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Options dialog box: Text Editor > C# > Code Style > Formatting

Applies to: yesVisual Studio noVisual Studio for Mac

Note

This article applies to Visual Studio 2017. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here

Use the Formatting options page and its subpages (Indentation, New Lines, Spacing, and Wrapping) to set options for formatting code in the code editor.

To access this options page, choose Tools > Options from the menu bar. In the Options dialog box, choose Text Editor > C# > Code Style > Formatting.

Tip

The Indentation, New Lines, Spacing, and Wrapping subpages each display a preview window at the bottom that shows the effect of each option. To use the preview window, select a formatting option. The preview window shows an example of the selected option. When you change a setting by selecting a radio button or check box, the preview window updates to show the effect of the new setting.

Formatting (General) page

General settings

These settings affect when the code editor applies formatting options to code.

Label Description
Automatically format when typing When deselected, the format statement on ; and format block on } options are disabled.
Automatically format statement on ; When selected, formats statements at completion according to the formatting options selected for the editor.
Automatically format block on } When selected, formats code blocks according to the formatting options selected for the editor as soon as you complete the code block.
Automatically format on return When selected, formats text when Enter is pressed, to fit the formatting options selected for the editor.
Automatically format on paste When selected, formats text that is pasted into the editor to fit the formatting options selected for the editor.

Format Document settings

These settings configure the Format Document command to perform additional code cleanup on a file. For more information about how these settings are applied, see Format Document command.

Label Description Corresponding EditorConfig and Tools > Options rules
Apply all C# formatting rules (indentation, wrapping, spacing) The Format Document command always fixes formatting issues. This setting can't be changed. Core EditorConfig options
.NET EditorConfig formatting options

Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Formatting > [Indentation or New Lines or Spacing or Wrapping]
Perform addition code cleanup during formatting When selected, applies fixes for the rules specified below on the Edit.FormatDocument command. N/A
Remove unnecessary usings When selected, removes unnecessary using directives when Edit.FormatDocument is triggered. N/A
Sort usings When selected, sorts using directives when Edit.FormatDocument is triggered. dotnet_sort_system_directives_first

Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Advanced > Place 'System' directives first when sorting usings
Add/remove braces for single-line control statements When selected, adds or removes braces from single-line control statements when Edit.FormatDocument is triggered. csharp_prefer_braces

Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Code Style > Code block preferences > Prefer braces
Add accessibility modifiers When selected, adds missing accessibility modifiers when Edit.FormatDocument is triggered. dotnet_style_require_accessibility_modifiers
Sort accessibility modifiers When selected, sorts accessibility modifiers when Edit.FormatDocument is triggered. csharp_preferred_modifier_order
visual_basic_preferred_modifier_order
Apply expression/block body preferences When selected, converts expression-bodied members to block bodies, or vice versa, when Edit.FormatDocument is triggered. Expression-bodied member EditorConfig options

Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Code Style > Expression preferences > Use expression body for methods, constructors, etc.
Apply implicit/explicit type preferences When selected, converts var to the explicit type, or vice versa, when Edit.FormatDocument is triggered. Explicit type EditorConfig options

Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Code Style > 'var' preferences
Apply inline 'out' variables preferences When selected, inlines out variables where possible when Edit.FormatDocument is triggered. csharp_style_inlined_variable_declaration

Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Code Style > Variable preferences > Prefer inlined variable declaration
Apply language/framework type preferences When selected, converts language types to framework types, or vice versa, when Edit.FormatDocument is triggered. dotnet_style_predefined_type_for_locals_parameters_members
dotnet_style_predefined_type_for_member_access

Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Code Style > predefined type preferences
Apply object/collection initialization preferences When selected, uses object and collection initializers where possible when Edit.FormatDocument is triggered. dotnet_style_object_initializer
dotnet_style_collection_initializer

Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Code Style > Expression preferences > Prefer object initializer or Prefer collection initializer
Apply 'this.' qualification preferences When selected, applies this. preferences when Edit.FormatDocument is triggered. this. qualification EditorConfig options

Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Code Style > 'this.' preferences
Make private fields readonly when possible When selected, makes private fields readonly where possible when Edit.FormatDocument is triggered. dotnet_style_readonly_field

Tools > Options > Text Editor > C# > Code Style > Field preferences > Prefer readonly
Remove unnecessary casts When selected, removes unnecessary casts where possible when Edit.FormatDocument is triggered. N/A
Remove unused variables When selected, removes variables that are unused when Edit.FormatDocument is triggered. N/A

Code cleanup settings for C# in Visual Studio

Indentation page

The indentation options on this page apply when code is formatted automatically. One example of when code is automatically formatted is when you paste code into the file while Automatically format on paste is selected. (The Automatically format on paste option is under Formatting > General.)

C# text editor indentation options in Visual Studio

Tip

There are also indentation options on the Text Editor > C# > Tabs options page. Those options only determine where the code editor places the cursor when you press Enter at the end of a line.

C# text editor tabs options in Visual Studio

New Lines page

Use the new lines options on this page to control whether you want braces, keywords, or expressions to appear on new lines in the code editor.

Important

The settings on this page can be overridden by your .editorconfig file. To learn more, see Create portable, custom editor settings with EditorConfig.

Screenshot of the C# new lines options in Visual Studio .

See also