Daily micro-tips for C#, SQL, performance, and scalable backend engineering.
Restarting app after every small change wastes minutes. Hot Reload applies changes to running app instantly. Enable Hot Reload: Click the flame icon 🔥 in Debug toolbar (or Alt+F10) Works While: – App is running (with or without debugger) – Even during breakpoints Supports: – Method body changes – Adding new methods – CSS/XAML changes […]
Constantly opening files to check definitions? Peek Definition shows code inline without switching files. Use Peek: Right-click symbol → Peek Definition (or Alt+F12) Features: – Shows definition in popup window – Edit code directly in peek window – Navigate to related definitions – Multiple peeks can be open simultaneously Keyboard Navigation: – Alt+F12: Peek Definition […]
Large solution taking 5 minutes to load? Solution filters load only selected projects instantly. Create Filter: 1. Right-click solution → Unload unnecessary projects 2. File → Save As Solution Filter (.slnf) 3. Next time: Open .slnf instead of .sln Result: Solution with 50 projects: 5 min load time Filter with 5 projects: 10 sec load […]
Need to debug app that’s already running? Attach debugger instead of restarting from VS. Steps: 1. Debug → Attach to Process (Ctrl+Alt+P) 2. Find your process (e.g., MyApp.exe, w3wp.exe for IIS) 3. Click Attach Debugger attaches to running process – breakpoints work immediately! Common Use Cases: – Debug production issues on server – Debug Windows […]
Editing same text on multiple lines one by one is tedious. Multi-caret lets you edit all simultaneously. Add Carets: Hold Alt + Click where you want additional cursors Or Select Multiple: 1. Select text 2. Press Ctrl+D repeatedly to select next occurrence 3. Type to change all at once Example: // Change all ‘firstName’ to […]
Lost track of important variable values when stepping through code? Pin them to keep them visible. How to Pin: // While debugging, hover over any variable var userId = 12345; // Click the pin icon that appears // Variable stays visible even when out of scope Benefits: Pinned variables persist across debug sessions. Close VS, […]
Debugging your code but accidentally stepping into framework methods like String.Format() or Linq internals? This wastes precious debugging time. The Annoying Problem: var users = GetUsers(); var result = users.Where(u => u.IsActive).ToList(); // Press F11 here // Debugger jumps into: // → Enumerable.cs (framework code) // → Buffer.cs // → List.cs // You just wanted […]
If your Visual Studio builds are taking forever, there’s a game-changing setting most developers miss entirely. The Problem: By default, Visual Studio uses only ONE CPU core for parallel project builds, even if you have 8, 16, or more cores available. This bottleneck can turn a 30-second build into a 2-minute nightmare. The Solution: Tools […]