The following diagram shows a XAML image element, whose source is a [Windows::UI::Xaml::Media::Imaging WriteableBitmap](/uwp/api/windows.ui.xaml.media.imaging.writeablebitmap). A client app that's written in any language can pass a reference to the `WriteableBitmap` to C++ code and then C++ can use the reference to get at the underlying buffer. In a Universal Windows Platform app that's written in C++, you can use the function in the following example directly in the source code without packaging it in a Windows Runtime component.

The IntelliSense code linter for C++ helps developers find and fix common C++ problems right inside Visual Studio. It's based on the same engine that provides C++ IntelliSense, so problems are flagged as soon as you type them.

::: moniker range=">=msvc-170"

(The presentation in Visual Studio 2019 is slightly different, but the options are similar.)

In Visual Studio 2019 and Visual Studio Code, you can use **Live Share** to collaborate on C++ projects in real-time. With **Live Share** another person can edit and debug your code without having to install your project or any of its dependencies. You see each other's edits as they occur, and each edit is tagged with the name of the person who made it.

- Reference Highlighting

- Diagnostics/Errors/Squiggles

Right-click an `#include` directive, and select **Go To Document**. Or, select **F12** with the cursor over that line to open the file.

You can navigate to the definition of a code symbol by right-clicking it in the editor and selecting **Go To Definition**, or by selecting **F12**. You can navigate to a declaration similarly by right-clicking to open the context menu, or by selecting **Ctrl+F12**.

**Go To** refers to a set of navigation features that each provide a specific kind of result based on filters you specify.

You can open **Go To** with **Ctrl+,**. This action creates a search box over the document you're editing.

**Go To** includes these search filters:

**Find** can be scoped to a selection, the current document, all open documents, the current project, or the entire solution. You can use regular expressions and plain text. It also highlights all matches automatically in the IDE.

**Find in Files** is a more powerful version of **Find** that displays results in the **Find Results** window. You can search external code dependencies, filter by file types, and more.

To find all usages of a symbol in your codebase, place the caret in or just after the symbol, right-click, and then select **Find All References**. You can filter, sort, or group results in many different ways. Results populate incrementally. They're classified as Reads or Writes to help you see what's in your solution as opposed to system headers or other libraries.

You group results by the following categories:

To filter results, hover over a column and select the filtering icon that pops up. You can filter results from the first column to hide things like string and comment references that you might not want to see.

- **Confirmed results**: Actual code references to the symbol being searched for. For example, searching for a member function called `Size` returns all references to `Size` that match the scope of the class that defines `Size`.

You can navigate to the definition of a type in a file, or to type members, by using the **Navigation Bar** that's above the editor window.

Right-click anywhere in a source code file and choose **Outlining** to collapse or expand code blocks and/or custom regions to make it easier to browse only the code you are interested in. For more information, see [Outlining](/visualstudio/ide/outlining).

When you place your cursor in front of a curly brace, '{' or '}', the editor highlights its matching counterpart.

You can zoom in or out in the editor by pressing the **Ctrl** key and scrolling with your mouse wheel. You can also zoom by using the zoom setting in the bottom left corner.

Scrollbar **Map Mode** enables you to quickly scroll and browse through a code file without leaving your current location. You can click anywhere on the code map to go directly to that location.

To turn on **Map Mode**, type "map" in the **Quick Launch** search box in the main toolbar and choose **Use scroll map mode**. For more information, see [How to: Track your code by customizing the scrollbar](/visualstudio/ide/how-to-track-your-code-by-customizing-the-scrollbar).

When you call a function, **Parameter Info** shows the types of parameters and the order in which they are expected.

Hover over a variable or function declaration, right-click, then choose **Peek Definition** to see an inline view of its definition without navigating away from your current location. For more information, see [Peek Definition (Alt+F12)](/visualstudio/ide/how-to-view-and-edit-code-by-using-peek-definition-alt-plus-f12).

