Visual Studio 2019 v16.10 Preview 2 Releases Today

Justin Johnson

We are excited to announce the release of Visual Studio v16.10 preview 2. This release continues a theme of developer productivity and convenience. We’ve added C++20 ranges, IntelliSense completions, margin icons for inspecting the inheritance chain, and new features for testing, Docker tooling enhancements, and Git integration!

Download the latest Visual Studio preview release to try the new features in 16.10. And as always, we love your feedback and interactions through our Developer Community.

New Features for C++

We’ve continued to add C++ 20 conformance features, as well as support for CMake preset files, and improved security for remote connections.

Use Ranges in C++ 20

We are delighted to announce that our C++20 Ranges implementation is now feature complete. Compile with /std:c++latest if you want to try it out.

Use CMake Presets

The CMakePresets.json file is now supported in Visual Studio as a common alternative to CMakeSetting.json.

CMake 3.19 and 3.20 added support for CMakePresets.json, which allows you to specify common configure, build, and test options, and share them with others. Use the same CMakePresets.json file to configure and build with CMake in Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, and from the CLI on Windows, Linux, and macOS. The three dropdowns in the screenshot below indicate the active Target System, Configure Preset, and Build Preset.

CMakePresets dropdown screenshot
Use CMakePresets.json files with Visual Studio and view the Target System, Configure Preset, and Build Preset in the dropdowns.

Customized Warning Levels for External Headers

Compiler and code analysis warnings for headers that are not part of your project are frustrating. To help with this, we’ve made it easy to mark headers external to your project. External headers can have their own compiler warning level, code analysis, and template diagnostics settings. You can choose stricter settings for your project’s code to enforce code quality without getting bogged down with warnings from headers you don’t control.

Customize analysis of external headers
Customize code analysis for external headers.

Safely Connect Remotely

We’ve made creating remote connections safer by adding a prompt to accept or deny the host key fingerprint presented by the server. You may be familiar with this if you’ve used the OpenSSH command-line client or PuTTY before.

New Features for .NET

IntelliSense has several new completions that help automate common workflow tasks.

Completions for Casts, Indexers, and Operators

IntelliSense now offers completions for casts, indexers, and operators. Look for these new options in the standard completions list.

IntelliSense cast, indexer, and operator completion
IntelliSense now features completions for cast, indexor, and operators.

Automatically Insert Method Call Arguments

There is now a completion option that automatically inserts arguments when writing a method call.

IntelliSense argument insertion
IntelliSense now provides argument insertion completions.

This feature is off by default so you will need to enable it in Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > IntelliSense and select Tab twice to insert arguments (experimental).

To use this feature, start writing a method call and press tab twice (tab+tab). Notice that the method call includes arguments based on the method’s default values. Use parameter info to cycle through the list of arguments that you would like inserted by pressing the up and down arrow keys. Start typing an argument to bring up the IntelliSense completion list and type semicolon, which will commit the argument and add a semicolon to the end of the method call.

User Interface for EditorConfig Files

EditorConfig now has a user interface.

User interface for EditorConfig files
Update .editorconfig files with a user interface.

Open any .NET EditorConfig file from your solution. Notice that the new UI will automatically open and display code style and code quality configuration options for both C# and Visual Basic.

Visualize Inheritance Chains

There is now a visual representation for navigating and inspecting the inheritance chain.

Inheritance chain visualization
Visualize inheritance chains without leaving your current code.

This option is off by default so you will need to turn it on in Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Advanced and select Show inheritance margin. Enabling inheritance margin will add new icons to the margins representing your code’s implementations and overrides.

Click the inheritance margin icon to display inheritance options that you can navigate to.

Inheritance chain navigation
Navigate the inheritance chain using icons in the margin.

New Features for Containers

This release includes some exciting features for users of the Docker container tooling. You can now run any combination of services defined in your compose files, and enjoy improved container and image management in the Containers window.

Run Launch Services Defined in your Compose Files

We listened to your feedback, and now our Docker Compose tooling in Visual Studio provides the ability to run any combination of services defined in your Compose files. Open the Debug dropdown or right-click on your docker-compose project and select Manage Docker Compose Launch Settings to get started.

Use the new menu option to manage Docker Compose launch settings.
Use the new menu option to manage Docker Compose launch settings.

The tooling finds all services defined in your Compose files and displays a dialog where you can choose services to start at launch. As you create a Launch Profile, you have the option to either select from the Docker Compose profiles declared in your Compose files, or individually select the services you want to start.

Individually select the services you want to start.
Individually select the services you want to start.

Any Launch Profile can be saved and run from the Debug dropdown in Visual Studio. This means you can create multiple options for launching your application’s services!

Custom launch profile dropdown menu

Advanced Interactions with Containers and Images

In Preview 2, we added many new features to the Containers tool window. We made it easier to view and interact with containers and images. Navigate to View > Other Windows > Containers in Visual Studio to open the Containers tool window and try out the new features!

Containers are now grouped by Compose project, which makes it easier to identify which containers are associated with your application. We also added a Labels tab in both Containers and Images so you can see which labels you are using during development.

