{"id":245781,"date":"2023-11-14T09:55:04","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T17:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/?p=245781"},"modified":"2024-01-30T17:10:40","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T01:10:40","slug":"visual-studio-17-8-now-available","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/visualstudio\/visual-studio-17-8-now-available\/","title":{"rendered":"Visual Studio 17.8 now available!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unlock New Heights in Developer Productivity: Optimized C++ Support, Enhanced Enterprise Capabilities, and Full .NET 8 Integration<\/strong><\/p>\n

Download Visual Studio 2022<\/a><\/div><\/p>\n

The latest update (17.8) for Visual Studio 2022 is now generally available! Offering a comprehensive suite of enhancements that span productivity, programming languages, and enterprise management, this general release is a monumental step forward. Developed with extensive user feedback, this version is fully compatible with .NET 8, which is also generally available as of today.<\/p>\n

Let us know your favorite feature<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Area<\/strong><\/td>\nEnhancements<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Productivity<\/strong>\u202f<\/a><\/td>\nGitHub Copilot<\/a><\/p>\n

Create a Pull Request<\/a>\u00a0(\ud83d\ude4fCommunity Suggestion<\/a> \u2013 293 votes)<\/p>\n

Case Preserving Find and Replace<\/a> (\ud83d\ude4fCommunity Suggestion<\/a> – 76 votes)<\/p>\n

Multi-Repo limit increase<\/a> (\ud83d\ude4fCommunity Suggestion<\/a> \u2013 8 votes)<\/p>\n

Summary Diff & improvements<\/a> (\ud83d\ude4fCommunity Suggestion<\/a> – 7 votes)<\/p>\n

Remote Linux Unit Test Support<\/a><\/p>\n

Make Global Function Static<\/a><\/p>\n

Sort #include Directives<\/a><\/p>\n

Visual Studio Update Notification<\/a><\/p>\n

GitHub Avatars added to Git Repository Window<\/a><\/p>\n

Teams Toolkit<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Performance Enhancements<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n\n

Improved Razor\/Blazor Responsiveness\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Enhanced F5 Speed<\/a><\/p>\n

Optimized IntelliSense for C++ Unreal Engine\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Build Acceleration for Non-SDK style .NET Projects<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

C++ Game Dev<\/strong>\u202f<\/a><\/td>\nC++ Structure Diagnostics<\/a><\/p>\n

CMake Targets View Improvements<\/a><\/p>\n

Size and Alignment of C++ Classes, Struct, and Union<\/a><\/p>\n

Make member function const hints<\/a><\/p>\n

C++ Standard Library<\/a><\/p>\n

Unreal Engine Test Adapter<\/a><\/p>\n

Unreal Engine Code Snippets<\/a><\/p>\n

Unreal Engine Macro Specifier Suggestions<\/a><\/p>\n

Build Insights Function View<\/a><\/p>\n

Structured Diagnostics<\/a><\/p>\n

C11 Threading Support\u202f<\/a><\/p>\n

Remote File Explorer Improvements<\/a><\/p>\n

Size and Alignment Hints<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

F#<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\nNew code fix<\/a><\/p>\n

Improved autocompletion<\/a><\/p>\n

Reduced noise in parameter name hints<\/a><\/p>\n

Diagnostics for unopened files<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

.NET\/C#<\/strong>\u202f<\/a><\/td>\n.NET Counters Tool in Debugging Scenario<\/a><\/p>\n

How to safely use secrets in HTTP files<\/a><\/p>\n

.NET Counter Support for New Instruments via Meters API<\/a><\/p>\n

BenchmarkDotNet IDiagnosers<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

JavaScript and TypeScript Development<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\nlaunch.json support for open folder<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Debugging and Diagnostics<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\nCross-platform Enc\/Hot Reload debugging support (Docker, WSL)<\/a><\/p>\n

Debug Linux App Services via Attach to Process<\/a><\/p>\n

Test Profiling with VS Profiler<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Razor Tooling<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a><\/td>\nCode Action for Event Handler Method Generation<\/a><\/p>\n

Background Color for C# Code<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Testing<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\nNew IntelliTest now in Preview<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SQL Server Data Tools<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\nUpgraded Microsoft.Data.SQLClient (MDS) 3.0 to MDS 5.0 and more!<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Enterprise Management<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\nAbility to install just the Installer<\/a><\/p>\n

Admins can prompt users to close VS to unblock administrator updates<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

This release is a big deal not just for its extensive list of features but also for its emphasis on community-driven enhancements. The above features are the top-ranking improvements, voted by customers themselves. For enterprises, this version simplifies client initialization and adds new management features, ensuring that development teams can operate efficiently. Advanced debugging controls and expanded Test Profiling options are part of this release, providing crucial metrics for application performance optimization.<\/p>\n

