Visual Studio 11 New Features

Highlights

• Simplified & productive development environment (work flows).
• Collaborative Agile development programs.
• Modern consumer & business applications.
• Team Foundation Server seamless integration.
• New Templates.
• Visual Studio editor enhancements.
• Sprint Planning Tool

New Features

• Visual Studio IDE theme
  
  The Visual Studio IDE has some themes and the developers can change the theme color like gray background and standard IDE environment. A shortcut key has been added to open the options editor window.
   
• Search in the Solution Explorer, Teams Explorer etc.
  
  The Solution Explorer and Teams Explorer has the search text box where you can search the pages, tasks, users in the explorers.
   
• Filter of Toolbox controls
  
  The Toolbox has the search text box; it will be very useful to filter the controls in the view. Suppose if you type button then it will show only two controls such as Button and Link Button.
  It will be very useful when we have many custom controls in the Toolbox.
   
• History
  
  The page creation history caintains the last activities.
   
• Metro Style application
  
  The Metro Style template is added to get the effect of the Metro Style in mobiles. The Metro Style application is implemented in the Windows 8 operating system. The PC tablets will have this style and the Metro Style can be applied to web applications and Windows mobile applications.
   
• Integration of TFS (Team Foundation Server)
  
  The Team Foundation Server is seamlessly integrated with the Visual Studio to manage all the activities like version control, project management activities, tasks and defects management.
  The TFS will be connected with the application when it is integrated with the solution while creating.
   
• Agile development programs
  
  The Visual Studio IDE has been designed in such a way that the teams, version control, project development model and defects are in one roof. While creating the project itself they can select the iterations and tasks can be created and assigned to the users (teams).
   
• ASP.Net MVC 4.0
  
  ASP.Net MVC version 4.0 is released with several features:
  
  1. Improved templates
  2. Minification and Bundling
  3. Web API's
  4. Async Support
  5. Mobile Binding
  6. Single Page application
  7. Display modes in the text box
   
• New HTML5 and CSS support
  
  The HTML5 elements are supported in the Visual Studio 11
  The CSS are not required to load entirely and it can be given up to path.
   
• Match the end tag when edit the start tag
  
  The developers were lazy to change the end tag whenever they change in the start tag. For example when they change div to span, the ending tag was not replaced and that led to compilation errors. This Visual Studio 11 simplifies the developers work and when the start tag changes the matching end tag will be replaced automatically.
   
• Simulator to test the Metro Style application
  
  The current laptop models are not supported for the Metro Style application and it has been added in the Window 8. Using the current laptop model, the developers can run the Metro Style application in the simulator. It can be set on the browser or by hand. It has the feature of zooms, changing resolution, select by hand or cursor, etc.
   
• TFS web access
  
  The Visual Studio has the Team Foundation server web based management portal, where you can maintain the agile development programs. The application can be hosted on the server and it can be available to the customers as well.
   
• Enhanced unit test and improved performance in Unit Testing
  
  1. Search in Unit testing explorer
  2. Colors and themes
  3. MS-Test improvement
  4. Many performance & Scale improvements (Twice faster compare as Visual Studio 2010)
  5. Supporting for Testing Async
   
• Add new items in Solution Explorer
  
  Now developers can add web forms, JavaScript and CSS files by right-clicking in the Solution Explorer. There is no need to add these items by clicking Add New Item.
   
• Manage NuGet Packages
  
  The Visual Studio IDE provides the ability to update the latest versions of add-ins through the NuGet packages. All the items can be updated and when a new version is released the next version will be shown with an install option. 
   
• Auto Complete in control
  
  The developers no longer need to write ASP.Net web control tags. There is now a shortcut to add them in the design of the web forms. For example if the developer wants to add the GridView then they only need to type GV and tab; the tab will add the control in the position.
   
• Web control tasks
  
  The web control in the .aspx page has the tasks panel. Usually it will be displayed in design view and the same thing has implemented in the design code (.aspx).
  Keeping the cursor on the control will show the tasks panel, where the user can select the design.
   
• Generate the User control
  
  If the user wants to split the portion of the .aspx page into web user control then they need to select it and right-click to user control; it will create the control as a separate page and it will add the directives in the page and place the tag as well.
   
• Routing
  
  The Routing has been made easy to show in the url. The global.aspx file event supports the set up of the routing for the pages in the web site.
   
• ViewState mode
  
  The viewstate is the property in the page directives and it has the new option of "disabled" along with "enabled".
   
• Textbox Modes
  
  The developers were needed to write validation to the text box for different purpose like numbers, email.
  The Visual Studio 11 supports new textbox modes like phone number, email, etc.
   
• Display Text in Property
  
  When we use the collection the name of the property was used as display text in many places like Grid. There was some need to display the text.
   
  [Display (Name="Employee Name")]
  Public string EmployeeName
  {
  get;
   set;
  }
   
• Preview of Image
  
  The folder which has the images can be viewed on the mouse over of the every image in the Solution Explorer. It will be convenient to preview and assign the images to the controls.
   
• JavaScript Minification and Bundling
  
  The JavaScript minification is one of the mechanisms to improve the performance of the web application. When we have 10 JavaScript or CSS files in one folder, if you want references for them in our application then it is not required to reference them individually.
  
  <script type="text/javascript" src="JSscripts/"></script>
  <link href="CSS/" type="text/css"/>
  
  It will load all the JavaScript files in the folder and all CSS files in the folder. When we bundle the JavaScript it will not request and load again and again. It will be cached in the client browser. It will generate the GUID for those files and if there is any change in the JavaScript file then it will be automatically loaded and rendered again. The System.Web.Optimization namespace is added.
   
• Image Embed
  
  When an image is included in the CSS class then it will be downloaded for every request on the server. It will decrease the performance of the application. The CSS has the new property to embed the image with the CSS.
  Img? Embed
  It will not be downloaded as a separate image and embedded in the web page.