View container labels in the Labels tab.
View container labels in the Labels tab.

Our new Volumes tab allows you to see the volumes of a running container and even open the files in Visual Studio.

View and access volume files in the Volumes tab.
View and access volume files in the Volumes tab.

Finally, the Containers tool window also supports tagging an image! Right click on an image and select Tag.

Tag an image in the Containers tool window.
Tag an image in the Containers tool window.

 

Test Experience Accessibility improvements

We made several updates to improve the usability and keyboard accessibility of the test detail pane and log files in the Test Explorer.

View Console Logs in the Test Explorer

Console.WriteLine messages now show in the Test Explorer.

Console.WriteLine now shows in the Test Explorer.
Console.WriteLine now shows in the Test Explorer.

Output appears as a collapsible section in the test detail summary pane. Long output is truncated with an option to open the log in a separate window. Stack traces are truncated to 20 frames, and will only show the first and last 10 frames for long traces. An important part of the truncation design was focused on reducing VS freezes when test runs have large output. Tests that have large output will no longer block the UI thread.

Test output can now preserve tags so hyperlinks and stacktrace links are navigable from the log files. These links are now keyboard friendly as well.

Hyperlinks and stacktrace links are now navigable and keyboard friendly.
Hyperlinks and stacktrace links are now navigable and keyboard friendly.

Automatically Create 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 now open in preview so it’s easier to manage your tabs. Both the Test Explorer and log files support Ctrl PgUp/PgDn for navigating the cursor and Shift + Ctrl PgUp/PgDn for selection.

Automatic log file with preview and links.
Automatic log file creation with links, previewing, and selection!

The log file editor now uses the IVsTextView interface and can now open very large text files. This should eliminate the need for users to “Copy All” truncated logs and open them in a separate editor. For MSTest, we also include a single log file that aggregates output instead of having individual log files for each data row.

Git Productivity

We’ve continued to enhance the Git tooling in Visual Studio and are excited to announce some long-awaited updates. We’ve improved how you switch repositories, view commits, interact with diffs, and synchronize your branches.

The status bar now features an enhanced branch picker, a repository picker, and a sync button. Select a commit to open an embedded view of its details and the file changes in the Git Repository window without having to navigate to other windows. You can compare commits in the same way! This view also allows you to pop out commits into their own windows if you want to deep-dive into changes.

Finally, the Git Changes window has a new overflow menu with commands to manage remotes, push tags, and manage branches. Get a walkthrough of all these features and more, in our latest Git blog post.

Enhanced Git tooling in 16.10 preview 2
Git tooling enhancements make it easier to manage repos, branches, and interact with diffs! See full size.

 

Visual Studio 2019 16.10 preview 2 adds a nice collection of productivity-enhancements for all Visual Studio users. Download the preview today to try out the new features and don’t forget to report a problem or give us feedback on Developer Community!

27 comments

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  • Kari Jurva 0

    It is always interesting to see where Visual Studio is going. However, this time I have to complain about the screenshots and videos.

    Can you really see what is going on in the sample videos? For example, the one about Git changes is so small that each line of code in the editor is only 4 or 5 pixels.
    Here’s a screenshot: http://www.jurva.org/vs-forum-sample.png.

    Please create them so that they can be enlarged to fill the browser.

    Best regards,
    Kari Jurva
    Vantaa
    Finland

    • Kari Jurva 0

      It seems you have to manually copy and open the link to the browser’s address bar to see the screenshot.

    • Yann Duran 0

      I would also like to add that what was happening was so fast that I didn’t even have time to look at what was happening!

    • Justin JohnsonMicrosoft employee 0

      Hi Kari,
      You are right, I did not realize how small these appear on the actual blog. I’m discussing how we can make this more accessible with the team. In the meantime, we just posted a blog with a lot more detail on the new Git features here:
      https://devblogs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/enhanced-productivity-with-git-in-visual-studio/

      It has the same small gif but also has more granular screenshots. I hope that helps in the short term and thanks for reading!

  • Pados Károly 0

    VS 16.9 brought support for the C++ “More Constexpr Containers proposal”, and its release notes explicitly mentioned that it “paves the way for utilities like constexpr std::vector and std::string”. So I was hoping 16.10 will now actually bring constexpr std::vector and std::string. Can you share if this is planned for 16.10, or for which release this is planned?

    • Me Gusta 0

      The changelog for the STL on GitHub states that it was added in this preview.

      • Pados Károly 0

        Thanks for the link, and also to the team for getting the features in of course!

        • Eric Schiesser 0

          Have you tried out

          constexpr std::string

          in VS yet? I cannot seem to get it to work. Declaring a

          constexpr std::string myStr = "something";

          gives error C2131: “expression did not evaluate to a constant.”

  • Varorbc 0

    Is there any information about the next version? Maybe Visual Studio 2021, Visual Studio 2022, Visual Studio?

