Merge pull request #6438 from ornellaalt/prodguide

Productivity guide & productivity tips merger

Author: GitHubber17

docs/ide/productivity-features.md

@@ -1,26 +1,42 @@
 ---
-title: Productivity tips
-ms.date: 2/21/2019
+title: Productivity guide
+ms.date: 4/29/2020
 ms.topic: conceptual
 author: ornellaalt
 ms.author: ornella
 manager: jillfra
 ms.workload:
 - multiple
 ---
-# Productivity tips for Visual Studio
+# Productivity guide for Visual Studio
 
-This articles discusses tips for Visual Studio features that help you write, navigate, and debug your code more quickly and efficiently.
+If you want to save time while you're writing code, you're in the right place. This productivity guide includes tips that can help you get started with Visual Studio, write code, debug code, handle errors, and use keyboard shortcuts—all on one page.
 
 For information about helpful keyboard shortcuts, see [Productivity shortcuts](../ide/productivity-shortcuts.md). For a complete list of command shortcuts, see [Default keyboard shortcuts](../ide/default-keyboard-shortcuts-in-visual-studio.md).
 
+## Get started
+
+Save time digging through menus by quickly searching for anything you need, including commands, settings, documentation, and install options. See keyboard shortcuts for commands within your search results in Visual Studio so you can memorize them more easily. 
+
+- **Mock code using task list**. If you don't have enough requirements to complete a piece of code, use Task List to track code comments that use tokens such as `TODO` and `HACK`, or custom tokens, and to manage shortcuts that take you directly to a predefined location in code. For more information, see [Use the Task List](../ide/using-the-task-list.md.).
+
+- **Use Solution Explorer shortcuts**. If you're new to Visual Studio, these shortcuts will come in handy and save you time while you're coming up to speed on a new codebase. For the full list of shortcuts, see [Default keyboard shortcuts in Visual Studio](../ide/default-keyboard-shortcuts-in-visual-studio.md#bkmk_solutionexplorerGLOBAL).
+
+- **[Identify and customize keyboard shortcuts in Visual Studio](../ide/identifying-and-customizing-keyboard-shortcuts-in-visual-studio.md)**. You can identify keyboard shortcuts for Visual Studio commands, customize those shortcuts, and export them for others to use. You can always find and change a keyboard shortcut in the Options dialog box.
+
+- **Make Visual Studio more accessible**. Visual Studio has built-in accessibility features that are compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies. See [Accessibility tips and tricks for Visual Studio](../ide/reference/accessibility-tips-and-tricks.md) for the full list of available features. 
+
+- **Check out the Visual Studio Product Lifecycle and Servicing**. For information on how to get updates for Visual Studio, support options for Enterprise and Professional customers, support for older versions of Visual Studio, and components not covered by Visual Studio servicing, see [Visual Studio Product Lifecycle and Servicing](https://docs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/releases/2019/servicing). 
+
+- **Install and manage NuGet packages in Visual Studio**. The NuGet Package Manager UI in Visual Studio on Windows allows you to easily install, uninstall, and update NuGet packages in projects and solutions. For more information, see [Install and manage packages in Visual Studio using the NuGet Package Manager](https://docs.microsoft.com/nuget/consume-packages/install-use-packages-visual-studio).
+
 ## Write code
 
 Write code more quickly by using the following features.
 
 - **Use convenience commands**. Visual Studio contains various commands to help you accomplish common editing tasks faster. For example, you can choose a command to easily duplicate a line of code without having to copy it, reposition the cursor, and then paste it. Choose **Edit** > **Duplicate** or press **Ctrl**+**E**,**V**. You can also quickly expand or contract a selection of text by choosing **Edit** > **Advanced** > **Expand Selection** or **Edit** > **Advanced** > **Contract Selection**, or by pressing **Shift**+**Alt**+**=** or **Shift**+**Alt**+**-**.
 
-- **Use IntelliSense**. As you enter code in the editor, IntelliSense information, such as List Members, Parameter Info, Quick Info, Signature Help, and Complete Word, appears. These features support fuzzy matching of text; for example, the results lists for List Members includes not only entries that start with the characters that you have entered but also entries that contain the character combination anywhere in their names. For more information, see [Use IntelliSense](../ide/using-intellisense.md).
+- **Use IntelliSense**. As you enter code in the editor, IntelliSense information, such as List Members, Parameter Info, Quick Info, Signature Help, and Complete Word, appears. These features support fuzzy matching of text; for example, the results lists for List Members include not only entries that start with the characters that you have entered but also entries that contain the character combination anywhere in their names. For more information, see [Use IntelliSense](../ide/using-intellisense.md).
 
 - **Change auto-insertion of IntelliSense options as you enter code**. By switching IntelliSense to suggestion mode, you can specify that IntelliSense options are inserted only if you explicitly choose them.
 
@@ -38,9 +54,13 @@ Write code more quickly by using the following features.
 
 - **Use sample applications**. You can speed up application development by downloading and installing sample applications from [Microsoft Developer Network](https://code.msdn.microsoft.com/). You can also learn a particular technology or programming concept by downloading and exploring a Sample Pack for that area.
 
