When you install Visual Studio, what do you do next?  Configure your keyboard?  Change your settings?  I would like to encourage you to add to your list by installing these two extensions.

When you install VS, what do YOU customize?  Your keyboard?  Cool!  Tools|Options?  Awesome.  But what next?  Do you include Extensions in your list?  I do, here's two which should be on your list of Must Have Exensions!

First, a slight tangent to talk about Extensions.  As powerful as VS is, it's not perfect.  "GASP!!!!!!  No, don't say that Peter!!!!!!"  Yes, it's true, it's an AWESOME TOOL, in fact I would argue it's "da best darn IDE out dar!" LOL  But it's "arguable" right?  So what's MS to do then?  Well, the smart people at MS have opened up VS to the masses and exposed themselves (uh, in a very legal way LOL) to other IDE developers to let them fill in the holes.  These other IDE people can write plugins, extensions, modules, addins, what-ever you call them, they're additions to your IDE which automate the things YOU want to make easier to do which VS doesn't do natively.

What things you ask?  Great question, cause what on earth could VS be missing, right?  Well, did you notice you have to manually issue a Format Document?  Why can't VS just do it on a save?  There's an extension for that.  What about copying references from one project/solution to another one?  Oh that's annoying, you have to do it manually, there's an extension for that!  What about......ok, ok, you get the picture, there's something things VS could do, but for what ever reason, they didn't.  Here's two extensions I think are key to your success in using VS 2010!

 PowerCommands for VisualStudio 2010 (made by Microsoft and it's free)

If you think you've seen this name before, it's probably cause you have!  Ya, it's been around for a while for previous version of VS (I want to thank Shane and Chris for introducing me to this with VS 2008).  This extension gives you "menu enhancements."  You're able to do things like open the folder you're currently looking at in the Solution Explorer, Format your code on Save, shrink down all projects to just the name (great for larger solutions), let's you copy/paste references across project/solutions (invaluable!).  Again, these are "menu" types of enhancements which can be setup with keyboard shortcuts!  In fact, I would encourage you to do this!  There are many other key functions this extension does, but I leave that up to you to investigate, I just noted the ones I think which will entice you to take a look.

 

 

  Productivity Power Tools (made by Microsoft and it's free)

This extension is brand new and gives you "editor enhancements."  Things like automatic bracket completion IS SIMPLY AWESOME and alone worth it's weight in gold!  The ability to move lines up/down is another great feature (ALT+up or down, careful I had to custom add the down one to make it work).

Another cool feature is Colorized Help.  Here's a before and after picture to help you compare what you're going to get.

Before:

After:

The changes are subtle but extremely helpful when it comes time to zooming in on the item YOU want to focus on, be it the method name, or the parameter data types, it's up to you.

Again, like the other extension, there are many other things in there (like better tab management) but I'll let you investigate them.

Ok, so now you know about these extensions, uh....what happens when the person/company who created them updates them?  Well, in VS 2008 you had to manually go looking for them and update them yourself.  But in VS 2010, you still have to go looking, but you have ONE place to look, see and install any updates it finds.  Here's how that looks.  Notice, when/if there are any Extensions requiring updates, you'll see it on the left, AND you'll have a button to click on for updating just the ones you want to update.  Once you do that, you may see a Restart button down on the bottom beside the Close button.  This will power-cycle Visual Studio in case the extension requires it.  Nothing to be afraid of (unless you didn't save something? DOH!).

You can't beat the prices of these extensions and since they're by MS, you can assume a certain high level of functionality and integrity.  Now you know how to increase your productivity, it's time to grab a coffee and get coding!

PS  If  you're thinking of asking me which other Extensions I have installed?  Great question, I'm glad you asked! HAHA  I have three additional ones, they are:

1. Hide Main Menu, this is GREAT for maximizing screen real estate, pressing ALT key brings back the menu, so you're not losing anything.
2. MoveToRegionVSX, I installed this one to help move methods around in regions, to be honest, I haven't used it much, but I plan in it ASAP!
3. VisualSVN, this is key to helping me show differences in code, commits, get updates, etc.

Do you have any others?  Please post a comment letting me know what's useful for you!  In the Extension Gallery, there are hundreds, if not thousands of extensions, that's a huge number to try to filter through and pick the REALLY good ones.  Let's help each other!

 

Resources

Microsoft: Visual Studio Gallery (Extensions home)

Visual Studio Gallery: Productivity Power Tools

Visual Studio Gallery: PowerCommands for Visual Studio 2010

ScottGu's Blog: VS 2010 Productivity Power Tools Update (with some cool new features)