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Use these property pages to change the default behavior of the code editor when you're programming in C or C++.
You can access the settings by selecting Tools > Options from the Visual Studio menu bar and expanding the Text Editor > C/C++ > View section. To modify a setting, use the dropdown list to select your preference (when available), or enter the preferred value.
The options under Text Editor > C/C++ > View moved to other locations in Visual Studio 2026:
| Visual Studio 2022 | Visual Studio 2026 |
|---|---|
| Code Squiggles | Languages > C/C++ > IntelliSense > Browsing & navigation > Choose how to highlight macros - skipped regions and Refactoring > Choose how to highlight macros - constexpr definitions |
| Inactive Code | Languages > C/C++ > Text Editor** > Inactive Code |
| IntelliSense Error Fix Suggestions | Languages > C/C++ > IntelliSense > Errors |
| Miscellaneous | Languages > C/C++ > Text editor |
| Outlining | Languages > C/C++ > Text editor > Outlining |
Code Squiggles
You can enable or disable the following settings to manage the way in which text editor handles code squiggles for C and C++:
Macros in Skipped Browsing Regions: Defines how to highlight macros that are inside skipped regions by the browsing database, such as macros whose definitions include braces.
Macros Convertible to constexpr: Defines how to highlight macro definitions that can be converted to
constexprdefinitions.
Inactive Code
Show Inactive Blocks: Preprocessor inactive blocks are colorized differently.
Disable Inactive Code Opacity: A solid color, instead of opacity, is used for inactive code blocks.
Inactive Code Opacity Percent: The percentage of opacity for inactive code blocks.
IntelliSense Error Fix Suggestions
Enable IntelliSense Error Fix Suggestions: Enable suggested fixes for IntelliSense errors.
Max IntelliSense Error Fix Suggestions Threads: The maximum number of concurrent threads to use for looking up IntelliSense error fix suggestions.
Max IntelliSense Error Fix Errors: The maximum number of IntelliSense errors to lookup fixes for.
Miscellaneous
Enumerate Comment Tasks: Scan open source files for Visual Studio tokens and report them in the Task List window.
Highlight Matching Tokens: Highlight enclosing braces or syntax that match where the cursor is positioned.
Color Scheme: Various default color schemes for the C and C++ specific customizable colors.
Outlining
Enable Outlining: Enter outlining mode when a file opens.
Outline Pragma Regions: Automatically outline
#pragmaregion blocks.Outline Statement Blocks: Automatically outline statement blocks.