**Class View** displays a searchable set of trees of all code symbols and their scope and parent/child hierarchies, organized on a per-project basis. You can configure what **Class View** displays from **Class View Settings** (click the gear box icon at the top of the window).

Right click on a code file in your project and choose **Generate graph of include files** to see a graph of which files are included by other files.

Right click on any function call and view a recursive list of all the functions that it calls, and all the functions that call it. Each function in the list can be expanded in the same way. For more information, see [Call Hierarchy](/visualstudio/ide/reference/call-hierarchy).

IntelliSense is a powerful code completion tool that suggests symbols and code snippets for you as you type. C++ IntelliSense in Visual Studio runs in real time, analyzing your codebase as you update it and providing recommendations. As you type more characters, the list of recommended results narrows down.

Some symbols are omitted automatically to help narrow down the results. For example, when accessing a class object's members from outside the class, you will not be able to see private members by default, or protected members (if you are not in the context of a child class). You can adjust the filtering by using the buttons at the bottom.

When writing C++, IntelliCode will assist when using popular libraries such as the C++ Standard Library. The context of your code is used to provide the most useful recommendations first. In the following example, the `size` member function is commonly used with the `sort` function, so it is surfaced to the top of the results list.

::: moniker range=">=msvc-160"

To override **Predictive IntelliSense** and show the longer list, press **Ctrl + J**. If **Predictive IntelliSense** is on, invoking **Ctrl + J** removes the Predictive filter. Pressing **Ctrl + J** again removes the accessibility filter from Member List results where relevant. The ([+]) button under the IntelliSense dropdown list does the same thing as **Ctrl + J**. Hover over the button to see tooltip information about what is being shown.

The preceding screenshot shows several buttons under the dropdown list. These enable IntelliSense Filters for different kinds of results:

When the caret is inside a template definition, a **Template Bar** appears, which enables you to provide sample template arguments for IntelliSense.

Click the **\<T>** icon to expand/collapse the **Template Bar**. Click the pencil icon or double-click the **Template Bar** to open the **Edit** window.

Edits that you make in the window are applied directly to the source code, so that you can see the effects in real time.

The Template Bar can auto-populate candidates based on instantiations in your code. Click on **Add All Existing Instantiations** to see a list of all concrete arguments that have been used to instantiate the template throughout your code base.

A window at the bottom of the editor shows where each instantiation was found, and what its arguments were.

**Template Bar** information is treated as user-specific. It is stored in the .vs folder and is not committed to source control.

Whenever you make a change to a file, a yellow bar appears on the left to indicate that unsaved changes were made. When you save the file, the bar turns green. The green and yellow bars are preserved as long as the document is open in the editor. They represent the changes that were made since you last opened the document.

A snippet is a predefined piece of source code. Right-click on a single point or on selected text to either insert a snippet or surround the selected text with the snippet. The following illustration shows the three steps to surround a selected statement with a for loop. The yellow highlights in the final image are editable fields that you access with the tab key. For more information, see [Code Snippets](/visualstudio/ide/code-snippets).

Add a new class from the **Project** menu, or from the context menu in **Solution Explorer**:

You can also use Class Wizard to modify or examine an existing class.

For more information, see [Adding Functionality with Code Wizards (C++)](../ide/adding-functionality-with-code-wizards-cpp.md).

The files are easily shareable via source control, so you can enforce coding conventions across your whole development team.

Visual Studio 2017 and later also supports [EditorConfig](https://editorconfig.org/), which works in a similar way. ClangFormat, however, has more style options than EditorConfig, including rules that are specific to C++. With **EditorConfig**, you create **.editorconfig** files and place them in different folders of your codebase to specify code styles for those folders and their subfolders. An **.editorconfig** file supersedes any other **.editorconfig** files in parent folders and overwrites any formatting settings configured via **Tools** > **Options**. You can set rules for tabs vs. spaces, indent size, and more. For more information, see [Create portable, custom editor settings with EditorConfig](/visualstudio/ide/create-portable-custom-editor-options).