Extensibility has long been a strength of Microsoft Visual Studio, but extending the IDE too greatly can impede its startup. Thus, many developers are familiar with Visual Studio’s yellow status message that suggests an extension is likely causing slow startup. To alleviate slow startups, Microsoft has encouraged partners to load their extensions asynchronously. That encouragement is now a requirement in Microsoft’s latest IDE. In Visual Studio 16.1 Preview 1, extensions must load asynchronously.
Visual Assist build 2331 supports Visual Studio 16.1 Preview 1, and therefore loads asynchronously. In the new IDE, Visual Assist loads as soon as possible, often without noticeable delay. But, there are a few startup scenarios, e.g. when starting Visual Studio without a solution, that do expose subtle changes in loading.
You will know that Visual Assist is completely loaded in Visual Studio 2019 if the extension responds as you expect, or when notice appears in the status bar.
Visual Assist is not completely loaded if it looks or feels broken in the moments after startup, before a solution is loaded, or within seconds of loading a solution. Signs of incomplete loading include a toolbar that begins with disabled icons,
empty tool windows,
and failure to respond to commands in an editor window.
If Visual Assist is not completely loaded, coax it along by opening a solution, then wait a few seconds. If you try a command in an editor window and the command doesn’t work, simply retry it. Loading should have completed in the interim.
Build 2231 also adds a new command to insert a file path into the active document. The command is useful when working in strings and comments. Access Insert-Path via the VAssistX menu (Alt+X, T, P).
Build 2331 requires software maintenance through 2019.04.19
Check out the complete list of what’s new in build 2331; learn more about Insert Path; or download the installer for build 2331.
