Visual C++ code snippets
In Visual Studio, you can use code snippets to add commonly used code to your C++ code files. Code snippets can make writing program code quicker, easier, and more reliable.
Complete list of C++ code snippets
Code snippets work much the same way in C++ and C#, but the set of default code snippets is different. To see the list of available C++ code snippets, select Tools > Code Snippets Manager from the Visual Studio menu bar, or press Ctrl+K, B, and then select Visual C++ from the Language dropdown menu.
Expand the Visual C++ folder to see the names of all the C++ code snippets in alphabetical order. Select a snippet to see information about the snippet. For more information about code snippets, see Code snippets.
Expansion snippets and surround-with snippets
You can insert expansion code snippets at particular locations in your code, or surround selected code with surround-with code snippets.
Insert a code snippet
To insert a C++ code snippet:
Open a C++ .cpp or .h file and put your insertion point somewhere in the file.
Take one of the following actions:
- Right-click and select Insert Snippet from the context menu.
- On the Visual Studio menu bar, select Edit > IntelliSense > Insert Snippet.
- Press Ctrl+K, X.
Double-click #if in the dropdown list, or type #if and press Enter or Tab. The following code is added at the insertion point:
#if 0 #endif // 0
Replace the
0
with the correct condition.
Surround selected code with a code snippet
To surround selected code with a code snippet:
Open a C++ .cpp or .h file and select some code. In the following example, the line
#include "pch.h"
is selected.Take one of the following actions:
- Right-click and select Surround With from the context menu.
- On the Visual Studio menu bar, select Edit > IntelliSense > Surround With.
- Press Ctrl+K, S.
Double-click #if in the dropdown list, or type #if and press Enter or Tab. The code surrounds the selected line.
#if 0 #include "pch.h" // or whatever line you had selected #endif // 0
Replace the
0
with the correct condition.
C++ code snippet usage
The names of most C++ code snippets are self-explanatory, but some names might be confusing.
Class, classi
The class
snippet provides the definition of a class named MyClass
. The definitions of the appropriate default constructor and destructor are located outside the class.
class MyClass
{
public:
MyClass();
~MyClass();
private:
};
MyClass::MyClass()
{
}
MyClass::~MyClass()
{
}
The classi
code snippet also provides the definition of a class named MyClass
, but the default constructor and destructor are defined inside the class definition.
class MyClass
{
public:
MyClass()
{
}
~MyClass()
{
}
private:
};
For, forr, rfor
The three different for
snippets provide different kinds of for
loops.
The
rfor
snippet provides a range-based for loop. This construct is preferred over index-basedfor
loops.for (auto& i : v) { }
The
for
snippet provides afor
loop in which the condition is based on the length of an object insize_t
.for (size_t i = 0; i < length; i++) { }
The
forr
snippet provides a reversefor
loop in which the condition is based on the length of an object in integers.for (int i = length - 1; i >= 0; i--) { }
The destructor snippet (~)
The destructor snippet ~
shows different behavior in different contexts. If you insert this snippet inside a class, it provides a destructor for that class.
For example, if you insert the destructor snippet inside a class named SomeClass
, it provides a destructor for SomeClass
.
class SomeClass {
~SomeClass()
{
}
};
If you insert the destructor snippet outside a class, it provides a destructor with a placeholder name.
~TypeNamePlaceholder()
{
}