) are not yet fully implemented and can have unpredictable behavior.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.7.2 (Aug 19, 2020)

  • Top Issues Fixed from Developer Community in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.7.2:
  • Gold bar following RPC exception in StreamPipeReader.AdvanceTo: No reading operation to complete
  • We have resolved a crashing issue that would occur when typing the comma separating positional records, but before having typed the next character.
  • Visual Studio 2019 v16.7 Xamarin Android crash on start up in debug.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.7.1 (Aug 12, 2020)

  • Top Issues Fixed from Developer Community in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.7.1
  • SQL Server Project is crashing when editing columns using design panel.
  • SQL Server Database project : Fast scrolling in Design View of a table crashes VS
  • CImage::Draw() has ambiguous call to DrawImage() in 16.7.0 Preview1
  • Compiler Error when lowering x86 switch statements
  • arm64: function too large after upgrade from 15.9.16 to 16.4.11
  • Arm64: Indirect register (x8) contains invalid value at start of function
  • Unexpected error C2027: use of undefined type when using templates with /permissive-
  • Fixed a bug causing the C++ compiler to crash when building NanoRange

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.7.0 (Aug 6, 2020)

  • C++:
  • Our remote C++ support now supports a wider range of Linux distros and shells, including sh, csh, bash, tsch, ksh, zsh, and dash. You can override the choice of a shell for a remote connection by modifying the new "shell" property via ConnectionManager.exe. This support has been tested with both MSBuild-based Linux projects and CMake projects targeting a remote Linux system or WSL.
  • You can now use Ninja (a build system that evaluates incremental builds very quickly) to improve incremental build times for MSBuild-based Linux projects. You can opt into this feature by setting "Enable Incremental Build" to "With Ninja" in the General Property Page. Ninja (ninja-build) must be installed on your remote Linux system or WSL.
  • New C++20 Standard Library features have been implemented. Please refer to the STL Changelog on GitHub for a detailed list.
  • You can now edit and set default remote SSH connections in the Connection Manager. This means you can edit an existing remote connection (e.g. if its IP address changed) and set default connections to be consumed in CMakeSettings.json and launch.vs.json. Remote SSH connections allow you to build and debug C++ projects on a remote Linux system directly from Visual Studio.
  • Enhanced IntelliSense support for Clang on Windows (clang-cl) in Visual Studio. The clang include path now includes the clang libraries, we've improved in-editor squiggle display when using the std library, and we've added support for C++2a in clang mode.
  • You can now try out underlining code errors and see more suggested quick fixes in C++ projects. Enable this feature under Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features > IntelliSense code linter for C++. Learn more on the C++ Team Blog.
  • We've added four new code analysis rules to incorporate additional safety features into C++: C26817, C26818, C26819, and C26820.
  • We've added first-class support for debugging CMake projects on remote systems with gdbserver.
  • Find memory corruption errors easily with an experimental implementation of AddressSanitizer for C++ in Visual Studio, now available for x64 native projects. We also now support the use of debug runtimes (/MTd, /MDd, /LDd).
  • IntelliSense now has basic support for Concepts, designated initializers, and several other C++20 features.
  • .ixx and .cppm files are now recognised as C++ and will be treated as such by the syntax highlighter and IntelliSense.
  • Define playlists dynamically:
  • You can now define playlists dynamically based on Project, Class, or Namespace. This means you can configure a playlist to include everything in a certain project/class/namespace; any new test added to that group will automatically be included in your playlist!
  • Create a playlist by right clicking on a project, namespace, or class grouping in the Test Explorer.
  • Test Explorer: Create a playlist
  • Edit what groups are included in the playlist by clicking on the edit button in the tool bar. Check boxes will appear. Edit groups as desired.
  • Instead of being a static list of tests these playlists dynamically update based on rules. If you want to better understand what rules are generating your dynamic playlist, save the playlist file to disk with the save button and view the rules generated in the xml.
  • You can continue to include/exclude individual tests and the playlist will be able to either update its dynamic rules or switch back to keeping track of tests as a static list. You can also use traits to define a dynamic group by editing the playlist xml file directly.
  • Git Productivity:
  • Toggle on the 'New Git user experience' Preview Feature in Tools | Options | Environment to use this experience.
  • Create a new Git repository, starting from any folder or a brand new folder
  • Save and close an open folder or solution before starting a new clone operation
  • View commit or stash message errors clearly in the commit text box
  • View and manage Git branches in a tree view within a new Git Repository window
  • Switch between and interact with the history graph of each branch in the Git Repository window
  • View incoming and outgoing commits in the Git Repository window
  • Git Productivity team blog with more details of recent features
  • Resolve merge conflicts with a Git focused merge editor using:
  • An info bar in files containing merge conflicts that prompts you to open the merge editor
  • More informative titles and captions, and less clutter in the merge editor
  • Diffs within conflicts that align matching lines, show word level differences, and display visible whitespace when it is the only difference.
  • Two-way merges for file level add/add conflicts
  • The ability to resolve all conflicts to one side or the other with a single click
  • A toggle to focus on just conflicts, ignoring non-conflicting differences
  • JavaScript/TypeScript:
  • The implementations of Completion and Quick Info have been updated to better support LiveShare scenarios.
  • Local Process with Kubernetes allows you to write, test and debug your .NET code on your development workstation while connected to your Kubernetes cluster with the rest of your application or services. By connecting your development workstation to your cluster, you eliminate the need to manually run and configure dependent services on your development machine. Environment variables, connection strings and volumes from the cluster are available to your microservice code running locally. There is no need for extra assets, such as a Dockerfile or Kubernetes manifests. Run, debug, and test your .NET code as you normally would.
  • To enable Local Process with Kubernetes, go to Tools > Options > Envrionment > Preview Features and select "Enable local debugging for Kubernetes services".
  • For .NET console applications, an additional step is required. Install the "Microsoft.VisualStudio.Azure.Kubernetes.Tools.Targets" Nuget Package.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • There is now a warning and code fix when a suppression operator is present but has no effect. A second code fix suggesting the correct negating expression is also available. Place your cursor on the suppression operator. Press (Ctrl + .) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Next, select from one of the following:
  • To remove the operator completely, select Remove operator (preserves semantics)
  • To negate the expression, select Negate expression (change semantics)
  • You can also negate the expression with the new C# 9 not pattern if it is available in your project
  • You can now generate properties when generating a constructor in a type. Place your cursor on the instance. Press (Ctrl + .) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Generate constructor in <QualifiedName> (with properties)
  • Quick Info now displays the diagnostic ID along with a help link where you can easily navigate to our documentation to learn more about warnings and errors in your code.
  • There is now a quick action to add a debugger display attribute to a class. This allows you to pin properties within the debugger programmatically in your code. Place your cursor on the class name. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Add ‘DebuggerDisplay` attribute. This will add the debugger display attribute to the top of your class and generate an auto method that returns ToString() which you can edit to return the property value you want pinned in the debugger.
  • There is now a code fix for accidental assignments or comparisons to the same variable. Place your cursor on the warning. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. For accidental assignments, select Assign to .value. For accidental comparisons, select Compare to .value.
  • You can now generate comparison operators for types that implement IComparable. Place your cursor either inside the class or on IComparable. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Generate comparison operators. A boiler plate will be generated for you with the comparison operators.
  • You can now generate IEquatable operators when generating .Equals for structs. We already had a refactoring to Generate Equals and GetHashCode for value types. Now with structs we will automatically add the IEquatable as well as the equals and not equals operators for you. Place your cursor within the struct. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Generate Equals(object).
  • You can now create and assign properties or fields for all unused constructor parameters. We already had a quick action that allowed you to do this on an individual parameter, but now you can do it for all unused parameters at once. Place your cursor on any of the remaining parameters. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. To create and initialize properties, select Create and assign remaining as properties. To create and initialize fields, select Create and assign remaining as fields.
  • There is now IntelliSense completion in DateTime and TimeSpan string literals. Place your cursor inside the DateTime or TimeSpan string literal and press (Ctrl+Space). You will then see completion options and an explanation as to what each character means. Both the date time format and an example will be provided.
  • You can now add a parameter within the Change Signature dialog. Place your cursor within the method’s signature. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Change signature. The following dialog will open where you can now select Add to add a parameter. Once you select Add, the new Add Parameter dialog will open. The Add Parameter dialog allows you to add a type name and a parameter name. You can choose to make the parameter required or optional with a default value. You can then add a value at the call site and choose a named argument for that value or you can introduce a TODO variable. The TODO variable puts a TODO in your code so you can visit each error and go through each call site independently and decide what to pass. For optional parameters you have the option to omit the call site completely.
  • Analyzer authors can now use CompletionProviders for IntelliSense completions when shipping their analyzers with NuGet. Before, library authors would have to create a separate VSIX since CompletionProviders was only available in VSIX. Now library authors can implement IntelliSense completions in the NuGet package where their analyzers are, and they don’t need to do it separately. Completion providers implemented in NuGet packages will also provide suggestions specific to individual projects and will automatically work in each IDE supporting the feature.
  • Razor:
  • Try out the new experimental Language Server Protocol (LSP) powered Razor editor with all Razor files (.cshtml/.razor) by selecting the Enable experimental Razor editor preview feature.
  • Test Explorer:
  • Run/Debug All Tests In View have been added to the Test Explorer. These commands replace where the Run All Tests and Debug All Tests commands appeared in the Test Explorer. This change clarifies that these commands honor the filters of the Test Explorer so that only tests visible in window are run. This includes both column filters and search box filters.
  • The Global Run/Debug All commands will now only appear in the top-level Test menu. They are no longer included in the Test Explorer toolbar or context menu of any test window view. When triggered from the Test Explorer, the Analyze Code Coverage for All Tests now applies to the test window views as well.
  • Short-cut Keys:
  • Ctrl R, A - Run All Test - Global command always runs all tests
  • Ctrl R, V - Run All Tests In View - Only a valid command when a test window (Test Explorer, Playlist, Live Unit Testing Window) are active windows
  • Ctrl R, Ctrl A - Debug All Test - Global command always debugs all tests
  • Ctrl R, Ctrl V - Debug All Tests In View - Only a valid command when a test window (Test Explorer, Playlist, Live Unit Testing Window) are active windows
  • Debugger:
  • Viewing Managed COM Objects Through Native Pointers:
  • This feature automatically decodes managed COM objects referenced by native pointers allowing you to fully inspect values in the Locals window. You can find more details here at the Visual Studio blog.
  • Profiler:
  • New .NET Performance Counters Tool:
  • Visualize dotnet counters right from within the Visual Studio Profiler using the .NET Performance Counters Tool. To try out the tool go to Debug -> Performance Profiler -> Checkmark .NET Performance Counters Tool.
  • Xamarin:
  • Code fixers have been introduced for the most common types of problems experienced by users with Android layout files.
  • The Xamarin.Forms template selection experience now has a fresh and more illustrative look, and the Flyout and Tabbed templates now utilize Shell. Read more about Shell here. If for some reason you don't wish to use Shell, use the Blank template.
  • XAML Tools (WPF, UWP & Xamarin.Forms)
  • XAML Hot Reload:
  • In-app Toolbar Improvements: We have further refined the in-app toolbar experience that is part of the XAML Hot Reload tooling workflow for WPF & UWP. Changes include a shorter toolbar so that it no longer covers the running application, and a change in the collapse mechanism which when clicked will now collapse the XAML Hot Reload text first, then collapse the bar fully on the second click.
  • XAML Designer:
  • Expanded Design-time Data Support for WPF & UWP: In this release we are introducing a new design-time data feature for WPF .NET Core and UWP developers. This new capability will extend the current list of accessible design-time properties through the use of the d: prefix. This feature will be familiar to Xamarin.Forms developers, as it makes available the same approach of using a “d:” prefix to indicate a property that should only be rendered at design-time and never gets compiled into the running app making it very safe to use for design time UI validation. In this release we support all the out-of-the-box controls for WPF and UWP and plan to support 3rd party and custom controls in future releases.
  • XAML Designer Refresh Button: We have added a refresh button to the XAML designer, this new icon can be found in the bottom-left icon area near the zoom level indicator. This refresh action does the equivalent reset of closing the designer view and re-opening it for the rare situations where this is required to resolve a rendering issue. This feature is available for WPF .NET Core and UWP developers.
  • XAML Code Editor:
  • Color Visualizer: We have further refined our new color visualizer in the XAML code editor for WPF .NET Core, WPF .NET Framework and Xamarin.Froms projects. In this release we have added support for visualizing colors coming from resources, which was previously not supported in the last preview.
  • Show Toolbox items from a NuGet package without having a package reference:
  • Many control library authors want their controls to be seen in the Toolbox even when the current project hasn't referenced the library yet, as this helps with discoverability. WPF .NET Framework SDKs have historically accomplished this using registry entries, but this is not supported by .NET Core. For WPF .NET Core, Toolbox can now be populated with controls from VisualStudioToolsManifest.xml files found within WPF .NET Core NuGet packages in NuGet fallback folders. For more details, see the documentation in the XAML Designer Extensibility GitHub repo.
  • Windows Forms:
  • Windows Forms Designer for .NET Core:
  • The Windows Forms designer for .NET Core projects is now available. To enable the designer in Visual Studio, go to Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features and select the Use the preview Windows Forms designer for .NET Core apps option.
  • In this release the following controls are now supported along with other improvements:
  • Bug Fixes:
  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.7.0:
  • Fixed WMI Provider component installation failure.
  • Fixed an issue where users were not able to see test run progress by clicking the left button at the bottom of the bar.
  • Improved performance of discovering available Visual Studio Codespace billing plans.
  • When creating a Visual Studio Codespace, we changed the default suspend time from 30minutes to 3 hours.
  • Fix bug where the Git Changes window informs the user they have incoming/outgoing commits, when in fact they have none.
  • Improved stability of the Diagnostic Tools and Performance Profiler.
  • Addressed an issue where Azure Sphere Visual Studio extension will not be automatically updated due to a minor version mismatch. With the fix, Azure Sphere will be able to get automatically updated when the VSIX auto updater runs.
  • UserControl and custom controls infrastructure
  • TableLayoutPanel
  • Fundamentals for third-party controls support
  • Fundamentals for data binding support
  • Improvements in designer interaction with the TableLayoutPanel

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.8 Preview 1 (Aug 6, 2020)

  • Git Productivity:
  • Open the Git Repository and Git Changes windows through the View menu
  • Modify the history view and search for commits through a tool bar in the Git Repository window
  • Fetch, pull, and push from the incoming and outgoing commits sections in the history graph of a branch
  • Get prompted to create a pull request after pushing a branch to your remote
  • View branch names in the merge and rebase commands in the branch list context menu
  • Access Git commands through the context menu in Solution Explorer and the Editor
  • Observe clone progress through a new modal dialog with the option to move the process to the background
  • C++:
  • We have added compiler support for lambdas in unevaluated contexts which allows you to use lambdas in decltype specifiers.
  • Razor:
  • Go-to-definition/implementation for Razor, including closed files
  • Improved Razor editing preformance and stability for large projects and solutions
  • .NET Productivity:
  • There is now a code fix to remove the in keyword where the argument should not be passed by reference. Place your cursor on the error. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Remove ‘in’ keyword.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.7 Preview 6 (Jul 28, 2020)

  • Added support for Xcode 11.6
  • An error occured in '[Unknown]' while attempting to open
  • Unable to preview file changes or prevent files from being published since 16.6
  • MSDeploy breaks with upgrade to VS2019 16.6.2
  • ArgumentNullException occurs when you try to set URI property of custom WPF control in VisualStudio
  • Visual Studio Prof 2019, 16.7.0 Preview 4.0, change of Output Window behaviour
  • If in a DSL a Connector exposes the Thickness property, the Get/SetThicknessValue(...) methods are not created by T4 Transformation after switching VS language
  • Publish wizard throws "One or more errors occurred." message

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.6.5 (Jul 27, 2020)

  • Added Apple Xcode support to Visual Studio 2019.
  • WPF XAML IntelliSense not working on 16.6.0

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.7 Preview 5 (Jul 21, 2020)

  • SSDT deploy systematically creates column store index if any computed column
  • Solution/Project Name longer than 60 characters not allowed.
  • ServiceHub.Host.CLR.x64 has stopped working.
  • Braces and brackets are displayed in black after a Visual Studio upgrade.
  • C++/CLI Debug "Watch" problem in .NET Core 3.1
  • Diagnostic Tools CPU usage recording consistently fails with "An error occurred getting the requested information" message.
  • STL: Chrono: Steady_clock not steady
  • Internal compiler error on 16.7 Preview 1 with ASAN and /Od on Release x86 build.
  • In a DSL File add new Domain Properties is broken.
  • Process ServiceHub.DataWarehouseHost.exe uses more than 22,000 threads.
  • Diagnostic Tools and Perforamnce Profiler are unstable and cumbersome in Visual Studio 2019.
  • x:Arguments cannot follow any other elements or content.
  • New WPF XAML Designer for .NET Framework encounter an XDG0028 error.
  • IntelliSense deletes function return types.
  • iOS simulator debug is not working.
  • Fixed multiple optimizer issues involving the return of incorrect values.
  • In 16.7 a change was made to std::chrono::steady_clock::now() which can result in an overflow in a time frame significantly less than the 100 years normally guaranteed. The 100 year guarantee is now restored.
  • Fixed an issue where users were not able to see test run progress by clicking the left button at the bottom of the bar.
  • Improved performance of discovering available Visual Studio Codespace billing plans.
  • When creating a Visual Studio Codespace, we changed the default suspend time from 30minutes to 3 hours.
  • Fix bug where the Git Changes window informs the user they have incoming/outgoing commits, when in fact they have none.
  • Improved stability of the Diagnostic Tools and Performance Profiler.
  • Addressed an issue where Azure Sphere Visual Studio extension will not be automatically updated due to a minor version mismatch. With the fix, Azure Sphere will be able to get automatically updated when the VSIX auto updater runs.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.6.4 (Jul 15, 2020)

  • Security Advisory Notice for 16.6.4:
  • CVE-2020-1393 Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability:
  • An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector Service fails to properly sanitize input, leading to an unsecure library-loading behavior.
  • CVE-2020-1416 Visual Studio Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability:
  • An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Visual Studio when it loads software dependencies.
  • CVE-CVE-2020-1147 .NET Core Denial of Service Vulnerability:
  • A remote unauthenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability by issuing specially crafted requests to an ASP.NET Core application, or other application that parses certain types of XML. The security update addresses the vulnerability by restricting the types that are allowed to be present in the XML payload.
  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.6.4:
  • WPF XAML IntelliSense not working in 16.6.0
  • Creating new files no longer crashes Visual Studio.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.7 Preview 4 (Jul 15, 2020)

  • Git Productivity:
  • View outgoing commits in the Git Repository window
  • Git Productivity team blog with more details of recent features
  • Test Explorer:
  • Run/Debug All Tests In View have been added to the Test Explorer. These commands replace where the Run All Tests and Debug All Tests commands appeared in the Test Explorer. This change clarifies that these commands honor the filters of the Test Explorer so that only tests visible in window are run. This includes both column filters and search box filters.
  • Test Explorer Run/Debug All Tests in View commands:
  • The Global Run/Debug All commands will now only appear in the top-level Test menu. They are no longer included in the Test Explorer toolbar or context menu of any test window view. When triggered from the Test Explorer, the Analyze Code Coverage for All Tests now applies to the test window views as well.
  • Short-cut Keys:
  • Ctrl R, A - Run All Test - Global command always runs all tests
  • Ctrl R, V - Run All Tests In View - Only a valid command when a test window (Test Explorer, Playlist, Live Unit Testing Window) are active windows
  • Ctrl R, Ctrl A - Debug All Test - Global command always debugs all tests
  • Ctrl R, Ctrl V - Debug All Tests In View - Only a valid command when a test window (Test Explorer, Playlist, Live Unit Testing Window) are active windows
  • C++:
  • Our remote C++ support now supports a wider range of Linux distros and shells, including sh, csh, bash, tsch, ksh, zsh, and dash. You can override the choice of a shell for a remote connection by modifying the new "shell" property via ConnectionManager.exe. This support has been tested with both MSBuild-based Linux projects and CMake projects targeting a remote Linux system or WSL.
  • Razor:
  • Try out the new experimental Language Server Protocol (LSP) powered Razor editor with all Razor files (.cshtml/.razor) by selecting the Enable experimental Razor editor preview feature.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.6.3 (Jul 1, 2020)

  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.6.3:
  • WMI Provider MSI still failing to install in 16.6
  • View History on context menu in Solution Explorer doesn't do anything
  • Cannot generate shim for X509Certificate2 with Visual Studio 2019 16.6.0
  • Add Controller and Add New Scaffolded Item dialogs are not showing all data contexts after upgrading Visual Studio Enterprise 16.5.6->16.6.0
  • Cannot open new json file
  • About Microsoft Visual Studio frozen.
  • Visual Studio 2019 16.6.0 Microsoft Fakes Issue
  • VSSDK IVsHierarchy Regression in VS 16.6.x
  • Windows 10 SDK (10.0.19041.1)- ARM64 memcpy crashes when accessing unaligned uncached memory
  • Add script to SQL Server Database project does not open User Scripts list
  • Fakes generation with ref argument
  • Frequent soft hang with Code Analysis callstack in Open Folder project
  • Visual Studio Class Designer dark theme support
  • Added support for Text Template Transformation Toolkit (T4) in .NET Core projects
  • Separate IntelliCode team completions model acquisition from model production.
  • Addressed an issue where users may have experienced critical update or installation failures due to the WMIProvider package that would block use of the IDE. Failures in this component no longer block use of the IDE.
  • Fixed a problem causing the product to stop responding when working with Xamarin projects on certain scenarios.
  • Fixed a bug where VS would crash when attempting to decrypt an invalid UWP code-signing certificate

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.7 Preview 3.1 (Jun 26, 2020)

  • Fixed an issue blocking private preview users of Visual Studio Codespaces from accessing existing Codespaces.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.7 Preview 3 (Jun 24, 2020)

  • C++:
  • Our remote C++ support now supports a wider range of Linux distros and shells, including sh, csh, bash, tsch, ksh, zsh, and dash. You can override the choice of a shell for a remote connection by modifying the new "shell" property via ConnectionManager.exe. This support has been tested with both MSBuild-based Linux projects and CMake projects targeting a remote Linux system or WSL.
  • You can now use Ninja (a build system that evaluates incremental builds very quickly) to improve incremental build times for MSBuild-based Linux projects. You can opt into this feature by setting "Enable Incremental Build" to "With Ninja" in the General Property Page. Ninja (ninja-build) must be installed on your remote Linux system or WSL.
  • XAML Hot Reload:
  • In-app Toolbar Improvements: We have further refined the in-app toolbar experience that is part of the XAML Hot Reload tooling workflow for WPF & UWP. Changes include a shorter toolbar so that it no longer covers the running application, and a change in the collapse mechanism which when clicked will now collapse the XAML Hot Reload text first, then collapse the bar fully on the second click.
  • XAML Designer:
  • Expanded Design-time Data Support for WPF & UWP: In this release we are introducing a new design-time data feature for WPF .NET Core and UWP developers. The feature will extend the current list of accessible design time properties through the use of the d: prefix. This feature will be familiar to Xamarin.Forms developers, as it makes available the same approach of using a “d:” prefix to indicate a property that should only be rendered at design-time and never gets compiled into the running app making it very safe to use for testing. In this release this feature works with all the out-of-the-box controls for WPF and UWP and all properties. We are also actively exploring how to enable this feature for 3rd party and custom controls in future preview releases. While this feature is on by default, you can always enable/disable this preview by going to “Options > Environment > Preview Features” and enable “Expanded Design-time Data Support”.
  • XAML Designer Refresh Button: We have added a refresh button to the XAML designer, this new icon can be found in the bottom-left icon area near the zoom level indicator. This refresh action does the equivalent reset of closing the designer view and re-opening it for the rare situations where this is required to resolve a rendering issue. This feature is available for WPF .NET Core and UWP developers.
  • XAML Suggested Actions - Extensibility: In this release we are introducing extensibility for 'Suggested Actions'. Now you will be able to customize and build your own suggestion dialog for your controls. For more details see our documentation in GitHub
  • XAML Binding Failures diagnostic improvements:
  • In this release we continue to refine the XAML Binding Failures diagnostic preview feature, for a full description see below.
  • The XAML Binding Failures tool window improvements include:
  • “Combine Duplicates” toolbar button to let you decide if multiple instances of the same binding failure should be combined into a single row.
  • “Copy Original Error” context menu item to let you quickly copy the original error text as it appeared in the debug output window.
  • “Reset Columns” context menu item to easily reset all table columns and sorting to the default state.
  • Improved right-click menu and combine duplicates:
  • The in-app toolbar now has an improved icon for binding failures and displays the total number of binding failures next to the icon.
  • Ready to try these new features? to enable both the new XAML Binding Failures window and in-app toolbar experience go to ”Options > Environment > Preview Features” and enable “XAML Binding Failure Window”.
  • XAML Code Editor:
  • Color Visualizer: We have further refined our new color visualizer in the XAML code editor for WPF .NET Core, WPF .NET Framework and Xamarin.Froms projects. In this release we have added support for visualizing colors coming from resources, which was previously not supported in the last preview.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • There is now a warning and code fix when a suppression operator is present but has no effect. A second code fix suggesting the correct negating expression is also available. Place your cursor on the suppression operator. Press (Ctrl + .) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Next, select from one of the following:
  • To remove the operator completely, select Remove operator (preserves semantics):
  • Code fix to remove suppression operator
  • Code fix to remove suppression operator
  • To negate the expression, select Negate expression (change semantics):
  • Code fix to negate expression
  • Code fix to negate expression
  • You can also negate the expression with the new C# 9 not pattern if it is available in your project:
  • Code fix to negate expression using not
  • Code fix to negate expression using not
  • You can now generate properties when generating a constructor in a type. Place your cursor on the instance. Press (Ctrl + .) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Generate constructor in (with properties).
  • Git Productivity:
  • Create a new Git repository, starting from any folder or a brand new folder
  • View and manage Git branches in a tree view within a new Git Repository window
  • Switch between and interact with the history graph of each branch in the new Git Repository window

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.6.1 (Jun 3, 2020)

  • Fixed issue when using HotRestart to deploy iOS application.
  • Fixed and issue where Xamarin.iOS fails to build with MessagingRemoteException.
  • Fixed an issue which would place constant-initialized static local 'const' variables in 'inline' functions which were previously dynamically-initialized in the read-only data segment. This can cause compatibility issues when linking against OBJs compiled with older toolsets.
  • Fixed a build error in Xamarin.Android projects that could be encountered when Android layout files contain certain characters.
  • Fixed an issue with .resx localization at runtime for Xamarin.Android applications.
  • C++ IntelliSense vcpkgsrv.exe frequently crashes with set_parent_scope_on_push.
  • Fixed WMI Provider component installation failure.
  • Fixed a crash in some cases when displaying the Quick Info tooltip for C++ code.
  • Fixed a crash when closing Visual Studio.
  • Adds Xcode 11.5 SDK support
  • Removes abstract modifier to BGTask

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.7 Preview 2 (Jun 2, 2020)

  • C++:
  • New C++20 Standard Library features have been implemented. Please refer to the STL Changelog on GitHub for a detailed list.
  • You can now edit and set default remote SSH connections in the Connection Manager. This means you can edit an existing remote connection (e.g. if its IP address changed) and set default connections to be consumed in CMakeSettings.json and launch.vs.json. Remote SSH connections allow you to build and debug C++ projects on a remote Linux system directly from Visual Studio.
  • Enhanced IntelliSense support for Clang on Windows (clang-cl) in Visual Studio. The clang include path now includes the clang libraries, we've improved in-editor squiggle display when using the std library, and we've added support for C++2a in clang mode.
  • You can now try out underlining code errors and see more suggested quick fixes in C++ projects. Enable this feature under Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features > IntelliSense code linter for C++.
  • We've added four new code analysis rules to incorporate additional safety features into C++: C26817, C26818, C26819, and C26820.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • Quick Info now displays the diagnostic ID along with a help link where you can easily navigate to our documentation to learn more about warnings and errors in your code
  • Git Productivity:
  • Save and close an open folder or solution before starting a new clone operation
  • View commit or stash message errors clearly in the commit text box
  • Resolve merge conflicts with a Git focused merge editor using:
  • An info bar in files containing merge conflicts that prompts you to open the merge editor
  • More informative titles and captions, and less clutter in the merge editor
  • Diffs within conflicts that align matching lines, show word level differences, and display visible whitespace when it is the only difference.
  • Two-way merges for file level add/add conflicts
  • The ability to resolve all conflicts to one side or the other with a single click
  • A toggle to focus on just conflicts, ignoring non-conflicting differences
  • WPF/UWP Tooling:
  • Show Toolbox items from a NuGet package without having a package reference
  • Many control library authors want their controls to be seen in the Toolbox even when the current project hasn't referenced the library yet, as this helps with discoverability. WPF .NET Framework SDKs have historically accomplished this using registry entries, but this is not supported by .NET Core. For WPF .NET Core, Toolbox can now be populated with controls from VisualStudioToolsManifest.xml files found within WPF .NET Core NuGet packages in NuGet fallback folders. For more details, see the XAML Designer Extensibility GitHub repo.
  • Local Process with Kubernetes:
  • Local Process with Kubernetes allows you to write, test and debug your .NET code on your development workstation while connected to your Kubernetes cluster with the rest of your application or services. By connecting your development workstation to your cluster, you eliminate the need to manually run and configure dependent services on your development machine. Environment variables, connection strings and volumes from the cluster are available to your microservice code running locally. There is no need for extra assets, such as a Dockerfile or Kubernetes manifests. Run, debug, and test your .NET code as you normally would.
  • To enable Local Process with Kubernetes, go to Tools > Options > Envrionment > Preview Features and select "Enable local debugging for Kubernetes services".
  • For .NET console applications, an additional step is required. Install the "Microsoft.VisualStudio.Azure.Kubernetes.Tools.Targets" Nuget Package.
  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.7 Preview 2:
  • Fixed WMI Provider component installation failure.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.6.0 (May 20, 2020)

  • Security Advisory Notice for 16.6:
  • CVE-2020-1108 .NET Core Denial of Service Vulnerability:
  • A remote unauthenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability by issuing specially crafted requests to the .NET Core application. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the .NET Core web application handles web requests.
  • CVE-2020-1161 .NET Core Denial of Service Vulnerability:
  • A remote unauthenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability by issuing specially crafted requests to the ASP.NET Core application. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the ASP.NET Core web application handles web requests.
  • C++:
  • Improved Doxygen/XML comment generation: Automatically generate Doxygen or XML doc comment stubs by typing "///" or "/**" above functions. These are now displayed in Quick Info tooltips as well.
  • Ninja support for CMake for Linux/WSL: Use Ninja as the underlying generator when building CMake projects on WSL or a remote system. Ninja is now the default generator when adding a new Linux or WSL configuration.
  • Debug templates for remote CMake debugging: We've simplified the templates for debugging CMake projects on a remote Linux system or WSL with gdb.
  • IntelliSense code linter: You can now try out underlining code errors and see more suggested quick fixes in C++ projects. Enable this feature under Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features > IntelliSense code linter for C++.
  • Initial support for C++20 concepts: IntelliSense now recognizes C++20 concepts and suggests them in the member list.
  • Debugging:
  • Enable attaching the Snapshot Debugger without requiring a restart: Snapshot Debugger can now be installed on Azure App Services (ASP.NET Core 3.1) without requiring a restart, allowing you to debug and diagnose live issues without interruption to your service! Attaching to Snapshot Debugger for the first time would prompt an install of the Snapshot Debugger site extension on your Azure App Service deployment, which required a restart.
  • User experience improvements for Decompilation: The decompilation process will use existing PDBs to produce better names for local variables.
  • Git Productivity:
  • Clone a repository that contains only one solution, and that solution is automatically loaded after clone completes.
  • JavaScript/TypeScript:
  • TSServer Progress Bar: As language service opens a TypeScript project, the user will be able to see the progress of the configured project being opened up, in the Background Tasks Widget.
  • New Multi-target JavaScript/TypeScript debugging and Service Worker Support: The JavaScript/TypeScript debugger now supports debugging service workers, web workers, iFrames, and your page JavaScript all at the same time! In addition, the new debugging experience adds support for debugging your back-end node server applications and client-side JavaScript in the browser simultaneously. This feature is still experimental. You can enable the new debugging experience in the Debugging options menu
  • The implementations of Signature Help and Go To Definition have been updated to better support LiveShare scenarios.
  • Microsoft Fakes for .NET Core and SDK-style projects:
  • Microsoft Fakes now supports .NET Core! Many users want to migrate their apps and testing suites to .NET Core and now a huge part of that process is possible with Fakes support for .NET Core. You can enable this feature in Tools > Options > Preview Features. Fakes is a mocking framework that helps isolate your tests by mocking certain parts of your product code with stubs or shims. This mocking helps untangle a test from your product code so it can focus on testing only what it is relevant to a given test.
  • Editor:
  • List View: With the new Find in Files experience, we got feedback that the previous result format (flat text without formatting) was useful for certain uses. The List View is now available in the results panel to access the results in the previous format.
  • Repeat Find: The results window from a Find in Files operation now has a "Repeat Find" button. This button will take all the options used for a search and re-populate the Find in Files panel with them. This makes it easier to repeat a search after making some changes or to tweak a search to help narrow down the results. While focus is in the Results window, type Alt+R then hit Enter to immediately repeat the search.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • Add explicit cast code fix: There is now a code fix to add an explicit cast when an expression cannot be implicitly cast. Place your cursor on the error and press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Add explicit cast.
  • Simplify conditional expressions refactoring: Simplify conditional expressions by removing unnecessary code. Place your cursor on the conditional expression. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Simplify conditional expression.
  • Convert regular string literals to verbatim string literals refactoring: Place your cursor on the regular string literal. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Convert to verbatim string.
  • Convert verbatim string literals to regular string literals refactoring: Place your cursor on the verbatim string literal. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Convert to regular string.
  • Bulk configure the severity level of analyzer categories directly through the editor: Place your cursor on the error, warning, or suggestion and type (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select suppress or Configure issues. Then select Configure severity for all {category name} analyzers. This will update your existing EditorConfig file with the category’s new severity.
  • Quick Info style support for XML comments that contain returns and value tags: Hover your cursor over the element. Quick Info will then display the supported styles from the XML comments above your code.
  • Add file headers to existing files, projects, and solutions with EditorConfig: You will first need to add the file_header_template rule to your EditorConfig file. You will then need to set the value to equal the header text you would like applied. Next, place your cursor on the first line of any C# or Visual Basic file and type (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Add file banner. If you would like to apply the file header to all files of an existing project or solution, select Project or Solution under the Fix all occurrences in: option.
  • Web Tooling:
  • New experience for configuring Azure services and emulators: The Connected Services tab now offers a new experience for connecting your application to Azure services such as Azure SQL, Storage, Key Vault and many others. It helps you provision new instances (or select existing ones) and ensures your code has the most update to date NuGet packages and the right startup configuration code. Wherever possible local emulation options are also available.
  • Updates to the Publish experience: Publishing now offers a new wizard-like expierence for creating new publish profiles that guides you through your options. Even if some Visual Studio components are missing from your installation you will still have access to the full set of publishing targets and options; any missing components will be identified and requested to be installed on demand. The publish profile summary page has also been updated to match the experience available under the Connected Services tab for configuring dependencies to Azure services.
  • Windows Forms:
  • Windows Forms Designer for .NET Core:
  • The Windows Forms designer for .NET Core projects is now available. To enable the designer in Visual Studio, go to Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features and select the Use the preview Windows Forms designer for .NET Core apps option.
  • In this release we have made the following improvements, including support for additional controls:
  • Support for all Dialogs controls, PropertyGrid, HScrollBar, VScrollBar, DomainUpDown and TrackBar
  • Drag-and-drop improvements
  • Selection improvements
  • Stability and bug fixes
  • WPF/UWP Tooling:
  • Azure Key Vault in the Packaging Wizard: UWP developers can now sign their app packages with code signing certificates directly from Azure Key Vault in the packaging wizard. All that is required is the URI of the Key Vault and the correct permissions for your Microsoft account. The chosen certificate will be imported to the user’s local certificate store where it can be used for signing. Local password protected certificates can also now be decrypted with secrets from a Key Vault.
  • XAML Hot Reload and the Live Visual Tree now support attaching to multiple processes at the same time. This helps scenarios such as when a solution starts multiple WPF/UWP projects at the same time or if you’re UWP app is using multi-instancing. To make this work we’ve updated the Live Visual Tree with a new top-level process node to group elements from the same process together.
  • Toolbox now supports NuGet packages with multiple VisualStudioToolsManifest.xml files: This enables NuGet package authors to change which controls are shown in the Toolbox based on the framework/platform version of the referencing project. Toolbox will show the items from the manifest whose tools subdirectory Target Framework Moniker (TFM) best matches the project’s target framework/platform. It will fall back to the manifest in the root of the tools directory if no TFM match is found. This root manifest is also needed for compatibility with older versions of Visual Studio.
  • New Setting: XAML Hot Reload on Save. XAML Hot Reload by default sends all valid XAML changes in real-time to your running app. In this release we've added a new setting (Debug > Options > General > Enable UI Debugging Tools for XAML > Apply XAML Hot Reload on document save) that gives developers a choice in how this behavior works. When this setting is enabled XAML Hot Reload changes will not apply until the file that is being edited is saved.
  • Xamarin:
  • XAML Hot Reload can now reload just what changed on your page, instead of the whole page. Try it out by changing the "Reload Options" setting in Tools > Options > Xamarin > Hot Reload.
  • View a Live Visual Tree of elements on the page in your running application. Open the Live Visual Tree during a XAML Hot Reload debug session through Debug > Windows > Live Visual Tree.
  • Override your emulator's settings like dark/light mode, font sizes, and more using the Environment Settings pad. Open it during a XAML Hot Reload session via Debug > Windows > Environment Settings.
  • You can use a Lint configuration file and select from even more IntelliSense suggestions when editing your Android XML.
  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.6.0:
  • When New Git experience feature flag is enabled, a message will appear in Team Explorer guiding users to the new Git tool window.
  • Fix for intermittent UI delay while closing VS when WinForms .NET Core designer is in open state.
  • Fixed issues creating projects using type providers, throwing missing method exception at runtime.
  • Fixed project creation for .NET framework projects.
  • New find in files experience respects options in Tools-Options-Find and Replace pane.
  • Fixed a bug where Git repository does not change when closing a Folder and opening a Solution.
  • Fixed bug when building iOS app using full debug symbols.
  • Added back browing of Mac Distribution provisioning profiles and certificates from Windows.
  • Fixed a bug causing Visual Studio 2019 to stop responding when working with Xamarin projects on certain scenarios.
  • Added keyboard shortcut for "Copy with Headers" option in SQL Script Results Grid
  • SSDT users will now be able to set and view sensitivity properties for all version above SQL Server 2008
  • Improve Connection Properties dialog for accessibility users.
  • Fixed occasional crashes when using Tested By Code Lens indicator.
  • Ensure auto population of text in Find in files is as per legacy behavior.
  • Ensure left arrow key behavior in find in files is correct.
  • An issue blocking C++ users of the C++20 Ranges library from using algorithms.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Added back browsing of Mac Distribution provisioning profiles and certificates from Windows.
  • Ensure auto population of text in Find in files is as per legacy behavior.
  • Modified the new find in files to import "Look in" filters from the previous find in files.
  • Persist the find in files "Keep files open" flag between VS sessions.
  • Fixed bug when building iOS app using full debug symbols
  • Visual Studio won't allow changing the TargetFramework in publish settings after upgrading to 16.4.2 and Core 3.1
  • Path is not set correctly when opening solution file from command line
  • IntelliCode Refactoring circular refactoring suggestion
  • Cloud explorer > Attach debugger > Object reference not set ot an instance of an object
  • VS 16.6.0 preview 2.1 does not load my Nuget package controls into VS toolbox
  • Editing resource file crashes Visual Studio
  • Intellisense loading forever - project containing Xml declaration as project item
  • "New Project" dialog causes frequent user errors (user typing intended name into template filter)
  • Unable to save file
  • I can't open files
  • Internal compiler error with C++/CLI indexed property in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.5
  • Back and forth theme switching
  • VSTO projects created in VS 2019 do not support Package Reference as the package management format. Publish Build could fail with "Assembly must be strong name signed in order to be marked as a pre-requisite"
  • Crashes in cl.exe during code analysis against KMDF - Driver projects has been fixed.
  • Using "set_tests_properties" in a CMakeLists.txt causes an error during configuration in Visual Studio 2019
  • C1001 when compiling with "amp.h"
  • Create Project from Start Window cannot type Project Name
  • After creating new C++/WinRT UWP Core App template, IntelliSense reports too many errors to function
  • Compiling atlsecurity.h raises several C5205 warnings ("delete of an abstract class")
  • Go To Definition(F12) on a reference project opens metadata instead of the actual source code within a Unit Test Project(.Net Framework) that reference a VSTO project.
  • No option to suppress C++ code analysis warning C26812 (new in MSVC 2019 16.3.0 preview 3)
  • C++ AMP array_view construction generates compile error on VS 2019 16.5 preview 2 with /std:c++latest
  • Code generation problem causing crash with pure virtual destructor in const object
  • Go to (Ctrl+,) shouldn't take focus out of the search box until I press Enter
  • Improve Native EnC error report for unsupported edits
  • All other Developer Community fixes in this preview release.
  • Microsoft.VisualStudio.Editor.Implementation.EditorPackage did not load correctly
  • std::make_shared + PCH + virtual method + GoogleTest causes internal compiler error with CL 19.24
  • Pull Requests in Visual Studio: "You are not connected to a remote repository"
  • Compiling coroutine with /Wall produces warning in compiler generated code
  • clang-tidy command-line is too long
  • Options on "Tabs and Windows" options page keep resetting
  • C++/CLI .net core 3.1 build warnings
  • Xamarin Found conflicts between different versions of System.Numerics that could not be resolved
  • FontFamily not working in Resource WPF/.net Core 3.1
  • C++ Text Editor: spacing after binary operator is erroneously removed by autoformatting
  • "Pointer/reference alignment" applies incorrectly to functions declared within classes affected by the alignas keyword
  • Preprocessor generates incorrect line information
  • All other fixes in this preview release.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.7 Preview 1 (May 19, 2020)

  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.7 Preview 1:
  • Missing initialization for POD types when object create in the heap
  • VC compiler serious bug
  • Internal compiler error with C++/CLI indexed property in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.5
  • UI unresponsive exception is thrown on custom extension
  • Internal compiler error on indexer access
  • Upgrade in C++ runtime from 14.24.28127 to 14.25.28610 breaks building Chromium with clang_cl
  • Git stash error
  • ISetupConfiguration.GetInstanceForCurrentProcess throwing COMException: Element not found
  • Xamarin.IOS fails to build with MessagingRemoteException
  • Template class friend declaration ignored
  • Excluding items from Schema Compare crashes Visual Studio if not done in very small batches
  • Visual Studio 2019 v16.5.1 is extremely slow.
  • Cannot use ClassName::* in function breakpoint to set breakpoints on all methods of C++ class in vs2019
  • Feedback tool has broken sign out image link
  • Compilation error C2737 with valid code

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.5.5 (May 13, 2020)

  • Fixed In This Release of Visual Studio 2019 version 16.5:
  • Team Explorer not loading after update to mandatory latest visual studio version for Visual studio 2019
  • Find Highlighting Fails when Matching with Match Case Disabled and Regex Option Enabled
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2020-1108 .NET Core Denial of Service Vulnerability:
  • A remote unauthenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability by issuing specially crafted requests to the .NET Core application. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the .NET Core web application handles web requests.
  • CVE-2020-1161 .NET Core Denial of Service Vulnerability:
  • A remote unauthenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability by issuing specially crafted requests to the ASP.NET Core application. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the ASP.NET Core web application handles web requests.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.6 Preview 6 (May 7, 2020)

  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.6 Preview 6:
  • Fix for intermittent VS crash while closing WinForms .NET Core designer projectsolution or while addingremoving a project reference or while building the project.
  • Fix for intermittent VS crash while closing WinForms .NET Core designer after deleting some controls from the designer.
  • Fixed a crash trying to build Xamarin Android projects.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Cannot get IVsProject interface.
  • System.ArgumentException: An item with the same key has already been added.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.6 Preview 5 (May 1, 2020)

  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.6 Preview 5:
  • Fixed an issue where IntelliSense processes crash when encountering function declarations in block scopes.
  • Fixed intermittent VS crash while closing WinForms .NET Core designer projectsolution or while addingremoving a project reference or while building the project.
  • Fixed intermittent VS crash while closing WinForms .NET Core designer after deleting some controls from the designer.
  • Removed new dependency on Microsoft.Build.Framework from Microsoft.Build to enable older NuGet compatibility with 16.5+ versions of msbuild.
  • Added a prevent to stop Save Changes dialog from appearing after a csproj is opened.
  • Ensure GitHub Clone dialog does not load with blank screen.
  • Added additional localizations.
  • From Developer Community:
  • SQL Schema Compare Detects False Positive for IsInline and IsInlineable properties of Functions
  • Every time we open VS 2019 Preview (latest version) we see - StreamJsonRpc.RemoteInvocationException
  • VSTO projects created in VS 2019 do not support Package Reference as the package management format. Publish Build could fail with "Assembly must be strong name signed in order to be marked as a pre-requisite"
  • Visual Studio 2019 16.5.x Find in Files missing "All C++ Directories" and “Visual C++ Source Directories”
  • Add existing item fails
  • QuickWatch Freezes With Large Arrays
  • IDE hangs unloading a project with package.json
  • Fixed FileTypes text input to ignore leading and trailing whitespaces
  • Aborting diagnostic session... forever
  • NPM is restoring packages automatically when opening a solution despite related restore settings are set to false

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.6 Preview 4 (Apr 24, 2020)

