Microsoft has launched Visual Studio 2022 v17.11, bringing several productivity improvements aimed at enhancing developers’ workflows, especially in code reviews and debugging. Alongside this update, the company also introduced the first preview of Visual Studio 2022 v17.12, which promises .NET 9 support, offering a glimpse into future features. These updates were released on August 13 and are available for download on the Visual Studio website.
One of the standout features of Visual Studio v17.11 is the enhancement of code review workflows. Developers can now view GitHub and Azure DevOps pull request comments directly within their working file in Visual Studio. This integration eliminates the need to switch between the IDE and a browser, making collaboration smoother and more efficient. This change is especially useful for teams that rely on pull requests to review and discuss code, streamlining the process and saving time.
The update also includes improvements to GitHub Copilot, the AI-powered coding assistant. With v17.11, Copilot now suggests breakpoints based on the code you’re writing, making debugging more efficient. Additionally, Copilot has been integrated into the tooltips that appear when hovering over symbols, offering AI-generated summaries of the selected code elements. The new version also features more precise, context-aware code completions and introduces content exclusion capabilities, particularly beneficial for businesses using GitHub Copilot Business or GitHub Copilot Enterprise, adding an extra layer of security.
Further enhancements in Visual Studio v17.11 include improved code search and pull request creation workflows, such as better target branch selection and commit count visibility. Some of the most commonly used keyboard shortcuts have been aligned with those of other popular IDEs, making the transition smoother for developers switching between tools. The update also brings improvements to debugging and diagnostics, such as enhanced support for asynchronous code and new profiling tools for better performance analysis. Additionally, a preview of a new debugging experience for Blazor WebAssembly apps, which targets .NET 9, has been included for developers eager to experiment with upcoming features. For C++ developers, expanded cross-platform support ensures better compatibility when working on various environments.