Microsoft has announced the release of the first preview of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.7. Preview 1 brings a range of improvements and features aimed at enhancing developer productivity. It also includes enhancements for .NET and cloud development, as well as for C++ and game development. It is available for download, and developers have the opportunity to explore and utilize its advancements in the preview version.
Regarding productivity enhancements. In response to popular demand from the developer community, Preview 1 introduces a significant improvement that allows users to compare files more conveniently. This feature can be accessed through the context menu within the Solution Explorer section of Visual Studio. Two new options, namely "Compare with..." and "Select for Compare," have been added, allowing developers to easily compare files inside Visual Studio.
From this version, developers can now visualize multiple branches in a single graph, facilitating a better understanding of branch relationships using Multi-branch Graph and Git Repository improvements. Other enhancements include the ability to collapse the Branches panel, maximize commit details, view author avatars in Azure DevOps repos, and smoother graph updates. The feature is available for preview under the "Git Repository multiple branch history" flag in the Tools > Options > Preview Features menu. Microsoft also welcomes user feedback through a survey to further enhance this functionality.
Other notable productivity features include an automatic indentation fix when copying code from the editor and pasting it into other programs like Outlook, Teams, or Slack, and improvements regarding the search feature inside of IDE.
Furthermore, the initial preview release of Visual Studio 2022 version 17.7 brings a range of enhancements targeted at .NET and Cloud development. Notably, IntelliTest now offers support for .NET 6+ and NetStandard, providing developers with improved testing capabilities. Additionally, another notable feature provides a way for ASP.NET Core Blazor WebAssembly (WASM) projects to be published directly to Azure Static Web Apps, simplifying the deployment process.
In addition to these advancements, F# developers can benefit from the inclusion of inline return type hints. By enabling this feature in the Tools -> Options -> Text Editor -> F# -> Advanced -> Display return type hints menu, developers can access hints for return types. Next, the update includes an extensive list of code fixes specifically tailored for F# development, further improving the overall coding experience. For a detailed overview of these code fixes, developers can refer to the GitHub pull request associated with the release.
C++ and game development improvements are part of this release, including features such as Unreal Engine Macros Formatting for C++. This highly anticipated addition addresses user feedback and a Developer Community ticket, offering developers the option to utilize specialized indentation rules for Unreal Engine macros. When enabled as a preview feature, Visual Studio automatically applies appropriate indentation and formatting rules for reflection macros in Unreal Engine projects.
Another noteworthy feature is the Unreal Engine Naming Convention Checker for C++, which provides naming convention warnings and Quick Fix options when symbols do not adhere to the Unreal Engine coding style. To modify the severity level, developers can navigate to Tools -> Options -> Text Editor -> C/C++ -> Code Style -> Linter, ensuring the presence of an .editorconfig file for optimal utilization.
In addition to the original release blog post, in the last paragraphs, Microsoft and the development team encourage users to provide feedback and share their suggestions for new features and improvements, emphasizing their commitment to constantly enhancing the Visual Studio experience.
Lastly, developers interested in learning more about this and other releases of Visual Studio can visit very detailed release notes about updates, changes, and new features around the Visual Studio 2022 IDE.