C++ Team Blog
The latest in C++, Visual Studio, VS Code, and vcpkg from the MSFT C++ team
Latest posts
Enhancing the CMake Targets View in Visual Studio
The CMake Targets View in Visual Studio is a view that allows you to visualize your CMake project structure by the CMake targets and build specified target libraries and executables. To make this view more usable, we have implemented a few new improvements to make it easier than ever to navigate your CMake targets. This includes improved navigation to the CMake Targets View, a new, more simplified CMake Targets View, and the ability to exclude specified CMake items from the Targets View. Additionally, we have future planned work in the near-term to allow users to customize this view to their desired configuration...
What’s New for the Remote File Explorer in Visual Studio
The Remote File Explorer gives you the capability to access your files and folders on your remote machines that you are connected to through the Connection Manager in Visual Studio, without having to leave the IDE. Since we last spoke, the team has implemented new features to further enhance your remote file workflows by listening to your direct feedback. Download the latest preview version of Visual Studio to access the new updates for the Remote File Explorer and give it a try. Background To access the Remote File Explorer, navigate to View > Remote File Explorer after downloading through the Linux and Em...
Make Member Function const and Global Function Static in Visual Studio
We are delighted to announce that Visual Studio Preview now includes the "Make Member Function Const" and "Make Global Function Static" features. To check out these features, make sure you update to the latest version of Visual Studio Preview. Make Member Function Const Visual Studio now generates hints to mark member functions as when a member function doesn't modify the object's state. This feature identifies cases where a member function performs actions that could be accomplished through the object's public interface using a const pointer. We have made this process easier for you by adding a sugges...
Integrating C++ header units into Office using MSVC (2/n)
In this follow-up blog, we will explore progress made towards getting header units working in the Office codebase. Overview Overview Last time we talked about how and why header units can be integrated into a large cross-platform codebase like Office. We discussed how header units helped surface conformance issues (good) and expose and fix compiler bugs (good-ish). We talked about how we went about taking "baby steps" to integrate header units into smaller liblets—we're talking something on the order of 100s of header units. This blog entry is all about scale and how we mov...
MSVC Address Sanitizer – One DLL for all Runtime Configurations
With Visual Studio 2022 version 17.7 Preview 3, we have refactored the MSVC Address Sanitizer (ASan) to depend on one runtime DLL regardless of the runtime configuration. This simplifies project onboarding and supports more scenarios, particularly for projects statically linked (, ) to the C Runtimes. However, static configurations have a new dependency on the ASan runtime DLL. Summary of the changes: Motivation and Effects When building a project, you must specify how you want to link to the C and C++ Runtime Libraries. Using the option will link dynamically to the runtimes and have...
Introducing CMake Debugger in VS Code: Debug your CMake Scripts using Open-Source CMake Debugger
The new CMake Debugger that was introduced in Visual Studio is now available in VS Code. Now, you can debug your CMakeLists.txt scripts from VS Code using the CMake Tools Extension. To see the full release notes for this release and what else is included, including bug fixes, please see the release notes. Background The Visual C++ team collaborated closely with Kitware, the CMake maintainers, to merge our CMake debugger implementation upstream and make this widely available. This implementation is now available in CMake version 3.27. Please download the latest version for your OS via this link or update via you...
What’s New for C++ Developers in Visual Studio 2022 17.7
We are happy to announce that Visual Studio 2022 version 17.7 is now generally available! This post summarizes the new features you can find in this release for C++. You can download Visual Studio 2022 from the Visual Studio downloads page or upgrade your existing installation by following the Update Visual Studio Learn page. Core Editor Comparing Files You no longer need to leave Visual Studio and rely on other tools to compare files. Now you can easily compare any file in Solution Explorer with other files by either: Please share your feedback here. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this n...
vcpkg 2023.06.20 and 2023.07.21 Releases: GitHub Dependency Graph Support, Android Tested Triplets, Xbox Triplet Improvements, and More…
The 2023.07.21 release of the vcpkg package manager is available. This blog post summarizes changes from April 16th, 2023 to July 21th, 2023 for the Microsoft/vcpkg, Microsoft/vcpkg-tool, and Microsoft/vcpkg-docs GitHub repos. Some stats for this period: Notable Changes Notable changes for this release are summarized below: GitHub Dependency Graph API In June, we announced vcpkg integration with the GitHub dependency graph. This is available for all vcpkg users on the 2023.07.21 release. If you are a GitHub user, we highly recommend checking it out to visualize you...
Partnering with The Coalition to Bring Unreal Engine Find All Blueprint References to Visual Studio 2022
Introduction We are thrilled to bring you the 3rd batch of exciting Unreal Engine integrations in Visual Studio 2022! Since our initial announcements, our team has been hard at work building additional integrations based on your invaluable feedback. Recently, we have been working closely with our partners at The Coalition. Their work on the popular Gears of War franchise inspired us to ship a new feature that allows you to search for Blueprint UFUNCTION references. Today, we are excited to unveil additional performance improvements and a host of new features that will take your game development productivity ...