ReSharper 2018.1 Help

Context Actions

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Context actions are code transformations helpers available right in the editor. In contrast to quick-fixes, context actions do not aim to resolve a problem or improve your code, instead, they allow you to quickly introduce minor changes like changing access modifiers, generating code that checks for null, convert 'foreach' to 'for', etc.

ReSharper provides hundreds of context actions in all supported languages. You can find the full list in the Code Editing | Context Actions page of the ReSharper options and in the context actions reference.

Applying context actions

As soon as a context action becomes available for the current caret position, ReSharper displays the corresponding action indicator ThemedIcon ContextAction Screen Gray to the left of the caret. Sometimes however, ReSharper provides several contextually available features for the current caret position. In this case, the action indicator corresponding to the action with the highest priority is shown, and all other actions only appear when you expand the action list by clicking on the action indicator or pressing Alt+Enter Context actions have the lowest priority, therefore, they often appear at the bottom of the action list:

Action list

In most cases, a context action is applied immediately. However, some actions require user interaction to chose how exactly they transform your code. In these cases, a Hot Spot Session is deployed in the editor, where you can select one of the suggested values or provide your own values in the active input positions.

For example, here is what happens when you apply the Iterate collection via 'foreach' context action:

Coding Assistance Context Actions foreach 01

After creating the foreach statement, a hot spot session helps you complete editable parameters of the generated statement:

Coding Assistance Context Actions foreach 02

To complete the hot spot session:

  • If ReSharper suggests some values for the current parameter, use Up and Down arrow keys to navigate through the list of suggested values, or just type in a desired value.
  • Press Tab or Enter to accept the value and move to the input position of the next parameter. If this is the last parameter, the hot spot session completes and the caret moves to the end position defined for the session.
  • Press Shift+Tab to move the input focus to the input position of the previous parameter.
  • Press Esc to exit the hot spot session. In this case, all session parameters will be initialized with default values.

Configuring Context Actions

By default, most of the context actions are enabled, but you can easily disable those that you consider unhelpful.

To enable or disable specific context actions

  1. In the main menu, choose ReSharper | Options.
  2. Use the search box in the Options dialog to find specific context action.
    Alternatively, open the Code Editing | Context Actions page and look for the context actions that you want to disable.
  3. Clear the check box next to a context action to disable it.
  4. Click Save to apply the modifications and let ReSharper choose where to save them, or save the modifications to a specific settings layer using the Save To drop-down list. For more information, see managing and sharing resharper settings.

Applying context actions in wider scope

Some context actions can automatically find and change similar code items in a larger scope - in the current file, in the current project or in the whole solution. These context actions work the same as Fix in Scope. For example, you can move all types from the current file to new matching files:

Applying context action in a wider scope

The full list of context actions that can be applied in wider scopes includes:

C#

  • Add another accessor
  • Add block braces to switch section statements
  • Add name to argument
  • Convert expression body member to statement body
  • Convert integer literal to binary form
  • Convert integer literal to hexadecimal form
  • Convert integral literal to decimal form
  • Convert string interpolation to 'string.Format' call
  • Fully qualify reference to type, static member or namespace
  • Insert digit separators in integer literal
  • Insert digit separators in real literal
  • Insert generic method invocation type arguments
  • Invoke extension method as static
  • Join attributes into single section
  • Merge sequential checks into null-propagating expression
  • Move type to another file to match its name
  • Qualify static members imported via 'using static' directive
  • Remove #region, #endregion directives (see Adding and Removing #region Blocks)
  • Remove argument name
  • Remove digit separators from numeric literal
  • Remove redundant parenthesis (see Code Syntax Style: Optional Parentheses)
  • Replace '?:' conditional operator with null-propagating expression
  • Replace array initializer with expression
  • Replace explicit type specification with 'var'
  • Replace null-propagating expression with '?:' conditional operator
  • Replace separate deconstruction declarations with single declaration expression
  • Replace 'var' with explicit type declaration
  • Specify enum member values
  • Split attributes into separate sections
  • Split null-propagating expression into sequential checks
  • Use explicit discard declaration
  • Use implicit discard declaration
  • Use separate declaration expressions in deconstruction declaration

TypeScript

  • Move type to another file to match its name

This feature is supported in the following languages and technologies:

Language: C# Language: VB.NET Language: C++ Language: HTML Language: ASP.NET Language: Razor Language: JavaScript Language: TypeScript Language: CSS Language: XML Language: XAML Language: Resx Language: Build Scripts Language: Protobuf Language: JSON
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The instructions and examples given here address the use of the feature in C#. For details specific to other languages, see corresponding topics in the ReSharper by Language section.

Last modified: 20 August 2018

See Also