Visual Studio 2017 version 15.6 just released

Microsoft today has released Visual Studio 2017 version 15.6!

Visual Studio
Visual Studio 2017

Release Note

  • We improved solution load performance by optimizing design time build.
  • We’ve added installation progress details on Visual Studio Installer.
  • You can pause your installation and resume at a later time.
  • We streamlined the update process so the notification takes you directly to the Installer.
  • Non-administrators can create a VS layout.
  • We added a new shortcut for Edit.Duplicate in the keyboard mapping.
  • We made significant improvements to the F# language and tools, particularly for .NET Core SDK projects.
  • The C++ compiler optimizes your code to run faster through improved optimizations.
  • C++ Mapfile generation overhead is reduced in full linking scenarios.
  • Debug options are available for Embedded ARM GCC support.
  • We added strong name signing on CoreCLR for the C# compiler.
  • Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin has lots of new productivity updates for iOS and Android developers.
  • Python no longer requires a completion DB, and Anaconda users have support for conda.
  • The Performance Profiler’s CPU Usage Tool can display logical call stacks for asynchronous code.
  • The CPU Usage tool displays source line highlighting and async/await code with logical ‘Call Stack Stitching’.
  • The debugger supports thread names set via SetThreadDescription APIs in dump debugging.
  • Snapshot Debugging can be started from the Debug Target dropdown for ASP.NET applications.
  • We’ve launched the initial implementation of Navigate to decompiled sources for .NET code navigation.
  • New enhancements for Configure Continuous Delivery include support for TFVC, Git authentication over SSH, and containerized projects.
  • You can now click on the Continuous Delivery tile in Team Explorer to configure automated build and deployments for your application.
  • Team Explorer supports Git tags and checking out pull request branches.
  • Service Fabric Tooling for the 6.1 Service Fabric release is now available.
  • The Windows 10 Insider Preview SDK can be installed as an optional component.
  • File versions for a number of Visual Studio executables now reflect the minor release.
  • Test Explorer has a hierarchy view and real time test discovery is now on by default.
  • We have added support for testing Win10 IoT Core applications.
  • Visual Studio Build Tools supports TypeScript and Node.js.
  • ClickOnce Tools support signing application and deployment manifests with CNG certificate.
  • You can access Azure resources such as Key Vault using your Visual Studio accounts.

And the Top issued fixed:

  • Visual Studio may freeze or crash when running on a pen-enabled machine.
  • Resizing of windows is not reliable.
  • .NET Core Projects containing special characters fail to restore NuGet packages or build.
  • Test Explorer Default Architecture not remembered.
  • Solution Explorer does not remain pinned after closing Visual Studio.
  • Regular UI freezes during debug session.
  • File names revert to lower case when re-opening a project.
  • Mouse cursor sticks on the Pointer (Hand) icon.
  • VSIXAutoUpdate crashes on scheduled task.
  • Start-up generates “We’ve noticed that a tool window ‘Error List’ is slowing Visual Studio.” alert.
  • Quick Launch no longer displays results after toggling to full screen.
  • XAML Activity designer throws OutOfMemoryException due to failed assembly reference resolution.
  • Cannot Stop/Cancel Debugged Unit Tests when using Selenium WebDriver.
  • When using the /quiet switch, vsixinstaller.exe does not exit at the end of installation.

This is the official page to get more info: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/releasenotes/vs2017-relnotes

About Xamarin in this release:

Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin

This release includes Xamarin.iOS 11.8 and Xamarin.Android 8.2.

Live XAML Previewing with the iOS Simulator

The Xamarin Live Player enables developers to continuously deploy, test, and debug their apps using just Visual Studio and an iOS or Android device. Visual Studio 2017 version 15.5 added support to enable developers to preview real-time XAML changes directly in the Android emulator without requiring a recompile or redeploy. This release brings this functionality to the Remoted iOS Simulator for Windows.