Issue #65  (CTRL/CMD-R & CTRL/CMD-Q Shortcuts)07/19/23

It's always important to know specific shortcuts in your IDE and of course VS Code is no different. I generally find it difficult to remember too many shortcuts, especially if I don't use them often. But here are two shortcuts that are great to know for quickly navigating in your editor.

First there's CTRL/CMD-R. This shortcut is an extension of the "Open Recent" menu item in VS Code's File menu. You'll notice if you choose File → Open Recent, there's an option at the bottom of that menu called "More..." This is the equivalent of CTRL/CMD-R.
 

When you use CTRL-R directly, you go straight to that "More..." menu option without having to clumsily use your File menu. This allows you to then use your keyboard to navigate through your recently opened files and projects in this drawer-like panel and hit enter to select the one you want to open.

You can also do a text search for the project you want and you have the option to use CTRL/CMD-Enter to open in a new window or just select to open in the same window (the instructions in the search box say to use ALT but I don't see how that's different from just selecting a file).

That's an easy way to navigate your recently opened items. But you can also use CTRL/CMD-Q to navigate the different panels in VS Code. Hit this shortcut and you'll see a keyboard-friendly way to access any part of your VS Code window (file explorer, extensions, debug console, terminal, etc., all divided by sections).

Once this menu/drawer is open, you'll have to continue holding CTRL/CMD after which you can repeat the same shortcut to progress down the list or use your up/down arrow keys.

That's two handy ways to navigate without your mouse, which should save you lots of time when switching between files, projects, or even moving around your VS Code window's panels.

Now on to this week's hand-picked links!
 

VS Code Tools

Playwright Test — Official VS Code extension for integrating Microsoft's popular testing and automation framework into your editor's workflow.

Remote – Tunnels — Another extension by Microsoft, this one lets you connect to a remote machine, like a desktop PC or VM, via a secure tunnel.

LiveCode for Python — A VS Code extension that evaluates your Python code while you type and displays variable values for each line (sort of like Wallaby.js, if you've ever used that for JavaScript).

Transform Your Side Hustle with LoopGenius — In just 30 seconds, generate a vibrant landing page, target your perfect audience, and let our AI-powered Loops do the heavy lifting of customer attraction, all with a simple click.  Sponsor 

react-vscode-cli — A framework that provides an intuitive and flexible platform for creating dynamic and responsive extensions that seamlessly integrate with the VS Code ecosystem.

VS Code Articles & Videos

Playwright's VS Code Extension — In case you wanted a tutorial on the aforementioned Playwright extension, this might be a good starting point to improve your front-end testing workflow.

Introducing VS Code Remote Tunnels: Connect to Remote Machines with Ease! — Similar to the previous link, this is a tutorial for working with the Remote – Tunnels extension mentioned in the previous section.

Bytes: Your Favourite JavaScript Newsletter — I subscribe to a lot of newsletters, but this is definitely one I look forward to. Entertaining with lots of cool and useful JavaScript coding tidbits, news, and tools.   Sponsor 

▶ Mastering VIM Motions in VS Code (Mouseless Development) — A step-by-step guide covering VIM motion commands, which you can use in VS Code using the Vim VS Code extension.

Best of the Rest

Pieces — An intelligent code snippet manager with on-device ML that allows you to extract code from screenshots, has intuitive sort and search options, and tons of other features.

flash.nvim — A Neovim plugin that lets you navigate your code with search labels, enhanced character motions, and Treesitter integration.

How to Use GitHub Copilot to Become a Happier and More Productive Developer — The author does use the VS Code integrations for this, but the article is mainly about using Copilot and its various tools.

Suggestions?

If you have any link suggestions, including a tool, article, or other resources related to VS Code or another IDE, send it via DM on X: @LouisLazaris or just hit reply on this email.

That's it for this issue.

Happy VS Coding!
Louis
VSCode.Email
@LouisLazaris