Visual Assist

If you know your way around Microsoft Visual Studio, especially if you know its boundaries, you’ll find Visual Assist to have features you wish were standard in the IDE. This extension makes the IDE phenomenal.

It has a wealth of features to enhance developer productivity! Improve virtually every Microsoft IDE you have with the multitude of features that comprise Visual Assist.



If you're already a fast coder, a wee bit set in your ways, and skeptical of plug-ins and extensions, you'll really appreciate the understated interfaces of the program. This product doesn't get in your way.

If you cringe at the thought of another parser running as you edit, you'll be impressed with the speed of Visual Assist. This plug-in doesn't consume resources just to tell you you've violated a formatting standard.

What`s New

• Replace Find References Tree Control.
• Move Method to Base Class.
• Visual Assist Integration Modes (Accessible on first run).
• “Ray” style row indicator.
• Boilerplate generation for Google Test unit testing.

Features and Highlights

Navigation
Move about your code with newfound ease—to any file, method, symbol, or reference in your projects and solutions. Get anywhere from anywhere.

Refactoring
Reduce the complexity of your code, improve its readability, and make it extensible without changing its external behavior. Refactor legacy code, code you inherit, or the first version of your own work.

Code Generation
Generate code faster than you think possible, even if you use just a handful of the features in the app. As you become a proficient user, write and update code even faster.

Coding Assistance
Write code faster with the assistance that doesn't get in your way, especially when you're on a roll. Visual Assist suggests completions only if they save you serious typing, and quietly fixes mistakes in your wake.

Code Understanding
Make sense of complex code, or code you haven't touched in a long time, with an assortment of tool windows, browsers, and fields that provide information where and when you need it.

Code Correction
Watch the software correct mistakes as you make them, especially errors in symbol case and pointer notation. Type entirely in lower case, and watch Visual Assist correct the case of all of your symbols. Save the shift key for your definitions.

Code Inspection
Inspect your code for specific quality issues as you edit. The Code Inspection feature of Visual Assist, based on LLVM/Clang, diagnoses and fixes typical programming errors, like style violations, interface misuse, and bugs that can be deduced via static analysis.

Code Snippets
Expand frequently typed segments of code with a more powerful version of the like-named feature in the IDE. Include symbols from the current context, prompt for user input, and edit snippets in a custom editor.

Debug Assistance
Use the VA Memory View and the VA Step Filter included with the app to shorten the time required to debug native C/C++.

Tool Windows
View code from 30,000 feet, and rearrange code so it's easier to understand and maintain. Tool windows in the program supply entirely new functionality to the IDE, and bring together oft-used built-in functionality to more efficient tool windows.

Source Links
Connect comment substrings to external applications and websites, such as bug trackers, case managers, documentation, and source code control systems.

Configuration
Adjust the multitude of features in Visual Assist to suit your programming environment and habits. Find your favorite features, and make them hum for maximum productivity.

How to Use

• Open Visual Studio with Visual Assist enabled
• Use IntelliSense for improved code suggestions
• Navigate code with enhanced search tools
• Refactor code with automated tools
• Use code snippets for faster development
• Analyze and fix code with built-in debugging aids
• Customize settings for personal workflow
• Utilize enhanced syntax highlighting
• Keep Visual Assist updated for best performance

Pricing

Standard ($279, renews at $119):

• Perpetual license (not self-hosted)
• Licensed per named user
• Includes 1 year of updates, maintenance, and priority support
• Transferable via support request

Network Named User ($279, renews at $119):

• Perpetual license, self-hosted via ELC license server
• Licensed per named user
• Includes 1 year of updates, maintenance, and priority support
• Transferable within company by license admin

Concurrent ($499, renews at $249) (Most Flexible):

• Perpetual license, self-hosted via ELC license server
• Licensed per concurrent user
• Includes 1 year of updates, maintenance, and priority support
• Transferable within company by license admin

System Requirements

• Windows 10 or Windows 11
• Visual Studio 2015 or newer
• 2GB RAM (4GB recommended)
• 500MB available disk space
• Internet connection for activation

PROS

• Enhanced IntelliSense support
• Faster code navigation tools
• Powerful refactoring features
• Advanced code analysis options
• Customizable UI and shortcuts

CONS

• Requires Visual Studio to function
• Can slow down large projects
• Some features overlap with Visual Studio
• Occasional compatibility issues

Note: 30 days trial version. Requires Microsoft Visual C++.