Is there a keyboard shortcut to switch between XAML and Designer in VS 2012?

Question

When switching from a code file to a XAML file in Visual Studio 2012, the focus goes to the designer. If I want to edit the XAML (which is 99% of the time), I need to use the mouse to move the focus to the XAML code/markup window. Is there a way to move focus to the XAML without the mouse?

NOTE: There are similar questions in SO, but they deal with moving between code behind and XAML designer.

Heine

Answer 1

Yupp there sure is, just use Shift+F7 ;)

Asset

Oh cool, +1 BoltClock, I didn't even know about the <kbd> tag! – Asset

I used that comment in the code behind, and didn't realize it applied in the designer. Thanks! – Heine

And, apparently, you can go the other way with F7 – Samarium

Answer 2

For 99% of the times, you may want to set it to default

I don't know about other version, but in Visual Studio 2010, from the menu bar select Tools → Options..., from the dialog, select Text Editor → XAML → Miscellaneous, tick the Always open documents in full XAML view. Now everytime an XAML file is double clicked, it'll open in XAML (code) view, not design view.

I hope the image is not too big

Blacktop

VS2015 has moved to Options | XAML Designer | General. – Calculable

Answer 3

If Shift + F7 doesn't work right away then you may need to re-assign the context for which the keyboard shortcut applies. When I tried this in VS 2017 I had to go in and re-assign the shortcut by using the following steps:

• Tools > Options
• In the popup menu select Environment > Keyboard in the side bar
• Type View.ViewDesigner in the search bar
• Open the menu under Use new shortcut in:
• Select Text Editor from the menu, enter desired shortcut into the assignment bar, and click assign
• Select XAML Designer from the menu, enter desired shortcut into the assignment bar, and click assign
• Click OK to apply the changes and exit the options menu

NOTE: You must do both Text Editor and XAML Designer in order to get this to work well. The image below shows the result of the above steps.

Milk

I would also recommend alt + w as a great keyboard binding for this, if you use alt + tab and ctrl + tab a lot – Milk