  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.6 Preview 4:
  • Fix for intermittent UI delay while closing VS when WinForms .NET Core designer is in open state.
  • Fixed issues creating projects using type providers, throwing missing method exception at runtime.
  • Fixed project creation for .NET framework projects.
  • New find in files experience respects options in Tools-Options-Find and Replace pane.
  • Fixed a bug where Git repository does not change when closing a Folder and opening a Solution.
  • Fixed bug when building iOS app using full debug symbols.
  • Added back browing of Mac Distribution provisioning profiles and certificates from Windows.
  • Fixed a bug causing Visual Studio 2019 to stop responding when working with Xamarin projects on certain scenarios.
  • From Developer Community:
  • Added back browsing of Mac Distribution provisioning profiles and certificates from Windows.
  • Ensure auto population of text in Find in files is as per legacy behavior.
  • Modified the new find in files to import "Look in" filters from the previous find in files.
  • Persist the find in files "Keep files open" flag between VS sessions.
  • Fixed bug when building iOS app using full debug symbols
  • Visual Studio won't allow changing the TargetFramework in publish settings after upgrading to 16.4.2 and Core 3.1
  • Path is not set correctly when opening solution file from command line
  • IntelliCode Refactoring circular refactoring suggestion
  • Cloud explorer > Attach debugger > Object reference not set ot an instance of an object
  • VS 16.6.0 preview 2.1 does not load my Nuget package controls into VS toolbox

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.6 Preview 3 (Apr 17, 2020)

  • WPF/UWP Tooling:
  • Azure Key Vault in the Packaging Wizard: UWP developers can now sign their app packages with code signing certificates directly from Azure Key Vault in the packaging wizard. All that is required is the URI of the Key Vault and the correct permissions for your Microsoft account. The chosen certificate will be imported to the user’s local certificate store where it can be used for signing. Local password protected certificates can also now be decrypted with secrets from a Key Vault.
  • The New WPF XAML Designer for .NET Framework Projects is now available for early preview. This brings the same designer and extensibility support available for WPF .NET Core developers to WPF .NET Framework. Benefits of this improved XAML designer includes faster load performance, 64-bit configuration support (custom controls would load normally just like they do in x86 configuration), improved stability and new features such as Suggested Actions.
  • To get started go to options > Preview Features and select “New WPF XAML Designer for .NET Framework” and restart Visual Studio. This feature is only available in the preview channel for early testing, its final release details have not yet been determined. We encourage all WPF .NET Framework customers to give this designer a try and report any issues you encounter through the VS feedback hub.
  • XAML Hot Reload and the Live Visual Tree now support attaching to multiple processes at the same time. This helps scenarios such as when a solution starts multiple WPF/UWP projects at the same time or if you’re UWP app is using multi-instancing. To make this work we’ve updated the Live Visual Tree with a new top-level process node to group elements from the same process together.
  • Git Productivity:
  • Enable additional features by turning on the 'New Git User Experience' preview feature in Tools | Options:
  • Clone a repository with one solution, and that solution is automatically loaded after clone completes.
  • Commit, amend commits, and stash through an updated UI in the Git tool window.
  • Check out and manage remote branches through the Git tool window.
  • Create a new branch from a commit in your repository history.
  • Through the Git top level menu - clone a repository, view branch history, open the repository in file explorer or command prompt, manage remotes, as well as Git global and repository settings.
  • C++:
  • Initial support for C++20 concepts: IntelliSense now recognizes C++20 concepts and suggests them in the member list.
  • Microsoft Fakes for .NET Core and SDK-style projects:
  • Microsoft Fakes now supports .NET Core! Many users want to migrate their apps and testing suites to .NET Core and now a huge part of that process is possible with Fakes support for .NET Core. You can enable this feature in Tools > Options > Preview Features. Fakes is a mocking framework that helps isolate your tests by mocking certain parts of your product code with stubs or shims. This mocking helps untangle a test from your product code so it can focus on testing only what it is relevant to a given test.
  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.6 Preview 3:
  • Added keyboard shortcut for "Copy with Headers" option in SQL Script Results Grid
  • SSDT users will now be able to set and view sensitivity properties for all version above SQL Server 2008
  • Improve Connection Properties dialog for accessibility users.
  • Fixed occasional crashes when using Tested By Code Lens indicator.
  • Ensure auto population of text in Find in files is as per legacy behavior.
  • Ensure left arrow key behavior in find in files is correct.
  • Ensure auto population of text in Find in files is as per legacy behavior.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.5.4 (Apr 15, 2020)

  • Fixed In This Release of Visual Studio 2019 version 16.5:
  • Modified the find "List View" to work with the VsColorOutput extension.
  • Fixed a regression introduced with version 16.5 where use of default indexed properties with value-types caused an internal compiler error.
  • Modified find in files to preserve user settings between Visual Studio 2019 sessions.
  • Fixed an issue where Goto next/previous entry failed to work in the find results list when "preview selected files in find results" is turned off.
  • Fixed an issue with find when doing a regex search a pattern that did not contain regex special characters.
  • Fixed the button placement in find in files tool window when its in a docked position. Changed alignments for better experience in docked mode.
  • Fixed an issue where the find list view did not navigate to results when enter was hit.
  • Fixed an issue where Goto next/previous entry failed to work in the find results list when "preview selected files in find results" is turned off.
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2020-0899 Microsoft Visual Studio Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
  • An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Microsoft Visual Studio updater service improperly handles file permissions. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could overwrite arbitrary file content in the security context of the local system.
  • CVE-2020-0900 Visual Studio Extension Installer Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
  • An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Visual Studio Extension Installer Service improperly handles file operations. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could delete files in arbitrary locations with elevated permissions.
  • CVE-2020-5260 Git for Visual Studio Credential Leak Vulnerability due to insufficient validation on URLs
  • A credential leak vulnerability exists when specially crafted URLs are parsed and sent to credential helpers. This can lead to credentials being sent to the wrong host.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.5.3 (Apr 8, 2020)

  • Fixed In This Release of Visual Studio 2019 version 16.5:
  • Fixes issue when entering wrong credentials while trying to connect to a remote Mac build host.
  • Fixed an inability to open some types of files.
  • Fixed an issue resulting in a failure to add an Apple Developer account with two-step authentication.
  • Fixed a crash in watchOS applications when creating GC thread.
  • Fixed regression that disallowed exponential floats of the form 1e5f.
  • Fixed an issue preventing opening files that are opened in external applications such as Word or Excel.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.6 Preview 2.1 (Apr 3, 2020)

  • WPF/UWP Tooling:
  • Toolbox now supports NuGet packages with multiple VisualStudioToolsManifest.xml files: This enables NuGet package authors to change which controls are shown in the Toolbox based on the framework/platform version of the referencing project. Toolbox will show the items from the manifest whose tools subdirectory Target Framework Moniker (TFM) best matches the project’s target framework/platform. It will fall back to the manifest in the root of the tools directory if no TFM match is found. This root manifest is also needed for compatibility with older versions of Visual Studio.
  • Debugging:
  • Enable attaching the Snapshot Debugger without requiring a restart: Snapshot Debugger can now be installed on Azure App Services (ASP.NET Core 3.1) without requiring a restart, allowing you to debug and diagnose live issues without interruption to your service! Attaching to Snapshot Debugger for the first time would prompt an install of the Snapshot Debugger site extension on your Azure App Service deployment, which required a restart.
  • User experience improvements for Decompilation: The decompilation process will use existing PDBs to produce better names for local variables.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • Add explicit cast code fix: There is now a code fix to add an explicit cast when an expression cannot be implicitly cast. Place your cursor on the error and press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Add explicit cast.
  • Simplify conditional expressions refactoring: Simplify conditional expressions by removing unnecessary code. Place your cursor on the conditional expression. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Simplify conditional expression.
  • Convert regular string literals to verbatim string literals refactoring: Place your cursor on the regular string literal. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Convert to verbatim string.
  • Convert verbatim string literals to regular string literals refactoring: Place your cursor on the verbatim string literal. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Convert to regular string.
  • Bulk configure the severity level of analyzer categories directly through the editor: Place your cursor on the error, warning, or suggestion and type (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select suppress or Configure issues. Then select Configure severity for all {category name} analyzers. This will update your existing EditorConfig file with the category’s new severity.
  • Quick Info style support for XML comments that contain returns and value tags: Hover your cursor over the element. Quick Info will then display the supported styles from the XML comments above your code.
  • Add file headers to existing files, projects, and solutions with EditorConfig: You will first need to add the file_header_template rule to your EditorConfig file. You will then need to set the value to equal the header text you would like applied. Next, place your cursor on the first line of any C# or Visual Basic file and type (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Add file banner. If you would like to apply the file header to all files of an existing project or solution, select Project or Solution under the Fix all occurrences in: option.
  • Git Productivity:
  • Turn on the 'New Git User Experience' preview feature to:
  • Perform Git commands through a new Git top level menu.
  • Initialize and publish local repositories directly to Github and other Git hosting services.
  • View Git status and perform inner loop actions like commit, stage, stash, push, pull, and fetch from a new Git tool window.
  • Create and manage branches through a new picker in the Git tool window.
  • C++:
  • Ninja support for CMake for Linux/WSL: Use Ninja as the underlying generator when building CMake projects on WSL or a remote system. Ninja is now the default generator when adding a new Linux or WSL configuration.
  • Debug templates for remote CMake debugging: We've simplified the templates for debugging CMake projects on a remote Linux system or WSL with gdb.
  • Improved Doxygen/XML comment generation: We've improved our Doxygen & XML comment generation support by adding the /** trigger sequence and enhancing member list tooltips.
  • IntelliSense code linter: You can now try out underlining code errors and see more suggested quick fixes in C++ projects. Enable this feature under Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features > IntelliSense code linter for C++.
  • Xamarin:
  • XAML Hot Reload can now reload just what changed on your page, instead of the whole page. Try it out by changing the "Reload Options" setting in Tools > Options > Xamarin > Hot Reload.
  • View a Live Visual Tree of elements on the page in your running application. Open the Live Visual Tree during a XAML Hot Reload debug session through Debug > Windows > Live Visual Tree.
  • Override your emulator's settings like dark/light mode, font sizes, and more using the Environment Settings pad. Open it during a XAML Hot Reload session via Debug > Windows > Environment Settings.
  • You can use a Lint configuration file and select from even more IntelliSense suggestions when editing your Android XML.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.6 Preview 2 (Mar 28, 2020)

  • WPF/UWP Tooling:
  • Toolbox now supports NuGet packages with multiple VisualStudioToolsManifest.xml files: This enables NuGet package authors to change which controls are shown in the Toolbox based on the framework/platform version of the referencing project. Toolbox will show the items from the manifest whose tools subdirectory Target Framework Moniker (TFM) best matches the project’s target framework/platform. It will fall back to the manifest in the root of the tools directory if no TFM match is found. This root manifest is also needed for compatibility with older versions of Visual Studio.
  • Debugging:
  • Enable attaching the Snapshot Debugger without requiring a restart: Snapshot Debugger can now be installed on Azure App Services (ASP.NET Core 3.1) without requiring a restart, allowing you to debug and diagnose live issues without interruption to your service! Attaching to Snapshot Debugger for the first time would prompt an install of the Snapshot Debugger site extension on your Azure App Service deployment, which required a restart.
  • User experience improvements for Decompilation: The decompilation process will use existing PDBs to produce better names for local variables.
  • .NET Productivity:
  • Add explicit cast code fix: There is now a code fix to add an explicit cast when an expression cannot be implicitly cast. Place your cursor on the error and press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Add explicit cast.
  • Simplify conditional expressions refactoring: Simplify conditional expressions by removing unnecessary code. Place your cursor on the conditional expression. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Simplify conditional expression.
  • Convert regular string literals to verbatim string literals refactoring: Place your cursor on the regular string literal. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Convert to verbatim string.
  • Convert verbatim string literals to regular string literals refactoring: Place your cursor on the verbatim string literal. Press (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select Convert to regular string.
  • Bulk configure the severity level of analyzer categories directly through the editor: Place your cursor on the error, warning, or suggestion and type (Ctrl+.) to trigger the Quick Actions and Refactorings menu. Select suppress or Configure issues. Then select Configure severity for all {category name} analyzers. This will update your existing EditorConfig file with the category’s new severity.
  • Quick Info style support for XML comments that contain returns and value tags: Hover your cursor over the element. Quick Info will then display the supported styles from the XML comments above your code.
  • Add file headers to existing files, projects, and solutions with EditorConfig: You will first need to add the file_header_template rule to your EditorConfig file. You will then need to set the value to equal the header text you would like applied.
  • Git Productivity:
  • Turn on the 'New Git User Experience' preview feature to:
  • Perform Git commands through a new Git top level menu.
  • Initialize and publish local repositories directly to Github and other Git hosting services.
  • View Git status and perform inner loop actions like commit, stage, stash, push, pull, and fetch from a new Git tool window.
  • Create and manage branches through a new picker in the Git tool window.
  • C++:
  • Ninja support for CMake for Linux/WSL: Use Ninja as the underlying generator when building CMake projects on WSL or a remote system. Ninja is now the default generator when adding a new Linux or WSL configuration.
  • Debug templates for remote CMake debugging: We've simplified the templates for debugging CMake projects on a remote Linux system or WSL with gdb.
  • Xamarin:
  • XAML Hot Reload can now reload just what changed on your page, instead of the whole page. Try it out by changing the "Reload Options" setting in Tools > Options > Xamarin > Hot Reload.
  • View a Live Visual Tree of elements on the page in your running application. Open the Live Visual Tree during a XAML Hot Reload debug session through Debug > Windows > Live Visual Tree.
  • Override your emulator's settings like dark/light mode, font sizes, and more using the Environment Settings pad. Open it during a XAML Hot Reload session via Debug > Windows > Environment Settings.
  • You can use a Lint configuration file and select from even more IntelliSense suggestions when editing your Android XML.
  • Improved Doxygen/XML comment generation: We've improved our Doxygen & XML comment generation support by adding the /** trigger sequence and enhancing member list tooltips.
  • IntelliSense code linter: You can now try out underlining code errors and see more suggested quick fixes in C++ projects. Enable this feature under Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features > IntelliSense code linter for C++.
  • Top Issues Fixed in this Release of Visual Studio 2019 version 16.6 Preview 2:
  • An issue blocking C++ users of the C++20 Ranges library from using algorithms.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019.16.6 Preview 1 (Mar 21, 2020)

  • WPF/UWP Tooling:
  • New Setting: XAML Hot Reload on Save. XAML Hot Reload by default sends all valid XAML changes in real-time to your running app. In this release we've added a new setting (Debug > Options > General > Enable UI Debugging Tools for XAML > Apply XAML Hot Reload on document save) that gives developers a choice in how this behavior works. When this setting is enabled XAML Hot Reload changes will not apply until the file that is being edited is saved.
  • The New WPF XAML Designer for .NET Framework Projects is now available for early preview. This brings the same designer and extensibility support available for WPF .NET Core developers to WPF .NET Framework. To get started go to options > Preview Features and select “New WPF XAML Designer for .NET Framework” and restart Visual Studio. This feature is only available in the preview channel for early testing, its final release details have not yet been determined. We encourage all WPF .NET Framework customers to give this designer a try and report any issues you encounter through the VS feedback hub.
  • XAML Designer Suggested Actions enables easy access to common properties when a control is selected within the XAML Designer. To use this feature first enable it through Options > Preview Features > XAML Suggested Actions. Once enabled click on a supported control and use the lightbulb to expand and interact with the Suggestion Actions UI. In this release supported controls include: Border, Button, Canvas, CheckBox, ComboBox, Grid, Image, Label, ListBox, ListView, StackPanel, TextBlock, TextBox. While in preview this feature is also only available for WPF .NET Core applications and doesn’t support extensibility, nor is it feature complete.
  • XAML Designer: Suggested Actions
  • XAML Designer: Suggested Actions
  • JavaScript/TypeScript
  • TSServer Progress Bar: As language service opens a TypeScript project, the user will be able to see the progress of the configured project being opened up, in the Background Tasks Widget.
  • C++
  • Generate and consume Doxygen-style comments: Automatically generate Doxygen or XML doc comment stubs by typing "///" above functions. These are now displayed in Quick Info tooltips as well.
  • Generate and consume Doxygen-style comments
  • Web Tooling:
  • New experience for configuring Azure services and emulators: The Connected Services tab now offers a new experience for connecting your application to Azure services such as Azure SQL, Storage, Key Vault and many others. It helps you provision new instances (or select existing ones) and ensures your code has the most update to date NuGet packages and the right startup configuration code. Wherever possible local emulation options are also available.
  • Updates to the Publish experience: Publishing now offers a new wizard-like expierence for creating new publish profiles that guides you through your options. Even if some Visual Studio components are missing from your installation you will still have access to the full set of publishing targets and options; any missing components will be identified and requested to be installed on demand. The publish profile summary page has also been updated to match the experience available under the Connected Services tab for configuring dependencies to Azure services.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.5.0 (Mar 18, 2020)

  • Visual Studio IDE:
  • On-hover a close button appears for each document in the tab group overflow list
  • Multi-selection of Azure directories
  • Implemented user suggested improvements in vertical tabs
  • Debugging:
  • Decompilation of C# code
  • Attach to processes running in Docker Windows containers
  • Open Enclave debugging for Azure Confidential Computing
  • Improvements to Allocation view in .NET Object Allocation Tracking tool
  • View which managed thread is holding a .NET object lock
  • Open Enclave debugging for Azure Confidential Computing
  • Pin properties in DataTips and the Autos, Locals, and Watch windows in C++
  • Azure Tools:
  • Productivity Improvements | Now provides .NET Core Worker Server support.
  • Support was added for Azure Functions v3. This gives a new option during project creation to use v3 instead of v2.
  • When publishing to App Service Linux, Visual Studio now waits until the app is running before opening the browser window.|
  • C++:
  • IntelliCode Team Completions model & member variables support
  • IntelliSense improvements
  • Connection Manager over the command line
  • Debug/deploy for WSL
  • Support for FIPS 140-2 compliance mode
  • Language services for CMake Language files & better CMake project manipulation
  • Visual Studio Linux projects now have more accurate IntelliSense and allow you to control remote header synchronization on a project-by-project basis.
  • F# language and tools:
  • Performance improvements for large solutions
  • Preview FSharp.Core features are now guarded by the LangVersion flag
  • Various bug fixes and enhancements
  • .NET Productivity:
  • Refactoring to turn a fragment of code from an existing method into a local function
  • Refactoring to make members static
  • Refactoring to simplify string interpolations
  • EditorConfig option to exclude analyzers to run on generated files or folders
  • Analyzer authors can now distribute custom code refactorings as a NuGet package
  • Ability to convert if to switch statements or switch expressions
  • IntelliSense completion for unimported extension methods
  • Ability to use System.HashCode to implement the GetHashCode method when System.HashCode is available
  • Testing:
  • Profile a unit test in .NET Core
  • Default processor architecture 'Auto' setting
  • Performance improvements in memory consumption and load time
  • Better diagnostics for Live Unit Testing
  • JavaScript/TypeScript:
  • Code Search for JavaScript/TypeScript
  • ESLint for TypeScript files
  • TypeScript 3.8 Beta compiler and language service for JavaScript and TypeScript.
  • Experimental: Faster syntax highlighting engine that uses the syntax tree instead of TextMate grammars
  • SQL:
  • Unable to view or open SQL Table Designer from SQL Server Object Explorer and Server Explorer.|
  • UWP/WPF Tooling:
  • Enabled support for the 1909 version of Windows 10 as a UWP target platform.
  • Dragging an image from project into the XAML editor generates an Image tag
  • Changing “Artboard Background” color for the XAML Designer now works with WPF .NET Core projects
  • XAML Designer now supports loading .NET Core 3.x Projects that include PublishSingleFile, RuntimeIdenfier and PublishTrimmed settings
  • Xamarin:
  • Use XAML Hot Reload on multiple emulators, simulators, and devices at once
  • Document Outline for Xamarin.Forms XAML UIs
  • Android Apply Changes
  • Custom Profiles with Startup Tracing
  • Kotlin support for Xamarin.Android generator
  • Improved AndroidManifest.xml Merging
  • Custom Control Quick Changes for Android Layouts
  • Improved Android IntelliSense

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.4.6 (Mar 11, 2020)

  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.4.6:
  • Miscompile, boolean condition deduced to be always true.
  • Issue with loop unroll in Visual Studio 2019 compiler
  • CL (VC v19.24) crashes when building in a docker volume folder
  • CL (VC v19.22) crashes when it starts with the /ZI parameter in the docker container
  • Compiling SSE intrinsics with MSVC compiler 19.20: compiled code yields incorrect results in one specific case
  • C++ AMP code will not compile in Visual Studio 2019 16.3.1
  • Sometimes coroutine_handle<>::destroy() resumes coroutine instead of destroying it.
  • New Spectre mitigation options in C++ compiler: /Qspectre-load & /Qspectre-load-cf for speculative load hardening.
  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2020-0793 & CVE-2020-0810 Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
  • An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector improperly handles file operations, or the Windows Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector Service fails to properly sanitize input.
  • CVE-2020-0884 Spoofing vulnerability when creating Outlook Web -Add-in:
  • A spoofing vulnerability exists when creating an Outlook Web-Addin if multi-factor authentication is enabled, as it includes a reply URL that is not secured by SSL. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could compromise the access tokens, exposing security and privacy risks.
  • CVE-2020-0789 Visual Studio Extension Installer Service Denial of Service Vulnerability:
  • A denial of service vulnerability exists when the Visual Studio Extension Installer Service improperly handles hard links. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could cause a target system to stop responding.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.5 Preview 5 (Mar 2, 2020)

  • From Developer Community:
  • Microsoft.VisualStudio.Editor.Implementation.EditorPackage did not load correctly
  • WPF on NetCore3 DesignTools ArgumentException Too many arguments
  • xUnit Test (.NET Core) project with VS 2019 is throwing InvalidOeprationException while running test
  • Hard crash on unexpected input key sequence
  • Lots of editor errors
  • VS crashes when navigating to Tools > Options > Text Editors > C# > General

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.5 Preview 3 (Feb 21, 2020)

  • Workload:
  • Debugging:
  • New Features:
  • Decompilation of C# code
  • Attach to processes running in Docker Windows containers
  • Open Enclave debugging for Azure Confidential Computing
  • Improvements to Allocation view in .NET Object Allocation Tracking tool
  • Xamarin:
  • Productivity Improvements:
  • Use XAML Hot Reload on multiple emulators, simulators, and devices at once
  • Preprocessor symbol for Xamarin Hot Restart
  • Impactful Change:
  • Xamarin Hot Restart is disabled by default
  • C++:
  • Productivity Improvements:
  • IntelliCode Team Completions model & member variables support
  • SQL:
  • Impactful Known Issue:
  • Unable to view or open SQL Table Designer from SQL Server Object Explorer and Server Explorer.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.4.5 (Feb 12, 2020)

  • Merge Conflict: "Take Source"/"Keep Target" is missing
  • Crashes when trying to debug uwp application
  • Unable to select target platform azure v12 for database project
  • Fixed crashes or errors that can occur when running Visual Studio after an install action that requires a reboot.
  • Fixed an issue deploying Xamarin.Android apps. This peviously required a manual uninstall of the app from the device or emulator.
  • This change fixes a bug where the compiler may sometimes incorrectly remove an instruction in a C++ coroutine.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.4.4 (Feb 1, 2020)

  • Custom Project Template Not Found
  • msvsmon.exe crashes when hitting breakpoint in native C++ code
  • Search for a folder in solution explorer, then click home or the X in the search boxThe view is reset.
  • External Tools argument current line is always zero.
  • Can't create v3 Function project.
  • Access violation reading location 0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFafter updating to VS 2019 Update 16.4.3
  • Cannot create function app under 16.4
  • MSVC2019 generates AVX-512 instruction in AVX/AVX2 mode
  • Bad code generation with rsqrtss (register clobber)
  • Visual Studio 2019 Debugger crashes when viewing FastLink callstack.
  • C#: Fixed a crash when an attribute constructor is decorated with itself and Nullable Reference Types is enabled.
  • Fixed an optimization-analysis bug where we lose track of alias information for arrays of indeterminate length (declared as extern int a[]) when we unroll loops, leading to possible incorrect dead-store removal.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.5 Preview 2 (Jan 23, 2020)

  • Visual Studio IDE:
  • New Features:
  • Multi-selection of Azure directories
  • .NET Productivity:
  • New Features:
  • Refactoring to turn a fragment of code from an existing method into a local function
  • Refactoring to make members static
  • Refactoring to simplify string interpolations
  • EditorConfig option to exclude analyzers to run on generated files or folders
  • Analyzer authors can now distribute custom code refactorings as a NuGet package
  • Debugging:
  • New Features:
  • Pin properties in DataTips and the Autos, Locals, and Watch windows in C++
  • View which managed thread is holding a .NET object lock
  • Open Enclave debugging for Azure Confidential Computing
  • C++:
  • New Features:
  • IntelliSense improvements
  • Connection Manager over the command line
  • Debug/deploy for WSL
  • Support for FIPS 140-2 compliance mode
  • Language services for CMake Language files & CMake Project Manipulation
  • XAML (UWP/WPF):
  • New Features:
  • New XAML Designer Preview for WPF .NET Framework Projects
  • Changing “Artboard Background” color for the XAML Designer now works with WPF .NET Core projectsXAML Designer now supports loading .NET Core 3.x Projects that include PublishSingleFile, RuntimeIdenfier and PublishTrimmed settings
  • Xamarin:
  • New Features:
  • Document Outline for Xamarin.Forms XAML UIs
  • XAML Hot Reload works simultaneously on multiple debug targets
  • Xamarin Hot Restart
  • Android Apply Changes
  • Custom Profiles with Startup Tracing
  • Kotlin support for Xamarin.Android generator
  • Improved AndroidManifest.xml Merging
  • Custom Control Quick Changes for Android Layouts
  • Improved Android IntelliSense

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.4.3 (Jan 15, 2020)

  • Security Advisory Notice:
  • CVE-2020-0602 ASP.NET Core Denial of Service Vulnerability:
  • A remote unauthenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability by issuing specially crafted requests to the ASP.NET Core application. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the ASP.NET Core web application handles web requests.
  • CVE-2020-0603 ASP.NET Core Remote Code Execution Vulnerability:
  • A remote unauthenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability by issuing specially crafted requests to the ASP.NET Core application. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the ASP.NET Core web application handles in memory.
  • CVE-2020-0605 .NET Core Remote Code Execution Vulnerability:
  • Exploitation of the vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of .NET Core. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file.The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how .NET Core checks the source markup of a file.
  • CVE-2020-0606 .NET Core Remote Code Execution Vulnerability:
  • Exploitation of the vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of .NET Core. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file.The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how .NET Core checks the source markup of a file.
  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.4.3:
  • DateTime.Now = Cannot provide the valuehost value not found
  • MSVC codegen error vector reverse_iterator x64 C++17 debug build
  • C2440 error building atlenc.h with /permissive- in VS 16.4 Preview 1
  • Last Visual Studio update broke NTLM authentication on Android (seems like new version of Momo would be a reason)
  • Visual Studio 16.3.1 fails at compiling template code (e.g. from Basler Pylon SDK)
  • Using TypeScript 3.7 for IntelliSense
  • XCode 11.3 is too new all of a sudden after update to 8.4
  • You uploaded an APK or Android App Bundle with invalid or missing signing information for some of its files. You need to create a valid signed APK or Android App Bundle.
  • Unable to Run UWP project
  • JavaScript IntelliSense not working after update 16.4.1
  • Xib Xcode is to new(rendering problem when using custom components)
  • Storyboard error'Xcode is too new'
  • Stability improvements for debugging watchOS applications.
  • Adds Xcode 11.3 SDK support.
  • Fixed crash when fstack-protector-strong flag is enabled.
  • Fixed some inconsistent behavior with Debugger.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.5 Preview 1 (Jan 2, 2020)

  • Visual Studio IDE:
  • New Features:
  • On-hover a close button appears for each document in the tab group overflow list
  • Productivity Improvements:
  • Implemented user suggested improvements in vertical tabs
  • .NET Productivity:
  • New Features:
  • Ability to use System.HashCode to implement the GetHashCode method when System.HashCode is available
  • Ability to convert if to switch statements or switch expressions
  • IntelliSense completion for unimported extension methods
  • C++:
  • Productivity Improvements:
  • Visual Studio Linux projects now have more accurate IntelliSense and allow you to control remote header synchronization on a project-by-project basis.
  • Azure Tools:
  • Productivity Improvements:
  • Now provides .NET Core Worker Server support.
  • Support was added for Azure Functions v3This gives a new option during project creation to use v3 instead of v2.
  • When publishing to App Service Linux, Visual Studio now waits until the app is running before opening the browser window.
  • XAML:
  • New Features:
  • Enabled support for the 1909 version of Windows 10 as a UWP target platform.
  • Dragging an image from project into the XAML editor generates an Image tag

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.4.2 (Dec 18, 2019)

  • VS2019 Preview 4 broke conditional compilation symbols in C#
  • API has been deprecated
  • Android debugging not working in latest release 16.4 "Debuggee returned error code INVALID_ARGUMENT"
  • Fixed a frequent UI delay that can occur while using the editor.
  • Fixed a crash when an attribute constructor is decorated with itself and Nullable Reference Types is enabled while using C#.
  • Fixed an issue that resulted in Visual Studio failing to start or crashing on C# solution load on certain Virtual Machine setups.
  • Fixed a bug where user defined conditional compliation symbols are lost when the build properties page is reopened.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.4.1 (Dec 11, 2019)

  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.4.1:
  • Fixed "the write operation failed. you must first acquire write access from dataschemamodelcontroller" error trying to publish a database
  • Fix ExecutionEngineException exceptions when using SignalR on iOS devices in some configurations
  • Runtime Fix "CEE_RET: value type stack" crash when interpreter was enabled with some libraries
  • TypeScript 3.7.3 is now included by default, which contains several fixes for issues that effect the JavaScript and TypeScript editing experience.
  • May allow mitigation of a Per-Monitor awareness related crash in Visual Studio

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.4.0 (Dec 4, 2019)

  • Visual Studio now supports “FIPS compliance mode”
  • XAML Designer zoom/position now defaults to Fit All.
  • Create Data Binding Dialog has been added.
  • Improvements to regions IntelliSense
  • Snippets in XAML IntelliSense
  • Pop-up XAML editor as a separate window from designer
  • Displaying resources for referenced assemblies
  • Just My XAML in Live Visual Tree
  • Merge Resource Dictionary
  • XAML Islands support
  • Edit Template now works with controsl from 3rd party controls.
  • Better Clang-Tidy support in C++ CMake projects.
  • AddressSanitizer support for projects compiled with MSVC on Windows.
  • Support for publishing local Git repositories to GitHub.
  • Change your document tabs to a vertical layout with Vertical Document Tabs.
  • .NET Productivity additions in this release include the ability to configure the severity level of a code style rule directly in the error list, Find All References now has the option to group by type and member, and a refacotring to make a local function static and pass in variables defined outside of the function to the function's declaration and calls.
  • Integrated terminal adds new functionality as well as general stability fixes (only available on preview releases)
  • Containers tool window adds the ability to inspect, stop, start, and remove Docker containers and images
  • Option to improve startup peformance by auto hiding tool windows
  • Clang-Tidy support in C++ MSBuild and CMake projects, for both Clang and MSVC.
  • Automatic detection of SQL Server and Azure Storage connections strings when managing publish dependencies or using Connected Services
  • Added support for developing Azure Functions using the 64bit runtime.
  • Added support for .NET Core 3.0 app publishing options: Ready to Run (Crossgen), Linking, and SingleExe
  • .NET Productivity additions in this release include the ability to configure the severity level of a code style rule directly through the editor, navigate easily up the inheritance chain with the new Go To Base command, adding null checks for all parameters, and XML documentation for overriding methods.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.3.10 (Nov 25, 2019)

  • Xamarin fastlane: "There was an error while syncing the developer information: 'Limit of requests to iTunes Connect is reached.'"
  • MSIX Package Project with WPF App - Create App Packages no longer works.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.3.9 (Nov 13, 2019)

  • Edit Continue Crashes IDE
  • Link.exe exited with code - 1073741819 when generating map files.
  • ClickOnce installer prerequisite vcredist 14 (x64) is invalid after download
  • Every time I hit a breakpoint and apply changes with edit & continue Visual Studio crashes to desktop
  • Fixed crash when editing code while debugging ASP.NET applications.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.3.8 (Nov 7, 2019)

  • Added support for Xcode 11.2
  • 'TypeConverter cannot convert from System.String' after upgrade to Visual Studio 2019.
  • Fixed an issue where loading existing extensions (.design dll) in UWP crashes Visual Studio.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.3.7 (Oct 31, 2019)

  • C++ Linux project - Remote header sync is broken in Visual Studio 16.3
  • Visual Studio 16.3 opens some files with notepad
  • Fixed an issue with the Show Output window either closing too quickly.
  • Fixed an issue where Visual Studio 2019 stops responding in several scenarios, including opening a solution, changing solution configuration, and closing a solution.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.3.6 (Oct 25, 2019)

  • Automatic ANSI .rc file conversion to UTF8 !!!! (not wanted !!!!)
  • Fixed an inaccurate error message when developers try publishing .NET Core 3.0 apps to Azure.
  • Stability improvement in msbuild/dotnet restore when plugins are used to restore against authenticated feeds.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.3.5 (Oct 16, 2019)

  • Updating VS 2019 corrupts installation
  • Fixed an additional issue causing enterprise users building offline caches and offline users to fail an install.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.3.3 (Oct 11, 2019)

  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.3.3:
  • InvalidOperationException Writing is not allowed after writer was completed
  • ICE on valid code after upgrading to 16.2.0
  • CPU Usage Tool context menu does not navigate
  • Wrong assembly when result of conversion operator is converted to reference to base class.
  • DockerUpdateComposeVsGeneratedFiles throws "Value cannot be null" ("Parameter name: path1") after updating to Visual Studio 16.3
  • CPU Usage Tool context menu does not navigate.
  • InvalidOperationException Writing is not allowed after writer was completed.
  • Publish doesn't work in Visual Studio 16.3.1.
  • This fixes an issue with the Snapshot Debugger where customers are using MSA accounts.
  • Fixed an issue where customers trying to install Microsoft.Visualstudio.Shell.15.0 NuGet package received a warning message of Framework not found.
  • Fixes MSVC compiler bug involving implicit conversion from a lambda to function pointer.
  • Fixed issue with Visual Studio crashing due to null reference exception.
  • A fix is made to address a compiler internal error when the code has an out-of-line definition of a static data member of a nested class inside a partial specialization.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.3.0 (Sep 25, 2019)

  • Summary of What's New in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.3:
  • Support for adding new Open API & GRPC service references to .NET Core 3.0 projects.
  • Support for F# 4.7 and various F# tooling improvements
  • Improvements for C++ developers, including toggleable line comments and improved IntelliSense member list filtering.
  • Search through recent projects, solutions, and folders within the start window.
  • Search for templates in the New Project Dialog with advanced search capabilities.
  • Publish .NET Core 3.0 worker projects to Azure Container Registry, DockerHub, etc.
  • .NET Productivity additions in this release include the ability to rename the containing file when renaming a class as well as Edit and Continue enhancements within the debugger.
  • Debug Azure Functions running in Linux containers.
  • Search individual components while installing or modifying in the Visual Studio Installer.
  • Streamlined Visual Studio update experience that integrates Visual Studio IDE and Installer updates.
  • Differentiate workloads and components when adding them in the Visual Studio IDE.
  • Code Search via VS Search (Ctrl+Q)
  • Easily find newly installed project templates, view selected values on filters, and pin recently used templates in the New Project Dialog.
  • Easily configure your applications' dependencies in publish profiles using the new [Add Dependency] wizard(#webtools-add-dependency-wizard).
  • The Visual Studio installer components for .NET Core 2.1 and 2.2 now also include templates (instead of just the runtime).
  • Tooling support for serving static assets from within a Razor class library.
  • Updated Python Testing Experience using the newly-added Python testing framework pytest as well as a modified unittest experience.
  • Reduced time to index large folders and search for files in these folders.
  • Added support for Xcode 11 and iOS 13.
  • Added support for Android 10.
  • Use XAML Hot Reload for Xamarin.Forms. to rapidly iterate on your Xamarin.Forms UI.
  • Android Material Design in the XAML Previewer for Xamarin.Forms.
  • New constraint editor in the Xamarin Designer for iOS.
  • Enabled publishing iOS apps on Windows.
  • There are new options for editing .plist files.
  • Improved tasks view when debugging in Parallel Stacks Window.
  • A variety of C++ productivity improvements, including new C++ Core checks, a new default semantic colorization scheme, and on-by-default IntelliCode
  • Support for parallel builds in MSBuild-based Linux C++ projects that leverage the native WSL experience.
  • .NET Productivity additions in this release include the ability to wrap chains of fluent calls, introduce a local variable immediately after writing its initializer, .NET Core tooling support for analyzers, and an option to expand the list of completions for unimported types.
  • JavaScript/TypeScript syntax classifications and refactorings are more responsive in files.
  • Updated the C++ IntelliCode base model to be on-by-default and included Repeated Edits for C#.
  • Support for TypeScript 3.6 and more responsive JavaScript/TypeScript refactorings.
  • The Performance Profiler via ALT-F2 now provides a database tool for .Net Core projects.
  • Added a prompt to install Docker Desktop when adding Docker Support.
  • Added the capability to load symbols manually for Azure Watson and .NET Core remote debugging.
  • Restored certificate generation and improved the UWP Package signing experience.
  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.3.0:
  • "Create Test Certificate" option missing from UWP SDK in VS2019
  • VS2019 - Query designer stopped working
  • Project Properties - Code Analysis - Text is WRONG
  • Visual Studio 2019 freezes and crashes on creating new project
  • Editor and productivity features are not fully localized in Visual Studio 2019 16.3 Preview 3
  • Problem with command Tab order (in design mode)
  • Error: Some or all identity references could not be translated.
  • Visual Studio 16.2 hangs opening any dialog for editing
  • error MSB6006: "CL.exe" exited with code 2.
  • Blank code metrics result
  • VS2019 is crashing during start of the debug session if "Enable Edit and Continue" is switched off.
  • Visual Studio 2019(16.0.2) generator incorrect code with inline+/O2 in Qt 5.12.3 QBezier
  • Error Signing into VS Feedback Tool
  • Rename refactoring does not work in files included in Shared Projects - Rename operation was cancelled or is not valid
  • Brace completion when member list is up does not put the character in the right position
  • Problem with command Tab order (in design mode)
  • error MSB6006: "CL.exe" exited with code 2.
  • Error Signing into the VS Feedback Tool
  • blank code metrics result
  • Rename refactoring does not work in files included in Shared Projects - Rename operation was cancelled or is not valid
  • C++/CLI bug with inline namespaces header
  • Error: Some or all identity references could not be translated.
  • rvalue-reference-to-array can bind to lvalue-reference-to-array
  • Brace completion when member list is up does not put the character in the right position
  • Secure Secrets with Azure Key Vault Not In Connected Services List
  • VS file search is signficantly slower than VA file search
  • Visual Studio crash when TFS is not found.
  • Visual Studio error displaying .razor file.
  • Increase AndroidClientHandler timeouts.
  • "Create Test Certificate" option missing from UWP SDK in VS2019.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.2.5 (Sep 11, 2019)

  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.2.5:
  • Visual Studio stops respsonding on creating a new SSIS project
  • Fixed UI freezes occurring after extended usage of the editor.
  • Security Advisory Notices:
  • CVE-2019-1232 Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
  • An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector Service improperly impersonates certain file operations. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain elevated privileges. An attacker with unprivileged access to a vulnerable system could exploit this vulnerability. The security update addresses the vulnerability by ensuring the Diagnostics Hub Standard Collector Service properly impersonates file operations.
  • CVE-2019-1301: Denial of Service Vulnerability in .NET Core:
  • A denial of service vulnerability exists when .NET Core improperly handles web requests. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could cause a denial of service against a .NET Core web application. The vulnerability can be exploited remotely, without authentication.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.2.3 (Aug 21, 2019)

  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.2.3
  • Fixed: Android SDK not found after upgrade to 16.2
  • Fixed: VS won't start after update with message tht setup is complete.
  • Fixed an issue resulting in an installer verification or manifest verification fail when user is updating through the setup UI.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Visual Studio to crash or stop responding during shutdown.
  • Fixed a timing-related issue while saving changed Xamarin.Android project properties or building the project that resulted in the product to stop responding.
  • Fixed an issue with Visual Studio crashing when C# users typed above a namespace.
  • Fixed an issue preventing SSIS packages from successfully running in some circumstances after reloading a solution.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.2.2 (Aug 14, 2019)

  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.2.2:
  • Fixed Test Explorer doesn't show my tests on VS2019 16.2.0
  • Fixed a problem where Visual Studio can stop responding during shutdown.
  • Security Advisory Notices:
  • CVE-2019-1211 Git for Visual Studio Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
  • An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Git for Visual Studio when it improperly parses configuration files. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could execute code in the context of another local user. To exploit the vulnerability, an authenticated attacker would need to modify Git configuration files on a system prior to a full installation of the application. The attacker would then need to convince another user on the system to execute specific Git commands. The update addresses the issue by changing the permissions required to edit configuration files.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.2.0 (Aug 6, 2019)

  • IDE:
  • Hold down the Alt key + a letter indicated by an underline in the word to quickly jump to different actions in the start window and new project dialog screens for complete keyboard accessibility.
  • Take any file type including solution files and drop them on to the start window when you launch Visual Studio to load the file.
  • Resize the start window and new project dialog by dragging the edges. Visual Studio remembers changed sizes between invocations of the windows. Ability to maximize the windows by double clicking in the title bar area and minimize the windows by clicking on the task bar icon when in their launch states.
  • Access the Developer Command Prompt and Developer Power Shell by either going to “Tools > Command Line” or by searching for them via the Visual Studio Search. Accessing them from within the IDE, automatically sets their path according to the currently opened solution or folder.
  • The Preview Features tools options page has a new look that provides more information of the feature. Check this page for new features and to provide feedback on features.
  • Preview Feature: Enable the “Standard tool window layout” preview feature to improve the startup time for Visual Studio by minimizing the impact of opening tool windows.
  • Backup files are now saved to a temporary folder to avoid using unnecessary storage space in My Document folders that are synchronized with OneDrive
  • Users only have to sign in one time to access Azure resources in Visual Studio, Azure CLI or Azure PowerShell.
  • Developer PowerShell enables users to do everything available in Developer Command Prompt, but now from the familiar PowerShell interface.
  • Visual Studio retains filters for language, platform, and project type between invocations of the new project dialog for easier access generally used templates with fewer clicks.
  • Extensibility:
  • LSP: Folding Range has been updated to better support large snippets
  • An extension that uses Newtonsoft.Json may take advantage of features in the new version.
  • C++:
  • For local CMake projects configured with Clang, Code Analysis now runs clang-tidy checks, appearing as part of background code analysis as in-editor warnings (squiggles) and in the Error List.
  • Updated the <charconv> header for C++17's P0067R5 Elementary string conversions:
  • Added floating-point to_chars() overloads for chars_format::fixed and chars_format::scientific precision (chars_format::general precision is the only part not yet implemented)
  • Optimized chars_format::fixed shortest
  • Added the following C++20 Standard Library preview features:
  • Available under /std:c++latest:
  • P0020R6: atomic<floating-point>
  • P0463R1: endian enumeration
  • P0482R6: char8_t type for UTF-8 characters and strings
  • P0653R2: to_address() for converting a pointer to a raw pointer
  • Available under /std:c++17 and /std:c++latest:
  • P0600R1: [[nodiscard]] in the library
  • Available unconditionally:
  • P0754R2: <version> header
  • P0771R1: std::function move constructor should be noexcept
  • Windows SDK is no longer a dependency for the CMake for Windows and CMake for Linux components.
  • Improvements to the C++ linker to significantly improve iteration build times for the largest of input. /debug:fast and /incremental times have been improved on average by 2x, and /debug:full by 3-6x.
  • Visual Studio Installer support:
  • The Visual Studio Installer now handles improved size space detection based on what a user already has installed. If the required amount of space is significantly larger than what is available, the previous warning is now converted to an error and blocks installations.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.1.6 (Jul 12, 2019)

  • Security Advisory Notices:
  • CVE-2019-1077 Visual Studio Extension Auto Update Vulnerability
  • An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Visual Studio Extension auto-update process improperly performs certain file operations. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could delete files in arbitrary locations. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would require unprivileged access to a vulnerable system. The security update addresses the vulnerability by securing locations the Visual Studio Extension auto-update performs file operations in.
  • CVE-2019-1075 ASP.NET Core Spoofing Vulnerability:
  • A spoofing vulnerability exists in ASP.NET Core that could lead to an open redirect. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could redirect a targeted user to a malicious website. To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker could send a link that has a specially crafted URL and convince the user to click the link.
  • The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how ASP.NET Core parses URLs. Details can be found in the .NET Core release notes.
  • CVE-2019-1113 WorkflowDesigner XOML deserialization allows code execution:
  • A XOML file referencing certain types could cause random code to be executed when the XOML file is opened in Visual Studio. There is now a restriction on what types are allowed to be used in XOML files. If a XOML file containing one of the newly unauthorized types is opened, a message is displayed explaining that the type is unauthorized.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.1.5 (Jul 9, 2019)

  • Fixed known issue: Merge tools in "Resolve conflicts" not shown.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.1.4 (Jun 27, 2019)

  • Fixed known issue: The debugger's worker process (msvsmon.exe) unexpectedly exited. Debugging will be aborted.
  • Fixed known issue: VS 2019 crashes when debugging async code.
  • Fixed known issue: Xamarin problem following update to VS2019 16.1.
  • Fixed known issue: [Xcode11] [Simulator] Updating to Xcode 11 stops the simulator from launching.
  • Improved the reliability of Visual Studio by fixing an intermittent issue that happens when opening solutions.
  • Fixed a crash with the search functionality in locals / autos / watch windows when the IDE is not in break mode.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.1.3 (Jun 12, 2019)

  • Fixed known issue: Fixed VSiX Installer throwing an IOException when executed from Visual Studio installation folder.
  • Fixed known issue: Removed double-prompting for survey on uninstall.
  • Enabled a help link for new users to get help choosing a workload.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 16.1.0 (May 24, 2019)