-## Navigate within your code
+- **Change brace formatting with Formatting/New Lines**. Use the **Formatting**  options page to set options  for formatting code in the code editor, including new lines. For more information on how to use this setting in C#, see [Options dialog box: Text Editor > C# > Code Style > Formatting](../ide/reference/options-text-editor-csharp-formatting.md). For C++, see [Set your C++ coding preferences in Visual Studio](https://docs.microsoft.com/cpp/ide/how-to-set-preferences). For Python, see [Format Python code](../python/formatting-python-code.md).
+
+- **Change your indentation with Tabs**. Use custom editor settings, tailored to each codebase, to enforce consistent coding styles for multiple developers working on the same project across different editors and IDEs. Ensure your whole team follows the same language conventions, naming conventions, and formatting rules. Since these custom settings are portable and travel with your code, you can enforce coding styles even outside of Visual Studio. For more information, see [Options, Text Editor, All Languages, Tabs](../ide/reference/options-text-editor-all-languages-tabs.md#tabs).
 
-You can use various techniques to find and move to specific locations in your code more quickly.
+## Navigate within your code and the IDE
+
+You can use various techniques to find and move to specific locations in your code more quickly. You can also change the layout of your Visual Studio windows based on your preferences. 
 
 - **Bookmark lines of code**. You can use bookmarks to navigate quickly to specific lines of code in a file.
 
@@ -52,6 +72,14 @@ You can use various techniques to find and move to specific locations in your co
 
 - **Browse the overall structure of your code**. In **Solution Explorer**, you can search and browse classes and their types and members in your projects. You can also search for symbols, view a method's Call Hierarchy, find symbol references, and perform other tasks. If you choose a code element in **Solution Explorer**, the associated file opens in a **Preview** tab, and the cursor moves to the element in the file. For more information, see [View the structure of code](../ide/viewing-the-structure-of-code.md).
 
+- **Jump to a location in a file with map mode**. Map mode displays lines of code, in miniature, on the scroll bar. For more information about this display mode, see [How to: Customize the scroll bar](../ide/how-to-track-your-code-by-customizing-the-scrollbar.md#map-mode).
+
+- **Understand your code structure with code map**. Code maps can help you  visualize dependencies across your code, and see how it fits together without reading through files and lines of code. For more information, see [Map dependencies with code maps](../modeling/map-dependencies-across-your-solutions.md).
+
+- **See frequently used files with Edit/Go to Recent File**. Use the Go To commands in Visual Studio to perform a focused search of your code to help you quickly find specified items. For  detailed instructions, see [Find code using Go To commands](../ide/go-to.md).
+
+- **Move the [Properties window](../ide/reference/properties-window.md) to the right-hand side**. If you're looking for a more familiar window layout, you can move the Properties window in Visual Studio by pressing **F4**.
+
 ## Find items faster
 
 You can search across the IDE for commands, files, and options, in addition to filtering the contents of tool windows to show only relevant information for your current task.
@@ -82,6 +110,8 @@ You can search across the IDE for commands, files, and options, in addition to f
 
 Debugging can consume a lot of time, but the following tips can help you speed up the process.
 
+- **Use the Visual Studio debugger tools**. In the Visual Studio context, when you *debug your app*, it usually means that you are running the application in debugger mode. The debugger provides many ways to see what your code is doing while it runs. See [First look at the Visual Studio Debugger](../debugger/debugger-feature-tour.md) for a guide to getting started. 
+
 - **Test the same page, application, or site in different browsers**. As you debug your code, you can easily switch among the installed web browsers, including [Page Inspector (Visual Studio)](https://msdn.microsoft.com/Library/65880969-1ad2-47be-85b9-bb12c81bf209), without having to open the **Browse With** dialog box. You can use the **Debug Target** list, which is on the **Standard** toolbar next to the **Start Debugging** button, to quickly verify which browser you're using as you debug or view pages.
 
     ![Select web browser debug options](../ide/media/webbrowserdropdowntoolbar.png)
@@ -102,6 +132,12 @@ Debugging can consume a lot of time, but the following tips can help you speed u
 
      For more information about additional commands, see [Visual Studio command aliases](../ide/reference/visual-studio-command-aliases.md).
 
+- **[Find code changes and other history with CodeLens](../ide/find-code-changes-and-other-history-with-codelens.md)**. CodeLens lets you stay focused on your work while you find out what happened to your code—without leaving the editor. You can find references to a piece of code, changes to your code, linked bugs, work items, code reviews, and unit tests.
+
+- **Use Live Share to debug in real time with others**. Live Share enables you to collaboratively edit and debug with others in real time, regardless of the programming languages you're using or app types you're building. For more information, see [What is Visual Studio Live Share?](https://docs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/liveshare/)
+
+- **Use Interactive Window to write and test small code**. Visual Studio provides an interactive read-evaluate-print-loop (REPL) window that lets you enter arbitrary code and see immediate results. This way of coding helps you to learn and experiment with APIs and libraries, and to interactively develop working code to include in your projects. For Python, see [Work with the Python Interactive window](../python/python-interactive-repl-in-visual-studio.md). The Interactive Window feature is also available for C#. 
+
 ## Access Visual Studio tools
 
 You can quickly access the Developer Command Prompt, or another Visual Studio tool, if you pin it to the Start menu or the taskbar.
@@ -124,7 +160,7 @@ You can quickly access the Developer Command Prompt, or another Visual Studio to
 
 At any one time, you may be working in multiple code files and moving among several tool windows as you develop an application. You can keep organized by using the following tips:
 
-- **Keep files that you frequently use visible in the editor**. You can pin files to the left side of the tab well so that they remain visible regardless of how many files are open in the editor.
+- **Keep files that you frequently use visible in the editor**. You can pin files to the left side of the tab so that they remain visible regardless of how many files are open in the editor.
 
    To pin a file, choose the file's tab, and then choose the **Toggle Pin Status** button.