Productivity<\/strong><\/h2>\n

GitHub Copilot<\/h4>\n

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. A GitHub Copilot subscription is required to activate features; free trial is available<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Component details here: Visual Studio Enterprise workload and component IDs | Microsoft Learn.<\/a><\/p>\n

Create a Pull Request \u2013 Add reviewers and edit descriptions with Markdown all in Visual Studio<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

We see lots of engagement on this <\/span>Developer Community ticket<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> In response, 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 in Git Changes after pushing, or from the top-level menu via Git > GitHub\/Azure DevOps > New Pull Request. In each preview version of Visual Studio <\/span>since 17.7 preview 2<\/span><\/a>, we\u2019ve shared new updates on this experience, and we\u2019re excited to make this available as a feature to general audiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Take <\/span>this survey<\/span><\/a> to let us know what you think.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Case Preserving Find and Replace<\/h4>\n

When you do a Replace, you can now preserve the original casing of each match in your code. Note that to get Pascal case and Camel case, your Replace string must also be in Pascal case or Camel case.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Toggle case preservation in the Replace window with \u2018Alt+V\u2019 or by clicking on the \u2018Preserve case\u2019 option.<\/p>\n

Quick Replace (Ctrl+H):<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Replace in Files (Ctrl+Shift+H):<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Share your thoughts on the case preserving replace experience on this Developer Community ticket<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Multi-Repo Limit Increase<\/h4>\n

As more of you are using our Multi-repository features, we heard on this Developer Community suggestion ticket<\/a> that many of you needed the number of active repositories to be more than 10. You can now work with up to 25 repositories at once in your solution.<\/p>\n

Summary Diff (and Improvements!)<\/h4>\n

Leverage the new summary difference view to focus on the changes in your code.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Enabled in every comparison view, the new summary difference view allows you to toggle\u00a0the context lines to do file comparison faster. We’ve also implemented the Summary view in the diff and compare views. This new option allows you to see only the changes in the file with a few lines of context, making reviewing your changes in a commit or the comparison between two files much more efficient.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Let us know what you think of this feature by sharing your feedback here<\/a> and engage with us on the suggestion ticket in Developer Community<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Remote Linux Unit Test Support<\/h4>\n

We have added support so that you can run CTest and GTest tests on your remote Linux machines from Visual Studio\u2019s Test Explorer, just like you would any local tests.<\/p>\n

Make Global Function Static<\/h4>\n

Visual Studio now prompts you to mark global functions as static. When you encounter a global function without a forward declaration, Visual Studio will offer a quick fix, represented by a screwdriver icon.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

You can customize the setting for this feature under Tools > Options > Text Editor > C\/C++ > IntelliSense. To learn more about this feature and Make Member Function Const, visit our Make Member Function const and Global Function Static in Visual Studio Blog.<\/a><\/p>\n

Clean Up and Sort #include Directives<\/h4>\n

You can now sort and clean up your #include directives automatically.<\/p>\n

Unused #include directives will be dimmed in the editor. You can hover over a dimmed include and use the lightbulb menu to either remove that include or all unused includes.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

There is now also the option to add #include directives for entities which are currently indirectly included via other headers. For example, if you use std::string in your code but don\u2019t #include <string>, the code will still work if some other header you include transitively includes the correct header. This makes the code fragile to changes in other headers. If #include cleanup detects indirect headers, a quick action (indicated by three dots in the default view) will appear. Hovering over it will inform you that content from that transitive include is being used. Then, you have the option to either add the direct include individually or add all transitively used includes.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

Find out more about this feature at Clean up C\/C++ #includes in Visual Studio<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To automatically sort #includes, right-click on any #include statement. Then, hovering over the #include directives option in the context menu will reveal “Sort #include directives.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

You can also configure transitive include cleanups and include sorting through the Code Cleanup entry. First, open the Code Cleanup configuration menu through Analyze > Code Cleanup > Configure Code Cleanup, or by clicking the arrow next to the broom icon in the bottom status bar and selecting Configure Code Cleanup. Add the desired features to the Included fixers section, then click the broom icon to run them.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

You can configure include cleanup and sorting at Tools > Options > Text Editor > C\/C++ > Code Cleanup.<\/p>\n

Visual Studio Update Notification<\/h4>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

GitHub Avatars added to Git Repository Window<\/h4>\n

See your GitHub avatars in the multi-branch graph in the Git Repository Window.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Teams Toolkit<\/h4>\n

You can now create even more types of apps for Microsoft Teams using the new options released in the Microsoft Teams App project template. Included in Teams Toolkit<\/a> are now the options to create:<\/p>\n