  • IDE:
  • Visual Studio IntelliCode is now generally available and comes installed with any workload that supports C#, C++, TypeScipt/JavaScript, or XAML.
  • We have added Per-Monitor Awareness support.
  • New codefixes are available for C#.
  • Most Recently Used has been added to Visual Studio Search.
  • Debugger:
  • Source Link authentication improvements have been implemented.
  • We have added nuget.org symbol server to the list of default symbol servers.
  • Time Travel Debugging preview now includes exception stepping support.
  • Extensibility:
  • We have removed the need for .resx file in VSIX projects (BuildTools update).
  • VSIX Project template now uses the new SDK version.
  • Performance:
  • You can now experience optimizations to improve the solution load time of very large solutions.
  • Template authors can add custom tags to their templates.
  • There is now CodeLens support for custom UI.
  • We have provided updates to Language Server Protocol implementation.
  • We have updated behavior for switching between solutions, folders, and other views.
  • C++:
  • In-editor documentation for CMake has been added.
  • Use Windows Subsystem for Linux with C++ natively in Visual Studio, and AddressSanitizer for Linux projects and WSL.
  • We have made improvements and modified colorization in C++ Quick Info tooltips.
  • We have implemented new C++ Code Analysis quick fixes.
  • F#:
  • We have released more performance improvements and a bulk of bug fixes for F# and F# tooling.
  • .NET:
  • New .NET productivity features include one-click code cleanup on projects and solutions, a new toggle block comment keyboard shortcut, refactoring to move types to other namespaces.
  • You can now clone code from an SSH URI through the clone screen in the start window.
  • .NET Productivity additions in this release include intellisense completion for unimported types, toggling single-line comment/uncomment, exporting naming styles to editorconfig, and a new code style setting for preferring usings inside/outside namspaces.
  • We have implemented .NET SDK tooling additions primarily around supporting WinForms and WPF projects for .NET Core 3.0 along with bug fixes and performance improvements.
  • Visual Studio SDK v16.0 has been released to NuGet.
  • A preview of the XAML Designer for .NET Core 3.0 WPF development is available.
  • Xamarin:
  • Default Android Experience for Xamarin now supports API 28.
  • Xamarin.Forms XAML recommendations for design time attributes.
  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 version 16.1:
  • Cannot navigate to the symbol under the caret in ASP.NET MVC Projects.
  • Resx editor doesn't render.
  • Find All References minimises when using arrow keys.
  • Could not copy the file "objx64DebugManagement.exe" because it was not found.
  • Xamarin.iOS cannot find the application manifest. Please ensure the project contains a manifest file named 'Info.plist".
  • nmake environment missing path to NETFX tools.
  • Clicking on a ASP.NET Core project in solution opening the project .csproj file.
  • [MSConnect 3142311] Visual Studio IDE ?? E1449,???????????,???? -> Visual Studio IDE prompt E1449, but the code can compile and run normally, and the result is also correct.
  • Assembly reference is removed from project after running app referencing library.
  • When updating Visual Studio 2019 from RC to GA, RC shortcuts for Visual Studio are left behind.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.9.0 (May 15, 2019)

  • The Visual Studio 15.9 minor update is now out! See the detailed release information on the Current Release Notes page.
  • Visual Studio 2017 Preview now contains the same functionality as the Visual Studio 15.9 release. However, the Preview does not provide go-live rights. To continue using Visual Studio 2017, we recommend you install Visual Studio 15.9.
  • As version 15.9 is the last minor update for Visual Studio 2017, version 15.9 has been designated as the "service Pack". To remain under support for Visual Studio 2017, update to version 15.9 by January 2020. For more information, see the blog post explaining the support policy.
  • To continue to preview upcoming functionality, uninstall Visual Studio 2017 Preview and install Visual Studio 2019 Preview. See our Release Rhythm page for more information on our release cadence.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 (16.0.0) (Apr 5, 2019)

  • Install:
  • Be more efficient now that Visual Studio updates will now be downloaded in the background.
  • Control installation mode for Visual Studio updates.
  • IDE:
  • Collaborate with others using Visual Studio Live Share, which is installed by default. Additional language support for C++, VB.NET, and Razor gives guests a solution view and sharing of source control diffs.
  • Open code you recently worked on or start from one of the most commonly used flows like clone, open, or create a project through the new start window.
  • Create new projects with an improved search experience and filters using the new list of templates sorted by popularity.
  • Have more vertical room for your code and a modernized look and feel through a set of new visual changes in the shell.
  • View a sharper version of your IDE regardless of your display configuration and/or scaling, as we have improved support for per monitor awareness.
  • Use an improved search capability in Visual Studio for menus, commands, options, and installable components.
  • Quickly understand your code file's 'health' with a document indicator. Run and configure through a one-click code cleanup from the indicator.
  • Easily manage the preview features you are opted in to with a new Preview Features page in the Options dialog.
  • Create new projects with improvements in tag-based search and an easily accessible "Recent project templates" list.
  • Create new items directly from Visual Studio Search and find results faster with improved relevance.
  • Stay informed of important information, such as Visual Studio Live Share requests, with a new notifications experience.
  • Save a collection of code cleanup fixers as a profile to easily select the fixers you want run during code cleanup.
  • Trigger new .NET refactoring and code fixes.
  • Configure .NET Core projects more easily with first-class project files.
  • See the status of your extensions with Preview, Paid, and Trial tags in the Extensions and Updates dialog.
  • Check and configure which Preview features you want active since the defaults have been reset in this Preview.
  • Keep your extensions up-to-date by excluding certain Test Window APIs that have been marked as deprecated in this release.
  • Sign in, browse, and one-click clone or connect to your hosted repositories from Azure DevOps through the start window.
  • Install extensions for other source control hosts to view repositories owned by you and your organization.
  • Experience an improved Blue theme experience that addresses feedback by dialing down the luminosity, improving overall contrast and addressing other usability issues.
  • Apply code style preferences from the command-line with the dotnet format global tool.
  • MSBuild and Visual Studio now target .NET Framework 4.7.2 by default.
  • We have removed Azure App Service-related features from Server Explorer; equivalent functionality is instead available in Cloud Explorer.
  • Performance:
  • Take control of how solutions load by using Visual Studio's new performance improvements that affect stepping speed, branch switching speed, and more.
  • See solution load progress in the Task Status Center.
  • Choose which projects to load on solution open with solution filter files.
  • Improve your typing performance by limiting the impact of auxiliary components.
  • Toggle the new option to disable restoring of your project hierarchy state and tool window state.
  • Learn the new shortcut for Build Selection and quickly Build All in CMake with the new Build All command.
  • Code faster with improved performance of IntelliSense for C++ files in CMake projects.
  • Load larger .NET Core solutions and enjoy significant memory reductions when working with them over time.
  • Load project dependencies quickly with a new project context menu command.
  • See performance tips in the performance center.
  • General Debugging and Diagnostics:
  • Search keywords within the Watch, Autos, and Locals windows while debugging to improve your ability to find objects or values.
  • View a dropdown of format specifiers in the Watch, Autos, and Locals windows when inspecting data.
  • Use a custom visualizer, now compatible with .NET Core.
  • Debug very large applications with large numbers of modules and PDBs.
  • Launch Google Chrome with custom arguments and debug your JavaScript applications all within the Visual Studio IDE.
  • Use Hot Path Highlighting for CPU and DotNet Object Allocation tools in the Performance Profiler.
  • Break when a specific object's property value changes in .NET Core 3.0+ applications using data breakpoints, a feature that was originally exclusive to C++.
  • Since Preview 1, we have updated the UI for searching in the Autos, Locals, and Watch windows with a simpler interface. The Search Deeper function has been changed to a dropdown so you can quickly select how deep you want your initial and subsequent searches to be.
  • Source Control and Team Explorer:
  • Temporarily store changes so you can work on another task by using Team explorer's Git tools support for Git stash.
  • Check out the optional extension available on the Visual Studio Market Place, Pull Requests for Visual Studio, that integrates Pull Request reviews into Visual Studio.
  • Use the new Azure DevOps work item experience that focuses on developer workflows, including user-specific work item views, creating a branch from a work item, searching for work items with #mentions, and inline editing.
  • Extensibility:
  • Use a single, unified Visual Studio SDK in the NuGet package Microsoft.VisualStudio.SDK.
  • Take advantage of our update to the VSIX Project to now include an AsyncPackage.
  • Experiment with a new Empty VSIX Project template that we have added.
  • Know if an extension is Free, Paid, or Trial, as it is now indicated inside the Extensions and Updates dialog.
  • Web Technologies:
  • Take advantage of the added support for working with .NET Core 3.0 projects.
  • Check out CPU profiling of ASP.NET.
  • Use snapshot debugger for .NET web apps running on Virtual Machines, Virtual Machine Scale Sets, and Azure Kubernetes Service.
  • Develop container applications for Kubernetes with the Visual Studio Kubernetes Tools
  • Experience enhancements to the Azure DevOps work item experience that include inline support of assigning work items and an improved #mentions experience.
  • Work with project files more easily and experience a better console app for .NET Core tooling.
  • Experience enhancements to the publish profile summary for all apps. Additionally, a new section called Dependencies is now available when an app is published to Azure App Service.
  • Experience visual enhancements when creating a new ASP.NET application
  • Re-supply publish credentials for an existing Azure Functions publish profile
  • Container Tools:
  • Experience a more streamlined single project for containerizing and debugging.
  • Make use of added support for debugging Alpine and additional base images.
  • Mobile Development with Xamarin:
  • Get started quicker with a reduced Xamarin workload size and improved performance when creating new projects.
  • See more detailed build progress information.
  • Use IntelliCode with Xamarin.Forms XAML.
  • See your XAML previewed without building your project first with the new Basic Preview Mode in the Xamarin.Forms Previewer.
  • Preview your Xamarin.Forms XAML on different devices with the new Xamarin.Forms Previewer device drop-down.
  • Check out the new property panel for Xamarin.Forms controls.
  • Use the newly-added Shell template for Xamarin.Forms.
  • Experience improvements to Xamarin.Android initial and incremental build performance.
  • Create new Android emulators using the deploy target menu.
  • Speed up your build times with our improvements for build in Xamarin.Android.
  • Experience Enhanced Fast Deployment and d8/r8 support for Xamarin.Android.
  • Take advantage of enhanced productivity in the Xamarin.Android Designer.
  • Try out Xamarin.Android Designer improvements with initial support for constraint layouts.
  • Be more productive with the Xamarin.Android Designer by using Go-To-Definition and enhanced XML IntelliSense/Autocompletion for Android Resource files.
  • Universal Windows Platform (UWP):
  • Preserve comments, spacing, namespaces, and any other text changes when making edits from the designer. The package manifest designer now maintains strict fidelity to xml changes in the Package.appxmanifest file.
  • Use the Windows Application Packaging project for .NET Core projects to produce MSIX packages.
  • Use the Package Creation Wizard for direct Microsoft Store submissions.
  • Deployment to Windows Mobile devices is no longer supported in Visual Studio 2019. Attempts to deploy to a Windows 10 Mobile device will result in an error saying "Deployment to Windows Mobile devices is not supported in Visual Studio 2019". If you need to continue working on an application for Windows 10 Mobile devices, continue to use Visual Studio 2017.
  • SQL Server Data Tools:
  • Experience an updated SSDT and DacFX that now includes UTF-8 collation support.
  • Programming Languages:
  • C++:
  • Save time when writing C++ and XAML code by using Visual Studio IntelliCode, an optional extension that gives AI-assisted recommendations for your code.
  • Experience in-editor code analysis warnings. Code analysis runs automatically in the background and warnings display as green squiggles.
  • Try the new Template Bar, which uses the Peek Window UI and supports nested templates.
  • Run the new, updated implementation of the C++ Lifetime profile checker.
  • Configure your CMake projects using the new CMake Settings Editor, which provides an alternative to CMakeSettings.json.
  • Try out a host of backend improvements including OpenMP SIMD vectorization, link-time speedups, and more aggressive inlining.
  • Open existing CMake caches generated by external tools, such as CMakeGUI, or customized meta-build systems.
  • Improve analysis with /Qspectre for providing mitigation assistance for Spectre Variant 1 (CVE-2017-5753). For more information, see the Visual C++ Team Blog post.
  • Quickly switch between your previous sample arguments now that the Template Bar for Template IntelliSense has a Most Recently Used dropdown.
  • F#:
  • F# 4.6 is released, along with various other compiler improvements.
  • Experience performance improvements for larger solutions and various bug fixes for F# and the F# tools.
  • Learn about some of the awesome work done by open source contributors to the F# language and tools.
  • JavaScript/TypeScript:
  • Debug unit tests in Node.js projects.
  • Experience additional support for users who are building TypeScript projects from NuGet and npm packages.
  • Python:
  • Easily add Python virtual and conda environments using the Python Add Environment dialog.
  • Work more easily with Python environments, including improved support for Open Folder workspaces using a new Python environment selector toolbar.
  • Create Visual Studio Live Share sessions and collaborate on Python code with other Visual Studio users.
  • C#:
  • Experience a preview of the 8.0 language features that the C# compiler now supports, including:
  • Nullable reference types: When the feature is turned on (for example, with #nullable enable or at the project-level with <NullableContextOptions>enable</NullableContextOptions>), reference types are treated as nullable if annotated with ?, and as non-nullable otherwise. The compiler then analyzes where null values flow and warns about likely unsafe usages.
  • switch expressions: Offers switch-like semantics in an expression context.
  • Recursive pattern matching: New patterns allow testing fields/properties and positional elements (from tuples or deconstruction).
  • Support for Range and Index types being used in CoreFX for slicing, including the x..y literal syntax for ranges.
  • Asynchronous streams represented by IAsyncEnumerable<T> can be enumerated asynchronously with await foreach and can be produced with async IAsyncEnumerable<T> iterator methods.
  • using declarations: Dispose at the end of the current block, without increasing the level of nesting. ref structs can be disposed by implementing a public Dispose() method.
  • static local functions: Local functions marked with static cannot reference this or variables in the enclosing functions.
  • Local functions and lambdas can now declare parameters and locals that shadow names of variables of the enclosing functions.
  • Null-coalescing assignment: x ??= y; only assigns y to x if x was null.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.9.11) (Apr 3, 2019)

  • Access violation C++ /CLI 15.9.5 ISO C++ Latest Draft Standard since 15.9.5.
  • PGO Code Gen Bug - Vectorized instruction accessing memory OOB.
  • We have implemented a C++ compiler fix to correct exception handling support for code using setjmp/longjmp in Release mode.
  • We have implemented a C++ linker fix regarding information in PDB where the incorrect module info could result in heap corruption when producing a stripped PDB file either by PDBCopy.exe or by link.exe when option /PDBSTRIPPED is specified.
  • We have corrected dual signing of the ARM64 Visual C++ Redistributable installer.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 (16.0.0) RC3 (Mar 26, 2019)

  • Top Issues Fixed in Visual Studio 2019 RC.3:
  • Modal progress dialog stays open permanently even when IDE is responsive ('Preparing Solution', 'Creating Project', Edit and Continue, etc).
  • PackageId:OpenJDKV1;PackageAction:Uninstall;ReturnCode:0;.
  • .sql files are empty.
  • Properties Window in Forms Designer shows vertical scrollbar without drag handle with automatic scaling on 4K display in Visual Studio 2019 RC.
  • VSIXInstaller.exe crashes randomly when installing multiple extensions sequentially in Visual Studio 2019 RC.1.
  • MSBuild failure when executing multi-line Exec commands.
  • You can now use Time Travel Debugging with the snapshot debugger on ASP.NET Apps running on an Azure VM. Please note that this feature may not work in all Azure regions at release.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.9.10) (Mar 26, 2019)

  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in 15.9.10:
  • We have fixed an issue with debugging using Docker when a web proxy is configured.
  • In debugging using Docker, you will now experience improved error handling for failures related to drive sharing configuration (for example, expired credentials).

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2019 (16.0.0) RC2 (Mar 13, 2019)

  • Top issues fixed:
  • Find in files "Locating next match" UI is annoying.
  • Find files keeps defaulting to current document.
  • Quick references freezes VS 2019 RC.
  • PackageId:MsSqlCmdLnUtils;PackageAction:Install;ReturnCode:1603;.
  • Error List does not show errors because it is scoped to "Current Document".
  • Cannot use conditional breakpoint on PropertyInfo.Name value.
  • Visual Studio crashes when parsing macros at the end of a file.
  • Search in Visual Studio 2019 is very slow.
  • Visual Studio hangs when starting debugging.
  • vdproj not supported in Visual Studio 2019 RC.
  • Visual Studio installer welcome image contains offensive element for Chinese.
  • VSIX Extension pre-req has been removed in Visual Studio 2019 RC breaking extension compatibility.
  • Create Project from Start Screen Ignores Selected Project Folder.
  • cpp properties is dialog does not show up when using Project menu item or select "Manage configuration" drop down menu.
  • Visual Studio 2019 Build Tools - developer prompt title says "Developer Command Prompt for Visual Studio 2017".
  • German tranlation regarding the Feedback Tool: Help > Send Feedback > Report a Problem.
  • 自动完成功能,如果双击候选项,会丢失输入焦点,需要单机编辑器才能继续输入-AutoComplete function, if you double-click the candidate, will lose the input focus, need a stand-alone editor to continue to enter.
  • Context menus are sometimes placed on the wrong monitor in a multiple monitor configuration.
  • Visual Studio 2019 conflict with QQ Pinyin.
  • Cannot drag maximized Visual Studio window.
  • Fixed slow reload of multiple C# and Visual Basic projects.
  • When IntelliSense is present, when a user types Shift + Enter, the active selection will be completed and a new line inserted.
  • Fixed a PMA issue where editor tooltips and light bulb doesn't render properly.
  • Notifications about crashes caused by extensions now show up again.
  • Notifications about performance of Visual Studio have been secured against tampering.
  • Fixed an issue with toolbar rendering when dragged across displays.
  • Fixed an issue with Tools Options rendering when running with per-monitor awareness enabled.
  • Various DpiHelper classes has been deprecated (extensibility).
  • Fixed splash screen scaling to better match the primary monitor scale factor.
  • Fixed an issue in settings import where warnings/errors were not always reported correctly.
  • Fixed an issue where Tools Options reported software rendering regardless of rendering tier.
  • Fixed an issue where the name of the open folder was not displayed in the title bar region.
  • Fixed an issue with find in files positioning when per-monitor awareness is enabled.
  • Fixed an issue with dock adorner rendering when per-monitor awareness is enabled.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.9.9) (Mar 13, 2019)

  • SSDT: We fixed a crash in the SSIS Foreach Loop container.
  • A few .NET native for UWP customer issues were fixed in .NET native tools 2.2 (UWP 6.2.4).
  • We have corrected dual signing of Visual C++ Redistributable installers.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.9.8) (Mar 6, 2019)

  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in 15.9.8:
  • ModelBus-enabled text transformation fails on 15.8.
  • SSDT: Fix to improve performance of loading solutions with multiple projects.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.9.7) (Feb 13, 2019)

  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in 15.9.7:
  • Crashes when expanding variables!.
  • /DEBUG:FASTLINK + C7 + PCH crashes debugger.
  • Native C++ application crashes because of stack corruption with VS 2017 15.9.2.
  • Incorrect Release Mode code.
  • Xamarin Unobserved Task Exception WebRequest.
  • Link /SOURCELINK option seems to do nothing. This fixes Source Link for Managed C++ Debugging.
  • Fixed an issue with corruption of AVX/MPX/AVX512 registers while Debugging.
  • Update of Microsoft.VCLibs.140.00.UWPDestkop framework packages for C++ UWP DesktopBridge applications adding support for ARM64.
  • Corrected incorrect version of VCToolsRedistVersion in Microsoft.VCToolsVersion.default.props.
  • Corrected unsigned embedded dll for VC Redist installers.
  • SSDT/Web Tools: We fixed an issue where SQL LocalDB was not installed on Polish, Turkish, and Czech locales.
  • SSDT: We fixed an issue affecting SQL Server Aalysis Services (Method not found exception when clicking on UI).
  • SSDT: We fixed an accessibility issue which was causing the contents of a table not to be visible in the result window when using High-Contrast mode.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.9.6) (Jan 25, 2019)

  • Installation failures of the Unity Editor component in China.
  • Starting a new nanoFramework project from a template.
  • Deployment errors after VS2017 update.
  • Android Deploy failed - Error ADB0010.
  • Error in German translation: info bar "session closed unexpectedly".
  • Visual Studio 2017 create offline layout problem: Failed to load from stream for non-ENU layouts.
  • Extension auto-update can leave extension disabled.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.9.5) (Jan 9, 2019)

  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in 15.9.5:
  • VSX1000: No enough information has been provided to MSBuild in order to establish a connection to a Remote Server.
  • Visual C++ 2017 Redistributable for ARM64 is not available via visualstudio.com.
  • VC Runtime Redistributable Update for VS 15.9 deletes Registry Key. This fix may have an increased chance of requiring a reboot of the machine in order to install an updated VC++ Redistributable package.
  • Incorrect codegen in managed c++ with List to List assignment.
  • Can't connect to mac build host after Visual Studio 15.9.4 update.
  • Resource directories missed in incremental builds with AndroidAarLibrary items.
  • Lots of external assembly references - JNI ERROR (app bug): local reference table overflow (max=512).
  • The Unity Editor has been updated to 2018.3. For more information, please visit the Unity website.
  • SSDT: We enabled SQL projects to build schemas that have non-clustered columnstore indexes on an indexed views.
  • SSDT: We fixed a significant performance issue in the schema compare tool when generating a script.
  • SSDT: We fixed the schema drift detection logic in the schema compare tool which forced a new comparison to reenable scripting and publishing actions.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.9) Preview 5 (Jan 9, 2019)

  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in 15.9.5:
  • VSX1000: No enough information has been provided to MSBuild in order to establish a connection to a Remote Server.
  • Visual C++ 2017 Redistributable for ARM64 is not available via visualstudio.com.
  • VC Runtime Redistributable Update for VS 15.9 deletes Registry Key. This fix may have an increased chance of requiring a reboot of the machine in order to install an updated VC++ Redistributable package.
  • Incorrect codegen in managed c++ with List to List assignment.
  • Can't connect to mac build host after Visual Studio 15.9.4 update.
  • Resource directories missed in incremental builds with AndroidAarLibrary items.
  • Lots of external assembly references - JNI ERROR (app bug): local reference table overflow (max=512).
  • The Unity Editor has been updated to 2018.3. For more information, please visit the Unity website.
  • SSDT: We enabled SQL projects to build schemas that have non-clustered columnstore indexes on an indexed views.
  • SSDT: We fixed a significant performance issue in the schema compare tool when generating a script.
  • SSDT: We fixed the schema drift detection logic in the schema compare tool which forced a new comparison to reenable scripting and publishing actions.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.8.9) (Nov 3, 2018)

  • Added support for Xcode 10.1 in Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin.
  • Updated the Xamarin.Forms template to Xamarin.Forms 3.3.0.
  • Update 15.8.6 breaks Installer Projects.
  • Internal Compiler error in VS15.8 msc1.cpp line 1518.
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 Installer Projects 0.8.8 and VS 15.8.6.
  • SFINAE fails to detect matching overloaded function in preview VS preview 3 15.9.0.
  • XAML Designer crash on Visual Studio close.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.8.8) (Oct 25, 2018)

  • Fixed customer-reported issues:
  • /DEBUG:FASTLINK no debug info for STL types included via PCH.
  • Bad codegen seen in 15.8 RTW compiler.
  • Heap corruption in stack unwinding when inlining function.
  • Linker consumes 6 GB of memory for specific test case.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.9) Preview 4 (Oct 24, 2018)

  • Issues Fixed in 15.9 Preview 4:
  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in this release. If you are looking for a specific customer-reported issue that has been fixed in 15.9 Preview 4, visit the Developer Community.
  • Not all projects load after upgrade.
  • VS Professional 2017 v.15.8.1 Intellisense problem (C++ desktop).
  • WMP error.
  • Document is not getting reloaded when changes are made externally.
  • Can't declare constexpr initializer_list.
  • Xamarin iOS build: assembly path mismatch.
  • Microsoft.VCLibs.140.00.UWPDesktop not up to date with VCRedist.
  • App Crashes and Restarts when I create a new table in my database and click "Update".
  • Compile time greatly prolonged when evaluating constexpr function.
  • Error LNK2001: unresolved external symbol after update to VS 15.8.4.
  • C++ Intellisense stops working with given code.
  • Typescript breakpoints skipped in particular module.
  • VS 2017 15.7.4/15.7.5: Crash caused by activated inline function expansion (/Ob1, /Ob2).
  • Incorrect C++ IntelliSense error: '= delete' can only appear on the first declaration of a function.
  • MSVC can't compile WebKit's OptionSet::containsAny.
  • Internal compiler error when compiling for ARM64.
  • Bad code generation in VS 2017 v15.8.5.
  • Crash when updating a table to a database.
  • Details of What's New in 15.9 Preview 4:
  • SharePoint 2019 Support:
  • We added new templates that allow you to create projects for SharePoint 2019. You will have the ability to migrate existing SharePoint projects from both SharePoint 2013 and SharePoint 2016 to the new project template.
  • C++:
  • Updated UWP Desktop Bridge framework packages matching the latest in the Windows Store for all supported architectures including ARM64.
  • Full support for ARM64 C++ Native Desktop scenarios including VC++ 2017 Redistributable.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.8.7) (Oct 11, 2018)

  • Azure DevOps:
  • Visual Studio Team Services is now Azure DevOps! You will see this new branding in Team Explorer and in references across Visual Studio.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.9) Preview 3 (Oct 3, 2018)

  • Summary of What's New in 15.9 Preview 3:
  • Language service support for TypeScript 3.0 features for semantic file renaming and project references.
  • Improved Node.js development by updating Vue.js templates and adding support for unit testing using the Jest framework.
  • Added and improved features for Universal Windows Platform developers, including ARM64 support, the latest preview SDK, and XAML Designer improvements.
  • Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin now supports Xcode 10.
  • We made improvements to the Xamarin.Android build performance.
  • Issues Fixed in 15.9 Preview 3:
  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in this release. If you are looking for a specific customer-reported issue that has been fixed in 15.9 Preview 3, visit the Developer Community.
  • VS2017 15.8 Build doesn't start if XAML files are not manually saved first.
  • Scrolling up with the arrow key causes Visual Studio to page up.
  • VS Diff Compare missing grayout (slashes) that indicate added/removed lines.
  • Navigation bar in editor has trouble handling long method names.
  • Solution File ExtensibilityGlobals Section randomly switch order when saved.
  • compilation error with constexpr if and std::underlying_type under /permissive-.
  • C++ 15.8.2 crash when editing comments above code.
  • Unable to cancel an ongoing "Find All References" task.
  • C++ constexpr lambda compiles, however, Intellisense shows errors.
  • New all .NET core project exception.
  • False positive for C26495.
  • False positive for C26495.
  • C++ Visual Studio 2017 version 15.4 Editor Intellisense gives E0028 with constexpr lambda.
  • LNK4099 warnings when number of parallel project builds is greater than 1.
  • C26440 can be declared 'noexcept' generated for virtual functions marked as noexcept(false).
  • Constexpr if incorrectly instantiates template classes on false branches that should not be evaluated.
  • SHIFT + END visually highlighed selection stops on long lines in VS15.8.
  • VS 15.8 broken stl/clr _ITERATOR_DEBUG_LEVEL=2: error C2039: '_Debug_message': is not a member of 'std'.
  • .eslintignore file does not seem to be working.
  • SFINAE fails to compile.
  • Details of What's New in 15.9 Preview 3:
  • Language Service Support
  • We added refactoring to fix up references to a file after it has been renamed. We also added support for project references, letting you split your TypeScript project up into separate builds that reference each other.
  • Node.js Development
  • We updated to the latest Vue CLI 3.0 and improved linting in Vue.js template files. You can also write and run unit tests using the Jest framework.
  • Tools for Universal Windows Platform Developers
  • The latest Windows 10 Insider Preview SDK (build 17763) is included as an optional component in the Universal Windows Platform development Workload.
  • You can now build ARM64 UWP applications. For .NET UWP applications, only .NET Native is supported for ARM64, and you must set the Minimum Version of your application to the Fall Creators Update (Build 16299) or higher.
  • The UWP XAML designer reliability has been improved in this release. Developers now have the option to enable Platform Only Mode for all design time experiences. This prevents the designer from executing any custom control code to improve reliability of the design surface.
  • Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin
  • Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin now supports Xcode 10, which allows you to build and debug apps for iOS 12, tvOS 12, and watchOS 5. See how to get ready for iOS 12 and our introduction to iOS 12 for more details on the new features available.
  • Initial Xamarin.Android Build Performance Improvements
  • Xamarin.Android 9.1 includes initial build performance improvements. See our Xamarin.Android 15.8 vs. 15.9 build performance comparison for more details.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.8.5) (Sep 21, 2018)

  • Debugger tooltip does not expand in Xamarin.iOS debugging session.
  • Debugger won't let me leave execution point (Android).
  • After updating to 15.8.1, data tip does not show when debugging.
  • Debugger data tip does not expand [Editor].
  • Exception:MSB0001: Internal MSBuild Error: Already registered for build-time.
  • Wrong path to resource in manifest for ClickOnce after upgrading to VS 15.8.1.
  • ClickOnce Manifest error in 15.8.
  • ClickOnce Publish is missing certain references.
  • ClickOnce: Language file copied to wrong location.
  • Reference missing in the ClickOnce publish folder.
  • Compiling non-.NET SDK style F# projects results in an internal MSBuild error unless MSBuild parallelism is set to 1.
  • F# is not NGEN'd in Visual Studio.
  • F# deploys the FSharp.Core 4.5.0.0 binary in the 4.4.3.0 location.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.8.4) (Sep 12, 2018)

  • Constexpr function with explicit (void) parameter crashes MSVC 15.8.0 release.
  • TypeScriptLspCodeActionProvider encountered an error and has been disabled.
  • The 'Shared Web Components' package did not load correctly.
  • Editing CSS with Browser Link enabled can crash Visual Studio.
  • Service Fabric Deployment fails in 15.8.0.
  • Incorrect error for constexpr pointer to members with VS2017 15.8.
  • Constexpr doesn't support __declspec(dllimport) in VS2017 15.8.
  • C++ VS 2017 Update 8 difference in member function pointer between C++14 and C++17 modes leads to crashes.
  • TestExplorer locking up UI in latest build.
  • [WebKit] "Already defined symbol" for static template member definition (regression).
  • VS 15.8.0 Internal compiler error.
  • Internal compiler error in constexpr function.
  • Test Explorer Window remains blank with Express.
  • Visual Studio 2017 fails to open on FIPS-enabled machine..
  • VS2017 15.8 Internal Compiler Error 'msc1.cpp', line 1518 when evaluating simple constexpr function.
  • Fatal error C1001 after update to VS 15.8.0.
  • Migrating to VS2017 15.8: Internal compiler error when using constexpr functions as template parameters.
  • Internal compiler error when compiling a template function with a constexpr in VC++ 15.8.0.
  • Code generated by VC 15.8.1 compiler lead to crash.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.8.3) (Sep 7, 2018)

  • Visual Studio 2017 version 15.8.2 contained a pre-release build of .NET Core SDK 2.1.401 that is incompatible with Visual Studio. We have corrected this issue with Visual Studio 2017 version 15.8.3.
  • VSCppUnit test case creation failure.
  • Python IntelliSense not working on Python 2.7.
  • XAML designer causing Visual Studio to close unexpectedly.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.8.2) (Aug 29, 2018)

  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in 15.8.2:
  • Publish single file context menu item missing.
  • Git network operations not working: Cannot spawn git-askpass.exe.
  • "Visual C++ Resource Editor Package" load failed.
  • Preview Transform gives error.
  • Cannot type close brace.
  • Object reference not set to an instance of an object when deploying Service Fabric project after update 15.8.0.
  • "The given path's format is not supported" installation error.
  • Task ExpandPriContent failed. Illegal characters in path.
  • "Could not create instance of type System.Collections.Genertic.Iset'1[Signer]" installer error.
  • Service fabric deployment fails in 15.8.0.
  • Cannot create app package for Windows store.
  • Incorrect code generation for strongly-typed resources.
  • Keyboard binding for Italian layout.
  • IntelliSense broken #9999.
  • When working on a Unity project and Unity rewrites multiple project files, the Visual Studio Tools for Unity will now automatically reload the solution.
  • The customer will now get a dialog to close Office applications if they are blocking the Visual Studio install and causing a failure of 1303.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.8.1) (Aug 21, 2018)

  • Fixed an issue where Visual Studio would close unexpectedly when a browser window was closed while debugging a Web project.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.7.6) (Aug 3, 2018)

  • This release contains the following improvements and enhancements:
  • This release now installs Java™ Development Kit 8, Update 181 (JDK version 8u181).
  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in 15.7.6:
  • Visual C++ Redistributable 2017 does not report the install state in a specific registry location.
  • In 15.7 users may see extensions load without all of their assets and cause VS to crash. This has been addressed for 15.7.6.
  • Visual Studio 2017 version 15.7.5 crashes when opening a solution.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.8.0) Preview 5 (Jul 27, 2018)

  • This release contains the following improvements and enhancements:
  • We are introducing F# 4.5, a new language version that, among other improvements, fully supports Span<'T> and comes with significant improvements to stack traces for async code. New features and performance improvements to Visual Studio tooling for F# is also included.
  • You now have secrets support for ASP.NET .NET Framework projects.
  • The Migrate local Azure Function settings to Azure now displays new values.
  • Test Explorer summary pane improvement now provides more informative test status.
  • We added native support for the Language Server Protocol.
  • Issues Fixed in 15.8 Preview 5:
  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in this release. If you are looking for a specific customer-reported issue that has been fixed in 15.8 Preview 5, visit the Developer Community.
  • Intellisense error with _com_ptr_t started in Visual Studio 2017 15.5.1.
  • When one or more file is being moved the warning can be checked but is not persisted.
  • Node debugging gives "Attempting to add script that was already added" error.
  • Co_await optimization issue in Visual Studio 15.7, x64 platform.
  • Cannot set indent level to 4 spaces in vs 2017.
  • Cannot set indent level to 4 spaces in VS2017.
  • Loop dependent files found inside "wwwrootcss".
  • Loop vectorizer produces incorrect results when using a reference inside the loop in VS2017.
  • The "Recent Project List" command was renamed in version 15.5 and new name "No Recent Projects or Solutions" is not intuitive.
  • C++ CodeGen in Visual Studio 15.6.2.generates the following instruction: movss xmm4, DWORD PTR [rcx+rbx*8+657DDFBC].

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.8.0) Preview 4 (Jul 11, 2018)

  • This release contains the following improvements and enhancements:
  • C++ improvements, including Linux Remote IntelliSense features and improvements to the SSA Optimizer and linker.
  • We made significant test performance improvements in running a large solution with multiple test projects.
  • .NET Test Adapter Extensions: breaking change and deprecation
  • You can now customize the tag for a Docker image with the publish improvements made in this release.
  • Visual Basic now provides you with a significant performance improvement.
  • We have added toolbox support to Xamarin.Forms Previewer.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.7.5) (Jul 11, 2018)

  • VS2017 15.7.0 Community debugger not showing variable values on hover.
  • Exception block is optmized away causing a crash.
  • cannot push to remote repository since update from 15.7.2 to 15.7.3.
  • Sync commit: Git failed with a fatal error.
  • Compiler bug related to math operations on NaN not conforming to standards, when optimization is enabled.
  • Optimization error in x86 build reorders lines incorrectly.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.8.0) Preview 3 (Jun 26, 2018)

  • New Features in 15.8 Preview 3:
  • Visual Studio now offers .NET Framework 4.7.2 development tools to supported platforms with 4.7.2 runtime included.
  • We improved performance during project unload/reload and branch switching.
  • With added support for Azure Functions, you now have a new target host in the Configure Continuous Delivery to Azure dialog.
  • Git and TFS status now updates properly for external file changes in .NET Core projects.
  • We added new productivity features, such as code cleanup, invert-if refactoring, Go to Enclosing Block, Multi-Caret support, and new keyboard profiles.
  • C++ enhancements include Template IntelliSense, convert macro to constexpr lightbulbs, and experimental in-editor code analysis squiggles.
  • You can now use cross-language debugging with Python 3.7.0rc1.
  • Performance Profiling now offers the ability to pause/resume data collection and adds a new .NET Object Allocation Tracking tool.
  • We included improvements for Android incremental builds in the Xamarin support for Xcode 9.4.
  • Issues Fixed in 15.8 Preview 3:
  • Exporting an ASP.NET core project as a template results in a broken template.
  • When you right-click the context menu on a Solution Folder nothing happens in version 15.8.0 Preview 2.
  • Ellipsis cuts off download progress text prematurely in the Visual Studio Installer.
  • Version 15.4.1 Web publish preview fails with a 'user is not authorized' message.
  • Cl.exe VS15.4->15.5 regression - multiple if constexpr not working.
  • Visual Studio 2017 crashes when editing files in version 15.7.1.
  • Specifying a function as the function reference argument non-type variable template parameter generated error code C2971.
  • NuGet package update is very slow.
  • An internal error occurred in the compiler.
  • An internal compiler error in outdname.c occured when building Firefox webrtc code.
  • When trying to update, the buttons at the bottom of the dialog are no longer visible.
  • Internal compiler failure with 'msc1.cpp', line 1516 fatal error C1001 error message.
  • Intellisense fails with "_countof" after recent version 15.7 updates.
  • With Visual Studio C++ 15.4.3, the __cpp_structured_bindings test macro is not defined when /std:c++17 flag is set.
  • C++ Language Standard missing C++17 (GNU Dialect) (-std=gnu++1z) option for Android NDK r15c Clang 5.0 on MSVS 2017 15.6.1.
  • Right click on a new solution folder to add a new project does not work.
  • Visual Studio freezes with 12-25% CPU use after build succeeds.
  • If there are any duplicate includes in a C++, .h or .cpp file any attempt to add another causes the cursor to jump to a completely different line.
  • Highlighting for CMakeLists.txt is broken in version 15.8 Preview 2.
  • When an array element address is taken, the VC++ compiler incorrectly computes the wrong address when constexpr is used.
  • [MSConnect 3118454] Compiler creates >4GB object file with simple code using std::tuple.
  • Inline variable causes compiler to fail.
  • C++ constexpr operators *=, /=, %= throw error messages.
  • Code added to.cpp file crashes with an ICE on compilation.
  • Sync to remote target takes a long time.
  • Boost.Asio buffer_debug_check doesn't compile in C++17 mode when /diagnostics:caret is enabled and results in an Internal Compiler Error.
  • Cannot copy or redirect to URL.
  • Visual Studio 2017 crash at times when you switch zoom via pull down menu.
  • Context menu for solution folder doesn't work.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.7.4) (Jun 19, 2018)

  • Top Issues Fixed in 15.7.4:
  • Green squiggles and light bulb with "Macro in skipped region" message.
  • F7 does not switch to code.
  • F7 does not build anymore.
  • F7 build does not work.
  • LINK : error : Telemetry event upload failed: 'Failed to open connection to VCTIP'.
  • AXML file doesn't open after update.
  • F7 no longer toggles between the designer and the code.
  • XAML Editor Error: Window is not supported in WPF project.
  • WinForms View.ToggleDesigner does not work as it used to.
  • Toggle designer key binding lost.
  • F7 does not start a new build.
  • F7 no longer toggles between Designer and Code views.
  • There is a problem with structure definition in C language.
  • Provisioning a new SQL Server and new SQL DB in a different region than the App Service plan fails.
  • Git Security Vulnerability:
  • We also fixed a security vulnerability in Git that was disclosed by the Git community. The vulnerability can lead to arbitrary code execution when a user clones a malicious repository.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.8.0) Preview 2 (May 31, 2018)

  • New Features in 15.8 Preview 2:
  • The installer now offers the option to download all files before starting installation.
  • Speed up solution load by disabling automatic document restore.
  • Choose your target instance when debugging extensions.
  • Build Tools for Visual Studio 2017 now includes the VSSDK.
  • Improvements to the CPU Usage tool for Performance Profiling (CPU Usage).
  • Updated templates, clang-format.exe, and added templates to simplify the creation of templates for C++.
  • You can use Google's Android emulator side-by-side with Hyper-V on Windows 10 April 2018 Update.
  • Improved performance for F# tools.
  • Issues Fixed in 15.8 Preview 2:
  • VS2017 doesn't remember screen position and size for use on 3 monitors.
  • Visual Studio 2015 and 2017 create an empty Debug folder in the path defined by $(SolutionDir) .
  • Using /permissive- in a C++/CLI project triggers two-phase name lookup warnings.
  • Unable to start second process for debugging.
  • VS2017 debugger doesn't stop after closing browser.
  • After update to 15.7.0 the atls.lib in arm/arm64 is missing.
  • Add class tool fails with error when same class name is in another project.
  • Anchored windows are hidden after running an application.
  • if constexpr enum failure.
  • Guaranteed Copy elision incomplete in 15.6.2.
  • Telemetry event upload failed with error 'Failed to open connection to VCTIP'.
  • Linux Console doesn't open on first launch of Linux C++ application.
  • std::aligned_storage is non-compliant and counterintuitive for over-aligned types.
  • Receive 'No job functions found' message with unchanged Azure Function Project.
  • Quick Launch stops showing results after being in full screen mode.
  • Catch by reference within if constexpr (false) fails to compile.
  • Internal compiler error after new tools install in 15.5.1.
  • VC++ generates a 1.7GB precompiled header in conformance mode compiling boost headers and then fails.
  • Missing a "shall not participate in overload resolution unless" for <int, std::unique_ptr>>::value .
  • VS2017 cannot detect installed WinXP component.
  • An error occurred while ATL COM added method script.
  • Can't link MFC program with 15.7 preview 2 - generates LNK1169 & LNK2005 errors.
  • Guaranteed Copy elision fails for types with user-defined destructor.
  • Internal Compiler Error "(compiler file 'msc1.cpp', line 1516" when compiled with /permissive.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.7.3) (May 31, 2018)

  • Top Issues Fixed in 15.7.3:
  • VS2017 compiler creates broken debug build using Qt framework and generates 'Invalid address specified to RtlValidateHeap' error.
  • Incorrect code generation for matrix multiplication.
  • VS 2017 Update 7: Git History Codelens only showing entries for the past 6 months.
  • UWP projects reference multiple NetStandard 2.0 dlls after 15.7.1 upgrade.
  • Building C++ code in VS 15.7 with /std:c++17 breaks binary compatibility for std::_Ptr_move_cat.
  • Visual Studio 15.7 stuck when opening XAML files.
  • CMake configuration fails and generates message "C++ IntelliSense information may be out of date, generate the CMake cache to refresh".
  • Unable to start second process for debugging.
  • After update to Visual Studio 15.7.1, some test programs fail in start-up due to reading access violation.
  • Missing compiler required member 'Microsoft.CSharp.RuntimeBinder.Binder.Convert'.
  • Build fails after 15.7.0 update on older project using .NET 3.5 .
  • Coloring, typing, tooltips and IntelliSense slow in F# in VS2017 editor.
  • F# editing experience takes up to a minute for tooltips and dropdowns to display.
  • Certain class member variable value are incorrectly read as zero.
  • Attempt to open XAML file for the first time causes VS to sit with the "Opening the file ..." message for about 10 minutes before XAML file opens.
  • Visual Studio slows down and freezes, creating work loss.
  • The target "GetBuiltProjectOutputRecursive" does not exist in the project.
  • Internal error with lambda C++17 after 15.7.1 update.
  • UWP App is slow to return a stopped state in IDE.
  • MSVC auto-vectorization produces incorrect code or incorrect results.
  • Visual Studio closed debug a new instance project1, when a new debug new instance project2 has started.
  • Latest update breaks "start without debugging" on multiple projects.
  • UWP XAML is very very slow on open.
  • XAML viewer freezes on 15.7.2 and 15.8.0 preview 1.1.
  • Xamarin UI Test App project template missing.
  • Xamarin project creation problem.
  • Visual Studio crashes when creating new Mobile APP Xamarin.
  • Unable to create Xamarin.Forms-Projects.
  • Não consigo criar novos projetos Xamarin Forms - Can't create new projects Xamarin Forms.
  • Blank project crash after update.
  • Git Security Vulnerability:
  • We also fixed a security vulnerability in Git that was disclosed by the Git community. The vulnerability can lead to arbitrary code execution when a user clones a malicious repository. This blog post has more information.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.7.2) (May 22, 2018)

  • Top Issues Fixed in 15.7.2:
  • With 15.7, users installing an extension on the command line with a nested extension may see an error installing. This has been addressed in the 15.7.2 servicing release.
  • Anaconda fails to uninstall during upgrade and issues warning (Error 87).
  • The SSDT 15.6.0 Installer configuration registry key could not be opened..
  • Editor performance Issues when editing JavaScript.
  • The Code Coverage functionality in Visual Studio 2017 ignores async methods.
  • Missing atls.lib in arm/arm64 after update.
  • Test Explorer no longer greys out the previously run unit tests.
  • Version 15.7.1 debugs .aspx App in a new Chrome instance even if JavaScript debugging is disabled.
  • 15.7 compiler fails with Folly.
  • ASP project keeps running after closing the web page.
  • Chrome Debugger not working and shows an error message, however, the debugger buttons stay active. .
  • Rename Python from Rename on the Refactor menu no longer works.
  • Visual Studio Installer doesn't work correctly in low disk space conditions.
  • Debugger links to browser when previously not set.
  • Problems with template argument deduction for class templates.
  • C++ constexpr string_view == fails to compile.
  • A regression in Type Providers which use native resources (e.g., FSharp.Data.TypeProviders) has been fixed.
  • You can now add files to F# ASP.NET Core projects from the UI.
  • Listening to Microsoft-Extensions-Logging causes VS diagnostic events window to disconnect with an error message has been fixed in Service Fabric Tools.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.7.1) (May 9, 2018)

  • This release includes a fix that reduces memory usage and GC pressure during solution load.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.8.0) Preview 1.0 (May 7, 2018)

