{"id":103,"date":"2014-12-03T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-12-03T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.msdn.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/2014\/12\/03\/visual-studio-tools-for-unity-2-0-preview\/"},"modified":"2022-09-30T09:28:45","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T16:28:45","slug":"visual-studio-tools-for-unity-2-0-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/visual-studio-tools-for-unity-2-0-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Visual Studio Tools for Unity 2.0 Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Two weeks ago during the <a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/visual-studio-2015-preview-visual-studio-community-2013-visual-studio-2013-update-4-and-more\/\">Connect()<\/a> event we announced the release of the Visual Studio Tools for Unity 2.0 Preview. VSTU is Microsoft\u2019s free Visual Studio add-on that enables a rich programming and debugging experience for working with the <a href=\"http:\/\/unity3d.com\/\">Unity gaming tools and platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The support for Visual Studio 2015 Preview is one of VSTU 2.0 Preview\u2019s main features, but VSTU works wonderfully with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.visualstudio.com\/en-us\/downloads\/download-visual-studio-vs#d-community\">Visual Studio 2013 Community<\/a> as well. Indies, hobbyists and students alike can now use Visual Studio with full extension support, and therefore VSTU to get the best Unity scripting experience &#8212; for free!<\/p>\n<p>VSTU is available for download on the Visual Studio Gallery at the following links:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com\/8d26236e-4a64-4d64-8486-7df95156aba9\">Visual Studio 2015 Preview Tools for Unity<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com\/20b80b8c-659b-45ef-96c1-437828fe7cf2\">Visual Studio 2013 Tools for Unity<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com\/7ab11d2a-f413-4ed6-b3de-ff1d05157714\">Visual Studio 2012 Tools for Unity<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com\/6e536faa-ce73-494a-a746-6a14753015f1\">Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Unity<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/12\/7242.VisualStudioToolsforUnity2.0Preview_549AE71E.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"Visual Studio Tools for Unity 2.0 Preview\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/12\/7242.VisualStudioToolsforUnity2.0Preview_549AE71E.png\" alt=\"Visual Studio Tools for Unity 2.0 Preview\" width=\"640\" height=\"346\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The highlights of VSTU 2.0 Preview include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Code Coloration for Unity\u2019s shaders on Visual Studio 2015 Preview: <\/strong>This <a href=\"https:\/\/visualstudio.uservoice.com\/forums\/121579-visual-studio\/suggestions\/6230276-add-syntax-highlighting-and-intellisense-for-shad\">feature request<\/a> is among the top features asked on <a href=\"https:\/\/aka.ms\/uvunity\">UserVoice<\/a>. With Visual Studio 2015 Preview\u2019s support for the code coloration of <a href=\"http:\/\/docs.unity3d.com\/Manual\/SL-Reference.html\">ShaderLab<\/a>: Unity\u2019s Shader language, you can now write both your Unity scripts and Shaders from Visual Studio.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/12\/3750.CodecolorationforUnitysshaders_5743A2CF.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"Code coloration for Unity's shaders\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/12\/3750.CodecolorationforUnitysshaders_5743A2CF.png\" alt=\"Code coloration for Unity's shaders\" width=\"640\" height=\"346\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Better visualization for collections:<\/strong> When debugging your Unity scripts, VSTU now offers a simple and efficient view for the most used collections (<a href=\"http:\/\/msdn.microsoft.com\/library\/system.collections.arraylist.aspx\">ArrayList<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/msdn.microsoft.com\/library\/6sh2ey19.aspx\">List<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/msdn.microsoft.com\/library\/system.collections.hashtable.aspx\">Hashtable<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/msdn.microsoft.com\/library\/xfhwa508.aspx\">Dictionary<\/a>) in the locals or watch windows, making it a lot easier to debug your algorithms by focusing on your data.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/12\/1616.Bettervisualizationforcollections1_093B435A.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"Better visualization for collections-1\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/12\/1616.Bettervisualizationforcollections1_093B435A.png\" alt=\"Better visualization for collections-1\" width=\"640\" height=\"394\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/12\/7563.Bettervisualizationforcollections2_44FADC0D.