In a new Visual Studio developer blog post, Microsoft outlines some more features that will be seen in the upcoming Visual Studio 11. These features are designed to streamline common workflows to increase productivity and reduce distraction.
“In Visual Studio 11 we’ve focused on helping you spend more time focusing on your code through thoughtful reduction in UI complexity and by introducing search throughout the product,” Microsoft stated in a new Visual Studio developer blog post.
Microsoft has created two new explorers, also called “hubs”, which places less focus on the tools, and more focus on the content that the tools provide access to. These new hubs are the Solution Explorer and Team Explorer.
In Visual Studio 11, the preview tab has been redesigned and optimized so that a reduced amount of files are opened to prevent distraction.
The history feature in Visual Studio 11 has also been optimized as it now shows every navigation step taken by the developer, regardless of whether or not the files navigated into are currently open.
“In short, you’ll spend far less time getting and keeping yourself oriented to your tools and content and far more on adding value to the applications you’re working on,” Microsoft concludes.
Visual Studio 11 is aimed at developers who want to create Windows desktop apps, Direct X-based apps and games, and client Web apps. Visual Studio 11 will also be useful for developing .Net Framework 4.5 server apps, Windows Azure apps, and SharePoint apps.
No word yet on when Visual Studio 11 will be released, but those wanting to try out the beta will have to wait until February 29.
Further reading: Microsoft, Visual Studio