  • New Features in 15.8 Preview 1:
  • C++ Quick Info tooltips on macros now show more than just their definition.
  • You now have help managing client-side libraries in your web projects.
  • We’ve added a new single project Docker container experience for ASP.NET Core web projects.
  • Issues Fixed in 15.8 Preview 1:
  • VS 2017 15.7 IntelliSense doesn't work for .cshtml files.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.7.0) (May 7, 2018)

  • Summary of Notable New Features in 15.7:
  • We added support to change installation locations.
  • You can Save All your pending changes before you start your update.
  • The update dialog provides you even more details about your update during installation.
  • C# 7.3 is included in Visual Studio version 15.7.
  • We improved solution load time for C# and VB projects.
  • We made numerous updates to F# and its tools, with a focus on performance.
  • We reduced the time to enable IntelliSense for large .NET Core projects by 25%.
  • We made Quick Info improvements and new .NET refactorings like convert for-to-foreach and make private fields readonly.
  • We added the ability to publish ASP.NET Core applications to App Service Linux without containers.
  • Live Unit Testing works with embedded pdbs and supports projects that use reference assemblies.
  • The Test Explorer has more responsive icons during test runs.
  • C++ developers can use CodeLens for unit testing.
  • We added new rules enforcing items from the C++ Core Guidelines.
  • Debugging large solutions with /Debug:fastlink PDBs is more robust.
  • CMake integration supports CMake 3.11 and static analysis.
  • Python projects support type hints in IntelliSense, and a Run MyPy command has been added to look for typing errors in your code.
  • Conda environments are supported in Python projects.
  • We added a next version of our Python debugger based on the popular open source pydevd debugger.
  • TypeScript 2.8 is included in Visual Studio version 15.7.
  • We improved Kestrel HTTPs support during debugging.
  • We added support for JavaScript debugging with Microsoft Edge.
  • The Debugger supports VSTS and GitHub Authentication for Source Link.
  • IntelliTrace’s step-back debugging feature is supported for debugging .NET Core projects.
  • We added IntelliTrace support for taking snapshots on exceptions.
  • We removed the blocking modal dialog from branch checkouts in Git when a solution or project reload is not required.
  • There is an option to choose between OpenSSL and SChannel in Git.
  • You can create and associate Azure Key Vaults from within the Visual Studio IDE.
  • Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin can automatically install missing Android API levels required by Xamarin.Android projects.
  • The Xamarin.Forms XAML editor provides IntelliSense and quick fixes for conditional XAML.
  • We added support for Azure, UWP, and additional project types in Visual Studio Build Tools.
  • You can create build servers without installing all of Visual Studio.
  • The Windows 10 April 2018 Update SDK - Build 17134 is the default required SDK for the Universal Windows Platform development workload.
  • We added support for Visual State Management for all UWP apps and more.
  • We enabled automatic updates for sideloaded APPX packages.
  • You have new tools for migrating to NuGet PackageReference.
  • We added support for NuGet package signatures.
  • We added Service Fabric Tooling for the 6.2 Service Fabric release.
  • We updated Entity Framework Tools to work with the EF 6.2 runtime and to improve reverse engineering of existing databases.
  • Top Issues Fixed in 15.7:
  • MFC Class Wizard can't add control member variables
  • Test Explorer intermittently never finishes finding tests
  • Internal compiler error in VS15.5
  • Visual Studio Build Tools is missing MSBuild Web SDKs
  • VS2017 deployed Git doesn't support self-signed certs
  • Visual Studio hangs during NuGet package update
  • Visual Studio Installer shows "unsupported command" after update
  • Visual Studio installation hangs at "Waiting for Microsoft.VisualStudio.Graphics.EnableTools"
  • XAML designer doesn't recognize Visual State, throws "Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (10.0; Build 16299)" error
  • The automatic formatting in Razor (cshtml) breaks on paste
  • No diagnostic on invalid member initialization since MSVC 14.12
  • Static resource defined in ThemeDictionaries not fetched while edit a copied template for custom control
  • Add New File -> Online Template "baseName empty string" generates Non-Fatal Error
  • Microsoft.Alm.Shared.Remoting.RemoteContainer.dll generates high CPU usage
  • Razor cshtml helper format is not done incorrectly

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.7.0) Preview 6 (May 3, 2018)

  • Issues Fixed in 15.7 Preview 6:
  • Boost.Tests: Could not retrieve WorkingDirectory from Visual Studio configuration.
  • C++ side-by-side toolset version 14.12.25827 has incompatible STL.
  • MSVC 14.14 regression generates false positive warning C4868.
  • VS2015 build console executable failed with fatal error C1083: Cannot open include file: 'corecrt.h': No such file or directory.
  • C++ Linker error (LNK2005) appeared when compiling statically linked MFC project.
  • XAML Designer fails when editing a user control.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.7.0) Preview 5 (Apr 26, 2018)

  • New Features in 15.7 Preview 5:
  • You can now create build servers without installing all of Visual Studio.
  • We added Service Fabric Tooling for the 6.2 Service Fabric release.
  • We made several improvements to the Entity Framework Tools.
  • Issues Fixed in 15.7 Preview 5:
  • Missing templates for traditional Xamarin code sharing strategy.
  • Core 2.1 Web Areas and Identity folders display spinning circle icons instead of folder icons.
  • Build Tools description is not readable in the installer.
  • TextTemplating component not available in Build Tools 2017.
  • Visual Studio 2017 BuildTools misses MSBuild targets.
  • Test Explorer UI freezes after running tests in Roslyn.sln.
  • C++ Linker error LNK2005 appeared when compiling statically linked MFC project.
  • VS 2017 Preview crashes when browsing large solution in Test Explorer.
  • WebForms Website build fails after adding Service Reference to a WCF Service.
  • Clicking the Advanced Settings option from Publish dialog adds unwanted entries in csproj.
  • Deleting a publish profile from ASP.NET Core project adds an entry to csproj.
  • .NET Standard project fails to create when .NET Desktop Development workload is installed.
  • 15.7 preview 4: Large solution folders have loading indicator icons after the solution is loaded.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.6.7) (Apr 26, 2018)

  • Summary of Updates in this Release:
  • VS is more responsive when running Git operations
  • Debugging large solutions with /debug:fastlink PDBs is more robust. Changes in the PDB/DIA lead to reduced latency and a 30% reduction in heap memory consumption in the VS debugger that used to cause crashes
  • C++ compiler bugfixes
  • Fix for the SSA optimizer incorrectly sinking a function call past a store to a variable used in a __finally handler
  • Fix for the SSA optimizer sometimes incorrectly analyzing memory loads from locations with negative offsets
  • Fix for the optimizer incorrectly transforming a pre-incremented loop into a post-incremented loop. This was found compiling the ICU project
  • We have bumped up to Java™ Development Kit 8, Update 172 (JDK version 8u172)

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.7.0) Preview 4 (Apr 18, 2018)

  • New Features in 15.7 Preview 4:
  • The update dialog now provides you even more details about your update during installation.
  • We've added new .NET refactorings like convert for-to-foreach and make private fields readonly.
  • We improved solution load time for C# and VB projects.
  • CMake integration now supports CMake 3.11 and static analysis. We also added new C++17 features to MSVC.
  • Support for Conda environments, and added MyPy command to type check your code against type hints.
  • Issues Fixed in 15.7 Preview 4:
  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in this release. If you are looking for a specific customer-reported issue that has been fixed in 15.7 Preview 4, visit the Developer Community.
  • MFC Class Wizard can't add control member variables.
  • VisualStudio installation hangs at "Waiting for Microsoft.VisualStudio.Graphics.EnableTools".
  • Visual Studio Installer shows "unsupported command" after update.
  • VS2017 lags after restoring NuGet packages.
  • Razor auto format adds unnecessary tabs in vbhtml.
  • VS2017 15.5.7 compiler does not inialize return value.
  • C++ compiler fails when using fp:fast and /O2.
  • C++ compiler doesn't work with optimizations turned on.
  • Cannot create a constexpr string_view from a string literal without providing the length.
  • 15.6 Test Explorer becomes unresponsive after entering search criteria in filter.
  • C++ codegen optimizer causes access violation when turned on.
  • Graphics diagnostics engine failed to build shader trace.
  • MSVC's standard library doesn't implement change and makes constexpr std::string_view unusable.
  • C++ sse2 branchless optimization generates incorrect code which produces FP overflow exception.
  • Output exe locked by IIS Express use to debug same project.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.6.6) (Apr 10, 2018)

  • Microsoft Security Advisories for Microsoft Visual Studio Information Disclosure Vulnerability:
  • CVE-2018-1037: An information disclosure vulnerability exists when Visual Studio improperly discloses limited contents of uninitialized memory while compiling program database (PDB) files. An attacker who took advantage of this information disclosure could view uninitialized memory from the Visual Studio instance used to compile the PDB file. To take advantage of the vulnerability, an attacker would require access to an affected PDB file created using a vulnerable version of Visual Studio. An attacker would have no way to force a developer to produce this information disclosure. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how PDB files are generated when a project is compiled
  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in this release:
  • This release addresses an issue where some Application Insights users were not seeing CodeLens requests and exceptions indicators when the solution first loads.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.7) Preview 3 (Apr 9, 2018)

  • Summary of Updates in this Release:
  • We have added support to change installation locations
  • You cna now create and associate Azure Key Vaults from within the Visual Studio IDE and edit .NET Core project files in place
  • We've removed the blocking modal dialog when switching branches in Git
  • There is now an option to choose between OpenSSL and SChannel in Git
  • We have reduced the time to enable IntelliSense for large .NET projects by 25%
  • We've made C++ standards conformance improvements, along with CodeLens for unit testing and CMake enhancements
  • C# 7.3 is now included in Visual Studio version 15.7 Preview 3
  • Live Unit Testing now works with embedded pdbs and supports projects that use reference assemblies
  • IntelliTrace now supports taking snapshots on exceptions
  • We added Windows Insider Preview SDK support for Visual State Management and more
  • We've added new tooling for migrating to NuGet PackageReference
  • The Debugger now supports VSTS and GitHub Authentication for Source Link
  • Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Test Explorer intermittently never finishes finding tests.
  • Internal compiler error in VS15.5.
  • VS2017 deployed git doesn't support self-signed certs.
  • XAML designer doesn't recognize Visual State, throws "Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (10.0; Build 16299)" error.
  • The automatic formatting in Razor (cshtml) breaks on paste.
  • Add New File -> Online Template "baseName empty string" generates Non-Fatal Error.
  • Razor cshtml helper format is not done incorrectly.
  • The __cplusplus predefined macro value is not correct.
  • IntelliSense database rebuilds after each solution build, resulting in multiple second stalls after each build.
  • MSVC incorrectly defines __cplusplus.
  • Internal compiler error with if constexpr in 15.5.0 Preview 4.0.
  • New Test Explorer has reversed the default sort.
  • The install update pop-up prompts Visual studio error.
  • Intellisense in C++/CLI doesn't update if referenced C# assembly is changed.
  • VS solutions cannot open by double click after Visual Studio Build Tools install.
  • VSTS symbol server generates HTTP_STATUS_DENIED error.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.6.5) (Apr 4, 2018)

  • Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in this release
  • VS 15.6 does not respect the 'apply server settings to all users (store in project file)'
  • Project could not be opened because Visual C# 2017 compiler was not created
  • NuGet Package Manager only sees latest package versions after manually clearing cache
  • Lost IIS Server Settings
  • Visual Studio hangs during Nuget package update
  • Installer throws unexpected error and saved changes to Solution2.sln are not saved
  • C:Windowstemp fills up with .itrace files after upgrade to 15.5.6
  • vstest.console.exe fails test run with socket exception
  • This release includes support for Xcode 9.3

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.6.4) (Mar 22, 2018)

  • Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Assets File 'c:xxxxxxobjproject.assets.json' doesn't have a target for '.NETStandard,Version=v2.0'.
  • VS2017 fails to persist settings on first launch if there is another VS instance running from another user.
  • Android LLVM libc++ static library STL broken with VS15.6.0.
  • Unit tests no longer sorted alphabetically.
  • Test explorer tests grouped by class, namespace no longer sorted alphabetically in 15.6.2.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.7) Preview 2 (Mar 21, 2018)

  • Summary of Updates in this Release:
  • Easily Save All before updating, improved screen reader accessibility, and new Key Vault access errors.
  • Added new rules enforcing items from the C++ Core Guidelines.
  • Enable automatic updates for sideloaded APPX packages.
  • The XAML editor now provides IntelliSense and quick fixes for conditional XAML.
  • TypeScript 2.8 is included in Visual Studio version 15.7 Preview 2.
  • Support for Azure and additional project types in Visual Studio Build Tools.
  • Top Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • These are the top customer-reported issues addressed in this release. If you are looking for a specific customer-reported issue that has been fixed in 15.7 Preview, visit the Developer Community.
  • Visual Studio Build Tools is missing MSBuild Web SDKs.
  • Razor formatting issues when performing copy/paste of html code to cshtml file.
  • Scrolling in the Solution Explorer 'stutters'.
  • C++ compiler: #pragma once doesn't work when prepended by #line.
  • [[maybe_unused]] with structured binding causes unreferenced local variable warning.
  • Summary: What's New in this Release:
  • Visual Studio IDE:
  • Improved save experience - Before updating Visual Studio all pending changes will be saved locally first before starting the update. The update dialog, will show a Save All & Update button instead of Update Now.
  • The dialog window (Figure 1) that indicates which long running operation is keeping Visual Studio busy, is now screen reader accessible (e.g. NVDA, Narrator, etc). When the dialog is shown by Visual Studio, the screen reader will play an audio cue indicating new information is visible on the screen. Users can read the contents of the dialog or interact with the “Cancel” button when available by invoking the “Change View” command in Narrator.
  • When an ASP.NET or ASP.NET Core application depends on Azure Key Vault, an error appears in the error list if the app will not be able to access that Key Vault at runtime from that developer’s machine given the account selected under Tools | Options | Azure Service Authentication. This shortens the time to discover and correct the permission or account issue and avoid an application failure at runtime.
  • C++:
  • Added five new rules enforcing items from the C++ Core Guidelines regarding use of the Guidelines Support Library.
  • We allow public base classes in aggregate types, so that they can be initialized using aggregate initialization syntax without writing boilerplate constructors. In the braced initializer list, bases are initialized first, followed by data members.
  • Extend template argument deduction for functions to constructors of template classes – when you construct a class template you no longer have to specify the arguments.
  • C++17 has changed the definition of qualification conversions. Previously, these were permitted between multi-level pointers and mixed pointers, such that qualifiers could often be added at levels other than the first; however, this did not similarly apply to arrays.
  • Refined the expression evaluation order for major C++ operators that were previously left to compiler implementation detail, e.g. member access, assignment, and array index.
  • Expand the using declaration to support pack expansion semantics for variadic base class members, which can then be used inside the derived class.
  • We are now complete with the full implementation of Expression SFINAE, and have made the corresponding Standard Template Library changes.
  • Implemented parallel algorithms conforming to the ISO C++17 standard. See the source file located at [VSInstallDir]VCToolsMSVC<ver>includeyvals.h for additional details.
  • In /std:c++17 mode, the warning level of C4834 ("discarding return value of function with 'nodiscard' attribute") is increased from W3 to W1. In addition, the compiler can now deduce the type of a non-type template argument that is declared with auto.
  • Web Tools:
  • We added In-proc support for IIS Express.
  • You can now add a storage account in Publish settings.
  • AppInstaller Support in APPX Packages:
  • The Universal Windows Platform allows distributing applications without the Microsoft Store by using a mechanism called “sideloading”. This release allows you to generate the appinstaller file to get automatic updates from your APPX based deployments.
  • Tooling Enhancements for Conditional XAML:
  • The XAML editor now provides IntelliSense for authoring conditional XAML. When using a type that is not present in the target min version of your app, the XAML editor now not only warns, but also, provides several options to fix it.
  • TypeScript and JavaScript:
  • Visual Studio 2017 version 15.7 Preview 2 now ships with TypeScript 2.8 RC. This release brings:
  • Support for jsconfig.json, a file that can help control your editor options much like tsconfig.json.
  • An option to reduce resource usage by turning off type-checking for unopened files.
  • This is the Only report diagnostics for files opened in the editor option under Tools > Options > TextEditor > JavaScript/TypeScript > Project.
  • New editing features for both TypeScript and JavaScript users;
  • Applying all quick fixes within a file.
  • Organize imports
  • Completions for this. in classes and braces in JSX.
  • TypeScript 2.8 features:
  • Conditional types (A extends B ? C : D)
  • New lib.d.ts conditional type helpers such as NonNullable, ReturnType, Extract, and Exclude.
  • Granular control on modifiers in mapped types.
  • Control on JSX factories within files using the new // @jsx pragma.
  • TypeScript 2.7 features:
  • Strict property initialization
  • Numeric separators
  • Smarter type guards
  • We also fixed some of the top issues raised by customers, including premature triggering of snippets, uncancellable refactorings, hard-to-disable formatting, and incorrect TypeScript version selection.
  • Visual Studio 2017 Build Tools:
  • Support for Azure and other workloads:
  • The Visual Studio Build Tools allow you to create build servers without installing all of Visual Studio. In response to customer requests, we are enhancing the Visual Studio Build Tools to support additional project types. The Build Tools previously supported C++, ASP.NET, TypeScript, .NET, .NET Core, and Node.js projects. With this release we have added Azure, Office and Sharepoint, Mobile development with .NET (Xamarin), Python, ClickOnce, Docker Tools, Test Tools, and support for installing into containers. Click here to download the preview release of the Visual Studio Build Tools.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.6.3) (Mar 19, 2018)

  • Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Esc key doesn't close Peek Definition Window.
  • wpp.targets file execution not working after update to version 15.6.
  • Project loaded via File->Open->CMake throws exception and CMake cache is not generated..
  • Version 15.6 update crashes Xamarin code with NullReferenceException with next scenario.
  • XCode Tools installation fails after version 15.6 update.
  • Anaconda 5.0.0 Completion DB is not up to date and hitting refresh fails.
  • Cannot run NUnit tests after version 15.6.1 update.
  • Visual Studio 2017 fails to launch from the command line when launched using 8.3 file name path.
  • Version 15.6.0 breaks when VisualStudioTelemetryTurnOffSwitch is set to 0.
  • Visual Studio Community 2017 auto closes after version 15.6 update..
  • CMake generation never stops after version 15.6.1 update.
  • Opening a solution with tests, and clicking any toolbar item in Test Explorer causes VS to crash.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.7) Preview 1 (Mar 14, 2018)

  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in this release. If you are looking for a specific customer-reported issue that has been fixed in 15.7 Preview, visit the Developer Community.
  • .NET Core failed due to dependency on Microsoft.VisualStudio.AspNetDiagnosticPack.Msi.
  • Update to Visual Studio 2017 15.4 generates multiple package errors.
  • Add Option to Disable format on paste for razor code in razor/cshtml files.
  • Visual Studio auto formatter breaks complex razor code.
  • Update error: PackageId:Microsoft.VisualStudio.AspNetDiagnosticPack.Msi;PackageAction:Uninstall;ReturnCode:1603;.
  • What's New in this Release:
  • Debugging and Diagnostics:
  • IntelliTrace’s step-back debugging feature is now supported for debugging .NET Core projects.
  • To enable the feature, go to Tools > Options > IntelliTrace settings, and select the option IntelliTrace events and snapshots.
  • Launch and attach script debugger to Microsoft Edge is now supported for ASP.NET projects.
  • You can now debug both JavaScript and TypeScript directly in Visual Studio when using Google Chrome as your browser of choice. All you should do is to select Chrome as your browser in Visual Studio and hit F5 to debug. See the Client-side debugging of ASP.NET projects in Google Chrome for additional information.
  • C++:
  • Debugging large solutions with /Debug:fastlink PDBs is more robust. Changes in the PDB lead to reduced latency and a 30% reduction in heap memory consumption in the VS Debugger.
  • Extend template argument deduction for functions to constructors of template classes – when you construct a class template you no longer have to specify the arguments.
  • C++ Core Check is now part of the default toolset for native code analysis. Whenever code analysis is executed over a project, a subset of rules is enabled from C++ Core Check in addition to default recommended rules.
  • Added parallel compilation support for Linux projects, which may significantly improve build times. This can be enabl ed via Property Pages > C/C++ > Max Number of Parallel Compilation Jobs.
  • Added the "Public Project Include Directories" Linux project property to improve consumption of includes from project-to-project references in Linux solutions.
  • Added ClangFormat support for C++ developers in the IDE. Similar to EditorConfig, you can use ClangFormat to automatically style and format your code as you type, in a way that can be enforced across your development team.
  • Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin:
  • This release includes Xamarin.iOS 11.10 and Xamarin.Android 8.3.
  • Automatic Android SDK Management:
  • When a Xamarin.Android project is loaded, Visual Studio can now determine if the Android API level used by the project is missing from your machine and automatically install it for you in the background. To enable this feature, go to Tools > Options > Xamarin > Android Settings > Auto Install Android SDKs.
  • Python:
  • Added a limited preview of a new Python debugger based on the popular open source pydevd debugger. The limited preview currently offers basic debugging functionality with significantly faster debugging performance for Django applications. Check out the PyDevD Debugger Limited Preview in Visual Studio blog post for instructions on trying it out.
  • Web Tools:
  • Improved Kestrel HTTPs support during debugging.
  • ASP.NET Core applications now support multiple semi-colon separated values in the "App URL" field under project properties. When multiple URLs are present in this field, the first one is the one used to launch the browser.
  • New scaffolder called "Identity" is now available via the command line (GUI support coming soon), which adds identity management UI to your ASP.NET Core 2.1 applications.
  • Tools for Universal Windows Developers:
  • The Windows 10 Insider Preview SDK, Build 17110, can now be installed as an optional component with the Universal Windows Platform.
  • Windows Machine Learning automatic code generation support allows WinML wrapper classes to be generated by adding your ONNX model files as an existing item in the project.
  • NuGet Client:
  • We added support for NuGet package signatures. Installing or restoring signed packages validates the digital signature before extracting the packages content. If the signature validation fails (e.g. the content has been tampered with, invalid certificate, etc...) the operation will be blocked with a build error that is shown in the Error List.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.6.2) (Mar 13, 2018)

  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in this release:
  • "Specified argument out of the range of valid values, parameter name: count" git tags.
  • Cannot open git commit details.
  • VS2017 Installer crashes on Modify when SyncFusion WPF Templates are installed.
  • Test Explorer loses position when tests are run.
  • Test explorer test hierarchy constantly jumps to top.
  • XAML editor always crashes when a change is made to the XAML file.
  • Test Explorer keeps scrolling to the top when a new test starts.
  • Viewing Git History shows: specified argument was out of range of values.
  • Alt+Up/Down does not reposition file in .NET Framework projects.
  • VS 15.6 deadlocks on solution load for .NET Core SDK project when a 'None Include' is added to file list.
  • 15.6 preview 6 discovers test adapter, but fails to run tests.
  • Test Explorer keeps scrolling to the top when a new test starts.
  • Microsoft Security Advisories for .NET Core updates.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.6.1) (Mar 8, 2018)

  • Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • AnkhSVN 2.7.12815 failed to load "Pending Changes" view after updating to VS 2017 15.6.0.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.6.0) (Mar 5, 2018)

  • Summary: What's New in this Release:
  • We improved solution load performance by optimizing design time build.
  • We've added installation progress details on Visual Studio Installer.
  • You can pause your installation and resume at a later time.
  • We streamlined the update process so the notification takes you directly to the Installer.
  • Non-administrators can create a VS layout.
  • We added a new shortcut for Edit.Duplicate in the keyboard mapping.
  • We made significant improvements to the F# language and tools, particularly for .NET Core SDK projects.
  • The C++ compiler optimizes your code to run faster through improved optimizations.
  • C++ Mapfile generation overhead is reduced in full linking scenarios.
  • Debug options are available for Embedded ARM GCC support.
  • We added strong name signing on CoreCLR for the C# compiler.
  • Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin has lots of new productivity updates for iOS and Android developers.
  • Python no longer requires a completion DB, and Anaconda users have support for conda.
  • The Performance Profiler's CPU Usage Tool can display logical call stacks for asynchronous code.
  • The CPU Usage tool displays source line highlighting and async/await code with logical 'Call Stack Stitching'.
  • The debugger supports thread names set via SetThreadDescription APIs in dump debugging.
  • Snapshot Debugging can be started from the Debug Target dropdown for ASP.NET applications.
  • We've launched the initial implementation of Navigate to decompiled sources for .NET code navigation.
  • You can now click on the Continuous Delivery tile in Team Explorer to configure automated build and deployments for your application.
  • New enhancements for Configure Continuous Delivery include support for TFVC, Git authentication over SSH, and containerized projects.
  • Team Explorer supports Git tags and checking out pull request branches.
  • Service Fabric Tooling for the 6.1 Service Fabric release is now available.
  • The Windows 10 Insider Preview SDK can be installed as an optional component.
  • File versions for a number of Visual Studio executables now reflect the minor release.
  • Test Explorer has a hierarchy view and real time test discovery is now on by default.
  • We have added support for testing Win10 IoT Core applications.
  • Visual Studio Build Tools supports TypeScript and Node.js.
  • ClickOnce Tools support signing application and deployment manifests with CNG certificate.
  • You can access Azure resources such as Key Vault using your Visual Studio accounts.
  • Top Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Visual Studio may freeze or crash when running on a pen-enabled machine.
  • Resizing of windows is not reliable.
  • .NET Core Projects containing special characters fail to restore NuGet packages or build.
  • Test Explorer Default Architecture not remembered.
  • Solution Explorer does not remain pinned after closing Visual Studio.
  • Regular UI freezes during debug session.
  • File names revert to lower case when re-opening a project.
  • Mouse cursor sticks on the Pointer (Hand) icon.
  • VSIXAutoUpdate crashes on scheduled task.
  • Start-up generates "We've noticed that a tool window 'Error List' is slowing Visual Studio." alert.
  • Quick Launch no longer displays results after toggling to full screen.
  • XAML Activity designer throws OutOfMemoryException due to failed assembly reference resolution.
  • Cannot Stop/Cancel Debugged Unit Tests when using Selenium WebDriver.
  • When using the /quiet switch, vsixinstaller.exe does not exit at the end of installation.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.5.7) (Feb 20, 2018)

  • Team Explorer support for TLSv1.2:
  • We have updated the Git and the Git Credential Manager components that ship in Visual Studio.
  • The optional Git for Windows component has also been updated.
  • This update allows Git to connect to services that have deprecated support for TLSv1 and TLSv1.1 in favor of TLSv1.2.
  • Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Projects targeting .NET Core 2.1 or newer are not supported by Visual Studio 2017 version 15.5.
  • Fixed issue where installation of the SDK for .NET Core 2.1 or newer would cause the option to create ASP.NET Core 2.0 Web applications to disappear.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.6.0) Preview 5.0 (Feb 15, 2018)

  • This preview of Visual Studio includes the Preview SDK Build 17095 as an optional component.
  • C++/WinRT Now Available:
  • The C++/WinRT headers and cppwinrt compiler (cppwinrt.exe) are now included in the Windows SDK. The compiler comes in handy if you need to consume a third-party WinRT component or if you need to author your own WinRT components with C++/WinRT. The easiest way to get working with it after installing the Windows Insider Preview SDK is to start the Visual Studio Developer Command Prompt and run the compiler in that environment. Authoring support is currently experimental and subject to change. Stay tuned as we will publish more detailed instructions on how to use the compiler in the coming week.The ModernCPP blog has a deeper dive into the CppWinRT compiler.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.5.6) (Jan 29, 2018)

  • What's New in this Release:
  • Service Fabric Tooling for the 6.1 Service Fabric release.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.5.5) (Jan 25, 2018)

  • Summary: What's New in this Release:
  • The MSVC compiler has been updated with support for the /Qspectre switch which will automatically insert a speculation barrier when the compiler detects instances of Spectre variant 1. For more information about /Qspectre please refer to the Visual C++ Team Blog.
  • Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Xamarin app throws Cannot access a disposed object. Object name: 'MobileAuthenticatedStream'error.
  • Xamarin.Android app throws ClassNotFoundException when deriving from Application class.
  • Upgrading may cause previously installed Windows and Android SDKs to be uninstalled.
  • Bumped JDK 8 to the latest version to avoid download failures from Oracle website.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.5.4) (Jan 16, 2018)

  • Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • The debugger cannot continue running the process. Operation not supported. Unknown error: 0x9233000b.
  • Recent Projects and Solutions not populated once executed.
  • Full build every time with 15.5.
  • Wrong IntelliSense errors are still shown on VS 15.5.2 for Visual Basic projects.
  • VS2017 15.5.2 Unresolved references when "Allow parallel project initialization" is enabled.
  • Upgrading to 15.5.2: cannot launch nor repair VS.
  • VS2017 Installation issue.
  • Unable to install because of BSoD.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.6.0) Preview 2.0 (Jan 12, 2018)

  • Summary of Updates in this Release
  • Debug options are now available for Embedded ARM GCC support.
  • We added strong name signing on CoreCLR for C# compiler.
  • Non-administrators can now create a VS layout.
  • The CPU Usage tool now displays async/await code with logical 'Call Stack Stitching'.
  • Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin has lots of new productivity updates for iOS and Android developers.
  • New enhancements for Configure Continuous Delivery include support for TFVC, Git authentication over SSH, and containerized projects.
  • Initial implementation of Navigate to decompiled sources for .NET code navigation.
  • We improved solution load by optimizing design time build.
  • The Test Explorer now has a hierarchy view and real time test discovery is on by default.
  • Top Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Regular UI freezes every 15 seconds during debug session.
  • "We've noticed that a tool window 'Error List' is slowing Visual Studio" alert makes startup even slower.
  • Quick Launch no longer displays results after toggling full screen.
  • The Solution Explorer Window doesn't remain pinned after closing Visual Studio.
  • Open With dialog doesn't retain previous entries.
  • MFC: Cannot add a class to a dialog box.
  • Startup delayed by empty IDE elements.
  • MFC add class wizard missing.
  • Error C3821 in xlocale in c++/clr.
  • WHAT'S NEW IN THIS RELEASE:
  • Visual C++ Improvements:
  • Further progress toward implementing the C++17 Standard Library, including APIs such as stable_sort, partition, inline vector::emplace_back in parallel, and <memory_resource>, per C++17 standards.
  • Easily add Boost unit tests to your project with Boost.Test item templates. Your Boost unit tests now also use the Boost dynamic library.
  • CTest, Google Test, and Boost.Test tests in CMake projects are automatically discovered and listed in the Test Explorer.
  • Missing include files are automatically discovered for C++ Open Folder if they exist under the workspace root, even if they are not explicitly added to the include path.
  • Debug options are now available for Embedded ARM GCC support. Right click your binary, choose Debug and Launch Settings, and then select C/C++ Debug microcontroller.
  • A C++ Core Checker extension to detect use of indirections with a lifetime that is out of scope.
  • 5 new checks enforcing rules around integer overflow, and additional rules from the C++ Core Guidelines.
  • IntelliSense errors for inactive configurations will be shown as purple squiggles in the editor. The number of configurations to process is configurable in Tools > Options.
  • Support for running single file Code Analysis (or on your selection of files from the Solution Explorer); cleaned up the Build and Analyze menus. "Run Code Analysis" no longer runs code generation, which speeds up analysis runs.
  • C# Compiler:
  • The C# compiler now supports:
  • Compiler server on CoreCLR, for build throughput performance
  • Strong name signing on CoreCLR (/keyfile option, all OSes)
  • In addition to numerous bug fixes and one breaking change (see running list of breaking changes), two minor language changes where made to the 7.2 language features:
  • Tie-breaker for in overloads (see more on this topic on GitHub)
  • Relax ordering of ref and this in ref extension methods (see more on this topic on GitHub)
  • Installation and Setup:
  • With this release, users without administration rights will be able to create a VS layout, which will allow non-administrators to create an offline network install.
  • When you install Visual Studio for the first time or update it from the web, you will see a new, more transparent setup experience for the Visual Studio Installer. Under the hood, nothing has changed – but the new experience shows you step-by-step what's happening
  • Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin:
  • This release includes Xamarin.iOS 11.8 and Xamarin.Android 8.2.
  • Automatic macOS Provisioning:
  • Building iOS apps with Visual Studio on Windows just got easier. This release adds a brand new feature called automatic macOS provisioning. Rather than needing to manually maintain a Mac build machine, all you need to do is connect to the Mac, and we will handle the heavy lifting of installing and configuring your build machine with the correct Xamarin.iOS and Mono bits, all from Visual Studio.
  • iOS WiFi Deployment:
  • The Remoted iOS Simulator, which allows developers to test and debug iOS apps entirely in Visual Studio on Windows, is now available to all editions of Visual Studio (as of version 15.5), including the free Community Edition! The simulator supports functionality like location simulation, rotation, gestures, and even includes functionality that the iOS simulator on Mac does not, like multi-touch. This provides a great simulator experience for developers building iOS apps on Windows, but what about devices? With Visual Studio 2017 version 15.6, you can now deploy your iOS apps over the network with WiFi deployment – no cables required! After setting up a wireless device in Xcode, it shows up in Visual Studio just like a normal deploy target.
  • Live XAML Previewing with the iOS Simulator:
  • The Xamarin Live Player enables developers to continuously deploy, test, and debug their apps using just Visual Studio and an iOS or Android device. Visual Studio 2017 version 15.5 added support to enable developers to preview real-time XAML changes directly in the Android emulator without requiring a recompile or redeploy. This release brings this functionality to the Remoted iOS Simulator for Windows. To use this feature, select an iOS simulator from the deployment targets dropdown and “Live Run Current View” using the context menu, keyboard shortcut, or the banner at the top of each XAML file.
  • Configure Continuous Delivery Tools:
  • We added support for TFVC as a source control provider: You can now configure continuous delivery for solutions under source control in a VSTS TFVC team project
  • We added support for Git authentication over SSH: you can now configure continuous delivery for solutions under source control in a VSTS or GitHub Git repo with SSH AUTH enabled.
  • We introduced support for containerized projects: you can now configure continuous delivery for solutions with ASP.NET Core projects and docker support targeting Azure App Service on Linux (Web App for Containers) (Figure 3). The Configure Continuous Delivery dialog will default to create a new Azure App Service on Linux (Web App for Containers), and an Azure Container Registry if one doesn’t already exist under your Azure Subscription.
  • .NET Productivity Features:
  • In 15.6 Preview 2, we’ve added the ability to navigate to decompiled sources. When enabled, invoking Go To Definition or Peek Definition on any referenced type or member will show its definition with reconstructed method bodies via ILSpy decompilation. To turn on this feature, go to Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Advanced > Enable navigation to decompiled sources
  • We also added a couple more .NET EditorConfig options: dotnet_prefer_inferred_tuple_names and dotnet_prefer_inferred_anonymous_type_member_names. To see all .NET coding convention options, check out .NET coding convention settings for EditorConfig.
  • Performance:
  • In 15.6, we continued improving solution load performance, specifically for the scenario when design time build results are cached. Large C# and Visual Basic solutions will load twice as fast as before when a solution has already been opened on a machine.
  • Test Explorer:
  • New Hierarchy View:
  • The Test Explorer in Visual Studio now has a hierarchy view (Figure 5) that organizes your tests by Project, Namespace, and then Class. For Visual Studio 2017 15.6 Preview 2, the hierarchy view will be behind a feature flag, but for future previews it will be on by default. With the feature flag turned on, this view can be toggled on and off using the hierarchy button located at the top of the Test Explorer window next to the Group by button. You can turn on this feature flag through the developer command prompt or install the Feature Flags extension. If you’d like to turn on the feature flag through the Visual Studio developer command prompt, run the command below after changing the path to where Visual Studio is installed.
  • This feature not only makes navigating your tests much easier, but also gives better feedback on tests at a glance.
  • The “parent nodes” in the hierarchy (Project, Namespace, and Class) display a failing test icon if they contain at least one failing test.
  • Parent nodes are also followed by a number summarizing how many tests the grouping contains. The duration in milliseconds shown to the right of a parent node is the total time that tests within that group took to execute.
  • Adding a hierarchy view to the Test Explorer has been at the top of many wish lists and we are excited to hear feedback on how it affects your workflow. One noticeable design decision in this implementation is to prevent the use of traditional groupings within the hierarchy. Tests within each class are sorted by outcome and then by name. This means that failing tests will appear at the top of each class. A more configurable hierarchy where users can choose the ordering they wish (such as Project, Class, then Duration) would be ideal. We are interested in hearing feedback on this design.
  • Real Time Test Discovery:
  • Real time test discovery is a new Visual Studio feature that uses a Roslyn analyzer to discover tests and populate the test explorer in real time without requiring you to build your project. This feature was introduced in Visual Studio 2017 15.5 Preview 2 behind a feature flag and is now on by default in 15.6! This not only makes test discovery significantly faster, it also keeps the test explorer in sync with code changes such as adding or removing tests. Since real time discovery is powered by the Roslyn compiler it is only available for C# and Visual Basic projects.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 (15.5.3) (Jan 10, 2018)

  • Top Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Error C3821 in xlocale in c++/clr.
  • Using header inside unmanaged code section of a managed C++/CLI project no longer builds.
  • VS2017 with WDK 10 fails during remote provision KM.
  • Visual studio tools for Unity failed to convert debug symbols after upgrading to VS 15.5.
  • Find new information regarding the Microsoft Security Advisories for .NET Core.
  • Microsoft Security Advisories for .NET Core:
  • CVE-2018-0786 Security Feature Bypass in X509 Certificate Validation Microsoft is releasing this security advisory to provide information about a vulnerability in the public versions of .NET Core 1.0 and 1.1, and 2.0. This advisory also provides guidance on what developers can do to update their applications correctly. This security advisory is also applicable to .NET native for UWP.
  • Microsoft is aware of a security vulnerability in the public versions of .NET Core where an attacker could present a certificate that is marked invalid for a specific use, but a component uses it for that purpose. This action disregards the Enhanced Key Usage tagging.
  • The security update addresses the vulnerability by ensuring that .NET Core components completely validate certificates. System administrators are advised to update their .NET Core runtimes to versions 1.0.9, 1.1.6 and 2.0.5. Developers are advised to update their .NET Core SDK to version 2.1.4 or 1.1.7.
  • CVE-2018-0764 Denial of Service when parsing XML documents Microsoft is releasing this security advisory to provide information about a vulnerability in the public versions of .NET Core 1.0 and 1.1, and 2.0. This advisory also provides guidance on what developers can do to update their applications correctly.
  • Microsoft is aware of a Denial of Service vulnerability in all public versions of .NET core due to improper processing of XML documents. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could cause a denial of service against a .NET application. A remote unauthenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability by issuing specially crafted requests to a .NET Core application.
  • The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how .NET core handles XML document processing. System administrators are advised to update their .NET Core runtimes to versions 1.0.9, 1.1.6 and 2.0.5. Developers are advised to update their .NET Core SDK to version 2.1.4 or 1.1.7.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.5.2 (Dec 14, 2017)

  • Top Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Xamarin Android project cannot build because R$anim.class is in use.
  • Failed to load package MonoAndroidDesignerPackage.
  • Crypto++ with default optimizations falls into infinite compilation when trying to optimize blake2.cpp.
  • Migrating from VS2017 15.4 to 15.5 causes CS026 - "The type or namespace name XXX could not be found..." error.
  • Installing Visual Studio 2017 Community 15.5 with Option Strict On creates Intellisense errors in VB projects.
  • Infinite compilation time when trying to optimize blake2.cpp.
  • Random engine crashing in the VS 15.5 optimizer.
  • Migrating to VS 15.5 (from 15.4) cannot compile mhook:disasm_x86.c.
  • Unity + new VS Community 15.5 install results in namespace not recognized.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.5.1 (Dec 8, 2017)

  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in this release:
  • Wrong xamarin.forms version referenced in template.
  • Switching branches in Git breaks IntelliSense.
  • Errors reported when none exist (Visual Basic projects).
  • Xamarin now supports Xcode 9.2. This fixes the customer reported issues with storyboards and remoted simulator.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.5 (Dec 4, 2017)

  • Summary: What's New in this Release:
  • We added reliability and cancellability to the Visual Studio IDE installer.
  • We've updated the error dialog to display more information to help solve installation problems.
  • We reduced load times of large C# and Visual Basic projects.
  • You can now work with Git submodules and worktrees, and configure fetch.prune and pull.rebase in Team Explorer.
  • Find information on the .NET Core and ASP.NET Core security advisories.
  • The MSVC compiler toolset has been updated to version 14.12.
  • C# compiler now supports the 7.2 set of language features.
  • We added .NET Core SDK project support to F# tooling and changed the way you acquire F#.
  • We added Visual C++ Improvements to the Standard Template library.
  • We improved the Razor syntax formatting in the Visual Studio Web Tools.
  • Docker containers now support multi-stage Dockerfiles.
  • You now have Angular 2 Support for inline and .ngml template files.
  • You can now open projects exported from the ARM online compiler in Visual Studio.
  • Open folder now supports remote tasks for using any remote build system or running arbitrary commands.
  • We added Embedded Source support while debugging, and Edit and Continue support for Embedded PDBs.
  • The WCF Web Service Reference for .Net Core is now part of Visual Studio 15.5.
  • You can debug in-production apps with the Snapshot Debugger.
  • IntelliTrace's Step-back debugging feature is now supported.
  • You can access Azure resources from Visual Studio with Conditional Access enabled.
  • Office Web Add-in projects and VSTO Projects now support development with Office in the Windows Store.
  • Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin contains updated support for the Xamarin SDKs for iOS and Android.
  • Unity projects are now automatically reloaded in Visual Studio when you add or remove a Unity script.
  • Test Explorer now supports Google test framework by default.
  • You can now preview XAML live as you type in the Android emulator.
  • The Windows Packaging Project now allows you to include UWP components like: BackgroundTasks, AppServiceConnection, or FullTrustProcessLauncher.
  • You can now configure continuous delivery from the project publish workflow to automatically deploy your project to Azure on every code change to your repo.
  • Top Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Save All tries to save closed .sql query tabs.
  • binroslyn files locked during build.
  • Since Visual Studio 2017 version 15.3, breakpoints don't work when the charset of the file is not the same as the one in .editorconfig (utf8 or utf8-bom).
  • Package 'Microsoft.Net.4.6.FullRedist.NonThreshold,version=4.6.81.9' fails to repair.
  • Visual Studio 2017 has a conflict with OneDrive on demand (Windows 10 insider build).
  • Access Denied error when creating registry keys on Windows 7.
  • Disabled startpage is opened when project is closed.
  • Missing icons after update.
  • Visual Studio 2017 works slowly during ASP.NET debugging.
  • Visual Studio 2017 builds slowly.
  • Visual Studio may freeze or crash when running on a pen-enabled machine

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.4.5 (Nov 27, 2017)

  • Top Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Debug toolbar grayed out.
  • Sign in to Visual Studio fails when an HTTP proxy blocks Basic auth header.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.4.4 (Nov 15, 2017)

  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in this release:
  • .NET Core and ASP.NET Core Security Advisories:
  • Microsoft has released security advisories for .NET Core and ASP.NET Core. Details can be found in corresponding announcements in the .NET Core and ASP.NET Core repos. Please note the following information:
  • CVE-2017-8585 Malformed Certificate can cause Denial of Service: There is a security vulnerability in .NET Core 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0 where a malformed certificate or other ASN.1 formatted data could lead to a denial of service via an infinite loop on Linux and macOS. System administrators are advised to update their .NET Core runtimes to versions 1.0.8, 1.1.5 and 2.0.1. Developers are advised to update their .NET Core SDK to version 2.0.3 or 1.1.5.
  • CVE-2017-8700 CORS bypass can enable Information Disclosure: There is a security vulnerability in ASP.NET Core 1.0 and 1.1 where Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) can be bypassed, leading to information disclosure.
  • CVE-2017-11879 Open Redirect can cause Elevation Of Privilege: There is a security vulnerability in ASP.NET Core 2.0 where an Open Redirect exists, leading to Elevation Of Privilege.
  • CVE-2017-11770 Denial Of Service Vulnerability: There is a security vulnerability in ASP.NET Core 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0 when the application is hosted through Windows Http.Sys where a malformed request can lead to a Denial Of Service.
  • New projects created with ASP.NET Core 1.0, ASP.NET Core 1.1 and ASP.NET Core 2.0 will now use package versions that include the above security updates. For existing projects, users can update their packages to newer versions using the Manage NuGet Packages dialog.
  • If dotnet sdk projects with assemblyname and project file name which don't match, restore fails in 15.4.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.4.3 (Nov 9, 2017)

  • These are the issues addressed in this version:
  • Added support for Xcode 9.1 and iOS 11.1.
  • Restored menus for Python projects when using non English languages.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.4.2 (Nov 1, 2017)

  • These are the issues addressed in this version:
  • Python Tools for VS broke with the 15.4 update.
  • We improved IntelliSense performance in large Visual Basic projects containing multiple partial classes.
  • We fixed an issue where customers received a SerializationException when they created a new Actor Services and attempted to connect to them with a client.
  • We resolved a Visual Studio responsiveness issue exposed while loading a Xamarin.Andorid project.
  • We resolved a conflict between Build.getSerial and BuildSerial in a Xamarin.Android application that targeted Android Framework Version v8.0.
  • We resolved a problem where Xamarin.iOS projects failed to load the Asset Catalog.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.4.1 (Oct 19, 2017)

  • Top Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • If you install the Linux tools for C++ and CMake support, CMake becomes unusable.
  • Unable to load CMake after fresh install of Visual Studio Preview 15.4.
  • Opening Cmake ends with error: "The CMakeNativePackage package did not load correctly".
  • Crash opening a large solution caused by out of memory bug. Also reported in GitHub.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.4.0 (Oct 9, 2017)