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"Better visualization for collections-2\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/12\/7563.Bettervisualizationforcollections2_44FADC0D.png\" alt=\"Better visualization for collections-2\" width=\"640\" height=\"395\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Better visualization for objects:<\/strong> When using types from external libraries in your Unity scripts, you almost never care about their internal implementation, you mostly care about the values they expose. When analyzing those types during a debugging session, VSTU now displays the public members by default in the locals or watch window. Accessing the non-public members is just a click away if you need to dive in their implementation. Of course, for the types you defined VSTU displays both the public and non-public members directly. VSTU now also gives direct access to static members from an instance. You don\u2019t need to evaluate types in the watch window anymore when you only want to see the value of static members.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/12\/8233.Bettervisualizationforobjects1_24DFCF50.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"Better visualization for objects-1\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/12\/8233.Bettervisualizationforobjects1_24DFCF50.png\" alt=\"Better visualization for objects-1\" width=\"640\" height=\"365\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/12\/6180.Bettervisualizationforobjects2_04C4C293.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"Better visualization for objects-2\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/12\/6180.Bettervisualizationforobjects2_04C4C293.png\" alt=\"Better visualization for objects-2\" width=\"640\" height=\"444\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Support for debugger attributes:<\/strong> You can customize your Visual Studio debugging experience with VSTU 2.0 Preview using <a href=\"https:\/\/msdn.microsoft.com\/library\/system.diagnostics.debuggerdisplayattribute.aspx\">DebuggerDisplayAttribute<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/msdn.microsoft.com\/library\/system.diagnostics.debuggertypeproxyattribute.aspx\">DebuggerTypeProxyAttribute<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/msdn.microsoft.com\/library\/system.diagnostics.debuggerbrowsableattribute.aspx\">DebuggerBrowsableAttribute<\/a>. With great power comes great responsibility: remember that expressions used in the DebuggerDisplayAttribute are constantly re-evaluated. Make sure to read the guide on <a href=\"http:\/\/msdn.microsoft.com\/library\/x810d419.aspx\">using the DebuggerDisplayAttribute<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Automatic debugger connection:<\/strong> In previous versions, if VSTU was not connected to a Unity instance, pressing F5 to launch the debugger would prompt the user to select a Unity instance to debug, even if there was only one running. VSTU now simplifies your debugging workflow by automatically attaching the debugger to your Unity instance if there\u2019s only one running. If there\u2019s multiple Unity instances VSTU will connect to the one you select and remember it so you don\u2019t have to select it the next time you press F5.\n<p>&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Our <a href=\"http:\/\/unityvs.com\/documentation\/changelog\/\">changelog<\/a> contains many more features and bug fixes. If you have any suggestions for VSTU, please post them on <a href=\"https:\/\/aka.ms\/uvunity\">UserVoice<\/a>; and if you encounter any issues, please report them through the <a href=\"http:\/\/connect.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\">Visual Studio Connect site<\/a>.<\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 662px;\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"129\"><a href=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/12\/6266.JBEvain_thumb_0B505E3A.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-width: 0px;\" title=\"JB Evain\" src=\"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/12\/6266.JBEvain_thumb_0B505E3A.png\" alt=\"JB Evain\" width=\"116\" height=\"150\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"531\"><strong>Jb Evain<\/strong>, Senior SDE Lead, Visual Studio Platform Team<\/p>\n<p>Jb runs the Visual Studio Tools for Unity experience for the Visual Studio Platform team. He recently joined Microsoft as part of the acquisition of SyntaxTree, a company he founded and where he led the development of UnityVS. He has a passion for developer tools and programming languages, and has been working in developer technologies for over the last decade.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two weeks ago during the Connect() event we announced the release of the Visual Studio Tools for Unity 2.0 Preview. VSTU is Microsoft\u2019s free Visual Studio add-on that enables a rich programming and debugging experience for working with the Unity gaming tools and platform. The support for Visual Studio 2015 Preview is one of VSTU [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":255385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[472,155],"tags":[9,179,137,182],"class_list":["post-103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gaming","category-visual-studio","tag-debug","tag-game-development","tag-html","tag-unity"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"<p>Two weeks ago during the Connect() event we announced the release of the Visual Studio Tools for Unity 2.0 Preview. VSTU is Microsoft\u2019s free Visual Studio add-on that enables a rich programming and debugging experience for working with the Unity gaming tools and platform. The support for Visual Studio 2015 Preview is one of VSTU [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}