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Getting Started Tutorials & Documentation | Visual Studio2026-03-24T12:07:42-07:00
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Learn to code in Visual Studio

Getting started with Visual Studio IDE

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To develop any type of app or learn a language, you’ll be working in the Visual Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Beyond code editing, Visual Studio IDE brings together graphical designers, compilers, code completion tools, source control, extensions and many more features in one place.

Watch this short video to get familiar with the IDE and to learn how to use it for basic tasks.

Download and install the latest version of Visual Studio to get started. Visual Studio is free for learning and individual use. You can save installation time and disk space by selecting just the components needed. You can incrementally add more components later at any time as needed.

You can personalize the Visual Studio IDE in various ways to best support your own development style and requirements.

Visual Studio Personalization video screenshot

Prefer dark theme? Want to change the layout of windows to your liking? Have favorite keyboard shortcuts?

Check out this short video where we walk you through some cool personalization options like themes, fonts, window layout, and custom keyboard shortcuts available in Visual Studio.

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