  • What's New in this Release:
  • The new Setup and Installer launch banner lets you know when your installation is successful. We added a new warning message at the end of your install that contains links to the Developer Community for additional help
  • We made improvements to XAML. You can now edit or remove XAML resources, and add ControlTemplates
  • The Universal Windows Platform Development workload now comes with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update SDK
  • We added .NET Standard 2.0 support to the Windows Fall Creators Update
  • The Windows Application Packaging Project provides you with new project templates that help package any of your Windows projects into an .appx container
  • NET Core 2.0 is included by default for Web Development and .NET Core Workloads
  • We enhanced Live Unit Testing to include support for MSTest version 1 framework, and improved discoverability of this feature
  • You can deploy, test, and debug your apps directly on iOS and Android devices with Xamarin Live
  • Added support for CMake 3.9 and more flexible CMake project structures
  • You can now target Linux from your CMake projects. Use your existing CMake code base as your solution without needing to convert it to a VS project
  • We improved Unity support in Visual Studio Tools and added the Set Instruction Pointer feature under the new runtime
  • The Android SDK is now being installed to a private location
  • R Tools now has support for Linux remoting and RMarkdown including live editing, brace matching, and code completion
  • This list provides the 10 highest voted issues fixed in this release:
  • Dev Community Votes Deleting a file from the Solution Explorer doesn't delete the actual file.
  • Dev Community Votes Copy/Paste causes VS to hang with a popup "formatting text".
  • Dev Community Votes VS2017 15.3 freezes in debug when Threads window is open.
  • Dev Community Votes Visual Studio freezes and shows a busy notification during and after debug session.
  • Dev Community Votes Auto-complete adds parentheses at the wrong place.
  • Dev Community Votes Open same file twice in IDE results in a pop-up dialog with message "This document is opened by another project".
  • Dev Community Votes Test Explorer forgets settings for Default Process Architecture and Keep Test Execution Engine Running.
  • Dev Community Votes Visual Studio 2017 update install failed due to corrupted file.
  • Dev Community Votes Browse online extensions throws "The magic number in the GZip header is not correct." error.
  • Dev Community Votes Solution build fails with docker compose error.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.4.0 Preview (Oct 4, 2017)

  • Top Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Multiple issues reported to cause VS2017 to crash.
  • Error occurs in VSTest credentials parameter.
  • Xaml Intellisense suggestion stopped working.
  • Graphics debugger crashes in DXCaptureRelay.dll when attempting to graphics debug an x86 project on x64.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.3.5 (Sep 19, 2017)

  • Issues Fixed in September 19, 2017 Release:
  • Introduced support for Apple's Xcode 9, iOS 11, tvOS 11 and watchOS 4

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.3.4 (Sep 14, 2017)

  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in this version:
  • "TF30063: You are not authorized to access .visualstudio.com" after upgrading to VS2017 15.3
  • Error installing GitHub extension

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.3.3 (Aug 30, 2017)

  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in this version:
  • VS 15.3 update causes "Package is not compatible" for frameworks in project.json imports.
  • Debugger missing UI icons when browsing variables.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.3.26730.10 (Aug 23, 2017)

  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in this version:
  • Visual Studio crashes when you open a solution with a test project.
  • Visual Studio Freezes in Debug with Chrome.
  • Failure to install HelpViewer.
  • UI delay while typing R code.
  • C# 7.0 Regression in Tuples.
  • Xamarin - Dynamic Type Platform not supported exception.
  • Xamarin – Dynamic object is not supported.
  • Xamarin - Xamarin.iOS: ArgumentNullException for instruction parameter in Mono.Linker's MarkException() method.
  • Additional fixes included in this release:
  • Service Fabric tooling update.
  • Visual Studio upgrade fails with AccessDenied failure during VSIX install / uninstall.
  • Project generation issue on Unity version <= 5.5.
  • Dump capture for linked files.
  • Silent bad codegen due to loop optimization.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.3.26730.3 (Aug 15, 2017)

  • What's New in this Release:
  • Accessibility Improvements make Visual Studio more accessible than ever.
  • Azure Function Tools are included in the Azure development workload. You can develop Azure Function applications locally and publish directly to Azure.
  • You can now build applications in Visual Studio 2017 that run on Azure Stack and government clouds, like Azure in China.
  • We improved .NET Core development support for .NET Core 2.0, and Windows Nano Server containers.
  • In Visual Studio IDE, we improved Sign In and Identity, the start page, Lightweight Solution Load, and setup CLI. We also improved refactoring, code generation and Quick Actions.
  • The Visual Studio Editor has better accessibility due to the new ‘Blue (Extra Contrast)’ theme and improved screen reader support.
  • We improved the Debugger and diagnostics experience. This includes Point and Click to Set Next Statement. We've also refreshed all nested values in variable window, and made Open Folder debugging improvements.
  • Xamarin has a new standalone editor for editing app entitlements.
  • The Open Folder and CMake Tooling experience is updated. You can now use CMake 3.8.
  • We made improvements to the IntelliSense engine, and to the project and the code wizards for C++ Language Services.
  • Visual C++ Toolset supports command-prompt initialization targeting.
  • We added the ability to use C# 7.1 Language features.
  • You can install TypeScript versions independent of Visual Studio updates.
  • We added support for Node 8 debugging.
  • NuGet has added support for new TFMs (netcoreapp2.0, netstandard2.0, Tizen), Semantic Versioning 2.0.0, and MSBuild integration of NuGet warnings and errors.
  • Visual Studio now offers .NET Framework 4.7 development tools to supported platforms with 4.7 runtime included.
  • We added clusters of related events to the search query results in the Application Insights Search tool.
  • We improved syntax support for SQL Server 2016 in Redgate SQL Search.
  • We enabled support for Microsoft Graph APIs in Connected Services.
  • Top Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • This list provides the 10 highest voted issues fixed in this release:
  • Dev Community Votes Dark theme fails to load after F# install.
  • Dev Community Votes Visual Studio installer update causes endless loop.
  • Dev Community Votes List of recent projects not displayed correctly.
  • Dev Community Votes Cannot add a name to a new Custom Profile.
  • Dev Community Votes Moving DSL extension from Visual Studio 2015 to Visual Studio 2017 gives runtime error.
  • Dev Community Votes Try...catch block throws 'TextBuffer edit operation while another edit is in progress' error message.
  • Dev Community Votes Visual Studio self-signed certificate not accepted in Chrome 58.
  • Dev Community Votes Publish fails with 'All build submissions in a build must use project instances originating from the same project collection'.
  • Dev Community Votes 'Scanning new and updated MEF componets' runs every time Visual Studio 2017 is launched and slows startup time.
  • Dev Community Votes Page loads are slow when debugging Visual Studio 2017 locally.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.2.26430.16 (Jul 18, 2017)

  • Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Fixed a WebDeploy install issue on RS3.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.2.26430.15 (Jul 18, 2017)

  • Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • Fix crash when specific unnamed code constructs were used in C/C++ code.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.2.26430.14 (Jun 22, 2017)

  • Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • New Project menu fails with error "Value cannot be null. Parameter name: eventId".
  • VS2017 fails to start and immediately errors out with "Unknown Error" message.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.2.26430.13 (Jun 10, 2017)

  • Issues fixed in this release:
  • Update to Visual Studio (version 15.2) solution loading caused forced restart.
  • Visual Studio 2017 randomly restarts after 15.2 update.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.2.26430.12 (May 30, 2017)

  • Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • These are the customer-reported issues addressed in this version:
  • Compilation fails because proces cannot access dll (after VS2017 update 2 (v15.2)).
  • Visual Studio 2017 (version 15.2) freezes without network connection.
  • The Visual Studio 2017 (version 15.2) update can cause incorrect versions of vcmeta.dll to be installed.
  • Added support for Service Fabric 5.6 release/2.6 SDK which enables using ServicePackageActivationMode="ExlusiveProcess".
  • Additional fixes included in this release:
  • Fixed a possible F# regression related to exception: "This stream does not support writing at System.IO.Compression.DeflateStream.BeginWrite".
  • Fixed an issue where Xamarin iOS apps were not building correctly.
  • Fixed a performance dedgration sometimes occuring in Xamairn Android apps.
  • Fix for trouble connecting to Android debugger.
  • Fix for csproj losing multidex support when upgrading to 4.5.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.2.26430.6 (May 30, 2017)

  • Issues Fixed in this Release:
  • This is the customer-reported issue addressed in this version:
  • The v15.2 dark color theme fails to load after F# component in .NET workload is installed.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.0.26301.0 Preview (Mar 9, 2017)

  • Python Workload:
  • The Python development workload in Visual Studio 2017 is designed to maximize your productivity in Python. Improved IntelliSense, web development projects, git and VSTS integration save you time and effort on everyday tasks. Use world class debugging (local, remote, cross-platform, and Python/native) and profiling tools to improve the quality and performance of your Python code.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.0.26228.0 (Mar 8, 2017)

  • SUMMARY:
  • Develop: Navigate, write, and fix your code fast:
  • New Installation Experience - A reduced minimum footprint for faster and more customizable installations, as well as support for offline installs.
  • Visual Studio IDE - A broad range of enhancements in Visual Studio 2017, including reduction in startup and solution load times, sign in and identity improvements, improved code navigation, open folder view, and connected services enable connections between your app and any service on-premises or in the cloud.
  • Visual C++ - No breaking changes between 2015 and 2017. Better C++14 conformance level, CMake support, build throughput, and productivity in the editor.
  • C# and Visual Basic - Extends support for new C# 7.0 and Visual Basic 15 language features, and introduces new refactorings that allow you to organize source code with one action.
  • F# - Support for F# 4.1 language features, improvements to the F# compiler and FSharp.Core, and a new editor based on Roslyn Workspaces.
  • JavaScript and TypeScript - TypeScript 2.1 is available for all TypeScript projects in Visual Studio. A new JavaScript language service is available and enabled by default.
  • Debug: Debug, profile, and diagnose with ease:
  • Debugging and Diagnostics - Overhaul of the Exception Helper and faster code navigation with Run to Click. Plus, a new summary of your application events in the Diagnostic Tools window and several improvements to the CPU Tool.
  • Test: Write high-quality code with comprehensive testing tools:
  • Live Unit Testing - Visualize unit testing results and code coverage live in the editor.
  • Testing Tools - Associate automation with test case work items using the Test Explorer.
  • Collaborate: Use version control, be agile, and collaborate efficiently:
  • New Git features in Team Explorer and updated connect experience - Do more with Git in Visual Studio 2017 and easily find the projects and repos to which you want to connect.
  • Enhanced Visual Studio Feedback Workflow - More collaborative Report-A-Problem. Search, follow, and vote to get latest updates on all feedback.
  • Extend: Customize to your liking by building your own extensions:
  • Visual Studio Extensions - Customize Visual Studio to your liking by building your own extensions.
  • Discoverability of Project and Item Templates - There is a breaking change with how Visual Studio consumes project and item templates to improve performance of template discovery.
  • Equip: Utilize tooling to increase productivity and explore new capabilities:
  • .NET Core and ASP.NET Core - This contains the 1.0 final release of the new MSBuild based .NET Core Tools. Using Visual Studio 2017, you can create .NET Standard libraries, .NET Core apps/libraries, and ASP.NET web projects that use the new csproj format.
  • Tools for Universal Windows App Development - Updates include a new version of the .NET Native toolchain, .NET Core NuGet framework, new productivity tools, and support for the Windows 10 "Creators Update" SDK.
  • Xamarin - Xamarin 4.3 adds support for tvOS, while also improving iOS Assets Catalog support and the XML editing experience.
  • Visual Studio Tools for Apache Cordova - A new browser-based simulator enables you to code fast and see the results immediately.
  • Node.js Tools for Visual Studio - Updates focused on stability, performance, and overall product quality.
  • Visual Studio Tools for Unity - Visual Studio Tools for Unity 3 is now available with the "Game Development with Unity" workload from the new Visual Studio installer.
  • Redgate Data Tools - To extend DevOps capabilities to SQL database development, Visual Studio now includes Redgate Data Tools, comprising Redgate ReadyRoll Core, SQL Search, and SQL Prompt Core.
  • NuGet - NuGet now supports storing package dependency information directly in project files as package references, while maintaining the advances of transitive package references.
  • Tools for XAML Apps - The XAML runtime toolbar now lets you track focus. XAML productivity has been improved with XAML Edit & Continue, improvements to the XAML Editor, and performance optimizations.
  • Data Tools and SQL Server - The latest update of SQL Server Data Tools enables support for the newest features in Azure SQL Database and SQL Server 2016.
  • Developer Analytics Tools - Visual Studio 2017 includes Developer Analytics Tools v8.6 with many improvements to the Application Insights and HockeyApp features in Visual Studio.
  • Office Developer Tools for Visual Studio - Includes Office Developer Tools with the latest features and updates.
  • Live Architecture Dependency Validation - Real-time notifications of dependency validation diagrams (aka Layer diagrams).
  • Developer Command Prompt - Refactored scripts to support the new installation experience.
  • Azure SDK for .NET - Now available from the new Visual Studio installer.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2017 15.0.25914.0 RC (Nov 16, 2016)

  • New Installation Experience:
  • We're delighted to introduce our new installer, which was designed from the ground up
  • Creating a Layout for Offline Installation and new Command-Line Installation Support
  • System administrators can now create an offline layout of Visual Studio that contains all of the content needed to install the product without requiring Internet access. To do so, run the bootstrapper executable associated with the product you want to make available offline using the --layout [path] switch (e.g. vs_enterprise.exe --layout c:mylayout). This will download the packages required to install offline. Optionally, you can specify a locale code for the product languages you want included (e.g. --lang en-us). If not specified, support for all localized languages will be downloaded
  • To install from the layout folder, you can simply run the bootstrapper executable from the newly-created layout folder. Note that signature verification certificates will still need to be downloaded from the Internet. We are going to fix the need to be connected in an upcoming release. Last, note that the Android SDK requires an online connection to install
  • You can also run C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft Visual StudioInstallervs_installershell.exe to install Visual Studio components from the command line. Use the --help switch for further information on command-line options
  • ENHANCED VISUAL STUDIO FEEDBACK WORKFLOW:
  • Visual Studio 2017 includes an upgraded feedback experience for better follow-up and collaboration. As part of this upgrade, you will notice a more collaborative Report-a-Problem experience in Visual Studio supplemented by a comprehensive web portal for a complete end-to-end feedback solution. You can now search, follow, vote and get the latest updates on all feedback that you have provided via Visual Studio IDE’s Report a Problem feature. These enhanced experiences address a lot of the feedback we have received from you and enable bidirectional communication between our teams and you.
  • Overall Improvements:
  • The GitHub extension for Visual Studio can be selected in the new Visual Studio installer.
  • Visual Studio has been optimized to reduce startup time and solution load time. The very first launch of Visual Studio is at least 50% faster.
  • Visual Studio will now monitor extension performance that impacts startup, solution load, or editing. You will be alerted about poorly performing extensions via the Notification bar in the IDE. The new Performance Center (also available via Help | Manage Visual Studio Performance) lets you view not only extensions that are impacting performance, but also discover tool windows that are impacting your startup performance and change their startup load behavior.
  • Reload All Projects has been replaced with Reload Solution to support better performance of switching branches external to VS. When using the Git command line to switch branches, choose Reload Solution after the branch has switched in order to achieve the maximum performance improvement.
  • File globbing capabilities for .NET Core and ASP.NET Core projects have been enhanced. See project file globbing for more details.
  • You are now automatically taken to the folder view of your repository after cloning. You can view files or open Solutions with the new Solution selection list in the Solution Explorer.
  • A new external service host is being introduced that will replace VSHub; this new service host is an external process and will appear in Task Manager as ServiceHub.Host.CLR.*.exe, as well as ServiceHub.Host.Node.x86.exe. This host will ultimately eliminate the localhost http traffic that was introduced with VSHub which should alleviate the noise Fiddler users reported.
  • Pre-release license expiration messages more clearly communicate the current license state.
  • The Account Settings dialog is now more accessible to screen readers.
  • The version control status bar makes it easier to publish local repos to an SCC host and keep track of uncommitted and un-pushed work.
  • Start Page:
  • A revamped Start Page with new Open and Create facilities
  • Improved Code Navigation:
  • Go To: (Ctrl + , or Ctrl + T) lets you quickly find and go to files, types, methods, and other elements in your code. It gives you a one-stop way to go to any kind of item you need, even in large code bases. What’s more, if you know what kind of item you’re after you can filter down easily.
  • Find All References (Shift+F12) has been overhauled (currently for C#, Visual Basic, and C++), providing advanced grouping, filtering, sorting, searching within reference results, and colorization for results (for C# and VB), so you can get a clear understanding of your references and get to the line of code you need with confidence. On mouse hover over a reference item, a tooltip is displayed with the context of the reference in source code (for C# and VB). By toggling on the “Keep Results” button in the toolbar, the next invocation of Find All References will populate reference results in a new window. This allows you to keep the current results in the existing window.
  • Structure Guide Lines are now drawn in the editor so that you can easily visualize the structure of the code that you are working in. On mouse hover, a tooltip is displayed containing the context of the current code block relative to its ancestor blocks. Structure Guide Lines are currently supported for C#, Visual Basic, and XAML files, and for any files supported via TextMate grammars. This feature may be disabled in the Tools Options Dialog by unchecking the Show structure guide lines checkbox under the Text Editor > General category.
  • EditorConfig Support:
  • New in RC: Visual Studio editor now supports EditorConfig, which allows developers to define and maintain consistent coding style conventions between different editors and IDEs. See known issues for a list of known limitations in EditorConfig support in this RC release.
  • New Extensibility Format:
  • The new installer technology in Visual Studio 2017 RC gives you greater control over the tools that are installed. Some users may install just the core Visual Studio editor while others may install several workloads. To ensure that the prerequisite features an extension requires are installed, extension authors will now be able to specify the individual components required by their extension in the manifest.
  • Modify Extensions in Bulk
  • Ngen Support
  • Roaming Extension Manager:
  • New in Visual Studio 2017 RC, the Roaming Extension Manager helps you keep track of all your favorite extensions across all your development environments. Roaming your extensions keeps track of the extensions you have installed by creating a synchronized list in the cloud.
  • Sign in and Identity Improvements:
  • New in RC We introduced a new identity service that allows us to share user accounts across Microsoft developer tools. Within Visual Studio this sharing includes features such as Team Explorer, Azure Tools, Windows Store publishing, and more. These features now share a common and consistent sign in experience
  • Along with improvements to Visual Studio we have completed the deployment of some improvements on the service side that allow users to safely stay signed in and eliminate the forced sign-in every 12 hours. This addresses the most commonly reported sign-in issue
  • Lightweight Solution Load:
  • Lightweight Solution load enables faster loading of large Solutions. For large Solutions, it can provide a substantial improvement in Solution load time and memory usage. The feature is not enabled by default and can be enabled on a Solution by Solution basis or globally in the IDE. To enable globally, navigate to Tools Options dialog by selecting General under "Projects and Solutions" or by searching for "Lightweight Solution load" with Quick Launch. The feature can be turned on and off for individual Solutions in the Solution properties pane.
  • Syntax Colorization, Autocomplete, Snippet, and "Navigate To" Search support for a broader set of languages:
  • Building on the support we added in updates to Visual Studio 2015, in Visual Studio 2017 RC we now support syntax colorization and autocomplete for an increased range of languages. In addition, some of these languages also support navigation via "Navigate To" (Ctrl+), and/or Code Snippets. See the list below for details.
  • Files for the languages noted below support these features in the new "Visual Studio Core Editor" even when no workloads have been installed to explicitly support the language in question. If a workload that provides language support is installed (e.g., the .NET Desktop Application Development workload, the Windows Desktop App Development with C++ workload, the Python Development workload, etc.), then more extensive language support including IntelliSense and other advanced language features like Light Bulbs may be provided.
  • Language file types listed by support level:
  • Supports only Syntax Colorization and Autocomplete
  • Supports Code Snippets (in addition to Syntax Colorization and Autocomplete)
  • Supports Navigate To (in addition to Syntax Colorization and Autocomplete)
  • Getting Started with Project Overview Pages:
  • Starting with ASP.NET Core and ASP.NET 4.x projects, we are introducing a completely new getting started experience for new projects. We've removed the Project_Readme.html from the solution and replaced it with an Overview tab in our new App Configuration Designer. We've condensed the material on this page to focus on the actions that will get you up and running quickly!
  • Connecting to Services Using Service Capabilities:
  • Service Capabilities is the modern "Add Connected Service" or "Add Service Reference" feature of Visual Studio 2017 RC. The service Capabilities feature makes it easier to connect your app to services. A new node called "Service Capabilities" is available in the Solution Explorer for Web and Mobile project types. Double clicking this node will open a new full page tab in Visual Studio where you can discover popular Microsoft services you can connect to.
  • Selecting a service on the Service Capabilities page will invoke the Connected Services Wizard that configures your project, and downloads the necessary NuGet packages to get you started coding against your service quickly and painlessly.
  • Wizard for Connecting to Azure App Service Mobile App:
  • The Service Capabilities page includes the Azure Mobile App provider for Mobile projects which helps you to connect to Azure App Service to store data in the cloud, add authentication, and deliver push notifications for mobile apps.
  • LIVE ARCHITECTURE DEPENDENCY VALIDATION:
  • In Visual Studio Enterprise, if you have setup Dependency Validation diagrams (aka Layer diagrams) you now get real-time notifications of violations of architectural dependency rules as you type code in the Code Editor: errors appear in the Error List and squiggles in the text editor show the precise location of this violation. You are now less likely to introduce unwanted dependencies.
  • LIVE UNIT TESTING:
  • Live Unit Testing is a new feature we are introducing and only present in the Enterprise edition of Visual Studio. This feature visualizes unit test results and code coverage live on the editor, while you are coding. It works with C#/VB projects for .NET framework and supports three test frameworks of MSTest, xUnit, and NUnit. This is an early preview of this feature and has several known issues.
  • DEVELOPER COMMAND PROMPT:
  • The Visual Studio 2017 Developer Command Prompt scripts have been refactored to support the new installation experience:
  • DEBUGGING AND DISAGNOSTICS:
  • Run to Click
  • Attach to Process Filter
  • Reattach to Process
  • The New Exception Helper
  • Add Conditions to Exception Settings
  • Debugger Accessibility Improvements
  • IntelliTrace Events for .NET Core
  • Diagnostic Tools Window Updates
  • Performance Profiler Updates
  • CPU Usage Tool Updates
  • Chrome Debugging Support
  • VISUAL C++:
  • Visual Studio 2017 RC brings many updates and fixes to the Visual C++ environment. We've fixed over 250 bugs and reported issues in the compiler and tools, many submitted by customers through Microsoft Connect.
  • C++ Code Analysis:
  • The C++ Core Checkers for enforcing the C++ Core Guidelines are now distributed with Visual Studio. Simply enable the checkers in the Code Analysis Extensions dialog in the project's property pages and the extensions will be included when you run code analysis.
  • C++ Compiler:
  • In this release, we've updated the C++ compiler and standard library with enhanced support for C++11 and C++14 features, as well as preliminary support for certain features expected to be in the C++17 standard. With support for generalized constexpr and NSDMI for aggregates, the compiler is complete for features added in the C++14 Standard. Note that the compiler still lacks a few features from the C++11 and C++98 Standards. Visual Studio 2017 RC allows using /sdl with /await. We removed /rtc limitation with Coroutines. This release brings several improvements in optimization and code generation.
  • C++ Libraries - stl:
  • Minor basic_string _ITERATOR_DEBUG_LEVEL != 0 diagnostics improvements. Tripping an IDL check in string machinery will now report the specific behavior that caused the trip. For example, instead of "string iterator not dereferencable" you'll get "cannot dereference string iterator because it is out of range (e.g. an end iterator)".
  • Performance improvement: made basic_string::find(char) overloads only call traits::find once. Previously this was implemented as a general string search for a string of length 1.
  • Performance improvement: basic_string::operator== now checks the string's size before comparing the strings' contents.
  • Performance improvement: removed control coupling in basic_string which was difficult for the compiler optimizer to analyze. Resolves VSO# 262848 ": reserve() does too much work". Note that for all short strings, calling reserve still has nonzero cost to do nothing.
  • We added , , apply(), make_from_tuple().
  • std::vector has been overhauled for correctness and performance: aliasing during insertion/emplacement is now correctly handled as required by the Standard, the strong exception guarantee is now provided when required by the Standard via move_if_noexcept() and other logic, and insertion/emplacement perform fewer element operations.
  • The STL now avoids dereferencing null fancy pointers.
  • Added , , shared_ptr::weak_type, and .
  • Enabled C++14 constexpr in min/max/minmax(initializer_list) and min_element/max_element/minmax_element().
  • Improved weak_ptr::lock() performance.
  • Fixed std::promise's move assignment operator, which previously could cause code to block forever.
  • Fixed compiler errors with atomic's implicit conversion to T *.
  • pointer_traits now correctly detects Ptr::rebind.
  • Fixed a missing const qualifier in move_iterator's subtraction operator.
  • Fixed silent bad codegen for stateful user-defined allocators requesting propagate_on_container_copy_assignment and propagate_on_container_move_assignment.
  • atomic now tolerates overloaded operator&().
  • To increase compiler throughput, STL headers now avoid including declarations for unnecessary compiler intrinsics.
  • Slightly improved compiler diagnostics for incorrect bind() calls.
  • C++ IDE:
  • The new SQLite-based database engine is now being used by default. This will speed up database operations like Go To Definition and Find All References, and will significantly improve initial solution parse time. The setting has been moved to Tools > Options > Text Editor > C/C++ > Advanced (it was formerly under ...C/C++ > Experimental).
  • We've improved IntelliSense performance on projects and files not using precompiled headers – an Automatic Precompiled Header will be created for headers in the current file.
  • We've added error filtering and help for IntelliSense errors in the error list. Clicking on the error column now allows for filtering. Also, clicking on the specific errors or pressing F1 will launch an online search for the error message.
  • Added the ability to filter Member List items by kind.
  • Added a new experimental Predictive IntelliSense feature that provides contextually-aware filtering of what appears in the Member List.
  • The new Find All References UI includes information about whether we are reading from or writing to a variable in the results for C++ code.
  • New in RC The Dot-to-Arrow IntelliSense feature has been moved from experimental to advanced, and is now enabled by default. The editor features Expand Scopes and Expand Precedence have also been moved from experimental to advanced.
  • New in RC The experimental refactoring features Change Signature and Extract Function are now available by default.
  • New in RC We've enabled the new experimental feature for C++ projects ‘Faster project load’. The next time you open a C++ project it will load faster, and the time after that it will load really fast!
  • New in RC Improvements to the Open Folder experience. Edit, build and debug your non-MSBuild C++ project by loading your sources through “Open Folder”. Customize the experience through these json files:
  • New in RC C++ IntelliSense will work without the need to create a CppProperties.json file in the root folder. Along with this, we've added a new dropdown to allow users to easily switch between configurations provided by CMake and CppProperties.json files. CMake support in Open Folder Opening CMake projects with “Open Folder” will automatically configure the environment for C++ editing, building and debugging.
  • New in RC Further configuration is supported via a CMakeSettings.json file that sits in the same folder as the CMakeLists.txt file.
  • C++ Installation Workloads:
  • We now provide a more granular installation experience for installing the original C++ workload. We have added selectable components that enable you to install just the tools that you need. Please note that the indicated installation sizes for the components listed in the installer UI are not accurate and underestimate the total size.
  • C# AND VISUAL BASIC:
  • IDE Experience and Productivity:
  • Visual Studio provides new refactorings to allow you to organize source code with one action
  • Simplify object initialization with an initializer
  • Move out variable declarations inline, leveraging a new C#7 feature
  • Simplify null checks and throw expressions using null-coalescing operator, leveraging a new C#7 feature
  • Move type to matching file: Extract a type from one file and put it in another file with a matching name with one click via Ctrl+..
  • Sync file and type name: If your file and type name are out of sync, you can use Ctrl+..
  • Convert String.Format to string interpolation: take advantage of the C# 6 language feature with this Quick Action.
  • This release also introduces improvements to IntelliSense that will make you more productive when working in a large solution or an unfamiliar codebase. We have added an icon tray to IntelliSense that enables you to filter the member list by type (e.g., methods, properties, classes, etc.). Each filter toggle has an associated keyboard shortcut which you can discover by hovering over the icon. To enable this feature, go to Tools > Options > Text Editor > [C# | Visual Basic] > IntelliSense and check the options for filtering and highlighting.
  • We've also added/updated style analyzers to help you customize and enforce coding conventions on your team
  • You can now split a long string into multiple concatenated strings by positioning the cursor mid-string and pressing Enter.
  • A new code action for converting a property to a method.
  • We now use fuzzy matching in the NavigateTo search results.
  • Language Extensions and Analyzers:
  • For C#:
  • Task-like return types for async methods: This introduces the ability to return any task-like type from an async method. Previously these return types were constrained to Task and Task.
  • Value tuples introduce language support for using tuples to temporarily group a set of typed values. To learn more, please review the design notes on GitHub.
  • Nested local functions extend the language to support declaration of functions in a block scope.
  • Pattern matching extensions enable many of the benefits of algebraic data types and pattern matching from functional languages.
  • Ref returns enable functions to return values by reference.
  • For Visual Basic:
  • Value tuples introduce language support for using tuples to temporarily group a set of typed values: Dim point As (x As Integer, y As Integer) = GetOffset().
  • ByRef return consumption extend the language to support consumption of functions and properties from libraries which have ByRef returns.
  • Binary literals and digit group separators allow native representation of binary numbers. This is super convenient for bitmasks and flags enumerations: &B1001_0011.
  • Support for F# 4.1 language features:
  • Struct Tuples which interop with C# 7/VB 15 Tuples.
  • Byref returns which support consuming C# 7 ref returns.
  • Struct Record support with the [] attribute.
  • Struct Discriminated Union support with the [] attribute.
  • A new Result type, with supporting functions in FSharp.Core.
  • The fixed keyword, which supports pinning a pointer-type local on the stack.
  • Underscores in numeric literals.
  • Caller Info Attribute Arguments.
  • Mutually Referential Types and Modules within the same file via namespace rec and module rec.
  • Implicit "Module" suffix on modules which share the same name as a type.
  • Many improvements to the F# compiler and FSharp.Core:
  • Improved Error Messages.
  • Performance improvements in FSharp.Core.
  • Improvements in interop between F# and C#.
  • Quality-of-life improvements in Statically Resolved Type Parameters.
  • Support for generating Portable PDBs.
  • A new editor based on Roslyn Workspaces, with the following features:
  • Text completions.
  • Type colorization.
  • Roslyn-based Go to Definition.
  • Roslyn-based brace matching.
  • Roslyn-based indentation.
  • Roslyn-based breakpoint resolution.
  • Python:
  • Python workload, for developing scripts, web applications, and automation using familiar frameworks and packages.
  • Data Science workload, for interactive data analysis using Python, R, and F#.
  • Install options are provided for either Python or Anaconda from Continuum Analytics.
  • Cookiecutter Explorer, to search, install, and generate projects from Cookiecutter templates.
  • Use Ctrl+Enter to send the current line or code cell to the interactive window.
  • Create as many interactive windows as you like, with the same or different versions of Python.
  • Define custom scripts to automatically run when you start an interactive session.
  • Create and debug C extensions for Python 3.5 and later using the Python Native Development option and C++ template.
  • Completions for file names in the editor and interactive window.
  • Code analysis now runs in a separate process for each project, allowing better parallelism and memory usage.
  • Significantly improved performance for search paths, zip, egg, and extension module references.
  • Multiple data table viewer + sorting per column.
  • Delete vars from Variable Explorer.
  • Go to definition for library functions.
  • Collapsible code regions.
  • Intellisense, Peek in RMarkdown.
  • Search web (stackoverflow) for current token under cursor.
  • Plotting: Windows DPI support + Locator support.
  • Integrated Microsoft R Client.
  • JavaScript and TypeScript:
  • TypeScript 2.1
  • JavaScript Language Service
  • Tools for XAML Apps:
  • XAML Diagnostics
  • XAML Edit & Continue
  • XAML Editor Productivity Enhancements
  • XAML Performance Improvements
  • Tools for Universal Windows App Development:
  • Updated .NET Native Toolchain. This updated .NET Native toolchain adds several optimizations to improve runtime performance for managed UWP apps in Visual Studio. The release includes more than 600 bug fixes and features to address key customer feedback and improve the overall quality of the toolchain.
  • 5.2.2 Microsoft.NETCore.UniversalWindowsPlatform package. This update to the .NET Core NuGet framework libraries addresses a number of key issues reported by customers. Existing UWP projects can use the NuGet reference manager to update to this new version.
  • Windows 10 Anniversary Update SDK and Emulator. The Windows SDK and Windows Phone emulator for the Windows 10 Anniversary Update are included in this release.
  • UI Elements created from the Toolbox will now be created with fewer XAML Tags, resulting in cleaner, more readable XAML.
  • A new options tool on the XAML Designer allows the developer to select the UI theme and High Contrast settings to be previewed on the design surface.
  • The value editors in the Properties window now accept simple mathematical equations, such as "60+20". The equations will be immediately evaluated (in this case, 80) and their resulting value put into the XAML.
  • Manifest Designer Capability for Creating Visual Assets
  • UI Analysis
  • Visual Studio Tools for Apache Cordova:
  • Cordova simulate. A new browser-based simulator enables you to code fast and see the results immediately in the browser. Live reload, plugin simulation, and support for Ionic Framework give Visual Studio the fastest developer workflow on the market.
  • Support for iOS 10 & XCode 8. An update of the remotebuild build agent for iOS development now includes support for XCode 8.
  • Error colorization. Because diagnosing build failures often requires developers to read through build output, we have started to colorize errors in the build output pane for easier reading. Moreover, we have added headers to delineate steps in the build process in order to help developers identify where in the build process there was a failure.
  • In-product acquisition. In addition to the new light-weight installation to get you building Cordova apps faster, we have now added pathways from within Visual Studio to acquire additional build pieces as your development continues. If you have not installed Android or Windows components, you can get them through the deploy bar, which will launch Visual Studio setup and guide you through the installation process.
  • Fast, reliable builds. The new Visual Studio Installer, combined with offline installation of a fully validated toolchain of 3rd party components, provides for faster builds that are also easier to troubleshoot and fix.
  • Xamarin (Preview):
  • Xamarin 4.1 is included in Visual Studio 2017 RC. In addition to a number of bug fixes, this release adds support for tvOS, improves the iOS Assets Catalog support, improves the XML editing experience, and adds selectors for SSL/TLS and HttpClient implementations when creating iOS apps.
  • NuGet:
  • Visual Studio 2017 RC includes NuGet 4.0 RC.
  • Developer Analytics Tools:
  • Visual Studio 2017 RC includes Developer Analytics Tools v8.3
  • TEAM EXPLORER:
  • Connect to VSTS
  • Work Item Forms
  • SQL Server Data Tools:
  • The latest update of SQL Server Data Tools has been included in Visual Studio 2017 RC, which enables support for the latest features in Azure SQL Database and SQL Server 2016.
  • This release brings together the ease of developing, testing, and deploying a database on all supported versions of SQL Server and database platforms - both on-premises and cloud - by using Visual Studio. The release also includes database programmability surface area enhancements, and it improves the SQL connection experience in SQL Server Data Tools, which now automatically discovers SQL Server and Azure SQL Databases that you can connect to with a simple click.
  • Additionally, Visual Studio 2017 RC addresses new Azure SQL Database authentication types, as well as Azure Active Directory Integrated and Password authentication.
  • Office Developer Tools for Visual Studio:
  • This RC release includes Office Developer Tools with the latest features and updates
  • Visual Studio Software Developer Kit:
  • Starting in Visual Studio 2017 RC SDK, there is a breaking change with how Visual Studio consumes project and item templates in order to improve performance of template discovery. The new discovery mechanism now requires all item and project templates following "vstemplate" schema to be defined in template manifest files. Visual Studio templates that you do not define in a template manifest file will no longer be visible in New Project or New Item dialogs. While new VSSDK tooling will generate manifest during VSIX build time, if you have Visual Studio templates released as part of a MSI package, you must manually generate template manifest files for those templates.
  • Azure SDK for .NET:
  • The Azure SDK for .NET Visual Studio is now available to be installed with the new Visual Studio installer. If you previously installed the Azure SDK for .NET using the Web Platform Installer, you can now get the same components by installing the Azure workload using the new Visual Studio Installer. The packages that are installed are at the same feature level as the 2.9.5 version of the SDK. For this version of Visual Studio and all future versions, the Azure SDK for .NET will only be available from the Visual Studio installer.
  • Node.js Tools for Visual Studio:
  • Node.js Tools for Visual Studio turns Visual Studio into a powerful Node.js development environment. This release focuses on stability, performance, and overall product quality
  • Visual Studio Tools for Unity:
  • Use Visual Studio to write and debug Unity games for all platforms.
  • NET Core and Docker (Preview):
  • New in RC Get an early preview of the future .NET Core tooling. It’s available as a workload under ".NET Core and Docker Tools (Preview)" in the installer. This is an early preview and best tried on new and simple projects. It has several known issues.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2015 14.0.6005.20108 Update 3 (Jun 27, 2016)

  • TOOLS FOR APACHE CORDOVA:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 includes Tools for Apache Cordova Update 10, including the improvements below. For more information about this release, see the Tools for Apache Cordova release notes for Update 9 and Update 10. For the latest news about our tools, visit our Developer Blog on GitHub.
  • We've added support for Cordova 6.1.1, the default version for new projects.
  • We've retired the Cordova Plugin Registry that was used in Cordova 4.x, which means that we now require a minimum of Cordova 5.x or later to add plugins.
  • The Core Plugins list has been updated and now includes plugins for enterprise scenarios, such as Intune, Azure engagement, security, and SQLite local storage.
  • You can now add plugins from the config designer either by the npm package name or by the ID. You can also add plugins that require parameters from the config designer.
  • DEVELOPER ANALYTICS TOOLS:
  • We've added the following improvements in Developer Analytics Tools v7.0.2
  • Application Insights Trends, a tool for finding trends in your app's telemetry
  • New Exception telemetry in CodeLens
  • Production telemetry information added to exceptions in Diagnostic Tools
  • Support for adding Application Insights to ASP.NET Core RC2 projects from Visual Studio
  • Diagnostic Tools events for ASP.NET 5 RC1 and ASP.NET Core RC2 projects
  • Automatic refreshes of Application Insights Search when detail filters, time ranges, and events are selected
  • Go to Code from requests in Search
  • Improved HockeyApp sign-in experience
  • DEBUGGING AND DIAGNOSTICS:
  • Diagnostic Tools support for apps running on OneCore devices, including HoloLens and IOT, has been added in Update 3
  • C++ Edit and Continue improvements:
  • Better performance and reliability when FASTLINK is enabled.
  • Successful application of code changes to static libraries no longer produces Stale Code.
  • C4656 warnings will no longer appear for false positive type changes during recompilation.
  • Support for adding a new type with the same name crossing multiple compilation units.
  • XAML UI Debugging improvements:
  • Whenever the focus changes in your app, the new Track Focus feature in the Live Visual Tree will cause selection in the Live Visual Tree to update to the currently focused element.
  • VISUAL STUDIO IDE:
  • Subscriptions and product keys:
  • We've addressed feedback in Update 3 from customers using subscriptions through an online identity or product keys to unlock the IDE, in the following ways:
  • You are no longer required to visit http://my.visualstudio.com to activate your assigned Visual Studio Cloud subscription, and can immediately start using the Visual Studio IDE as soon as the subscription is assigned.
  • We've improved error handling when applying a product key.
  • All user account and licensing operations are now secured by using HTTPS.
  • We've made accessibility improvements in the Account Settings dialog for activating a subscription and entering a product key.
  • New Re-authentication every ~8 days is no longer required to keep the personalization account active and synchronizing roaming settings.
  • TOOLS FOR UNIVERSAL WINDOWS APPS:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 comes with several enhancements to the Tools for Universal Windows apps. A key improvement allows you to sign in with Azure Active Directory credentials for an AAD Store account when creating a package to submit to the Windows Store. Once the project has been associated with the Windows Store, you will no longer need to sign in to create a package to submit to the Store.
  • .NET Native for Universal Windows Apps:
  • .NET Native 1.4 is a minor servicing release that improves performance, addresses several customer reported bugs and improves Release build compilation times of large apps. XAML applications and Unity games that use .NET Native 1.4 will have better runtime performance. These improvements were achieved by making both reflection and native API calls faster.
  • ARCHITECTURE TOOLS:
  • Domain Specific Graphical Designers (including EDMX and DBML):
  • On Windows 10, Visual Studio is no longer unresponsive when you are opening or attempting to edit large EDMX or DBML diagrams while the on-screen keyboard is displayed.
  • Code Map:
  • Visual Studio is no longer unresponsive when you are trying to "Generate Code Map for Solution" when the solution contained installer projects (.vdproj).
  • Visual Studio is no longer unresponsive when you run a code map command from the code editor and close the Code Map window as soon as it appears.
  • Layer Validation:
  • When building a solution having a modeling project containing a Layer diagram with a Validate action, a CPU core is no longer used after the build completes.
  • You can now validate a layer diagram when its parent modeling project is referencing PCL libraries (for instance ODP.Net).
  • Node.js TOOLS FOR VISUAL STUDIO:
  • New Node.js Tools 1.2 RC for Visual Studio is now available for download. We expect this release to provide significantly improved stability and performance, including reducing out-of-memory crashes seen in prior releases.
  • Faster, better ES6 IntelliSense
  • More reliable debugging
  • Improved Unit Testing experiences (including Tape support)
  • .npm command in more project types
  • WEB DEVELOPER TOOLS:
  • For ASP.NET Web Application projects, when "Enable Edit and Continue" checkbox is unchecked, the IIS Express process will no longer stop every time you stop debugging.
  • VISUAL C++:
  • Visual C++
  • Enhancements, such as new checks and warning messages for the C++ Compiler, as well as support and performance improvements for C# and Visual Basic coding, were included in Update 3.
  • C++ Compiler:
  • We now check the access of a deleted trivial copy/move ctor. Without the check, we may incorrectly call the defaulted copy ctor (in which the implementation can be ill-formed) and cause potential runtime bad code generation.
  • Std::is_convertible now correctly detects self-assignment of a class type when the copy-constructor is deleted or private.
  • As the last phase of completing the deprecation of attributed ATL support started in Visual Studio 2008, we've added a new deprecation warning to the compiler. With Visual Studio 2015 Update 3, usages of attributed ATL code will generate an on-by-default level 1 warning. C4467
  • When using PCH files, mismatched -I include directories to the compiler between -Yc and -Yu compilations will now produce a new warning. C4599
  • When using PCH files, mismatched #include directives in source files between -Yc and -Yu compilations will now produce a warning. C4598
  • C++ Libraries:
  • We've restored debug mode performance when destroying ranges of trivial objects that regressed in Update 2, like in vector.
  • We've implemented the swappable traits from the C++17 working paper, from the proposal P0185 Adding [nothrow-]swappable traits. As a speculative C++17 feature, the traits (is_swappable, is_swappable_with, is_nothrow_swappable, and is_nothrow_swappable_with) are only visible, and the constraints on std::swap are only active, when compiling with /std:c++latest.
  • We've removed ETW eventing calls from vcruntime140.dll and static libraries that previously fired during process startup and dllmain.
  • New We've removed symbol name length in common machinery used by STL containers, such as std::vector, reducing likelihood of C4503 warnings. For example, the following type no longer generates a warning: concurrency::concurrent_unordered_map>>>.
  • ATL/MFC/AMP/PPL: Lots of conformance fixes related to two-phase lookup, as follows:
  • com_ptr_t now has a move constructor and move assignment operator.
  • MFC: Fixed handling of HMENU values that occasionally prevented menus from being properly displayed in 64-bit applications.
  • ATL/MFC: No longer emit the following warnings:
  • Function overriding/hiding: C4263, C4264, C4266
  • Mismatching exception specification: C4986
  • analyze: C6386
  • ATL: All variations of AtlThrow are now properly marked with __declspec(noreturn). This prevents erroneous SAL warnings from being emitted.
  • ATL: Fixed/Improved several SAL annotations.
  • std:c++latest enables the following new features: P0025R1 "clamp()", P0185R1 "is_swappable, is_nothrow_swappable", and P0272R1 "Non-const basic_string::data().".
  • std:c++latest also controls the removal of the following old features: N4190 "Removing auto_ptr, random_shuffle(), And Old Stuff", P0004R1 "Removing Deprecated Iostreams Aliases", LWG 2385 "function::assign allocator argument doesn't make sense", and various non-Standard features (the std::tr1 namespace, some TR1-only machinery, and the std::identity struct).
  • Silent bad codegen in atomic/atomic on x86 was fixed.
  • The STL now avoids using thread-safe "magic statics" except when absolutely necessary, improving codegen.
  • Tuple's perfect forwarding constructor now avoids out-competing the copy constructor, fixing compiler errors in certain scenarios.
  • Coroutines:
  • Deprecated the following: __yield_value & __await keywords. Use co_await / co_yield instead.
  • Added deprecation notice to: to_address and from_promise members of coroutine_handle class. Instead of coroutine_handle::to_address(), use coroutine_handle::address().
  • Instead of coroutine_handle::from_promise(Promise *P), use coroutine_handle::from_promise(Promise &P).
  • We've improved performance of the following: std::equal and std::lexicographical_compare by dispatching to memcmp and memchr more aggressively, resulting in large performance improvements in some scenarios. For example: equal(char,char,char, char) on 64 bit platforms.
  • debug builds significantly by reducing the number of bookkeeping function calls in our iterator debugging machinery.
  • string::push_back has improved another 40% vs. Update 2 in release builds, with more substantial improvements in debug builds. (This is in addition to large performance improvements here that shipped in Update 2).
  • Debug builds across all standard algorithms have improved by eliminating several types of empty template metaprogramming support calls (for example,_Iter_cat), across all algorithms that take predicates by reducing the number of predicate copies.
  • std::mismatch under _ITERATOR_DEBUG_LEVEL 1 and 2 by range checking the second range where possible ahead of iteration.
  • We've applied improved diagnostics for _SCL_INSECURE_DEPRECATE messages to the remaining algorithms (in Update 2 only a small number of algorithms were hooked into the new deprecation mechanism). This also improves the debugging experience when debugging into the standard algorithms, as there is no longer any _ITERATOR_DEBUG_LEVEL preprocessor interaction declaring multiple copies of standard algorithms. We have also fixed the following:
  • We've fixed the inability to compile some functions like mismatch(iter, iter, T[]) due to interaction between our nonstandard _ITERATOR_DEBUG_ARRAY_OVERLOADS and dual-range algorithms.
  • We've fixed violations of the off-by-default warning C4242 in the STL.
  • We've fixed possible integer overflow bug in std::pop_heap.
  • We've fixed potential hang under /clr:pure due to CLR-inserted LoadLibrary calls while holding the locale lock.
  • C++/CLI Debugging:
  • New The C++/CLI expression evaluator now supports debugger features, such as Natvis, that were previously only supported for pure native apps. Now in a mixed managed/native app when objects are listed in a variable window (or inside a datatip), they will expand just like they do in a pure native app as defined by the type visualizers.
  • Clang/C2 Platform Toolset:
  • We've integrated Clang 3.8 release into Clang/C2 and provided a 64-bit hosted toolset.
  • C++ MDD:
  • We've enabled support for the latest Android NDK version R11C and the capability to upgrade the current projects to target the latest NDK.
  • TypeScript:
  • New Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 includes TypeScript 1.8.34. We've fixed an out of memory error with some large TypeScript projects that use AngularJS.
  • C# AND VISUAL BASIC:
  • New We've invested in reducing memory footprint and improving the performance of code diagnostics. This will reduce a lot of the out-of-memory crashes seen in prior releases. We’ve improved the performance of running code diagnostics on an entire solution. To learn more about code diagnostic performance enhancements, read the How to: Enable and Disable Full Solution Analysis for Managed Code page on MSDN.
  • Additional improvements include the following:
  • An option to add a reference to a NuGet package as a quick fix. You can enable this option from Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Advanced, under "Using Directives"
  • We've improved support for Portable class libraries targeting the .NET Platform Standard.
  • We've added performance improvements to the C# GoTo Implementation and Find All References. You can try these by selecting an object, right-clicking on it and then selecting them from the menu.
  • When you apply a “fix all” action to document/project/solution we now display a progress bar.
  • New Improved performance when reloading C# and VB projects in large solutions.
  • TEAM EXPLORER:
  • Several bugs have been fixed in Team Explorer:
  • Unable to view the contents of a file that was deleted from a Git repository.
  • When viewing the history of a branch, the Go to Child icon should be disabled when the focus is the latest commit.
  • When changing branches using Git.exe, Visual Studio may crash or get into an unknown state.
  • When viewing the history of a branch in a Git repository, the highlighting in the history graph has glitches.
  • When creating a branch in Team Explorer, the Alt+B shortcut for Create Branch conflicts with the Build menu.
  • In a high memory usage situation, when attempting to unpack an object larger than the available memory, Git gives an error of "Object not found - no matching loose object ()" instead of an out of memory error.
  • Typo in the error message "... In order the open this solution ...".
  • When viewing the history of a branch and right clicking on the first commit in history, Cherry Pick is disabled.
  • When creating a pull request from the Team Explorer branches page context menu uses the current branch instead of the selected branch.
  • XAMARIN FOR VISUAL STUDIO:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 now includes Xamarin 4.1. In addition to a number of bug fixes, this release adds support for tvOS, improves the iOS Assets Catalog support, improves the XML editing experience, and adds selectors for SSL/TLS and HttpClient implementations when creating iOS apps.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2015 14.0.25402.0 Update 3 RC (Jun 8, 2016)