    • Justin JohnsonMicrosoft employee 0

      Hi Varorbc,
      Thanks for your interest in the future of Visual Studio. I don’t have any comments on the next version but you can keep track of all of our update announcements on this blog! We also maintain a product roadmap for Visual Studio 2019 here:
      https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/productinfo/vs-roadmap

  • Thomas Ziegler 0

    The C++ External Header warnings feature defaults to inherit from the project settings. If your project setting ist “Enable All Warnings” you can’t compile any more, because this is not an valid option for this feature. Workaround: Explicitly set Level 4 for externals.

    • Peter Gerell 0

      Unfortunately the generator in the supplied CMake does not seem to transform /external:W4 to the appropriate msbuild construct.
      Until this is fixed the workaround is to use /W4 for all headers.

  • Nico 0

    Got excited when i noticed “Git improvements”… but… still no staging hunks support? Are there plans to support this feature anytime in the near future, as VS Code does?

    • Pratik NadagoudaMicrosoft employee 0

      Hi Nico, yes we’re working on this! Please follow the request on Developer Community, we’re excited to show you designs soon 🙂

  • Paulo Pinto 0

    Lots of nice improvements, many thanks for them.

    What I am missing on the C++ front is improved tooling for C++/WinRT, to reach feature parity with C++/CX, namely proper syntax highlighting and intelisense for IDL files, some kind of two way editing across XAML C++ IDL and not having to do VS job, manually copying and merging generated C++ files.

    Waiting for the day ISO C++ ever gets reflection doesn’t seem to be the way forward, meanwhile the github issues and developer feedback seem to keep being ignored.

  • Michael Taylor 0

    I think a note should be added about the editorconfig UI. I opened a file and it didn’t open the UI. The issue turns out to be the fact that anyone who edits editorconfig regularly is probably using Mads’ EditorConfig Language Service extension. That extension prevents the new UI from appearing. You need to either disable or uninstall that extension before the new editorconfig UI will show up. It would be nice if this were documented somewhere to avoid confusion.

    • Justin JohnsonMicrosoft employee 0

      Michael,
      Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I brought this up to Mads and we’re discussing how to address it!

      UPDATE: We have filed a bug to track this here, thanks again for reporting this:
      https://github.com/dotnet/roslyn/issues/52661

  • Andrey Shevchenko 0

    The header units feature is still severly broken. I cant compile even an empty “Hello header units” project. I was tring to move my project on header units since 16.8 release, but the amount of errors and compiler crashes is absurd. I have reported already a dozen of problems. Part of them have been solved, but I have another serie of bugs and it seems endless. I dont even report some obvious bugs, like a project will never build succussfuly if it has a header unit. That’s it, an empty project with an empty header unit. “unresolved external symbol” out of nowhere. This bug still persists in preview 2.0. Do I have to report it too? Does it mean that VS developers never ever tried to build a project with a header unit? How it even possible? I can find and report bugs whole day without any special efforts. Oh, wait, I cant, because (/P) Process to File flag is broken too! And how am I supposed to make a repro project without it? What was the point of including this feature in 16.10 Preveiw and 16.9? There is hardly a single thing that works as it should.

  • Richard Deeming 0

    To me, “class Bar3 is inherited” doesn’t read right. It sounds like it’s saying the class has inheritors, whereas it’s actually saying that the class inherits from another.

  • Ioannis Alexopoulos 0

    Any news on completion of Windows Forms Designer for .NET 5/6? Essentially this is still unusable for a lot of 3rd party controls

  • Tsahi 0

    While I’m happy to see Microsoft continues to invest in Visual Studio, it doesn’t make sense to me to invest in two separate IDEs – Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code. I wonder what are the long range plans for both of these paths? Do they have different target audience? Will they eventually merge?

  • Matthew Whited 0

    Any update on integrated support for Azure Functions with .Net 5? dotnet-isolated debugging?

  • Noel Agumba 0

    I tried adding LINQ to SQL classes to VB project targeting .Net 5 and it crashed.

  • John King 0

    You can do the exact same improvement in “Team Explorer” , but some guy just create an another windows, and can not replace the “Team Explorer”,
    I wonder , Why can’t you just rename “Team Explorer” to “Source Control” , and do the improvement in it ?

    Just look at the “Git Changes”! , won’t is exact same thing in “Team Explorer” -> “Changes” ?
    I really do not understand that move “Changes” and “Connection” out of “Team Explorer” and take space from our source view or Solution View is called “improvement”.
    Yes, you really did some change for the related “Git Changes” and “Git repository”, but you can do it for “Team Explorer” too, and make change to “Team Explorer” too.
    and most important you can serve both for “Azure DevOps” and “Github” and “any of Git repository”.
    Now , with “Git Changes” and “Git Repository” , we now need at least 3 window for our source control server, for example for azure devops, you need :
    1) Team Explorer for connect to DevOps.
    2) Git Repository for switch and manage Repo for your “Projects”
    3) Git Changes to do change and commit your code.
    4) Create Pull request using Browser.
    5) navigate to Issue/Epic/Task using Browser.

    If I was the PM , I will rename the “Team Explorer” to “Source Control” and make the “Source Control” extendable instead of create a bunch of new windows.

    for example: allow Github extension to add new “menu”/”sub views” inside “Source Control” window. and also for other “Source Control Server” too.
    anyway. Thanks for add a bunch of windows I won’t use forever !

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