Visual C++ code snippets

Article
2024-04-09

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-based for loops.
```
for (auto& i : v)
{

}
```
The for snippet provides a for loop in which the condition is based on the length of an object in size_t.
```
for (size_t i = 0; i < length; i++)
{

}
```
The forr snippet provides a reverse for 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()
{

}

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