  • TOOLS FOR APACHE CORDOVA:
  • This release includes Tools for Apache Cordova Updates 9 and 10, with the following improvements:
  • An updated Core Plugins list that includes plugins for enterprise scenarios, such as Intune, Azure engagement, security and SQLite local storage
  • The ability to add plugins from the config designer either by the npm package name or by the ID
  • The ability to add plugins that require parameters from the config designer.
  • This release also includes the following changes:
  • We've added support for Cordova 6.1.1, the default version for new projects.
  • We've retired the Cordova Plugin Registry that was used in Cordova 4.x, which means that we now require a minimum of Cordova 5.x or later to add plugins.
  • APPLICATION INSIGHTS AND HOCKEYAPP:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 RC includes Developer Analytics Tools v7.0.1 (formerly Application Insights Tools for Visual Studio), with the following improvements:
  • Support for adding Application Insights to ASP.NET Core RC2 projects from Visual Studio
  • Diagnostic Tools events for ASP.NET 5 RC1 and ASP.NET Core RC2 projects
  • Automatic refreshes of Application Insights Search when detail filters, time ranges, and events are selected
  • Go to Code from requests in Search
  • Improved “Find telemetry for this…” menu in Search
  • Improved HockeyApp sign-in experience
  • DEBUGGING AND DIAGNOSTICS:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 RC includes Diagnostic Tools support for applications running on OneCore devices, including HoloLens and IOT.
  • C++ Edit and Continue improvements:
  • Better performance and reliability when FASTLINK is enabled.
  • Successful application of code changes to static libraries no longer produces Stale Code.
  • C4656 warnings will no longer appear for false positive type changes during recompilation.
  • Support for adding a new type with the same name crossing multiple compilation units.
  • XAML UI Debugging improvements:
  • Whenever the focus changes in your app, the new Track Focus feature in the Live Visual Tree will cause selection in the Live Visual Tree to update to the currently focused element
  • VISUAL STUDIO IDE:
  • Subscriptions and Product keys:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 RC addresses feedback from customers using subscriptions through an online identity or product keys to unlock the IDE, in the following ways:
  • Users no longer need to visit http://my.visualstudio.com to activate their assigned Visual Studio Cloud subscription. Users can immediately start using the Visual Studio IDE as soon as the subscription is assigned.
  • We've improved error handling when applying a product key.
  • All user account and licensing operations are now secured by using HTTPS.
  • We've made accessibility improvements in the Account Settings dialog for activating a subscription and entering a product key.
  • Tools for Universal Windows apps:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 comes with a few enhancements to the Tools for Universal Windows apps. One of our key improvements: When you create a package to submit to the Windows Store, you can now sign in with Azure Active Directory credentials for an AAD Store account. Once the project has been associated with the Windows Store, you will no longer need to sign in to create a package to submit to the Store.
  • Architecture Tools:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 RC addresses feedback from customers about improving performance and reliability.
  • Domain Specific Graphical designers (including EDMX and DBML)
  • On Windows 10, when you are opening or attempting to edit large EDMX or DBML diagrams while the on-screen keyboard is displayed, Visual Studio could become unresponsive. We've fixed this.
  • Code Map:
  • Visual Studio used to crash when trying to "Generate Code Map for Solution" if the solution contained installer projects (.vdproj). It no longer does.
  • Running a code map command from the code editor and closing the Code Map window as soon as it appears could crash Visual Studio. This is no longer the case.
  • Layer Validation:
  • Building a solution having a modeling project containing a Layer diagram with a Validate action could lead to a CPU core being used after the build had been completed. We've fixed this.
  • It was not possible to validate a layer diagram when its parent modeling project was referencing PCL libraries (for instance ODP.Net). This works now.
  • Web Developer Tools:
  • For ASP.NET Web Application projects, when "Enable Edit and Continue" checkbox is unchecked, the IIS Express process will no longer stop working every time you stop debugging.
  • VISUAL C++:
  • C++ Compiler:
  • We now check the access of a deleted trivial copy/move ctor. Without the check, we may incorrectly call the defaulted copy ctor (in which the implementation can be ill-formed) and cause potential runtime bad code generation.
  • Std::is_convertible now correctly detects self-assignment of a class type when the copy-constructor is deleted or private.
  • As the last phase of completing the deprecation of attributed ATL support started in Visual Studio 2008, we've added a new deprecation warning to the compiler. With Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 RC, usages of attributed ATL code will generate an on-by-default level 1 warning. C4467
  • When using PCH files, mismatched -I include directories to the compiler between -Yc and -Yu compilations will now produce a new warning. C4599
  • When using PCH files, mismatched #include directives in source files between -Yc and -Yu compilations will now produce a warning. C4598
  • C++ Libraries:
  • We restored debug mode performance when destroying ranges of trivial objects that regressed in Update 2, like in vector.
  • We implemented the swappable traits from the C++17 working paper, from the proposal P0185 Adding [nothrow-]swappable traits. As a speculative C++17 feature, the traits (is_swappable, is_swappable_with, is_nothrow_swappable, and is_nothrow_swappable_with) are only visible, and the constraints on std::swap are only active, when compiling with /std:c++latest.
  • Removed ETW eventing calls from vcruntime140.dll and static libraries that previously fired during process startup and dllmain.
  • ATL/MFC/AMP/PPL: Lots of conformance fixes related to two-phase lookup, as follows:
  • com_ptr_t now has a move constructor and move assignment operator.
  • MFC: Fixed handling of HMENU values that occasionally prevented menus from being properly displayed in 64-bit applications.
  • ATL/MFC: No longer emit the following warnings:
  • Function overriding/hiding: C4263, C4264, C4266
  • Mismatching exception specification: C4986
  • analyze: C6386
  • ATL: All variations of AtlThrow are now properly marked with __declspec(noreturn). This prevents erroneous SAL warnings from being emitted.
  • ATL: Fixed/Improved several SAL annotations.
  • std:c++latest enables the following new features: P0025R1 "clamp()", P0185R1 "is_swappable, is_nothrow_swappable", and P0272R1 "Non-const basic_string::data()".
  • std:c++latest also controls the removal of the following old features: N4190 "Removing auto_ptr, random_shuffle(), And Old Stuff", P0004R1 "Removing Deprecated Iostreams Aliases", LWG 2385 "function::assign allocator argument doesn't make sense", and various non-Standard features (the std::tr1 namespace, some TR1-only machinery, and the std::identity struct).
  • Silent bad codegen in atomic/atomic on x86 was fixed.
  • The STL now avoids using thread-safe "magic statics" except when absolutely necessary, improving codegen.
  • Tuple's perfect forwarding constructor now avoids out-competing the copy constructor, fixing compiler errors in certain scenarios.
  • Coroutines:
  • Deprecated the following: __yield_value & __await keywords. Use co_await / co_yield instead.
  • Added deprecation notice to: to_address and from_promise members of coroutine_handle class. Instead of coroutine_handle::to_address(), use coroutine_handle::address().
  • Instead of coroutine_handle::from_promise(Promise *P), use coroutine_handle::from_promise(Promise &P).
  • Improved performance of the following: std::equal and std::lexicographical_compare by dispatching to memcmp and memchr more aggressively, resulting in large performance improvements in some scenarios; for example: equal(char,char,char, char) on 64 bit platforms.
  • debug builds significantly by reducing the number of bookkeeping function calls in our iterator debugging machinery.
  • string::push_back has improved another 40% vs. Update 2 in release builds, with more substantial improvements in debug builds. (This is in addition to large performance improvements here that shipped in Update 2.)
  • Debug builds across all standard algorithms have improved by eliminating several types of empty template metaprogramming support calls (for example,_Iter_cat), across all algorithms that take predicates by reducing the number of predicate copies.
  • std::mismatch under _ITERATOR_DEBUG_LEVEL 1 and 2 by range checking the second range where possible ahead of iteration.
  • Applied improved diagnostics for _SCL_INSECURE_DEPRECATE messages to the remaining algorithms (in Update 2 only a small number of algorithms were hooked into the new deprecation mechanism). This also improves the debugging experience when debugging into the standard algorithms, as there is no longer any _ITERATOR_DEBUG_LEVEL preprocessor interaction declaring multiple copies of standard algorithms. We have also fixed the following:
  • Fixed inability to compile some functions like mismatch(iter, iter, T[]) due to interaction between our nonstandard _ITERATOR_DEBUG_ARRAY_OVERLOADS and dual-range algorithms.
  • Fixed violations of the off-by-default warning C4242 in the STL.
  • Fixed possible integer overflow bug in std::pop_heap.
  • Fixed potential hang under /clr:pure due to CLR-inserted LoadLibrary calls while holding the locale lock.
  • Clang/C2 Platform Toolset:
  • We have integrated Clang 3.8 release into Clang/C2 and provided a 64-bit hosted toolset. In this release only, the toolset will still be shown in project properties as Clang 3.7, but we will fix this for the RTW of Update 3.
  • C++ MDD:
  • We've enabled support for the latest Android NDK version R11C and the capability to upgrade the current projects to target the latest NDK.
  • C# AND VISUAL BASIC:
  • In this release, we invested in the performance of code diagnostics. We’ve improved the performance of running code diagnostics on an entire solution.
  • Additional improvements include the following:
  • An option to add a reference to a NuGet package as a quick fix. You can enable this option from Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Advanced, under "Using Directives"
  • Improved support for Portable class libraries targeting the .NET Platform Standard
  • Performance improvements to the C# GoTo Implementation and Find All References. You can try these by selecting an object, right-clicking on it and then selecting them from the menu
  • When you apply a “fix all” action to document/project/solution we now display a progress bar
  • Performance improvements to the C# GoTo Implementation and Find All References. You can try these by selecting an object, right-clicking on it and then selecting them from the menu
  • When you apply a “fix all” action to document/project/solution we now display a progress bar

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2015 14.0.25123.0 Update 2 (Mar 30, 2016)

  • Visual Studio Tools for Apache Cordova:
  • Support for Cordova 6.0.0
  • Better build error messages
  • Better npm integration (using a sandbox version and respecting system proxy settings)
  • An updated plug-in list
  • Visual Studio Tools for Universal Windows App Development:
  • We have added following new features for Universal Windows Platform Tools in Visual Studio Update 2:
  • Universal Windows SDK Version Picker. When creating a new UWP project, you can now select the version of the Windows SDK to target as well as the minimum OS version on which the apps are to be available.
  • Debugging C++ Background Task in Universal Windows Apps. You can now debug Background task processes in a Universal Windows app in Visual Studio. You can access this option on the project Properties Debug tab.
  • Store Package Wizard Improvements. The Store packaging wizard now caches the application name and package configurations. After a package has been associated with the Store, you can create an appx package without signing in again.
  • VISUAL C++:
  • C++ Compiler:
  • In this release, we've updated the C++ compiler and standard library with enhanced support for C++11 and C++14 features, as well as preliminary support for certain features expected to be in the C++17 standard. The most notable compiler changes are support for Variable Templates and constexpr improvements.
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 2 allows using /SDL with /AWAIT. We also removed /RTC limitation with Coroutines. Coroutines still are experimental, but ready for quality production code now.
  • Additionally, we've fixed more than 300 compiler bugs, including many submitted by customers through Microsoft Connect — thank you! (Some of these bug fixes address code generation issues in the compiler, and fixing them required source-breaking changes. For more information, review the Breaking Changes in Visual C++ 2015 Update 2 list on MSDN.)
  • C++ Libraries:
  • We’ve implemented every C++ Standard Library feature that's been voted into C++11, C++14, and the C++17-so-far Working Paper N4567 (pre-Jacksonville).
  • For UWP packages, ucrtbased.dll(debug) has been removed from the Microsoft.VCLibs, Version 14.0 framework package. We made this change to avoid lock-in to a specific version of the Windows 10 SDK. Visual Studio/MSBuild will automatically inject a reference to the Microsoft Universal CRT Debug Runtime Extension SDK for projects that reference the VCLibs framework package, which will then include the ucrtbased.dll in the application’s appx. For non-MSBuild build systems, you must manually include the ucrtbased.dll in the application’s appx file (App Local).
  • C++ IDE:
  • The new SQLite-based database engine is now being used by default. This will speed up database operations like Go To Definitions and Find All References, and will significantly improve initial solution parse time. The setting has been moved to Tools -> Options -> Text Editor -> C/C++ -> Advanced (it was formerly under ...C/C++ -> Experimental).
  • Clang/C2 Platform Toolset:
  • The Clang/C2 toolset that ships with Visual Studio 2015 Update 2 now supports the /bigobj switch, which is crucial for building large projects. It also includes several important bug fixes, both in the front-end and the back-end of the compiler.
  • C# and Visual Basic:
  • While our focus for Update 2 was responding to customer feedback and fixing bugs, we also made improvements to the following features:
  • You can now initialize the C# Interactive Window with a project's context, allowing immediate access to types inside that project. You can also send code fragments from your solution to be executed in the interactive window using a new "Execute In Interactive" command.
  • We improved the Add Using command to support "fuzzy" matching for misspelled types and to search the entire solution and metadata for the correct type, adding both a using and any needed project or metadata references.
  • We made Analyzer API improvements, including enabling Analyzer writers to mark their analyzers for concurrent execution, and providing control over whether analyzers run in generated code.
  • We added some new IDE refactorings including a light bulb action to simplify delegate invocations by using the new null condition operator, and a refactoring to make an asynchronous method synchronous when it does not use any 'await' operators.
  • .NET Framework 4.6.1:
  • ClickOnce Bootstrapper package:
  • We have added the .NET Framework 4.6.1 ClickOnce Bootstrapper package for Visual Studio 2015 in Update 2. The ClickOnce Bootstrapper package for the .NET Framework 4.6.1 enables the .NET 4.6.1 entry in the list of available prerequisites in Visual Studio 2015, which makes it easier for you to publish applications for ClickOnce deployments.
  • Visual Studio IDE:
  • TextMate snippet support. Visual Studio now supports consuming tmSnippet files by placing them into a snippet folder. By default, snippets will be offered in the completion list for languages like GO, Groovy, Lua, Perl, R, Ruby, and Swift.
  • Auto-update for Extensions. We are extending the auto-update functionality to more extensions. Extensions that are enabled for auto-update will be automatically downloaded and installed without user interaction. You no longer have to manually update and restart Visual Studio for these extensions. Extensions that are installed for ‘all users’ may now opt-in to this feature. As a user, you continue to have full control to enable/disable auto-updates for each extension in Tools -> Extensions and Update or at a global level through Tools -> Options.
  • The Account Settings dialog is now significantly more accessible through screen readers.
  • Version Control:
  • Building on our work from Update 1, we’ve added even more functionality to the status bar to improve the version control experience. While Update 1 introduced two new compartments for displaying the repository name and current branch, these were limited to internal implementation. With Update 2, we’ve added three new compartments and opened these up for implementation by third-party source control providers
  • Two of the new compartments will appear alongside the original Update 1 work and are meant to represent a quick look at the number of pending changes and unpublished commits. We know that different providers may have different paradigms around changes or syncing with the server, but we believe that these compartments provide enough flexibility to accommodate them. If one of the compartments doesn’t apply, a provider can choose to leave that compartment out of their implementation and it will be hidden from the status bar.
  • With the Git provider implemented out-of-the-box, navigating to the Sync, Changes, Branches, or Connections page in Team Explorer is just a click away!
  • While the previously mentioned compartments are meant to provide more information and quick actions for solutions already under source control, the last one aims to provide a quick and easy way to get solutions into source control. With this new publish compartment, choosing a source control provider and adding your solution will be achievable in as little as one click!
  • Out of the box, Publish will automatically wrap your solution in a Git repository and switch focus to the Sync page in Team Explorer to allow you to add a remote and publish your solution. As more providers support this feature, the Publish button will allow you to choose which source control you’d like to use for a given solution.
  • NuGet:
  • The NuGet extension for Visual Studio has been updated to v3.4, which contains the following new features and improvements:
  • The ability to copy PDBs from packages in xproj projects that are compiled.
  • Support for iOS and Android build actions in contentFiles element.
  • Support for running NuGet in Linux and Apple environments.
  • An aggregated "All Repository Sources" source that allows you to search and install packages from any of your available configured package repositories.
  • Significant performance improvements in package restore, and update actions.
  • User interface performance tuning and improvements in the Update, Consolidate, and Installed views.
  • Restoring packages for projects in parallel.
  • Support for gzip compressed HTTP traffic, allowing NuGet clients to read gzip content-encoding from services.
  • Improved handling of configuration files to prevent unnecessary edits and formatting.
  • Support for the netstandard and netstandardapp target framework moniker.
  • TypeScript:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 2 includes TypeScript 1.8, which includes the following new and improved features.
  • Support for string literal types, F-bounded polymorphism, 'this'-based type guards, and improved union type inference.
  • The compiler now highlights common bugs such as unreachable code, missing return statements, and unused labels.
  • JSX support has been updated to recognize and colorize the latest changes in the JSX syntax.
  • Improved tsconfig.json support for better control over build configurations.
  • Ability to design more modular libraries using module augmentation.
  • JavaScript source files can be included as input to the TypeScript compiler.
  • Developer Analytics Tools:
  • Developer Analytics Tools v5.2 (formerly Application Insights Tools for Visual Studio) includes several new features and improvements over v4.0 that shipped with Visual Studio 2015 Update 1. Noteworthy additions include:
  • Beta distribution of Universal Windows apps using HockeyApp.
  • Beta distribution of Windows Forms apps using HockeyApp.
  • Ability to search Application Insights telemetry emitted in the local debug session.
  • Better targeted Application Insights toasts in Visual Studio.
  • Streamlined experience to configure collection of traces from logging frameworks like log4net, NLog, and System.Diagnostics.
  • Additionally, we've made several improvements to the search functionality, as follows:
  • Ability to jump from an exception stack trace to method in source code.
  • Ability to search for related telemetry.
  • Support for finding telemetry property values in code.
  • Forward/Back history in search.
  • Team Explorer:
  • With Update 2, opening Team Explorer and browsing work item queries in Visual Studio is faster. Now, when you browse the query tree, Visual Studio progressively pulls the next level of query folders and items in the query hierarchy from the TFS server, so deeper tree levels are downloaded to the client when they are needed (in other words, when the hierarchy tree is expanded).
  • Git Improvements in Visual Studio
  • New Git commands. In this update, we added support for reset (--hard and --mixed), cherry-pick, and staging.
  • Git LFS. Visual Studio is now compatible with Git repos that are configured to use Git LFS (Large File Storage). Learn more about Git LFS.
  • The Changes page now supports staging, with simple actions—such as double-click—to stage all and view diffs for changed files.
  • The History view supports filtering to find commits from a specific author or with keywords found in the commit comments. Selecting a commit will highlight the path to the head of the branch and the parent lineage.
  • The Branches page now makes it easier to fetch, pull, and push changes.
  • Gated Checkin for Team Foundation Version Control:
  • TFVC projects can now set branch policies to require a successful build before any code can be submitted into a branch.
  • SQL SERVER DATA TOOLS:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 2 includes the latest updates of SQL Server Data Tools, which enable support for the latest features in Azure SQL Database and SQL Server 2016.
  • This update brings together the ease of developing, testing, and deploying a database on all supported versions of SQL Server and database platforms, both on-premises and cloud, by using Visual Studio. The update also includes database programmability surface area enhancements, and it improves the SQL connection experience in SQL Server Data Tools, which now automatically discovers SQL Server and Azure SQL Databases that you can connect to with a simple click.
  • Additionally, Visual Studio 2015 Update 2 addresses new Azure SQL Database authentication types, as well as Azure Active Directory Integrated and Password authentications.
  • PYTHON TOOLS FOR VISUAL STUDIO:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 2 includes an update to Python Tools 2.2.3. Python Tools provides editing, IntelliSense, debugging, profiling, and Azure functionality for the Python programming language.
  • This release also improves support for the newest versions of Django and fixes some other issues.
  • MISCELLANEOUS:
  • Parallel Test Execution:
  • The focus for Update 2 has been on fixing bugs and responding to user feedback. Based on such feedback, we have updated the Parallel Test Execution feature. The semantics remain the same as in Update 1 (when the feature was introduced). In Update 2, we have made it easier to control the feature in the following ways:
  • The Visual Studio IDE Test Explorer sports a new toggle button that you can use to ON/OFF parallel execution. The setting is then persisted with the solution.
  • From the command line, vstest.console.exe provides a new /Parallel switch.
  • XAML Diagnostics:
  • In-App Menu
  • Visual Studio 2015 now has an In-App Menu that makes it easier to perform UI Debugging. You can turn the selection mode on and off, toggle the layout adorners, and jump directly to the Live Visual Tree in Visual Studio. You can also collapse the In-App Menu by clicking on the bars below the icons, or turn the In-App Menu on and off from the Live Visual Tree.
  • Accessibility Properties in the Live Property Editor
  • The Live Property Explorer, which is available while debugging WPF or Universal Windows 10 projects, now enumerates the properties exposed by the automation peers in your app. This new view can help you diagnose many common issues that prevent your app from being accessible to all users.
  • OTHER CHANGES:
  • Performance & Responsiveness:
  • We've made the following Visual Studio performance improvements:
  • Increased the speed of opening Team Explorer and browsing work item queries in Visual Studio.
  • Significantly reduced log file generation into the %temp% directory to save disk space and prevent application failures.
  • Improved the reliability of downloading and installing VS Update and additional features.
  • Reduced the time for Visual Studio to start when extensions are installed.
  • Stopped Setup failures when downloading certain packages and selecting certain features.
  • Added support for SQLite in our browsing database engine for C++, thereby significantly speeding up the original parsing of the user code and of all IntelliSense operations that require lookup.
  • Stopped the "yield" sign from appearing next to your sign in name in the upper-right corner of the IDE. Now, your settings and profile roam for 90 days after authenticating within the IDE. (Credentials no longer expire after 7 days of no connection to visualstudio.com.)
  • Updated the ASP.NET MVC5 templates. This fix addresses the vulnerability described in Microsoft Security Advisory 3137909.
  • Enabled a new database engine; now, C++ Project load should be faster and experience fewer UI delays.
  • Increased the speed of extracting floating-point numbers with iostreams (in other words, "stream >> dbl"). It's now up to 19x faster, and all bits of the extracted value are now correct.
  • Increased the speed of std::vector reallocation and std::copy(); they are up to 9x faster as they call memmove() for trivially copyable types (including user-defined types).
  • Increased the speed of std::vector, which is up to 11x faster.
  • Increased the speed of std::string::replace(), which is enormously faster when replacing same-size substrings.
  • Increased the speed of std::string::push_back(), which is up to 3x faster.
  • Increased the speed of std::sub_match comparisons, as they now avoid constructing temporary std::strings.
  • Increased the speed of std::function's copy constructor; it is slightly faster with a reduced codegen size.
  • Improved the performance in NuGet in the Update, Installed, and Consolidate tabs; the restore and update actions; and the query speed to repositories such as NuGet.org that support gzip compression.
  • Improved the initial completion list invocation in a session, which now responds much faster as the enumeration of snippets has been changed to be an asynchronous operation.
  • Enhanced T4 text templates so that they now support C# 6.0.
  • Made reliability improvements in Code Map (as related to the Windows docking scenarios).
  • We've also fixed Visual Studio responsiveness in the following scenarios:
  • Using the Help Viewer on Windows 10 when Edge is the default browser.
  • Running setup when using read-only or disconnected drives.
  • Working in Visual Studio while experiencing intermittent network connection issues.
  • Editing C# or Visual Basic files while debugging, as described this MSDN article: Update for Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 (KB3110221).
  • Using the editor with custom snippets that are missing the or elements.
  • Updating error list entries for Managed projects during editing.
  • Keeping Managed projects open for long sessions. (We stopped an OutOfMemoryException for solutions with Managed projects when they are kept open for long sessions. And we fixed the memory issues based on the heap dumps we received so far from the customers.)
  • Opening memory profiler snapshots.
  • Creating C++ Store applications.
  • Using Visual Studio when a source controlled project path is too long.
  • Loading a VC Project package during setup.
  • Shutting down Visual Studio.
  • Editing project properties.
  • Editing C++ code.
  • Calling third-party components or other Visual Studio code when calling a method.
  • Using the IntelliSense engine (vcpkgsrv) when it emits specific error messages in some localized builds. Now, an error message is displayed that says, "An IntelliSense PCH file was not generated".
  • Processing managed assembly referenced in a C++ project that contains a specific pattern of a named override in a generic types hierarchy.
  • Opening large C++ projects, which would stop Visual Studio from responding for up to three seconds.
  • Using Paste inside comments.
  • Invoking Create Declaration/Definition.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2015 14.0.25029.0 Update 2 RC (Mar 4, 2016)

  • C# and Visual Basic:
  • We made Analyzer API improvements, including enabling Analyzer writers to mark their analyzers for concurrent execution, and providing control over whether analyzers run in generated code.
  • We added a diagnostic and code fix for simplifying delegate invocations.
  • We added a refactoring to make methods synchronous.
  • .NET Framework 4.6.1:
  • We have added the .NET Framework 4.6.1 ClickOnce Bootstrapper package for Visual Studio 2015 in Update 2. The ClickOnce Bootstrapper package for the .NET Framework 4.6.1 enables the .NET 4.6.1 entry in the list of available prerequisites in Visual Studio 2015, which makes it easier for you to publish applications for ClickOnce deployments.
  • Visual Studio IDE:
  • TextMate Snippet Support. Visual Studio now supports consuming tmSnippet files by placing them into a snippet folder. These are accessible through the IntelliSense completion.
  • NuGet:
  • NuGet 3.4 extension update for Visual Studio 2015
  • New Features:
  • NuGet clients now understand gzip content-encoding from services.
  • Now, you can copy PDBs from packages in xproj projects that are compiled.
  • We've added support for iOS and Android build actions in the contentFiles element.
  • Now, we support the netstandard and netstandardapp monikers.
  • The NuGet package manager UI now also supports searching across all repository sources.
  • Changes:
  • Packages referenced in project.json that have a floating version will not update on every build. Instead, they will update only when forced to restore, clean, rebuild, or modify project.json.
  • NuGet.org repository sources are no longer forced into a project configuration when you use the NuGet configuration UI.
  • NuGet no longer restores packages in shared projects nor writes a lock file.
  • We've improved network failure and retry handling for unreachable or slow-to-respond servers.
  • We've improved keyboard / mouse behaviors in the Visual Studio Package Manager UI.
  • We now support the latest project.json schema in DNX.
  • Application Insights:
  • This release includes Application Insights and HockeyApp Tools for Visual Studio 5.1. We've improved the Application Insights search experience by adding new features like the ability to jump to code and to find related items. We are also introducing a new experience that you can use to effortlessly send your logging data to Application Insights.
  • Team Explorer:
  • We've added Git SCC status to the status bar, including the number of modified files and unpushed commits. Now, jumping to the Changes, Sync, and Connect pages in Team Explorer is a single click away. You can also use the status bar to add those solutions not tracked by SCC to a new local Git repo, and publish them to an online Git service.
  • As well, third-party SCC providers can choose to integrate with the status bar by implementing several new interfaces.
  • Performance & Reliability:
  • We've added even more performance and reliability improvements:
  • Stopped the "yield" sign from appearing next to your sign in name in the upper-right corner of the IDE. Now, your settings and profile roam for 90 days after authenticating within the IDE. (Credentials no longer expire after 7 days of no connection to visualstudio.com.)
  • Updated the ASP.NET MVC5 templates. This fix addresses the vulnerability described in Microsoft Security Advisory 3137909
  • Enabled a new database engine; now, C++ Project load should be faster and experience fewer UI delays
  • Increased the speed of extracting floating-point numbers with iostreams (in other words, "stream >> dbl"). It's now up to 19x faster, and all bits of the extracted value are now correct
  • Increased the speed of std::vector reallocation and std::copy(); they are up to 9x faster as they call memmove() for trivially copyable types (including user-defined types)
  • Increased the speed of std::vector, which is up to 11x faster
  • Increased the speed of std::string::replace(), which is enormously faster when replacing same-size substrings
  • Increased the speed of std::string::push_back(), which is up to 3x faster
  • Increased the speed of std::sub_match comparisons, as they now avoid constructing temporary std::strings
  • Increased the speed of std::function's copy constructor; it is slightly faster with a reduced codegen size
  • We've added even more fixes for the following responsiveness scenarios:
  • Loading a VC Project package during setup.
  • Shutting down Visual Studio.
  • Editing project properties.
  • Editing C++ code.
  • Calling third-party components or other Visual Studio code when calling a method.
  • Using the IntelliSense engine (vcpkgsrv) when it emits specific error messages in some localized builds. Now, an error message is displayed that says, "An IntelliSense PCH file was not generated".
  • Processing managed assembly referenced in a C++ project that contains a specific pattern of a named override in a generic types hierarchy.
  • Opening large C++ projects, which would stop Visual Studio from responding for up to three seconds.
  • Using Paste inside comments.
  • Invoking Create Declaration/Definition.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2015 Update 2 CTP (Feb 11, 2016)

  • VISUAL STUDIO TOOLS FOR APACHE CORDOVA:
  • This release includes Visual Studio Tools for Apache Cordova Update 5, which brings numerous bug fixes, as well as command-line integration for build and project creation, and support for the iPhone 6s simulator.
  • VISUAL C++:
  • C++ Compiler:
  • In this release, we've updated the C++ compiler and standard library with enhanced support for C++11 and C++14 features, as well as preliminary support for certain features expected to be in the C++17 standard. The most notable compiler changes are support for Variable Templates and Empty Base Class Optimization, in addition to constexpr improvements. With the standard library, we’ve implemented every C++ Standard Library feature that's been voted into C++11, C++14, and C++17 so far.
  • Additionally, more than 300 compiler bugs have been fixed, including many submitted by customers through Microsoft Connect — thank you! (Some of these bug fixes address code generation issues in the compiler, and fixing them required source-breaking changes. For more information, review the Breaking Changes in Visual C++ 2015 Update 2 list on MSDN.)
  • C++ IDE:
  • In Update 1, we introduced a faster database engine for C and C++ that speeds up operations like Go To Definition and Find All References. With Update 2, new Visual Studio installations use this new engine by default; if you’re upgrading from Update 1 to Update 2, note that you’ll continue to use whatever engine you already had selected. In any case, you can select the engine via Tools > Options > Text Editor > C/C++ > Experimental.
  • C# AND VISUAL BASIC:
  • While our focus for Update 2 was responding to customer feedback and fixing bugs (including an issue where Visual Studio would stop responding when you edited C# or Visual Basic files while debugging), we also made improvements to the following features:
  • We seeded the C# Interactive Window with a project context, and added Send To Interactive commands.
  • We improved the Add Using command to support "fuzzy" matching for misspelled types and to search the entire solution and metadata for the correct type, adding both a using and reference if necessary.
  • We improved the C# and Visual Basic Analyzer API to achieve better performance, and provide control over whether analyzers run in generated code.
  • TYPESCRIPT:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 2 includes the 1.8.1 release of TypeScript. This release of TypeScript addresses bug fixes for publishing web applications and improved compiler performance.
  • APPLICATION INSIGHTS:
  • This release includes Application Insights Tools for Visual Studio 5.0, which comes with several new features and improvements:
  • The ability to jump from an exception to the method in source code where the exception is happening.
  • More ways to search Application Insights in Solution Explorer.
  • A Toast popup when publishing is complete so you can view your data in production.
  • TEAM EXPLORER:
  • With Update 2, opening Team Explorer and browsing work item queries in Visual Studio is faster. Now, when you browse the query tree, Visual Studio progressively pulls the next level of query folders and items in the query hierarchy from the TFS server, so deeper tree levels are downloaded to the client when they are needed (in other words, when the hierarchy tree is expanded).
  • Git Improvements in Visual Studio:
  • New Git commands. In this update, we added support for reset (--hard and --mixed), cherry-pick, and staging.
  • Git LFS. Visual Studio is now compatible with Git repos that are configured to use Git LFS (Large File Storage). Learn more about Git LFS.
  • The Changes page now supports staging, with simple actions—such as double-click—to stage all and view diffs for changed files.
  • The History view supports filtering to find commits from a specific author or with keywords found in the commit comments. Selecting a commit will highlight the path to the head of the branch and the parent lineage.
  • The Branches page now makes it easier to fetch, pull, and push changes.
  • Gated Checkin for Team Foundation Version Control:
  • TFVC projects can now set branch policies to require a successful build before any code can be submitted into a branch.
  • SQL SERVER DATA TOOLS:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 2 includes the latest updates of SQL Server Data Tools, which enable support for the latest features in Azure SQL Database and SQL Server 2016.
  • This update brings together the ease of developing, testing, and deploying a database on all supported versions of SQL Server and database platforms, both on-premises and cloud, by using Visual Studio. The update also includes database programmability surface area enhancements, and it improves the SQL connection experience in SQL Server Data Tools, which now automatically discovers SQL Server and Azure SQL Databases that you can connect to with a simple click.
  • Additionally, Visual Studio 2015 Update 2 addresses new Azure SQL Database authentication types, as well as Azure Active Directory Integrated and Password authentications.
  • OTHER CHANGES:
  • Performance & Reliability:
  • We fixed the causes that might stop Visual Studio from responding in the following scenarios:
  • Using the Help Viewer on Windows 10 when Edge is the default browser.
  • Running setup when using read-only or disconnected drives.
  • Working in Visual Studio while experiencing intermittent network connection issues.
  • Editing C# or Visual Basic files while debugging, as described this MSDN article: Update for Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 (KB3110221).
  • Using the editor with custom snippets that are missing the or elements.
  • Updating error list entries for Managed projects during editing.
  • Keeping Managed projects open for long sessions.
  • Opening memory profiler snapshots.
  • Creating C++ Store applications.
  • Using Visual Studio when a source controlled project path is too long.
  • We've also made the following improvements:
  • Significantly reduced log file generation into the %temp% directory to save disk space and prevent application failures.
  • Improved the reliability of downloading and installing VS Update and additional features.
  • Reduced the time for Visual Studio to start when extensions are installed.
  • Stopped Setup failures when downloading certain packages and selecting certain features.
  • Added support for SQLite in our browsing database engine for C++, thereby significantly speeding up the original parsing of the user code and of all IntelliSense operations that require lookup.
  • Increased the speed of opening Team Explorer and browsing work item queries in Visual Studio.
  • FIXED BUGS:
  • Office Developer Tools for Visual Studio 2015:
  • Updates for Office Developer Tools now appear in the Notification Hub.
  • You can now create a document-level VSTO project for Office 2016 without experiencing errors when you use the following VSTO templates:
  • Excel 2013 and 2016 VSTO template
  • Excel 2013 and 2016 VSTO workbook
  • Word 2013 and 2016 VSTO template
  • Word 2013 and 2016 VSTO document
  • Visual C++:
  • In Visual Studio 2015, you may experience a UI delay (typically up to three seconds) when you load a Visual C++ project.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2015 Update 1 (Dec 1, 2015)

  • TOOLS FOR APACHE CORDOVA:
  • Developers using the Tools for Apache Cordova for the first time since RTM will find a richer development platform with support for iOS 9, the groundwork for Android 6 “Marshmallow”, a new plug-in for Azure AD authentication and dozens...even hundreds of bug fixes to improve the developer experience.
  • We also have a new destination for samples, tutorials and documentation, at http://taco.visualstudio.com. And now, docs are sourced directly from GitHub, making it possible for developers to contribute tips, tricks, and corrections by using a simple pull request.
  • TOOLS FOR UNIVERSAL WINDOWS APPS:
  • You can use Tools for Universal Windows Apps (v1.2) to build and submit apps to the Windows Store by targeting Windows 10 SDK Version 1511. Also included in this release are several developer productivity improvements to .NET Native, the XAML designer, the manifest designer, Windows Store packaging, and the debugger.
  • If you don't already have Tools for Universal Windows Apps installed, you can enable them by modifying the Visual Studio 2015 installation, or by directly installing them.
  • VISUAL C#:
  • The C# Interactive Window is back in Visual Studio, as well as the command-line C# REPL window. (The Interactive Window is the REPL window inside Visual Studio.)
  • We've also released scripting APIs that enable you to build and run C# as a script. The scripting APIs are available on GitHub.
  • Additionally, we've released csi.exe, which is a tool that you can use to run a C# script file (.csx) from the Developer Command Prompt. For example, simply type csi myScript.csx to run your script file. Or, you can enter the command-line REPL mode to interactively evaluate snippets of C# code. To get to this mode, run the command csi without any arguments from the Developer Command Prompt.
  • DEBUGGING AND DIAGNOSTICS:
  • VISUAL C++:
  • In this release, we've added Edit and Continue support for /BigObj, which means that you can now Edit and Continue to edit code while debugging Windows Store C++ projects.
  • IDE:
  • The feature we've all been waiting for is finally here! You can now right-click on an interface or abstract method definition and navigate to its implementation by using the Go To Implementation shortcut.
  • We've also added a new refactoring that lets you convert get methods to properties by using the Quick Action command, Ctrl + .
  • Additionally, we've fixed bugs around formatting, unnecessary casting, WinForms integration, crashing when searching for a class in the Solution Explorer, and go to def/MAS with "Use Tabs." And, we've made regions now auto-collapse upon first open.
  • CODE ANALYSIS. We now support the following scenarios in the IDE for managing the technical debt that comes from code analysis:
  • View analysis warnings and messages for only 'my code changes.'
  • Baseline' all current issues and "stay clean" moving forward.
  • View and manage your baseline to audit suppressions, or to address existing technical debt.
  • Remove duplicate instances of warnings in the error list to focus results to the unique set.
  • DIAGNOSTICS TOOLS WINDOW:
  • We've made several improvements to the Events tab of the Diagnostic Tools window to help you read through and understand its list of events even faster and more efficiently than before.
  • Here's what's new:
  • An improved filtering menu that you can customize in the following ways:
  • By category, by thread, or by using Just My Code.
  • A new search control that allows you to search all visible columns of the Events table.
  • New category prefixes that we've added to all events, which makes them easier to read.
  • PROFILE YOUR CPU USAGE WHILE DEBUGGING:
  • Now, you can get a detailed per-function profile of your CPU Usage while you are debugging. You can turn CPU Profiling on and off while debugging and view the results when you are in a break state, which allows you to view a per-function breakdown of CPU Usage of code that executed between breakpoints and during steps. (To use this functionality, open the Diagnostic Tools window (Debug -> Diagnostic Tools), switch to the CPU tab, and then click the "CPU Profiling" button.)
  • .NET FRAMEWORK 4.6.1:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 1 now includes the latest version (4.6.1) of the .NET Framework. The .NET Framework 4.6.1 includes all the features and improvements of .NET 4.6 as well as numerous reliability, stability, security, and performance fixes. These are some of the top features in 4.6.1
  • Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) improvements for spell check, support for per-user custom dictionaries and improved touch performance
  • Cryptography: Enhanced support for Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) X509 certificates
  • ADO.NET: Added support in SQL Connectivity for AlwaysOn and Always Encrypted
  • Windows Workflow Foundation: System.Transactions APIs now support distributed transactions with a non-MSDTC coordinator
  • Profiling improvements related to IcorProfilerInfo interface
  • NGen: Introduction of NGen PDBs
  • Added support to HttpListener API to enable server applications to use token binding
  • Many other performance, stability, and reliability related fixes in RyuJIT, GC, WPF, and WCF
  • ASP.NET:
  • ASP.NET 5 RC 1:
  • Bootstrap Toolbox
  • Bower Package Manager
  • JSX Editor
  • Better Colorization of Angular JS HTML attributes
  • Improved Razor IntelliSense and Tag Helpers
  • Can open MVC 4 projects
  • NPM Package IntelliSense (similar to how Bower.json works)
  • Cleaned up ASP.NET Solution Explorer
  • ASP.NET 5 Beta 8:
  • DNX Watcher allows developers who use the command line to experience the same edit and refresh browser experience that Visual Studio developers have been enjoying with ASP.NET 5 applications. DNX Watcher will watch the files in your project and show compilation errors if you have any. And as soon as your code can compile again, it will launch it and you can browse to your app
  • Localization . Application developers can now develop web applications that can be translated and used by many different cultures. Middleware is capable of setting a culture so that it is accessible through Thread.CurrentCulture, and APIs have been provided to read strings from resource files that can be selected based on current culture
  • One of the great things about the localization libraries is that the keys for your localized strings are the values in the default culture. So, for example, if you are writing an application in English, you can put English strings as the key names
  • TYPESCRIPT:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 1 includes features from the 1.6 and 1.7 releases of the TypeScript tools. It brings significant enhancements to TypeScript's type system and enables support for the polymorphic type, intersection types, local type declarations, generic type aliasing, and user-defined type guard functions
  • It also completes ES6 support in TypeScript by adding ES6 Generators and ES6 Class expressions, and brings support for new ES7 feature proposals like ES7 Exponentiation operator and ES7 Async functions
  • Additionally, React's JSX is now natively supported by the TypeScript compiler and tooling. This release also enables targeting Node v4's native implementations of ES6 features (--target ES6) while using Node native module system (--module commonjs), apart from an enhanced support for node module path resolution
  • MISCELLANEOUS:
  • Parallel Test Execution
  • Subversion support for build
  • Pull requests hub in Visual Studio
  • "Pull request required" work item policy

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2015 Update 1 RC (Oct 30, 2015)

  • Tools for Apache Cordova:
  • Developers using the Tools for Apache Cordova for the first time since RTM will find a richer development platform with support for iOS 9, the groundwork for Android 6 “Marshmallow”, a new plug-in for Azure AD authentication and dozens...even hundreds of bug fixes to improve the developer experience.
  • Tools for Universal Windows Apps:
  • The Tools for Universal Windows Apps v1.2 includes updates to the following:
  • NET Native
  • XAML designer
  • manifest designer
  • store packaging
  • debugger
  • Visual C++:
  • In this release, we've added Edit and Continue support for /BigObj, which means that you can now Edit and Continue to edit code while debugging Windows Store C++ projects.
  • IDE:
  • The feature we've all been waiting for is finally here! You can now right-click on an interface or abstract method definition and navigate to its implementation by using the Go To Implementation shortcut.
  • We've also added a new refactoring that lets you convert get methods to properties by using the Quick Action command, Ctrl + .
  • Additionally, we've fixed bugs around formatting, unnecessary casting, WinForms integration, crashing when searching for a class in the Solution Explorer, and go to def/MAS with "Use Tabs." And, we've made regions now auto-collapse upon first open.
  • Visual C#:
  • In this release, the C# Interactive Window is back in Visual Studio, as well as the command-line C# REPL window. (The Interactive Window is the REPL window inside Visual Studio.)
  • We've also released scripting APIs that enable you to build and run C# as a script. The scripting APIs are available on GitHub.
  • Additionally, we've released csi.exe, which is a tool that you can use to run a C# script file (.csx) from the Developer Command Prompt. For example, simply type csi myScript.csx to run your script file. Or, you can enter the command-line REPL mode to interactively evaluate snippets of C# code. To get to this mode, run the command csi without any arguments from the Developer Command Prompt.
  • DEBUGGING AND DIAGNOSTICS:
  • Profile your CPU Usage while debugging:
  • Now, you can get a detailed per-function profile of your CPU Usage while you are debugging. You can turn CPU Profiling on and off while debugging and view the results when you are in a break state, which allows you to view a per-function breakdown of CPU Usage of code that executed between breakpoints and during steps. (To use this functionality, open the Diagnostic Tools window (Debug -> Diagnostic Tools), switch to the CPU tab, and then click the "CPU Profiling" button.)
  • TypeScript:
  • Visual Studio 2015 Update 1 includes features from the 1.6 and 1.7 releases of the TypeScript tools. It brings significant enhancements to TypeScript's type system and enables support for the polymorphic type, intersection types, local type declarations, generic type aliasing, and user define type guard functions.
  • It also completes ES6 support in TypeScript by adding ES6 Generators and ES6 Class expressions, and brings support for new ES7 feature proposals like ES7 Exponentiation operator and ES7 Async functions.
  • Additionally, React's JSX is now natively supported by the TypeScript compiler and tooling. This release also enables targeting Node v4's native implementations of ES6 features (--target ES6) while using Node native module system (--module commonjs), apart from an enhanced support for node module path resolution.
  • Node.js Tools for Visual Studio:
  • Node.js Tools for Visual Studio is a free and open-source extension that turns Visual Studio into a powerful Node.js development environment. There are many enhancements in the latest release of Node.js Tools, including:
  • Support for Node.js v4.x
  • Support for npm v3.x, which helps work around potential MAX_PATH issues
  • Faster and clutter-free IntelliSense, including better commit-character defaults, and the ability to opt in to a preview release of the upcoming ES6 IntelliSense engine
  • Improved stability during debugging, and faster project load times
  • Code snippet support
  • MISCELLANEOUS:
  • Subversion support for build:
  • You can now build from subversion-based source control repositories, which can enable teams to centralize all build and work item management in TFS without having to move their source code right away.
  • Pull requests hub in Visual Studio:
  • Team Explorer now features a new Pull Requests hub where users can see the list of pull requests that they have created, as well as the pull requests that others have assigned to them.
  • We've also improved the Create Pull Request experience; now, users can publish branches and create pull requests in a single action.
  • "Pull request required" work item policy:
  • We now have a branch policy that requires associated work items for any pull request. Like the code reviewer and build policies, any code submitted to the branch must be submitted via pull request. When a pull request is created, the associated commits will be inspected for work item links, and if there is at least one link, the policy will be fulfilled.
  • Also, you can now link work items to pull requests directly, and if the pull request is directly linked to at least one work item, the policy will be fulfilled. (If no work items are linked to the pull request or the associated commits, the policy will fail.)
  • FIXED BUGS (Visual Studio IDE):
  • Go To Definition fails when Keep tabs is selected.
  • Numerous formatting fixes (notably this issue).
  • Many false positives when you remove unnecessary cast.
  • Many Windows Forms integration issues.
  • Regions now auto-collapse on first open.
  • Visual Studio 2015 crashes when you search for class in Solution Explorer in a website project.
  • Wrong tab order in assembly information dialog box.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2015 14.0.24606.0 CTP Update 1 (Oct 9, 2015)

  • Tools for Universal Windows Apps:
  • If you are using the Visual Studio Tools for Universal Windows Apps, this CTP release is compatible with the v1.1 or later release.
  • Visual C++:
  • In this release, we've added Edit and Continue support for /BigObj, which means that you can now Edit and Continue to edit code while debugging Windows Store C++ projects.
  • Visual C#:
  • In this release, the C# Interactive Window is back in Visual Studio, as well as the command-line C# REPL window
  • And, we've released the scripting APIs
  • Miscellaneous:
  • Pull requests hub in Visual Studio:
  • Team Explorer now features a new Pull Requests hub where users can see the list of pull requests that they have created, as well as the pull requests that others have assigned to them. We've also improved the Create Pull Request experience; now, users can publish branches and create pull requests in a single action.
  • "Pull request required" work item policy:
  • We now have a branch policy that requires associated work items for any pull request. Like the code reviewer and build policies, any code submitted to the branch must be submitted via pull request. When a pull request is created, the associated commits will be inspected for work item links, and if there is at least one link, the policy will be fulfilled. Also, you can now link work items to pull requests directly, and if the pull request is directly linked to at least one work item, the policy will be fulfilled. (If no work items are linked to the pull request or the associated commits, the policy will fail.)

