Visual Studio 2022 17.7 is now generally available. It brings plenty of features and improvements to create a high-level developer experience, based on community feedback. There are new features within .NET and C++ development as well as these ones that improve overall performance. The latest version is available for download.
Visual Studio 2022 17.7 contains some productivity features. Among others, there is a convenient file comparison within the Solution Explorer, eliminating the need for external tools. Within the Solution Explorer, it is possible to effortlessly compare files using methods such as right-clicking on a file and selecting "Compare With..." to open File Explorer, or multi-selecting files with Ctrl and choosing "Compare Selected" from the context menu.
The newest Visual Studio version also enables GitHub Actions workflow creation within Solution Explorer. Supporting Azure Container Apps and Kubernetes, it allows single workflow multi-project deployment. For GitHub projects, a Solution Explorer node appears, offering easy workflow initiation.
Github Actions (Source: Microsoft blog)
In Visual Studio 2022 version 17.7, significant performance enhancements are introduced, targeting areas like F5 Speed, enhanced C# Light Bulb Performance, reduced memory usage in C# spell checker, optimised IntelliSense for C++ Unreal Engine, Solution Explorer, and Find in Files.
Moreover, Visual Studio 2022 boosts F5 Speed with optimised PDB opening, trimming 4 seconds from Unreal Editor project screen loading. This aids native and managed debugging, offering a 5-10% initial F5 improvement in debugger start and process launch times. In Unreal Editor tests, debugger-launched project selection was 21% faster.
(Source: Microsoft blog)
Continuing with the improvements, Visual Studio bolsters C# Light Bulb performance. Tasks like Fix Formatting and Simplify Type Name display actions swiftly. This responsiveness extends to substantial documents. Furthermore, C# spell checker's memory usage is reduced by 90%, thanks to LSP enhancements. This translates to accelerated speed, efficiency, communication, and scalability within the spell-checking framework.
Regarding the .NET development, Visual Studio introduces enhanced External Source Debugging with auto-decompilation for .NET code. Debugger displays execution points when stepping into external code, aiding call stack analysis by navigating directly to code on double-clicking stack frames. Detailed CPU usage insights are provided for specific methods like Enum.HasFlag, String.StartsWith, aiding code optimisation. A preview feature integrates GitHub Copilot chat for CPU usage tool, offering issue explanations and fixes for code enhancement.
There were also plenty of improvements within C++ and game development such as C++ build insights or observing the step-by-step expansion of macros. IDE incorporates Build Insights for optimizing C++ build times. Capturing trace data is simplified, and new features like Included Files and Include Tree view aid understanding. The "Open in WPA" option enables advanced profiling, while the post-compilation diagnostic report identifies expensive includes and facilitates header file navigation.
In Visual Studio 17.7, additions related to Linux and embedded development with C++ appeared. Visual Studio now offers effortless WSL acquisition. Opening a CMake project prompts WSL installation through a gold bar or Project menu. Remote File Explorer gains search functionality, facilitating file navigation on the remote machine. In order to get access, it is needed to choose View > Remote File Explorer after Linux and Embedded Workflow download.
In ASP.NET projects, Visual Studio integrates npm Dependency Management by displaying package.json packages under the Dependencies node in Solution Explorer. This centralizes solution dependencies, including .NET references and NuGet packages. It is available to add, restore, update, or uninstall npm packages via right-click actions. Additionally, project templates now use Vite instead of create-react-app and vue cli for faster builds and server start.
In general, Visual Studio 2022 17.7 got positive feedback from the community. However, beneath the official announcement there appeared some comments about issues after upgrading Visual Studio, relating to Unity or running IDE, among others.