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2015 14.0.23107.10 RTM (Jul 21, 2015)

  • Visual Studio Emulator for Android:
  • New platforms. Jellybean (API 17) and Lollipop 5.1 (API 22) images are available.
  • Command-line interface. Navigating to %programfiles(x86)%\Microsoft Emulator Manager\1.0\emulatorcmd.exe in a command prompt will allow you to interact with the emulator manager (list, install, start profiles, etc.) without a UI.
  • Drag-and-drop zip libraries. Dragging and dropping a flashable zip onto the emulator will now automatically unpack and install it.
  • SD Card tab. This new tab in the "Additional Tools" window allows you to push and pull data to and from the SD Card.
  • Acquire on its own. The emulator can be installed on a machine without requiring you to install Visual Studio. A shortcut to the Emulator Manager appears in the Start menu so that you can start it and use it from any development tool chain.
  • Enabling debugging of a Visual C++ Managed Test Project:
  • New in RTM: To enable debugging of a Visual C++ Managed Test Project, go to the "Tools | Options | Debugging | General" pane, and check the "Suppress JIT optimization on module load (Managed only)" option.
  • Visual Studio IDE:
  • Shared Accounts:
  • New in RTM, you can share the user accounts that you add in Visual Studio with other apps, such as with Blend for Visual Studio or with Microsoft Test Manager (and vice versa).
  • And now, new in RTM, we've made the following improvements to the Diagnostic Tools window that appears while Debugging:
  • Events from your app now appear in a single IntelliTrace Events track instead of being split between the IntelliTrace Events and Output Events tracks. Learn more about Debugging using IntelliTrace.
  • Events from your app now appear while your program is running; now you no longer have to press "Break All" to see events.
  • You can now activate Historical Debugging for Tracepoints that you have set in your code, allowing you to see the source code and call stack.
  • You can now see Garbage Collection and Snapshot events on the Memory Usage graph so that you can see when managed garbage collections occurred and when you took snapshots with the Memory Usage tool.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2013 12.0.40629.0 Update 5 RTM (Jul 20, 2015)

  • Cloud-based load testing from Azure datacenters worldwide:
  • Setting up the infrastructure required to run load testing by using the Visual Studio Team Foundation Service just got easier: Now, you can perform cloud-based load testing from any of the supported Azure datacenters around the world.
  • Current iteration query token:
  • You now can run queries in Visual Studio with the @currentIteration token on Visual Studio Online or Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2015.
  • Team Project Rename support for Local Workspaces:
  • We've included the ability to update local workspaces after a team project is renamed. Performing a get or check-in will automatically correct the workspace mapping so that it uses the new team project name.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2015 14.0.22823.1 RC (Apr 30, 2015)

  • Visual C++ for Cross-Platform Mobile Development:
  • Now it's easy to share, reuse, build, deploy, and debug all but the most platform-specific code across multiple app platforms, all within a single solution in Visual Studio. Here are just a few of the things you can do:
  • Create projects from templates for Android Native Activity apps, or for shared code libraries that you can use on multiple platforms and in Xamarin native Android applications.
  • Use platform-specific IntelliSense to explore APIs and generate correct code for Android or Windows targets.
  • Configure your build for x86 or ARM native platforms.
  • Deploy your code to attached Android devices or use Microsoft's performant Android emulator for testing.
  • Set breakpoints, watch variables, view the stack and step through code in the Visual Studio debugger.
  • View the message log from an Android device by using the LogCat viewer. (Logcat is a diagnostic tool and essential for a good edit->build->debug experience.)
  • Use Logcat to do the following:
  • Search for specific log messages by using search bar.
  • Use Toggle Autoscroll to view upcoming log messages easily.
  • Clear previous log output messages.
  • Choose between various log levels.
  • We've also added or updated the following:
  • Support for Android API Level 21 (Lollipop).
  • A new template that is based on make file support for Android, which allows using an external build system (including NDK- BUILD).
  • Precompiled headers in all templates (including Dynamic Shared Library, Static Library, and Cross-platform mobile templates).
  • Visual Studio Tools for Apache Cordova:
  • Formerly known as Multi-Device Hybrid Apps for Visual Studio, the Visual Studio Tools for Apache Cordova make it easy to build, debug, and test cross-platform apps that target Android, iOS, Windows, and Windows Phone from one simple Visual Studio project.
  • All of the features available in previous CTPs are now available in the Visual Studio 2015 RC, including the following improvements:
  • Update on save for Ripple – no need to rebuild!
  • Debug an iOS version of your app from Visual Studio when it is deployed to the iOS Simulator or a connected device on a Mac
  • Improved security and simplified configuration for the included remote iOS build agent
  • An improved plugin management experience that includes support for adding custom plugins to your project from Git or the filesystem
  • Select platform-specific configuration options from an improved config.xml designer
  • Support for Apache Cordova 4.0.0.
  • We listened to your feedback and broadened the number of devices you can debug to, as follows:
  • Android 4.4, Android 4.3 and earlier with jsHybugger
  • iOS 6, 7, and 8
  • Windows Store 8.1
  • Then, we broadened our debugging support further. You can now debug your Apache Cordova apps that target Windows Phone 8.1.
  • You can set breakpoints, inspect variables, use the console, and perform other debugging tasks on your Windows Phone 8.1 emulator or attached device.
  • And now, new in RC: CLI interoperability. Cordova projects in Visual Studio will now synchronize with changes made to your project folder on-disk. Changes can flow in and out of Visual Studio whether you’re working with third-party tools or on other operating systems. (The default file structure for Cordova projects is based on the structure expected by the Apache Cordova command-line tools, which makes it easier to work directly with the Apache Cordova CLI or other tools that expect that folder structure.)
  • Visual Studio Emulator for Android:
  • You can use the Visual Studio Emulator for Android either in a cross-platform project in Visual Studio (Xamarin or C++), or in Visual Studio Tools for Apache Cordova. The emulator allows you to switch between different platform emulators without Hyper-V conflicts. It supports a wide variety of sensors and simulations, including GPS/Location, accelerometer, screen rotation, zoom, SD card, camera, multi-touch, and network access. It also supports Android versions 4.4 (KitKat, API Level 19) and 5.0 (Lollipop, API Level 21).
  • And now, new in RC, the Visual Studio Emulator for Android supports both WiFi simulation and the ability to choose from several different device hardware configurations.
  • Visual Studio Tools for Universal Windows App Development:
  • The Visual Studio tools for Universal Windows app development are now integrated with Visual Studio setup. These tools enable you to build Windows apps that run across all Windows devices, from Windows Phone to Xbox and Windows Store. In addition, you can also use these tools to build Windows Desktop Applications that leverage Windows 10 APIs. (Note that in this release, Windows 10 is not supported as a targeted platform for production apps.)
  • To install the development tools for Universal Windows apps, in Visual Studio setup, select Custom, click Next, and then select "Universal Windows App Development Tools".
  • Also new in RC: You can create, upgrade, build, deploy, and debug Windows apps using HTML and JavaScript. And, there is Support EnC on CoreCLR for Windows 10: You can edit and continue when debugging .NET applications on Windows Phone 10.
  • Visual C++:
  • In this release, the C++ compiler and standard library have been updated with enhanced support for C++11 and initial support for certain C++14 features. They also include preliminary support for certain features expected to be in the C++17 standard.
  • Additionally, more than 500 compiler bugs have been fixed, including many submitted by customers through Microsoft Connect
  • Language Features:
  • Terse Range-Based For Loops: The element type specifier can now be omitted from range-based for loops. The terse form for(widget : widgets) {…} is equivalent to the longer C++11 form for(auto&& widget : widgets) {…}. Proposed for C++17 [N3994]
  • Resumable Functions (resume/await): The resume and await keywords provide language-level support for asynchronous programming and enables resumable functions. Currently, this feature is only available for x64 targets. Proposed for C+ +17 [N3858]
  • Generic (Polymorphic): Lambda Expressions Lambda function parameter types can now be specified using auto; the compiler interprets auto in this context to mean that the closure's function call operator is a member function template and that each use of auto in the lambda expression corresponds to a distinct template type parameter. C++14
  • Generalized Lambda: Capture Expressions Also known as init-capture. The result of an arbitrary expression can now be assigned to a variable in the capture clause of a lambda. This enables move-only types to be captured by value and enables a lambda expression to define arbitrary data members in its closure object. C++14
  • Binary Literals: Binary literals are now supported. Such literals are prefixed with 0B or 0b and consist of only the digits 0 and 1. C++14
  • Return Type Deduction: The return type of normal functions can now be deduced, including functions with multiple return statements and recursive functions. Such function definitions are preceded by the auto keyword as in function definitions with a trailing return type, but the trailing return type is omitted. C++14
  • decltype(auto): Type deduction using the auto keyword for initializing expressions strips ref-qualifiers and top-level cv-qualifiers from the expression. decltype(auto) preserves ref- and cv-qualifiers and can now be used anywhere that auto can be used, except to introduce a function with an inferred or trailing return type. C++14
  • Implicit Generation of Move Special Member Functions: Move constructors and move assignment operators are now implicitly generated when conditions allow, thus bringing the compiler into full conformance with C++11 rvalue references. C+ +11
  • Inheriting Constructors: A derived class can now specify that it will inherit the constructors of its base class, Base, by including the statement using Base::Base; in its definition. A deriving class can only inherit all the constructors of its base class, there is no way to inherit only specific base constructors. A deriving class cannot inherit from multiple base classes if they have constructors that have an identical signature, nor can the deriving class define a constructor that has an identical signature to any of its inherited constructors. C++11
  • Alignment Query and Control: The alignment of a variable can be queried by using the alignof() operator and controlled by using the alignas() specifier. alignof() returns the byte boundary on which instances of the type must be allocated; for references it returns the alignment of the referenced type, and for arrays it returns the alignment of the element type. alignas() controls the alignment of a variable; it takes a constant or a type, where a type is shorthand for alignas (alignof(type)). C++11
  • Extended sizeof: The size of a class or struct member variable can now be determined without an instance of the class or struct by using sizeof(). C++11
  • constexpr: Partial support for C++11 constexpr. Currently lacks support for aggregate initialization and passing or returning class-literal types. C++11 (partial)
  • User-Defined Literals (UDLs): Meaningful suffixes can now be appended to numeric and string literals to give them specific semantics. The compiler interprets suffixed literals as calls to the appropriate UDL-operator. C++11
  • Thread-Safe "Magic" Statics: Static local variables are now initialized in a thread-safe way, eliminating the need for manual synchronization. Only initialization is thread-safe, use of static local variables by multiple threads must still be manually synchronized. The thread-safe statics feature can be disabled by using the /Zc:threadSafeInit- flag to avoid taking a dependency on the CRT. C++11
  • Thread-Local Storage: Use the thread_local keyword to declare that an independent object should be created for each thread. C++11
  • noexcept: The noexcept operator can now be used to check whether an expression might throw an exception. The noexcept specifier can now be used to specify that a function does not throw exceptions. C++11
  • Inline Namespaces: A namespace can now be specified as inline to hoist its contents into the enclosing namespace. Inline namespaces can be used to create versioned libraries that expose their most-recent version by default, while still making previous API versions available explicitly. C++11
  • Unrestricted Unions: A Union type can now contain types with non-trivial constructors. Constructors for such unions must be defined. C++11
  • New Character Types and Unicode Literals: Character and string literals in UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32 are now supported and new character types char16_t and char32_t have been introduced. Character literals can be prefixed with u8 (UTF-8), u (UTF-16), or U (UTF-32) as in U'a', while string literals can additionally be prefixed with raw-string equivalents u8R (UTF-8 raw-string), uR (UTF-16 raw-string), or UR (UTF-32 raw-string). Universal character names can be freely used in unicode literals as in u'\u00EF', u8"\u00EF is i", and u"\U000000ef is I". C++11
  • __func__: The predefined identifier __func__ is implicitly defined as a string that contains the unqualified and unadorned name of the enclosing function.
  • __restrict: __restrict can now be applied to references.
  • Typename keyword: Users can now write typename instead of class in a template template parameter.
  • We've added the following new features to bring the compiler closer to conformance with the standards set in Visual Studio 2012 and Visual Studio 2013:
  • Digit separators: Now, you can intersperse numerical literals with single quotes to make them more readable. For example, int x = 1’000’000;
  • Universal character names in literals: You can now write basic characters, like 'A' and the line feed character, as code points in literals. For example, const char *s = “\u0041\u000A”;
  • Visual C++ Library Features:
  • User-Defined Literals (UDLs) for Standard Library Types: The , , and headers now provide UDL-operators for your convenience. For example, 123ms means std::chrono::milliseconds(123), "hello"s means std::string("hello"), and 3.14i means std::complex(0.0, 3.14).
  • Null Forward Iterators: The standard library now allows the creation of forward iterators that do not refer to a container instance. Such iterators are value-initialized and compare equal for a particular container type. Comparing a value-initialized iterator to one that is not value-initialized is undefined. C++14
  • quoted(): The standard library now supports the quoted() function to make working with quoted string values and I/O easier. With quoted(), an entire quoted string is treated as a single entity (as strings of non-whitespace characters are in I/O streams); in addition, escape sequences are preserved through I/O operations. C++14
  • Heterogeneous Associative Lookup: The standard library now supports heterogeneous lookup functions for associative containers. Such functions enable lookup by types other than the key_type as long as the type is comparable to key_type. C++14
  • Compile-Time Integer Sequences: The standard library now supports the integer_sequence type that represents a sequence of integer values that can be evaluated at compile time to make working with parameter packs easier and to simplify certain template programming patterns. C++14
  • exchange(): The standard library now supports the std::exchange() utility function to assign a new value to an object and returns its old value. For complex types, exchange() avoids copying the old value when a move constructor is available, avoids copying the new value if it’s a temporary or is moved, and accepts any type as the new value taking advantage of any converting assignment operator. C++14
  • Dual-Range equal(), is_permutation(), mismatch(): The standard library now supports overloads for std::equal(), std::is_permutation(), and std::mismatch() that accept two ranges. These overloads check that the two sequences are the same length, which removes this responsibility from the calling code; for sequences that don't support the requirements of a random iterator, these overloads check the length while comparing elements, which is more efficient. C++14
  • get(): The standard library now supports the get() template function to allow tuple elements to be addressed by their type. If a tuple contains two or more elements of the same type get() the tuple can't be addressed by that type, but other uniquely-typed elements can still be addressed. C++14
  • tuple_element_t: The standard library now supports the tuple_element_t type alias which is an alias for typename tuple_element::type. This provides some convenience for template programmers, similar to the other metafunction type aliases in . C++14
  • File System "V3": Technical Specification The included implementation of the File System Technical Specification has been updated to version 3 of the specification. [N3940]
  • Minimal Allocators: The standard library now supports the minimal allocator interface throughout; notable fixes include std::function, shared_ptr, allocate_shared(), and basic_string. C++11
  • : The chrono types high_resolution_clock and steady_clock have been fixed. C++11
  • Visual C++ Faster Builds:
  • Incremental Link-Time Code Generation (LTCG): Incremental linking can now be used together with LTCG to decrease link times of applications using LTCG. Activate this feature by using the /LTCG:incremental and /LTCG:incremental_rebuild linker switches. \
  • Incremental Linking for Static Libraries: Changes to static libraries that are referenced by other code modules now link incrementally.
  • Debug:FastLink substantially decreases link times by using new PDB creation techniques.
  • Algorithmic improvements have been made to the linker to decrease link times.
  • Improvements have been made that will allow building template heavy code faster.
  • Fast Profile Guided Optimization (PGO) Instrumentation: A new, lightweight instrumentation mode for games and real-time systems has been introduced in PGO. Together with other new features made available through the /GENPROFILE and /FASTGETPROFILE linker switches you can now balance code quality and build speed when using PGO.
  • Object file size reduction: Compiler and C++ standard library enhancements result in significantly smaller object files and static libraries. These enhancements do not affect the size of dynamically-linked libraries (DLLs) or executables (EXEs) because the redundant code has historically been removed by the linker.
  • Visual C++ Performance and Code Quality:
  • Improvements to automatic vectorization. We've improved vectorization of control flow (if-then-else), vectorization when compiling under /O1 (Minimize size), and improved the vector code quality overall, including support for the Parallel STL, vectorizing more range-based for loops, and support for #pragma loop(ivdep)
  • Improvements to scalar optimization. We've added better code generation of bit-test operations, control flow merging and optimizations (loop-if switching), and other scalar optimizations (for example, better code generation for std::min and std::max)
  • Profile Guided Optimization (PGO). We've made a number of enhancements to PGO, including improved reference sets, better data layout capabilities, and the ability to reuse previously made inlining, speed vs. size, and layout decisions
  • Control Flow Guard (CFG). We've added a new security feature; simply add a new option to your project, and the Visual C++ compiler will now inject extra security checks into your binaries to help detect attempts to hijack your code. When the check fires, it will stop execution of your code before a hijacker can do damage to your data or PC
  • Visual C++ Productivity, Debugging, and Diagnostics:
  • We have added refactoring support for C++ with the following features:
  • Rename Symbol Changes all occurrences of a symbol to a new name.
  • Function Extraction Move selected code into its own function. This refactoring is available as an extension to Visual Studio on the Visual Studio Gallery.
  • Implement Pure Virtuals Generates function definitions for pure virtual functions inherited by a class or structure. Multiple and recursive inheritance are supported. Activate this refactoring from the inheriting class definition to implement all inherited pure virtual functions, or from a base class specifier to implement pure virtual functions from that base class only.
  • Create Declaration or Definition Generates a declaration from an existing definition or a default definition from an existing declaration. Access this refactoring from the existing declaration or definition, or from the LightBulb indicator.
  • Move Function Definition Moves the body of a function between the source code and header files. Activate this refactoring from the function's signature.
  • Convert to Raw String Literal Converts a string containing escape sequences into a raw-string literal. Supported escape sequences are \n (new line), \t (tab), \' (single quote), \" (double quote), and \? (question mark). Activate this feature by right-clicking anywhere inside a string.
  • Program Database (PDB) enhancements in Visual C++ include the following:
  • Solution Scanning speed has been improved, especially for large solutions
  • Operations like Go To Definition are no longer blocked during solution scan except during the initial solution scan when a new solution is opened for the first time
  • Find in Files has been improved by enabling subsequent results to be appended to previous results; accumulated results can be deleted.
  • IntelliSense Readability Improvements: Complex template instantiations and typedefs are simplified in parameter help and quickinfo to make them easier to read.
  • Debugger Visualizations in C++:
  • Add Natvis debugger visualizations to your Visual Studio project for easy management and source control integration. Natvis files added to a project take evaluation precedence over Natvis visualizers outside the project. And now, new in RC, you can use Natvis files while debugging C++ on Android. The debugger includes visualizations for many common templates, and supports loading custom files that are added to the C++ project.
  • Native Memory Diagnostics:
  • Memory diagnostic sessions (Alt+F2) enable you to monitor the live memory use of your native application.
  • Memory snapshots capture a momentary image of your application's heap contents. Differences in heap state can be examined by comparing two memory snapshots. View object types, instance values, and allocation call stacks for each instance after stopping the application.
  • Improved deadlock detection and recovery when calling C++ functions from the Watch and Immediate windows.
  • Improved compiler diagnostics The compiler provides enhanced warnings about suspicious code. New warnings have been added (for example, shadowed variables and mismatched printf format-strings). Existing warning messages have been made clearer.
  • The /Wv flag Warnings introduced after a specific compiler version XX.YY.ZZZZ can be disabled by using the /Wv:XX.YY.ZZZZ flag. Other warnings can be specifically disabled in addition to those specified through the /Wv flag.
  • Improved Support for Debugging Optimized Code Debug code with the /Zi, /Zo, or /Z7 flags enabled.
  • Visual C++ Graphics Diagnostics:
  • Consecutive Capture Capture up to 30 consecutive frames with one capture.
  • Programmatic Capture Initiate frame capture programmatically. Programmatic capture is especially useful for debugging compute shaders in programs that never call Present, or when a rendering problem is difficult to capture manually but can be predicted programmatically from the state of the app at runtime.
  • Enhanced Graphics Event List A new Draw Calls view is added which displays captured events and their state in a hierarchy organized by Draw Calls. You can expand draw calls to display the device state that was current at the time of the draw call and you can further expand each kind of state to display the events that set their values.
  • Support for Windows Phone 8.1 Graphics Diagnostics now fully supports debugging Windows apps in Phone emulator or on tethered Phone.
  • Graphics Frame Analysis This tool collects performance measurements on captured frames; in addition it also performs a set of pre-defined experiments which provides insights into how performance would be affected when various texture techniques are applied. Frame Analysis also collects performance counters from hardware.
  • Dedicated UI for Graphics Analysis The new Visual Studio Graphics Analyzer window is a dedicated workspace for analyzing graphics frames.
  • Shader Edit and Apply View the impact of shader code changes in a captured log without re-running the app.
  • Configure capture options in Tools->Options->Graphics Diagnostics.
  • Command-line tool for capturing and playing back frames.
  • Graphics Diagnostics support for DirectX 12. The Visual Studio Graphics Diagnostics tool now supports debugging rendering problems in DirectX 12 applications.
  • New GPU Usage tool:
  • The GPU Usage tool in Visual Studio 2015 can be used to understand GPU usage of DirectX applications. Frame Time, Frame Rate, and GPU Utilization graphs are available while the applications are running live. In addition, by collecting and analyzing detailed GPU usage data, this tool can provide insights into the CPU and GPU execution time of individual DirectX events, and therefore can be useful to determine whether the CPU or GPU is the performance bottleneck.
  • C# AND VISUAL BASIC:
  • Language Features:
  • In this release, several new C# and Visual Basic language features help reduce boilerplate and clutter in everyday code, encourage a more declarative style of programming, and bring the two languages even closer together. For example, there are syntactic improvements to type and member declarations and to null checking. Also, local variables can be declared inside expressions, and await can be used in catch and finally blocks. Many of these features are implemented only for one of the two languages in earlier releases, but will be available to both languages in the final release.
  • Nameof provides a refactoring-safe way of getting the name of e.g. a parameter, member or type as a string.
  • Using null-conditional operators, you can get a built-in null check while accessing and invoking members and indexers.
  • String interpolation: String interpolation provides a concise way of describing string templates that insert expressions into format strings (C# only at Preview, both VB and C# at RTM).
  • Methods, getter-only properties, etc., can now have a single expression as their body, just like lambdas.
  • Auto-properties can have initializers and no longer require setters.
  • Index initializers: Inside an object initializer, you can now initialize a specific index of the new object. C# only.
  • Exception filters let you look at an exception and decide whether to catch it with a given catch block.
  • Using clauses for static classes bring their static members directly into scope, so you can call for example WriteLine() or Sqrt() without prefixing with the class name.
  • Await now works in catch and finally blocks, obviating some very tricky workarounds.
  • Code Editor UI and Editing:
  • The code editor UI and editing experiences for C# and Visual Basic have been replaced with new experiences built on the .NET Compiler Platform ("Roslyn"). Many of the features you love today have been improved or revamped.
  • Light Bulbs are the new home for all quick actions you take in the Visual Studio Editor, including fixes to common code issues and refactoring code. When you have issues in your code, a Light Bulb shows suggested fixes for those issues. All refactoring operations have been moved to the Light Bulb, which you can access any time by typing Ctrl + .
  • There are two new core refactoring operations: Inline temporary variable and Introduce local. Here’s an example of the new Introduce local feature.
  • Refactoring support for Visual Basic has been added for the first time, and has also been moved to the Light Bulb.
  • Renaming has also been improved; now it highlights all the instances of the identifier you want to rename, letting you type the new name to all instances at once directly in the editor.
  • You can get live code analysis and automatic fixes as you type, with specific code-aware guidance for the Microsoft platforms and NuGet packages that you're targeting. At Preview, you need to add the live FxCop analyzers through a NuGet package you get from the NuGet Gallery, as you would any other package. As you pull in any given live rule, it displaces the equivalent post-build FxCop rule, so you don’t get duplicate hits.
  • The expression evaluator for C# and Visual Basic has been rewritten. Improvements include support for LINQ and lambda expressions in the Watch and Immediate Windows.
  • F#:
  • Language and Runtime Features:
  • F# 4.0 contains numerous new language and runtime additions which fill in gaps, make more things "just work," and improve performance in key areas. Numerous bugs and small performance optimizations have been implemented across the compiler and runtime, as well.
  • Constructors as first-class functions - Class names can now be used as first-class function values, representing the constructor(s) for that class.
  • Unification of 'mutable' and 'ref' - The 'mutable' syntax can now be used everywhere, and captured values will be automatically converted to heap-based 'ref' values by the compiler when needed. A new optional warning has been added in case a developer wishes to be notified when this occurs.
  • Static parameters to provided methods - Individual methods provided by type providers can now specify static parameters.
  • Non-nullable provided types - Provided types can now be specified as non-nullable via the standard [].
  • Implicit quotation of method arguments - Method arguments of type Expr "'t" can now be transparently auto-quoted, passing both the argument value and the AST of the expression that generated it.
  • Extended preprocessor grammar - Boolean operators ||, && and ! can now be used, along with ( ) grouping, in #if preprocessor directives.
  • Rational exponents in units of measure - units of measure now support rational exponents, which are sometimes used in physical sciences such as electrical engineering
  • Simplified use of units of measure values with 'printf'-style functions - Unitized numerical values now work seamlessly with numerical printf format specifiers, without requiring the units to be removed.
  • Support for high-dimensional .NET arrays - .NET arrays of rank 5 or greater can now be consumed by F# code.
  • Extension properties in object initializers - Settable extension properties can now be assigned in object initializer expressions.
  • Inheritance from multiple generic interface instantiations - F#-authored classes are now permitted to inherit from classes which implement multiple generic interface instantiations.
  • Multiple properties in 'StructuredFormatDisplayAttribute' - %A formatting specified through [] can now include multiple properties.
  • Leading 'Microsoft' namespace optional - When consuming or opening modules and namespaces from FSharp.Core, the leading "Microsoft." is now optional.
  • F# Runtime:
  • Normalization of Array, List, and Seq modules - the set of collection-processing functions is now consistent across the Array, List, and Seq modules (barring APIs not applicable to certain types), with dedicated, optimized implementations for each type.
  • Optimized structural hashing - Significant optimizations have been made to improve the performance of generic hash comparison for primitive types, leading to performance gains by APIs such as 'distinct' and 'groupBy'.
  • Optimized non-structural comparison operators - The FSharp.Core.Operators.NonStructuralComparison module can now be opened, replacing the default F# structural comparison operators with more efficient non-structural operators. This can provide significant performance gains when processing types with custom operator implementations, particularly value types.
  • Slicing syntax on F# lists - F# lists now support slicing syntax for obtaining sub-lists.
  • Async extensions to System.Net.WebClient' - WebClient extensions AsyncDownloadFile and AsyncDownloadData are now available.
  • Better Async stack traces - Exceptions occuring in F# async computations now carry more user-friendly stack traces, making it easier to diagnose issues.
  • Interop APIs for Option - Various new APIs were added to the Option module for converting to and from null objects and System.Nullable values.
  • Quotation active pattern for System.Decimal values - An active pattern is now built in for matching constant literal System.Decimal values in quotations.
  • F# IDE Features:
  • There are new experiences and features in the Visual F# tools, as well, along with a number of bug fixes.
  • Script debugging - F# scripts can now be debugged directly in the Visual Studio debugger.
  • Assembly metadata in project templates - All F# project templates now contain a file AssemblyInfo.fs that contains common assembly-level metadata attributes.
  • Integrated up-to-date check - F# projects now correctly report their "up-to-date" status when building in Visual Studio.
  • IntelliSense completion in object initializers - Object initializer expressions now support IntelliSense completion of settable properties, using Ctrl+Space.
  • IntelliSense completion for named parameters - Method and constructor calls now support IntelliSense auto-completion of named parameters, using Ctrl+Space.
  • Bug fixes around folder support - Visual F# tools do not directly support folders in projects, but a number of project system bugs have been fixed improve the folder support added by the Visual F# Power Tools extension.
  • The .NET Framework 4.6:
  • The newest version of the .NET Framework is 4.6. It features numerous enhancements in application development technologies such as ASP.NET, Windows Communication Foundation, and Windows Presentation Foundation. There are also changes in networking, the .NET Framework base class library, and the common language runtime (including a new 64-bit JIT compiler, native code compilation for Universal Windows Platform apps, assembly loader improvements).
  • ENTITY FRAMEWORK:
  • This release includes a preview version of Entity Framework 7 and an update of Entity Framework 6 that primarily includes bug fixes and community contributions.
  • VISUAL STUDIO IDE:
  • Shared Accounts:
  • New in RTM, you can share the user accounts that you add in Visual Studio with other apps, such as with Blend for Visual Studio or with Microsoft Test Manager (and vice versa).
  • Shared Projects:
  • In this release, new templates are available to create empty shared projects for Visual Basic, C#, and JavaScript. These shared projects can now be referenced by several project types:
  • Any un-flavored VB/C# projects (e.g. console apps, class libraries, Win form app)
  • Windows Store 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 (VB/C#/JavaScript)
  • Windows Phone Silverlight 8.0/8.1 (VB/C#)
  • WPF and PCL
  • You can add/remove references to shared projects via the Reference Manager, on the Shared Projects tab. The shared project reference shows up under the References node in the Solution Explorer, but the code and assets in the shared project are treated as if they were files linked into the main project.
  • CODE EDITOR (ALL LANGUAGES):
  • Find in Files has been improved by enabling subsequent results to be appended to previous results; accumulated results can be deleted.
  • Touch support is now available in the Visual Studio editor for the following gestures:
  • Scrolling (tapping-and-dragging on the editor surface on the regular and enhanced scrollbars)
  • Pinch-to-Zoom
  • Select a whole line by tapping in the editor margin, and select words by double-tapping them
  • Invoking the editor context menu by pressing-and-holding
  • We are aware of one issue with touch, in that the double-tap gesture is not always reliable at lower zoom levels. We would like to hear feedback on the new touch support, and in particular any issues you may find.
  • XAML DESIGNER:
  • Visual Studio customers will now be able edit their Templates and Styles stored in external resource dictionaries within the context of their usage. This experience has been further refined to use Peek to enable a true in-situ resource editing in the XAML designer.
  • CUSTOM WINDOW LAYOUTS:
  • You can now save custom window layouts by clicking Save Window Layout from the Window menu, and apply a custom layout by clicking Apply Window Layout from the Window menu. You can also apply a layout by using the pre-assigned keyboard shortcuts. The first nine layouts also have keyboard shortcuts from Ctrl+Alt+1 to Ctrl+Alt+9. Other tasks you can perform include deleting, renaming, and reordering layouts by clicking Manage Window Layout from the Window menu.
  • High-Resolution Icons:
  • Visual Studio supports high resolution icons in command bars, tool window toolbars (standard), the main menus, error list, status bar, and some Solution Explorer project types when your device is running at greater than 100% DPI scaling.
  • UI Improvements:
  • Menus now appear in Title Case style instead of ALL CAPS style.
  • The Configuration and Platform dropdown values for the Visual C++ Property Page dialog have been changed to remember the last user selection when the property page is closed and reopened.
  • Visual Studio Extensibility:
  • You can now use high-resolution icons in your Visual Studio extensions.
  • Add-ins are no longer supported in this release. Visual Studio add-in project templates and the Add-in Manager have been removed. We recommend that you convert your add-ins to VSPackage extensions. For more information, see the FAQ: Converting Add-ins to VSPackage Extensions.
  • You can now open an extensibility project even if you do not have the Visual Studio SDK installed.
  • Additionally, you can install the Visual Studio SDK by using Visual Studio setup; you no longer have to go to a website. Here's how: On the Add Remove Programs menu, right-click Visual Studio 2015, and then select Modify. From the Visual Studio Set-up dialog, check Visual Studio Extensibility Tools under Common Tools.
  • For increased portability and sharing of extension projects, you can use the NuGet versions of the Visual Studio SDK Reference Assemblies. For more information, see assemblies published by Visual Studio Extensibility.
  • Blend:
  • We redesigned Blend for Visual Studio 2015 to provide you with an improved user interface development experience for creating beautiful XAML apps. Blend has a sleek new look consistent with Visual Studio, support for Solution and Team Explorer, and an enriched file reload experience to facilitate a better workflow between Blend and Visual Studio. We also delivered Blend's top most wanted features to help you be more productive:
  • You can now write XAML more efficiently using XAML IntelliSense, which provides you with statement completion and navigation to source.
  • You can also view and edit XAML controls and resources within the context in which they are used with XAML Peek Definition.
  • Finding and fixing UI issues in your running app is now easier using UI tools for XAML debugging, which enable you to inspect the live visual tree and the properties of any elements in the tree.
  • With NuGet support added, you can manage NuGet packages in Blend.
  • We also replaced the Animation Workspace feature with the more powerful Synchronized Layouts feature that you can use to create many different window layout and roam them across machines.
  • For power users who would rather use their keyboard instead of mouse, we made the Blend designer panes fully keyboard accessible.
  • Finally, as part of Microsoft's ongoing effort towards creating universally accessible software, Blend is now fully screen reader and high-contrast accessible.
  • DEBUGGING AND DIAGNOSTICS:
  • Managed Edit and Continue on Attach:
  • As of RC, you can edit and continue when you attach to .NET applications and when the environment variable complus_forceenc is set to 1 in the target process.
  • Breakpoint Configuration:
  • The new Breakpoint Settings window allows you to specify conditions and actions for your breakpoints. The window includes improved IntelliSense support for breakpoint conditions and actions. You can use undo (CTRL+Z) to restore deleted breakpoints.
  • Lambda Expressions in Debugger Windows:
  • You can now use lambda expressions in the Watch, Immediate, and other debugger windows in C# and Visual Basic.
  • PerfTips:
  • You can use the PerfTips feature to see how long code took to execute directly in the editor when you set breakpoints and step with the debugger.
  • GPU Usage:
  • The GPU Usage tool can be used to understand GPU usage of DirectX applications. Frame Time, Frame Rate, and GPU Utilization graphs are available while the applications are running live. In addition, by collecting and analyzing detailed GPU usage data, this tool can provide insights into the CPU and GPU execution time of each individual DirectX event, and therefore can be useful to determine whether the CPU or GPU is the performance bottleneck.
  • Improvements in the C++ Debugger:
  • When the C++ debugger is stopped at breakpoints, it can execute code in order to compute results, such as to show you data in the Watch and Immediate windows. If the debugger detects that a called function is deadlocked, it will attempt to resolve the issue.
  • When a C++ debugger launches a process, Windows now allocates memory using the normal heap rather than the debug normal heap. This results in a faster start for debugging.
  • UI debugging tools for XAML:
  • We've added two new tools—the Live Visual Tree and the Live Property Explorer—that you can use to inspect the visual tree of your running WPF application, as well as the properties on any element in the tree. In short, these tools will allow you to select any element in your running app and show the final, computed and rendered properties. Here's more:
  • Live Visual Tree. Now, you can view the full visual tree of a running application during a debug session. The Live Visual Tree is available when you press F5 in Visual Studio or attach to a running application. You can use the Live Visual Tree to select elements in a running application for inspection in the Live Property Explorer. Descendant count is displayed, and if the source information is available, you can instantly find the file and location of the element's definition.
  • Live Property Explorer. Use this new tool to inspect the properties set on any element in a running application, grouped by the scope in which they are set. You can modify these properties during a debugging session and immediately see their changes in the running application.
  • Picking apart how properties override each other and figuring out winning behavior can prove difficult at design time. Now, by using our new UI debugging tools for XAML, you can perform these inspections at runtime, when you can take everything into account.
  • Exception Settings:
  • You can configure debugger exception settings by using the Exception Settings tool window. The new window is non-modal and includes improved performance, search, and filter capabilities.
  • Timeline Tool:
  • Our new Timeline tool provides you with a scenario-centric view of the resources that your applications consume, which you can use to inspect, diagnose, and improve the performance of your WPF and Windows Store 8.1 applications.
  • The Timeline tool, which is in the Performance and Diagnostics hub, shows you how much time your application spends in preparing UI frames and in servicing networks and disk requests, and it does so in the context of scenarios such as Application Load and Page Load.
  • Diagnostics Tools:
  • We've added a new Diagnostic Tools window that appears when you start debugging (press F5). The Diagnostics Tools window contains the following features:
  • Events (with IntelliTrace):
  • Events (with IntelliTrace) gives you access to all Debugger Break, Output, and IntelliTrace events collected during your debugging session. The data is presented both as a timeline and as a tabular view. The two views are synchronized and can interact with each other.
  • Memory Usage:
  • The Memory Usage tool allows you to monitor the memory usage of your app while you are debugging. You can also take and compare detailed snapshots of native and managed memory to analyze the cause of memory growth and memory leaks.
  • CPU Usage:
  • The CPU Usage tool allows you to monitor the CPU usage of your application while you are debugging.
  • This tool replaces the CPU time PerfTip that was available in the Preview release of Visual Studio 2015.)
  • The following improvements were made to the Diagnostic Tools window in the RC release:
  • It can be moved to any window location within Visual Studio and remembers its location and size between debugging sessions
  • It appears and shows data for a single process when attaching to a process using Debug -> Attach to process
  • It appears when debugging ASP.NET projects running on IIS
  • It appears when debugging ASP.NET 5 projects
  • It appears when debugging an app running on a remote Windows desktop device
  • Memory snapshots can be viewed after you stop debugging
  • Debugger Events (break events only) are available when debugging native projects
  • In RC, we also added the following new features:
  • Just My Code. When you press F5 to launch the debugger, it will show only your code so that you can understand performance issues and exceptions without noise from framework and other code. Because this new code filtering functionality in IntelliTrace suppresses system code and exposes only user code, it makes it easier for you to debug "just my code."
  • Network Diagnostic Tool. This new network diagnostic tool can help you diagnose network-related issues when building Windows store apps as well as universal apps that run across all Windows 10 devices, from Windows Phone to Xbox and Windows Store.
  • The network diagnostic tool records information about your app’s HTTP network operations, including HTTP request and response headers, request and response payloads, cookies and detailed timing information, and more. The network diagnostic tool can also help answer questions about common scenarios, such as:
  • Authentication related issues (for example, why you're not able to access a resource)
  • Cache related issues (for example, why you're not getting the latest version of a resource)
  • How many bytes are downloaded when running common tasks of your apps
  • Where are the bottlenecks when accessing and downloading a resource
  • ASP.NET 4.6:
  • ASP.NET Model Binding supports Task returning methods:
  • ASP.NET Model Binding methods that were previously Task returning were not supported and threw an exception at runtime if configured. If applications are deployed with such methods, these methods will now be executed correctly. This change applies only to applications specifically targeting .NET 4.6 or later.
  • Enabling the .NET Compiler Platform (“Roslyn”) in ASP.NET applications:
  • You can use the new language features of C# and VB in any ASP.NET 4.6 project. The Web Forms templates in VS 2015 have the Microsoft.CodeDom.Providers.DotNetCompilerPlatform package pre-installed.
  • Add support for HTTP/2:
  • In Windows 10 and .NET Framework 4.6, we have added support for HTTP/2. The main goal for HTTP/2 is to improve performance, latency, and network usage by using a single connection from browsers to a Web site.
  • Updated Frameworks and controls to support Entity Framework 6:
  • We have updated Dynamic Data Framework, Entity Data Source Control and Universal Providers so they work with Entity Framework 6.
  • Authentication Updates:
  • The ASP.NET 4.6 templates now use Open Id Connect middleware to authenticate with Azure AD. This makes the programming model to authenticate with Azure AD much easier.
  • If you select the “Individual User Accounts” option, then the ASP.NET 4.6 templates show how to use two-factor authentication and social logins using ASP.NET Identity.
  • ASP.NET MVC 5.2.3, Web Pages 3.2.3 and Web API 5.2.3:
  • Template packages are updated to use the latest runtime packages for MVC 5.2, Web Pages 3.2 and Web API 2.2.
  • ASP.NET Web API OData 5.3.1:
  • The Web API OData scaffolders are updated to use ASP.NET Web OData 5.3.1
  • SignalR 2.1.2:
  • Template packages are updated to use SignalR 2.1.2
  • Microsoft Owin 3.0 package:
  • Template packages are updated to use Microsoft Owin 3.0 NuGet packages. See this Katana 3.0 release note.
  • ASP.NET Identity 2.2.1:
  • ASP.NET Identity 2.2.1 has many bug fixes and performance improvements over 2.1. Read this ASP.NET Identity 2.2.1 blog post for more details.
  • ASP.NET Tooling Updates:
  • JSON Schema validation. Add JSON schema validation feature, based on the schema that is defined in the schema drop-down list.
  • Un-minify context menu. You can right-click the JSON editor and select Un-minify context menu to un-minify any long arrays in the JSON file.
  • Reload Schemas context menu. Visual Studio will cache the schema that is downloaded from Internet and will use the cache even after you restart Visual Studio. If you know the schema is changed, you can use the context menu Reload Schemas Ctrl+Shift+J to re-download the current used schema in the active JSON document, and then use it immediately on the current document.
  • IntelliSense for package.json/bower.json. In addition to proving IntelliSense and validation for both package.json and bower.json files, Visual Studio also provides live IntelliSense for both Bower and npm packages directly within the JSON editor.
  • Duplicate property validation. The JSON editor will now provide validation for any duplicate properties. This helps catch a common problem with JSON file authoring.
  • The support for both IntelliSense and validation of JSON files has been greatly improved by fully supporting the JSON Schema draft v4 specification. Now it's much easier to identify required properties and the editor lets you easily sort the properties alphabetically. Formatting a minified JSON file will now automatically un-minify it.
  • SchemaStore.org, which is an open source collection of useful JSON Schema files, is now supported. This means that any JSON file opened in Visual Studio that has a schema associated on SchemaStore.org will automatically get IntelliSense and validation.
  • The support for JSON Schema authors has also been enhanced by better schema sanity validation.
  • HTML Editor Improvements:
  • Better client template formatting. The HTML editor no longer parses or formats double-curly syntax {{…}}. This is to make sure that the content of that syntax is not treated as being HTML and therefore being invalidated, nor does it try to format the content, which cannot be done correctly by using the HTML formatter. This is great for Angular, Handlebars, Mustache, and other double-curly template syntaxes.
  • Support for custom elements, polymer-elements and attributes. The HTML Editor no longer validates unknown attributes for custom elements, because different frameworks have many custom tags. There will no longer be squiggles under the unknown elements.
  • Basic IntelliSense for Web Components. The HTML Editor has IntelliSense for that is part of the Web Components standard.
  • HTML element tooltips. Tooltips are supplied for HTML elements in the editor.
  • #region support. The HTML editor now supports region folding. You can use the surrounding snippet to surround the current selection as well.
  • Todo/Hack comment support in the Task List.
  • Angular icons. Both Angular directives (ex. ng-view) and attributes (ex. ng-controller) now shows in IntelliSense with an Angular logo to make it easy to identify them.
  • Bootstrap icons. The IntelliSense provided in HTML class attributes now shows with the Bootstrap logo if the class name was defined by the Bootstrap CSS file.
  • CSS/LESS/Sass Editor Improvements:
  • Todo/Hack comment support in the Task List.
  • @viewport fix for the LESS editor. In the LESS editor, @viewport no longer shows verification warnings.
  • Provide many more snippets. The CSS/LESS/Sass editor now provides more snippets to make your developing experience easier.
  • An extension is now available for Visual Studio 2015 to compile both LESS, Scss and CoffeeScirpt.
  • JSX editor (React.js):
  • Visual Studio now supports the JSX syntax of any files with the .jsx file extension. Get both IntelliSense, formatting and validation in the editor as you type. This editor was built in collaboration with the Facebook team that is responsible for the React.js library.
  • Browser Link:
  • CSS is automatically synchronized. Saving the CSS file or changing it externally (for example, by using a LESS/SASS compiler) causes the entire CSS file to reload in the browser. If the file cannot auto-sync, Ctrl + S causes an automatic reload, which should put it back into a good state without having to refresh the linked browsers (Ctrl + Alt + Enter). The feature can be disabled in the toolbar.
  • ASP.NET 5:
  • New light-weight request pipeline
  • Run on IIS, or self-hosted in your own process
  • Built on new .NET Execution Environment (DNX) that can run on the full .NET Framework or on .NET Core, a new cloud-optimized runtime that supports true side-by-side versioning
  • Runs cross-platform on Windows, Mac, and Linux
  • NuGet everything, even the runtime itself
  • Supports ASP.NET MVC 6 - a unified Web framework for Web UI and Web APIs
  • Environment-based configuration for a seamless transition to the cloud
  • Dependency injection out-of-the-box
  • New Visual Studio project system and high productivity tooling experience
  • All open source on GitHub through the .NET Foundation
  • Visual Studio 2015 includes the ASP.NET 5 beta5 runtime packages. These packages are still in preview and are not recommended for use in production. You can find all the details on the specific enhancements added and issues fixed in the published release notes on GitHub.
  • Visual Studio 2015 comes with a new project system and integrated tooling experience for building ASP.NET 5 applications and for working with DNX projects. Some of the new tooling features include:
  • New project system for creating cross-platform DNX based projects that can be built and run on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
  • Templates for creating ASP.NET 5 Web Sites and Web APIs using MVC 6, Identity 3, and Entity Framework 7.
  • Templates for creating DNX based class libraries and console applications
  • Create and distribute cross-platform command-line tools via NuGet.
  • Install and manage different DNX versions using the .NET Version Manager (DNVM) from the Developer Command Prompt.
  • Integrated experience for finding, installing, and restoring NuGet packages.
  • Use CTRL + . to find and install NuGet packages for unresolved symbols in your C# code.
  • Integrated tooling for client-side Web development using NPM, Grunt/Gulp, and Bower, including package management integration and the new Task Runner Explorer.
  • Run project level DNX commands directly from within Visual Studio by using the Run button dropdown menu.
  • Create custom launch profiles that launch IIS Express, including setting of custom environment variables.
  • Build NuGet packages from a single project that target multiple frameworks including .NET Core.
  • Combined IntelliSense when building for multiple target frameworks from a single project.
  • New Razor features introduced by ASP.NET 5, such as Tag Helpers, now light up in both IntelliSense and syntax highlighting.
  • Azure Tooling:
  • Account Picker integration:
  • The Account Picker is being used throughout the Web Publishing and Web App creation/selection dialogs, to enable one-click access to multiple accounts. You can log in once to multiple accounts, and have quick and easy access to select individual accounts as you publish resources.
  • API Apps:
  • The API Apps preview template, publishing support, and Server Explorer visibility have all been migrated to Visual Studio 2015. Now you can create and deploy Azure API Apps using the latest version of Visual Studio. We've also improved the Swagger output functionality so that API app developers will have better out-of-the-box support for dynamically-generated Swagger from ASP.NET Web API.
  • WebJobs Tooling:
  • You can now control web jobs on the Server Explorer WebJob node inside an Azure Website in the following ways:
  • WebJobs nodes underneath Website nodes in Server Explorer.
  • Start/Stop Continuous WebJobs from Server Explorer.
  • Run On-demand or Scheduled jobs from Server Explorer.
  • View WebJob Dashboard from Server Explorer.
  • The View Dashboard context menu; use it to go to the Azure website's WebJob dashboard.
  • WebJobs SDK:
  • The WebJobs SDK is pre-installed in the Azure WebJob project templates.
  • NuGet:
  • NuGet 2.8.3:
  • Support for DevExtreme project and BizTalkProject are added to 2.8.3.
  • NuGet Package Manager:
  • The NuGet Package Manger user interface has been updated to provide easier management of packages across an entire solution in Visual Studio 2015. With a single view across packages installed in your projects, you can filter the list of available packages from the NuGet gallery, your installed packages, and the packages that have updates available.
  • NuGet Gallery:
  • We've improved performance of the NuGet gallery with a new web service and integrated client.
  • JavaScript:
  • Tooling support for AngularJS. Now, when you are writing apps using AngularJS, IntelliSense provides suggestions for Angular controllers, services, factories, directives, and animations.
  • New JavaScript language features (from the ES6 version of JavaScript) are supported, including classes, arrow functions, and template strings.
  • Nav bar shared project support. You can now use the navigation bar in the Shared project for Windows Universal App projects.
  • New navigation bar. The new navigation bar makes it easier to navigate between major elements in JavaScript source code.
  • JSDoc comments. Documentation comments written in the JSDoc format are now shown when using IntelliSense.
  • Object literal IntelliSense. The JavaScript editor provides you with IntelliSense suggestions when passing an object literal to functions documented using JSDoc.
  • Expand/collapse. You can expand and collapse more sections of your JavaScript code, including multi-line comments, multi-line arrays, and all multi-line blocks.
  • Task List support. You can use the Task List feature to review task comments, such as // TODO, in your JavaScript code.
  • TypeScript:
  • Visual Studio 2015 includes the 1.5 release of the TypeScript tools. This release adds rich support for ECMAScript 6, including modules, destructuring, for..of, spread, symbols, computed properties, let/const for ES3/ES5, and tagged string templates for ES3/ES5. In addition to the support for ES6, TypeScript 1.5 also adds support for the experimental ES7 decorator proposal, UMD and System.js module outputs, and a new lightweight, portable project file called ‘tsconfig.json’.
  • IntelliTest:
  • In Visual Studio 2015, we've added IntelliTest, which explores your .NET code to generate test data and a suite of unit tests. For every statement in the code, a test input is generated that will execute that statement. A case analysis is performed for every conditional branch in the code. For example, if statements, assertions, and all operations that can throw exceptions are analyzed. This analysis is used to generate test data for a parameterized unit test for each of your methods, creating unit tests with maximum code coverage. Then you bring your domain knowledge to improve these unit tests.
  • We've also added the following functionality to IntelliTest:
  • Parameterized Unit Tests. IntelliTest enables support for an API that you can use to guide test data generation, specify correctness properties of the code under test, and direct the exploration of the code under test. This API is available in the Microsoft.Pex.Framework namespace and can be used in the test methods (parameterized unit tests, factory methods) generated by IntelliTest. Consequently, the "IntelliTest" context menu command is now available from the generated test methods as well.
  • Test stubs creation. "Create Unit Tests" is now available on the context menu as a command that provides the ability to create and configure a test project, a test class, and a test stub.
  • Application Insights:
  • Visual Studio makes it easy to add Application Insights to your project. With Visual Studio 2015, Application Insights Tools for Visual Studio has more performance improvements and bug fixes.
  • Visual Studio 2015 is only compatible with Application Insights Tools 2.0 or later versions. It does not support the Application Insights Tools 1.3.2 or earlier versions.
  • Seamless integration with the workflow to publish to an Azure website
  • Improved solution integration and project detection. (For example, Application Insights is no longer included in unsupported projects like Python.)
  • Full integration with the new Visual Studio's user account manager, where a user can be signed in to multiple accounts simultaneously.
  • Release Management:
  • With this feature, you can improve the process of managing the release of your app, deploy your app to a specific environment for each separate stage, and manage the steps in the process with approvals for each step. And by using the Release Management service for Visual Studio Online, you can also set up a release pipeline from check-in through to deployment without having to install and maintain an on-premises release management server.
  • An updated version of Release Management is available for Visual Studio 2015. This is very similar to the existing Release Management for Visual Studio 2013, but provides improved performance in the following areas:
  • The release management client launch page, which shows an overview of the release process and notifications.
  • Rendering and interactivity in other release management client pages, through additional caching.
  • Synchronization of Active Directory and TFS security groups.
  • Creation of new releases.
  • Git version control:
  • It is easier to work with branches and see how the changes in your history diverged.
  • Branches:
  • You can organize your branches hierarchically by specifying a prefix:
  • Local branches and remote branches (including those you have not created locally) are shown separately in a tree view. And as of RC, we reworked the Branches page:
  • You can now merge from remote branches, as well as local branches.
  • The branch that you are merging into is now fixed to the branch that is currently checked out.
  • You can now rebase from the current branch onto any local or remote branch.
  • You can checkout a remote branch by double-clicking it, or right-clicking it and then selecting Checkout.
  • Remotes management:
  • You can now configure your Git remotes in Team Explorer. In Repository Settings, there is a new Remotes section that shows the currently configured remotes where you can add, edit, or remove remotes. For example, if you need to change the URL of the origin remote, you can click Edit and change the fetch and/or push URL.
  • Detailed history:
  • You can now see how commits diverged in the history. And in RC, we made several updates to the History graph:
  • We've added a toolbar that allows you to control the level of detail that you see in the graph.
  • We now highlight history lines to indicate which commits are reachable from the currently selected commit.
  • We now show both lines of history if the local and remote branch differ. This is especially useful after rebasing a local branch.
  • Rebase in Team Explorer:
  • We now support rebase in Team Explorer. To initiate a rebase, click on the rebase flyout on the Branches page, or right click on a branch and select "Rebase Onto..."
  • VSO repositories:
  • We've improved the "getting started" experience when creating a VSO Repo, and there are a lot more changes coming to streamline the creation of a new repo. For RC, we made a small change to make it easier to add new code to an existing repo: If you connect to any repo using Team Explorer, and then select File | New Project, the dialog will now start out in the root of the repo you just connected to.
  • Publish to Visual Studio Online:
  • The Publish to Visual Studio Online feature dramatically simplifies the process of getting your local repository onto Visual Studio Online. What used to take 12 steps now takes 2. From the Team Explorer Sync page, the new Publish to Visual Studio Online section lets you select any of the user accounts in the Visual Studio account manager. Your Visual Studio online accounts are automatically available in a list; there's no need to remember URLs. When you are ready to share your code, simply pick a new or existing team project to host your repository, click publish, and you're done.
  • Single sign-in:
  • You, like many other developers today, take advantage of multiple cloud services when developing your applications. For example, you've probably added a cloud backend to your applications to store data, stored your source code in the cloud, or published an application to a store.
  • In the past, each of these services required a separate sign-in process, and each service managed the signed-in user state separately.
  • With this release, we are reducing the authentication prompts required to access many integrated cloud services in Visual Studio. Now, when you authenticate to the first cloud service in Visual Studio, we will automatically sign you in, or reduce the authentication prompts for other integrated cloud services.
  • CodeLens:
  • Find out more about your code, while staying focused on your work in the editor. Find code references, changes to your code, related TFS items, and unit tests – all without looking away from the code.
  • In this release, we have replaced the CodeLens "Authors" indicators with the new "Team Activity Timeline" and "Authors and Changes" history indicators.
  • The Team Activity Timeline indicator shows the last author, and when the last change was made. Choosing this indicator opens Team Activity View, where you can look for patterns in changes to the code. This can help you to assess the impact of changes over time.
  • The Authors and Changes indicator shows the number of authors that have changed the file, and the number of changes. Choosing this indicator opens a list of all the changes, details of the changes, and links to get more information and see the previous versions.
  • All the information from the indicators is available when your code is hosted in Team Foundation Version Control (in both Team Foundation Server and Visual Studio Online) and in Git repositories. When you are working in Team Foundation Server or Visual Studio Online, you can also get information about work items.
  • These indicators, together with the indicators available in previous versions, are displayed at the code element (method, field, or class) level for C# and Visual Basic files.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2013 12.0.40418.0 Update 5 RC (Apr 30, 2015)

  • Current iteration query token:
  • You now can run queries in Visual Studio with the @currentIteration token that you create by using Visual Studio Online or Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2015.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2013 12.0.40302.0 Update 5 CTP 3 (Mar 10, 2015)

  • Technology improvements - debugger:
  • Capturing depth buffers on version 9.3 hardware is now supported. This enables support for graphics debugging Unity-based applications that run on Windows Phone.
  • Fixed bugs:
  • Visual Studio IDE:
  • After you install Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Update 4, a critical notification in the Notification Hub indicates that you must obtain or renew a developer license. If you dismiss this notice, and then you open another project, the critical notification appears again.
  • Assume that you have installed Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Update 4 on your computer. When you build a Windows Store application that requires WinRT registrations, you may receive the System.TypeLoadException exception at runtime.
  • Team Foundation Server:
  • Assume that you have a SharePoint document whose name contains too many Unicode characters. When you try to open the document from Team Explorer, the document opens incorrectly.
  • Git:
  • When you download changes in a remote repository, your configuration file is replaced by a specially crafted file. Your configuration file resides outside the repository. By replacing this file with a bad file, the Git commands can be remapped in order to execute arbitrary commands that run under your credentials. In this situation, a bad file is introduced into the Git repository.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2013 12.0.40121.0 Update 5 CTP 2 (Jan 27, 2015)

  • Includes adding support for graphics debugging of Unity-based applications on Windows Phone, and making fixes in the IDE, Team Foundation Server, and Git support.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2013 12.0.31206.0 Update 5 CTP (Dec 19, 2014)

  • TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS:
  • Debugger - Capturing depth buffers on version 9.3 hardware is now supported. This enables support for graphics debugging Unity-based applications that run on Windows Phone.
  • FIXED ISSUES:
  • Visual Studio IDE - After you install Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Update 4, a critical notification in the Notification Hub indicates that you must obtain or renew a developer license. If you dismiss this notice, and then you open another project, the critical notification appears again.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2013 12.0.31101.0 Update 4 (Nov 14, 2014)

  • CODELENS:
  • With CodeLens indicators you can learn about your code while staying focused on your work. You can find code references, changes to your code, related TFS items, and unit tests – all without looking away from the code.
  • Reduced data storage requirements for CodeLens with TFVC:
  • The size of CodeLens data stored in the TFS database has been reduced. The data has been reformatted and duplicated information removed.
  • By default, CodeLens now only processes changes from the last 12 months to calculate team indicators. You can change this duration by using the TFSConfig CodeIndex command.
  • C++ DIAGNOSTICS:
  • GPU Usage:
  • A new GPU Usage tool in the Performance and Diagnostics hub helps you determine whether the CPU or the GPU is the performance bottleneck. This tool lets you collect and analyze GPU usage data for DirectX applications.
  • You can use this tool for both Windows Desktop and Windows Store apps; support for Windows Phone and remote diagnostics will ship in a later release. You can also inspect the timing of each individual GPU event if a supported graphics card is present and latest drivers are installed.
  • Faster browsing:
  • Visual Studio now scans or rescans large solutions and updates the symbol database more quickly. Browsing should be more responsive, and operations such as Go To Definition should not be blocked, even if the database has not been completely updated. A non-blocking message will warn you that your results may be inaccurate.
  • JAVASCRIPT INTELLISENSE:
  • You can now get IntelliSense in JavaScript modules loaded with RequireJS.
  • MICROSOFT ASP.NET AND WEB TOOLS:
  • JSON Editor Improvements:
  • We made a few improvements in the JSON editor, including loading the JSON schema asynchronously, caching child schemas, and improving IntelliSense. We also have the following new features:
  • JSON Schema validation. We added a JSON schema validation feature, based on the schema selected in the drop-down list.
  • Un-minify the context menu button. You can right-click the JSON editor and select Un-minify context menu button to un-minify any long arrays in the JSON file.
  • The Reload Schemas context menu button. Visual Studio caches the schema downloaded from internet, and will use the cache even after you restart Visual Studio. If you know the schema has changed, you can use the context menu to download the changed schema in the active JSON document and use it immediately.
  • HTML Editor Improvements:
  • We improved the HTML editor with some bug fixes, updated IntelliSense for web standards, and introduced the following new features:
  • Better client template formatting. The HTML editor no longer parses or formats double-curly syntax {{…}}, so we don’t flag the content as invalid HTML or try to format it as HTML. This is great for Angular, Handlebars, Mustache and other double-curly template syntaxes.
  • Support for custom elements, polymer-elements and attributes.
  • We no longer validate unknown attributes for custom elements, because there can be many custom-made tags in different frameworks. There will no longer be squiggles under the unknown elements.
  • HTML element tooltips. We now supply tooltips for HTML elements in the editor.
  • #region support. The HTML editor now supports region folding. You can use a surrounding snippet to surround the current selection as well.
  • viewport fix for the LESS editor. In the LESS editor, @viewport no longer shows verification warnings.
  • Many more snippets. We now provide more snippets to make your developing experience easier.
  • CSS auto-sync. Saving the CSS file or changing it externally (for example, with a LESS/SASS compiler) causes the whole CSS file to reload in the browser. If the file couldn’t auto-sync, Ctrl+S causes an automatic reload without needing to refresh the linked browsers(Ctrl+Alt+Enter). This feature can be disabled in the toolbar.
  • Azure WebJobs:
  • In Visual Studio 2013 Update 4 we’re releasing some new features that will make it easier than ever to build, deploy, and debug Azure WebJobs, and to add background processing to Azure Websites. WebJobs are now represented as nodes in the Visual Studio Server Explorer, so you can link directly to the WebJobs dashboards to see how your WebJobs are running. You can also use the Server Explorer to start and stop continuous jobs and run on-demand or scheduled jobs. We’ve also enabled one-click remote debugging of continuous WebJobs, so if you need to see how your continuous WebJob is processing incoming queues or blob messages, you can step through your code as it’s running live in the cloud.
  • WebJobs SDK:
  • The WebJobs SDK is pre-installed in the Azure WebJob project templates. As before, you can create a new WebJob project using the Azure WebJob project template.
  • ASP.NET MVC 5.2.2:
  • Template packages are updated to use ASP.NET MVC 5.2.2. This release doesn’t have any new features or bug fixes in MVC. We made a change in Web Pages for a significant performance improvement, and have updated all other dependent packages we own to depend on this new version of Web Pages.
  • ASP.NET Web API 5.2.2:
  • In this release we have made a dependency change for Json.Net 6.0.4. Get more details about what's new in this release of Json.NET 6.0 Release 4. This release doesn’t have any other new features or bug fixes in Web API. We have subsequently updated all other dependent packages we own to depend on this new version of Web API.
  • ASP.NET Web API OData 5.3.1 beta
  • SignalR 2.1.2:
  • Template packages are updated to use SignalR 2.1.2.
  • Microsoft Owin 3.0 package:
  • Template packages are updated to use Microsoft Owin 3.0 NuGet packages.
  • APPLICATION INSIGHTS:
  • With Update 4, Application Insights Tools for Visual Studio has more performance improvements and bug fixes. It is fully compatible with projects that had Application Insights added with Visual Studio 2013.3. This update includes:
  • Seamless integration with the workflow to publish to an Azure website
  • Improved solution integration and project detection. (For example, Application Insights is no longer included in unsupported projects like Python.)
  • DEVELOPER LICENSE RENEWAL:
  • When your developer license is within 15 days of expiring, you will start to see a new notification in the notification hub. Click the notification when you’re ready to renew your license, and then click I Agree on the renewal window. You must have an internet connection to renew your license. After your license expires, you won’t be able to debug or deploy your Windows Store apps, or open the XAML or HTML designers.
  • RELEASE MANAGEMENT:
  • Improve the process of managing the release of your app. Deploy your app to a specific environment for each separate stage. Manage the steps in the process with approvals for each step. Get started with Release Management.
  • You can create release templates that use deployment agents to deploy your app, or you can create release templates that use Windows PowerShell, Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC), or Chef. To help you know which type of release you are setting up, terms have been added to the UI to make your choices clearer: agent-based or vNext (without agents). This simply helps you identify that you are using the correct environments and components for your release templates and release paths.
  • Release to Azure from Visual Studio:
  • You can now create a release definition directly from within the Visual Studio IDE using Release Management as a service with a Visual Studio Online account. You must use an Azure subscription to deploy to your Azure VMs with this release definition.
  • Use tags when you deploy to an environment:
  • Now you can use tags with the servers in your Azure or standard environments when you deploy without agents. For example, if you have multiple web servers in your environment then you can tag them all with WebServer. Set up your deployment actions for your tags. When a stage is deployed, these actions are performed on any server with this tag. So you only have to create the set of actions once for multiple servers.
  • With tags you can also switch the deployment order from parallel to sequence.
  • Access to system variables for your deployment sequences or scripts:
  • By popular user demand, you can now access system variables just like other configuration variables and use them in your release template if you deploy without agents. You don't have to hardcode these any more.
  • Supported variables:
  • Build directory
  • Build number (for component in the release)
  • Build definition (for component)
  • TFS URL (for component)
  • Team project (for component)
  • Tag (for server which is running the action)
  • Application path (destination path where component is copied)
  • Environment (for stage)
  • Stage
  • Release id
  • Release name
  • Reduce the need for configuration files to deploy your builds:
  • If you deploy without using agents, you can now set up configuration variables for your release at the following levels: global, server, component, action. This extra flexibility means you might no longer need to maintain configuration files with your build. If variables have the same name, the value is determined based on this order of precedence: action, component, server, global. (Action has the highest precedence to override the other values).
  • Manual intervention for a release path:
  • Now you can add manual steps to a stage in any release path, even if you deploy without agents. Add a manual intervention activity into your deployment sequence. When the notification is triggered in that sequence, the deployment pauses and you can run some manual steps before continuing with the rest of the automation for the release path.
  • Build drops stored on TFS servers:
  • If you have set up your build definition to copy the build output to the server and not a UNC path, you can now use these builds that are stored on the server if you deploy your app without agents.
  • Deploy from a build drop using a shared UNC path:
  • You can now use Release Management to deploy to servers using build drops located on a shared UNC path. You can deploy only if both the target server and the Release Management server have access to the shared UNC path, and you deploy your app without deployment agents.
  • Usability improvements:
  • You can now select servers and components from the drop-down list in the action for all types of release templates. You can also give actions friendly names to make it easier to identify them.
  • Mix and match Azure and standard environments:
  • Previously for a release path that deployed to servers without agents, each stage in the path could only use either all Azure environments or all standard environments. Now you can mix and match your environments. For example, your test stage might deploy to an Azure environment, but your production stage deploys to on-premises production servers using standard environments.
  • Find out quickly if a test case belongs to other test suites:
  • As test cases can belong to more than one test suite, it's good to check if there are any other associated test suites before you make changes to a test case. Now you can quickly view all the test suites associated with a test case.
  • View recent test results for a test case:
  • Quickly see the test result history for a test case to see if it has passed or failed recently. Just select the test case, view the details pane, and choose test results.
  • Real-time lightweight charts to show testing status:
  • Now you can create snapshot and trend charts for test cases from the Charts tab in the test hub. You can also create snapshot charts for test results. Pin these charts to your home page so that all the team can see the test status.
  • Filter by tags in the test hub:
  • Tag test cases in a suite with any tag that is important to you. For example, tag all the tests related to login so that you can rerun these tests if a bug is fixed for the login page. Then you can filter on that tag from the test hub. You can add and edit tags when you edit a test case, or bulk edit tags in the grid view.
  • VERSION CONTROL:
  • Review and merge code with Git pull requests:
  • Pull requests are a critical component of the developer workflow in Git. Now developers can use pull requests to help review and merge their code. Pull requests enable developers working in branches to get feedback on their changes from other developers before adding their code into the mainline. Any developer participating in the review can see the code changes, leave comments in the code, and give a “thumbs up” approval.
  • Plan and track work:
  • The many small improvements to Team Foundation Server (TFS) with Update 4 help make it easier for you to use our tools to get your work done faster.
  • Visualize trends and aggregate field values:
  • Query-based chart authoring now includes trend charts: Stacked Area, Area, and Line. You can visualize trends across a one-week, two-week, or four-week time range. Also, in addition to field counts, you can now sum a field value across work items returned in a flat-list query. These new chart types can be pinned to your home pages too. Learn more about how to view the status of your progress.
  • Quickly reorder backlog items:
  • If you had a large backlog, it was hard to drag and drop items to a different position. The context menu for backlog items now contains options to move an item directly to the top or to a specific position in the backlog. Be aware that with this change, we removed the field that tracks backlog priority from the work item forms in the default TFS process templates.
  • Full screen mode support for backlog views, boards, queries:
  • If you’re running a daily standup or viewing large backlogs, it's useful to be able to maximize the screen space and see as many items at once. Now you can hide all the chrome in the UI and have full-screen views of the backlog and boards. The toggle to enter full screen mode works for all the pages under the Backlogs and Queries tabs in the Work hub. Press ESC to return to the full work item view.
  • Full screen mode support for all HTML/rich-text fields:
  • You can now enter full screen mode for rich-text fields to help improve the readability and usability. For example, the Steps to Reproduce field can be maximized as shown below. The button toggles the text area between full screen mode and the work item view. Press ESC to return to the full work item view.
  • Better triage experience:
  • To improve the triage experience when you review query results, you can go back to the query by pressing Alt+Q. This keeps your position in the query
  • Assign backlog items to iterations within hierarchical views:
  • From hierarchical views, you can now assign product backlog items to iterations with drag and drop
  • In-line search for area and iteration fields from the work item form:
  • Often when triaging or assigning work items it’s necessary to change the area and/or the iteration path. Finding the path you want in large, deeply nested trees can be difficult. With inline search, values that match what you type are instantly highlighted. For example, type Team to highlight all path entries that contain the work Team in their name
  • Open hyperlinks quickly:
  • If you have a hyperlinks defined within an HTML field, press the CTRL key and click the link. Previously it was a two step process to click the link, and then click the “navigate to…” command at the top of the text area.
  • Teams choose whether or not to track bugs on their backlog:
  • Teams now have greater flexibility in how they track bugs. While team projects created with the Scrum process template include bug tracking on the backlog, other process templates don't. Each team can now choose to view the bugs with the product backlog or turn off including them.
  • Work item form enhancements:
  • Track work and share information more easily using some of the new features listed below and highlighted in the work item form pictured.
  • Send a nicely formatted email directly from the work item form using the new email icon.
  • Return directly to the query result you navigated from. If you like to use the keyboard, press ALT+Q. Or you can use the browser back button to do the same thing. This keeps your position in the query.
  • Enter full screen mode from all queries and all work items. Just click the command in the toolbar to remove all the chrome and maximize your screen real estate.
  • Open a work item in a new browser tab with the context menu command for query results.
  • Copy and paste of query results now formats the results much better for pasting into email or a document.
  • More items in your Kanban board:
  • There is no longer a hard limit on the number of items in the first and last columns of the Kanban board. Now you can configure this limit to have up to 999 items.
  • Easier way to link work items:
  • In Visual Studio, there has always been a dialog box to find a work item that you want to link to, but with Team Web Access you could only type the work item ID to find it. With Update 4, you get a similar dialog box to find the work item you want to link to. You can run an existing query or find the work item based by searching for its title.
  • ACCESS LEVEL NAME CHANGES AND FEATURE ACCESS:
  • With Update 4, all access levels have been renamed. The new names correspond to the same names used for Visual Studio Online licensing.
  • Stakeholder (previously was Limited)
  • Basic (previously was Standard)
  • Advanced (previously was Full)
  • With this change, the feature set support for the Stakeholder access has been enhanced. Stakeholders have access to the project home page and most of the “work” related functionality. This includes the ability to view the backlog, add and edit items, run work item queries and more.
  • Any number of users can be assigned a stakeholder license at no charge.
  • MICROSOFT SQL SERVER DATABASE TOOLING FOR VISUAL STUDIO:
  • These are the added features for Update 4:
  • SQL Server 2014 is now supported.
  • Schema compare supports MSBuild with text and XML output.
  • Token-based authentication for Azure SQL Database node in Server Explorer is supported - for Microsoft accounts and organizational accounts.
  • From the Azure Preview Portal for Microsoft Azure SQL databases, you can now open the database schema directly in Visual Studio.
  • Extensibility for Static Code Analysis.
  • Filtering for the editable data grid.
  • Save your data compare settings to a file (.dcmp).
  • Additional actions are available when you connect to the TSQL editor.
  • PDW tools are now part of Visual Studio Express 2013 for Windows Desktop

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2014 14.0.21730.1 CTP (Jun 4, 2014)

  • ASP.NET and web development - ASP.NET vNext:
  • This release of Visual Studio supports creating and developing ASP.NET vNext applications. ASP.NET vNext is a lean and composable .NET stack for building modern web applications for both cloud and on-premises servers.
  • ASP.NET MVC and Web API have been unified into a single programming model.
  • A no-compile developer experience.
  • Dependency injection out-of-the-box.
  • Side-by-side: Deploy the runtime and framework by using your application.
  • NuGet everything, even the runtime itself.
  • All open source is on the .NET Foundation and takes contributions.
  • This release of Visual Studio also includes all the current ASP.NET and web development features that are released as parts of Visual Studio 2013 Update 2. Learn more here.
  • Managed languages:
  • The core IDE and editing experiences for C# and Visual Basic have been replaced with new experiences that are built on the .NET Compiler Platform "Roslyn." Generally, the experience should be unchanged. However, there are numerous small improvements.
  • C# refactoring support has been completely revamped. There are two new core refactorings: Inline Temporary Variable and Introduce Explaining Variable. Additionally, refactoring support for Visual Basic has been added for the first time.
  • You can use specific code-aware guidance for the Microsoft platforms and NuGet packages that you're targeting to obtain live code analysis and automatic fixes as you type.
  • Visual C++:
  • Generalized lambda capture: You can assign the result of evaluating an expression to a variable in the capture clause of a lambda. This allows an instance of a move-only type to be captured by value.
  • User-defined literals in the language and standard library: You can append numeric and string literals with meaningful suffixes to give them suitable semantics. The compiler transforms these suffixes into calls to appropriate UDL-operator functions. The , , and headers now provide literal operators for convenience. For example, "1729ms" means std::chrono::milliseconds(1729), "meow"s means std::string("meow"), and 3.14i means std::complex(0.0, 3.14).
  • Completed noexcept: You can check whether an expression will throw an exception by using the noexcept operator. For example, noexcept(func()) will return "true" if func was specified as noexcept.
  • Inline namespaces: You can specify a nested namespace as "inline" to make its contents accessed from its parent namespace.
  • Thread-safe "magic" statics: Static local variables are initialized in a thread-safe way, removing the need for manual synchronization. Be aware that usage of these variables other than initialization is still not protected. Thread safety can be disabled by using /Zc:threadSafeInit- to avoid a dependency on the CRT.
  • Unrestricted unions: You can define unions that contain types with non-trivial constructors. Constructors for such unions have to be manually defined.
  • Finally, all new C++ 11 and C++ 14 language features that are released in the November 2013 compiler CTP for Visual Studio 2013 are also included in this preview.
  • Briefly, these include the following:
  • __func__, extended sizeof, implicit move generation, ref-qualifiers ("&" and "&&" for member functions), alignof and alignas, and inheriting constructors.
  • auto function return type deduction, decltype(auto), and generic lambdas with a limitation of not using [=]/[&] default capture together with generic lambdas. This will be enabled also for generic lambdas in a future release.
  • Resumable functions and awaitproposed for the C++ Concurrency Technical Specification.
  • Null forward iterators: The Standard Library's forward iterators (and stronger) now guarantee that value-initialized iterators compare as equal. This makes it possible to pass an empty range without a parent container. Be aware that generally, value-initialized iterators still cannot be compared to iterators from a parent container.
  • quoted(): These manipulators let iostreams preserve strings that contain spaces.
  • Heterogeneous associative lookup: When it is Enabled by special comparators (such as the less and greater transparent operator functors), the ordered associative containers gain templated lookup functions. This lets them work with objects that are comparable to keys, without actually constructing keys.
  • integer_sequence: Compile-time integer sequences are now supported to make template metaprogramming easier.
  • exchange(): This small utility function makes it convenient to assign a new value to an object and retrieve the old value.
  • get(): This lets a tuple element be accessed by its type (when unique) instead of by its index.
  • Dual-range equal(), is_permutation(), mismatch(): C++98's "range-and-a-half" algorithms that are taking (first1, last1, first2) are difficult to use correctly. While they are still provided, C++14 has added overloads taking (first1, last1, first2, last2) which are significantly easier and safer to use.
  • tuple_element_t: This alias template is added for convenience and consistency with the type traits alias templates.
  • Filesystem "V3" Technical Specification (TS): The interface and implementation of are overhauled to follow this TS, which is likely to be incorporated into C++17.
  • Library Issues: 24 resolutions have been implemented (for example, is_final, make_reverse_iterator()), not including the resolutions that were already implemented in Visual C++ 2013. Notice that a library issue is a bug report for the Standard. It can be resolved by fixing a specification problem or even adding a small feature.
  • fixes: The clocks are rewritten to be conformant and precise.
  • Minimal allocator fixes: Several library components (including basic_string and std::function) did not work with user-defined allocators implementing C++11's minimal allocator interface, instead requiring C++03's verbose allocator interface. All occurrences of this problem are fixed.
  • C99 library features: Most of the remaining C99 library features are implemented.
  • snprintf is implemented.
  • The printf and scanf families of functions now support the new C99 format string improvements.
  • The strtod and scanf families of functions now support hexadecimal floating-point.
  • Library conformance is better improved by software updates and adjustments.
  • __restrict: The __restrict keyword is now supported on reference types in addition to pointer types.
  • Improved diagnostics: The compiler will now emit warnings about suspicious code that previously would not have resulted in warnings. For example, shadowed variables will now cause warnings. Warnings have also been made clearer.
  • The /Wv flag: You can use /Wv:XX.YY.ZZZZ to disable warnings that are introduced after compiler version XX.YY.ZZZZ. Notice that the emitted warnings may still differ from those emitted by the specified version.
  • Compiler software updates: We have fixed more than 400 bugs in the compiler. 179 of these were submitted by users through Microsoft Connect.
  • Refactored C Runtime (CRT): This CTP contains the first preview of the substantially refactored CRT.
  • msvcr140.dll no longer exists. It is replaced by a trio of DLLs: vcruntime140.dll, appcrt140.dll, and desktopcrt140.dll.
  • stdio performance: Many performance improvements are made in the stdio library, notably in the sprintf and sscanf families of functions.
  • Object file size reductions: Working together with compiler fixes, the STL's headers are changed to significantly reduce the sizes of object files and static libraries (that is after compilation but before linking. The sizes of linked EXEs/DLLs are unaffected). For example, when you compile a source file that includes all C and C++ Standard Library headers and does nothing else with them, for x86 with /MD /O2, Visual C++ 2013 generated a 731 KB object file. This is improved to be less than 1 KB.
  • Debug checking fixes: The STL's debug checks rejected null pointers that are passed as iterators, even when the Standard guaranteed that they should work (for example, merging two [null, null) ranges to a null output). Every algorithm is inspected and fixed.
  • Create declaration or definition: You can quickly create a function’s declaration or definition in relation to its neighbors. To do this, right-click the declaration or definition, or use SmartTags.
  • Debugger visualizers: Natvis debugger visualization files can be added to a Visual C++ project for easy management and source control integration. Natvis files that are added to a project will take evaluation precedence over visualizers outside the project.
  • Native memory diagnostics:
  • You can start a memory diagnostic session (Alt+F2) that monitors the live memory usage of your native application. This supports Windows Desktop.
  • You can capture heap snapshots of the running process in memory to see the types and instances for native allocations.
  • You can view the difference in memory allocations between two memory snapshots.
  • You can dive into the memory contents of a process snapshot by using the debugger for deeper analysis of the heap.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2012 11.0.50727.1 (Feb 12, 2013)

  • A new look and feel:
  • From the moment you open the IDE, you'll notice things are different. The entire interface has been redesigned to streamline workflows and provide easy access to the tools you use every day. Tool bars are simplified, tab clutter reduced, and you now have new, fast ways to find code. All of this should make it easier to navigate your application and work the way you like.
  • Ready for Win8:
  • With the release of Windows 8, things have changed dramatically. Visual Studio 2012 delivers new templates, designers, and testing and debugging tools—everything you need to build addictive applications in as little time as possible. At the same time, Blend for Visual Studio gives you a visual toolkit for taking full advantage of the new (and beautiful) Windows 8 interface.
  • But maybe the best part of all is what you can do after you've created your application. In the old days, it wasn't always easy to get great products in front of the customers who needed them. Now you have the Windows Store, a widely available distribution channel that can reach millions of users. The terms are transparent and the potential easy to see. So you can code, sell, and maybe spend the next few years on the beach.
  • Web dev upgraded:
  • When it comes to web development, Visual Studio 2012 also has you covered with new templates, better publishing tools, and full support for emerging standards, like HTML5 and CSS3, as well as the latest advances in ASP.NET. We've also made it easier to debug with the Page Inspector by interacting with the page you're coding, right in the IDE. Going mobile? With ASP.NET you can now create applications with controls that optimize for phones, tablets, and other small screens.
  • Cloud capable:
  • In the old days, everyone had to maintain a server. Scaling required major investment in infrastructure. Now you have fast access to virtually unlimited servers in the cloud with the ability to add more storage and computing power on the fly. Visual Studio gives you great tools for taking your apps to Windows Azure, including new templates and publishing options, support for distributed caching, and a lower install footprint.
  • Up for serious business:
  • You'll also find major improvements for SharePoint, including new designers, templates, and deployment options. You can take advantage of upgraded ALM features for SharePoint like performance profiling, unit testing, and IntelliTrace. But the pleasantest surprise of all might be LightSwitch, which enables anyone to create line of business applications without having to write a lot of code.
  • Flexible agile processes, solid ALM:
  • Ok, so far we've focused mainly on development. But as applications grow more complex, you also need tools that help your team work faster and smarter. That's why we've included a flexible approach to agile. With Visual Studio and Team Foundation Server, you can adopt more productive practices at your own pace, without disrupting existing workflows. We've also invited your entire organization to the party, with new ways to track requirements and feedback from stakeholders, customers, and business team members.
  • You can even outsource your ALM efforts to us. With Team Foundation Service, you get ALM without the infrastructure. That way, even the smallest teams can then benefit from revision control, code reviews, and agile planning tools.

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2012 Update 2 CTP 2 (Feb 1, 2013)

  • New technology improvements:
  • Agile Planning:
  • Easy and flexible agile planning for any team.
  • Team Foundation Server
  • New work item tags provide lightweight metadata for work items
  • "Connect" dialog box is added to Team Explorer to locate different team project connections and projects
  • Ability to send a work item as an email message in TFS Web Access
  • Quality Enablement:
  • Lightweight browser-based test management and execution to reduce the time that is required to continuously enable quality in software projects.
  • Unit Test
  • Windows Store app unit testing now supports interaction with the UI thread
  • Windows Store app unit testing now supports using an async lambda inside Assert.ThrowsException
  • New unit test playlists enable control and execution of a subset of unit tests
  • Group unit tests by class
  • UI Testing:
  • Extended cross-browser support
  • Microsoft Test Manager:
  • Customize resolution states & failure states for test analysis
  • Test Case Manager (Web Access):
  • Ability to view and edit test cases in a test plan from TFS Web Access
  • Ability to run manual test cases and file bugs from TFS Web Access
  • Line of Business Development:
  • Additional capabilities to modernize existing LOB applications and create new business applications across connected devices that are powered by continuous services.
  • SharePoint:
  • Web & load testing support for SharePoint applications
  • Record and playback support through Coded UI for performing UI validations on SharePoint 2013 applications
  • Phone Tools:
  • Enable build and deploy workflows of Windows Phone projects from the command line without having to install the full Windows Phone developer tools
  • Developer Experience:
  • Improvements in the IDE to create a better and more productive developer experience.
  • Code Map:
  • Improvements in code map debugger integration and responsiveness
  • Debugger:
  • Symbol loading improvements in IntelliTrace and profiler
  • IDE:
  • Blue theme now available in the Visual Studio 2012 IDE
  • Blend for Visual Studio 2012:
  • Support for Sketchflow, WPF, and Silverlight
  • Performance & Reliability:
  • Performance improvements in XAML designer load for the following scenarios:
  • Large Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) applications
  • Working with third-party custom controls
  • List of issues that are fixed:
  • Debugger:
  • 772511: You cannot change the value of a float variable in a native C++ application in debugger.
  • 771990: "Unable to configure this computer to allow remote debugging. The parameter is incorrect" error when you try to start remote debugger on a Surface device.
  • 764708: You cannot view the values of variables when you remotely debug. Additionally, you receive an "Internal error in the expression evaluator" error when you try to view any variables in the Watch window.
  • You debug a Windows Phone application in Visual Studio 2012. When you close the Windows Phone emulator, the debugger does not stop. Instead, a "Stop Debugging in Progress" dialog box intermittently pops up.
  • When you use a literal string as an expression inside a natvis file in a C++ project, you cannot rebuild and debug the project because the PDB file is locked.
  • When you debug a C++ project against a stripped symptoms file, you receive useless information in the Watch window if you view an object in which the type information is not included in the symptoms file.
  • ASP.NET Editor:
  • You cannot add multiple CSS classes in the "class" attribute of any element by using IntelliSense. IntelliSense cannot show a list of available CSS classes if you press Spacebar to add another CSS class.
  • Visual Studio IDE:
  • 759433: Non-ASCII character is displayed in the title of the threaded wait dialog box.
  • 764454: Visual Studio 2012 takes longer than expected to save a large ASPX file.
  • Threaded wait dialog title bar does not display the correct color when you use the blue theme in a custom Visual Studio 2010 color theme.
  • When you debug a Windows Store application using HTML that uses a sandboxed iframe in Visual Studio 2012, the application exits unexpectedly.
  • A memory leak may occur in Visual Studio 2012 when a Visual C++ solution is loaded.
  • Stability of Visual Studio 2012 is improved when it is loading solutions.
  • Visual Studio 2012 may crash with the System.ArgumentException exception when you switch between windows (this includes document windows, auto-hidden windows, tabbed tool windows, and so on).
  • Visual Studio 2012 may crash during shutdown if a Visual Studio Add-in package is installed.
  • You encounter performance issues the first time that you copy text from the editor if the toolbox is invisible in Visual Studio 2012.
  • You cannot access local help content after you install Visual Studio 2012 Update 1 if you change the location of the local help content.
  • Build error when you build a Portable Class Library project if you select the .NET Framework 4.5 and Windows Phone 8 as the target frameworks.
  • MS Build
  • 770242: Build error when you build a Visual C# Portable Class Library project that references another Visual C# Portable Class Library.
  • "The referenced component could not be found" build warning when you perform a parallel build on a Microsoft .NET Framework 4-based solution in Visual Studio 2012.
  • Build error when you build a Visual Basic Portable Class Library project that targets the .NET Framework 4.5 and Windows Phone 8 and the .NET for Windows Store apps.
  • Windows Development Tools:
  • The multiple-scale image support feature that was included in Visual Studio 2012 Update 1 incorrectly requires a scale 140 badge logo image of size 34 x 34 pixels. The size should be 33 x 33 pixels.
  • Windows Form
  • 762550: Strange characters are displayed when you right-click the toolbox and select "Choose Items" in a Windows Form application.
  • 761609: Visual Studio 2012 intermittently crashes with a System.OutOfMemoryException exception in Windows Form designer.
  • C++
  • 752266: Visual C++ application that is compiled by using the cl /O2 /arch:AVX /EHsc command in the Visual Studio 2012 x86 Native Tools Command Prompt intermittently exits.
  • Assume that you configure the platform target to x64 for a Visual C++ application. You compile the application by using the /O2 or /Ox optimization option. In this situation, incorrect machine code is generated when the compile converts int64 type to int32 type inside a loop. For example, you may compile the following code:
  • int A[8];for (__int64 i=0; i

New in Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 10.0.30128.1 RC1 (Feb 11, 2010)

  • Set your ideas free:
  • Create what you can imagine, build on the strengths of your team, and open up new possibilities.
  • New prototyping, modeling, and visual design tools enable you to create innovative applications for Windows and the Web
  • Create a shared vision as a foundation for creativity with SketchFlow ,in Microsoft Expression Studio , and Team Foundation Server
  • Take advantage of new opportunities & capabilities offered by multi-core programming and cloud development tools
  • Simplicity through integration:
  • A single integrated development environment that takes your skills further and adjusts to the way you work.
  • Complete all your coding, modeling, testing, debugging, and deployment work without leaving the Visual Studio 2010 environment
  • Use existing standards and skills to target a growing number of application types including Microsoft SharePoint and Windows Azure
  • Work your way through multi-monitor support, partner extensions, and a new editor.
  • Quality tools help ensure quality results:
  • Powerful testing tools with proactive project management features help you build the right app the right way.
  • Use the new IntelliTrace debugger to isolate the point of failure within a recorded application history.
  • Stay ahead of the curve with proactive project management tools including new reports, dashboards, and planning worksheets.
  • Know that you’ve built the right application the right way with manual and automated testing tools.