ReSharper 2021.1 Help

Code Syntax Style: Built-In Type References

The C# type keywords and .NET Framework (CLR) type names are interchangeable for built-in C# types. If you prefer to stick to one or another style for built-in type names, ReSharper can help you maintain your preference.

You can maintain separate styles for static member access (for example, CLR type names — var str = String.Empty;) and for locals, members, and parameters (for example, keywords — void Foo(string str){ }.

ReSharper helps you enforce preferences for C# built-in types in the existing code and takes your preferences into account when it produces new code with code completion and code generation features, applies code templates and performs refactorings.

Enforce preferences for C# built-in types

ReSharper checks all built-in type references for compliance with your preferences and if they do not comply it highlights such references and suggests the corresponding quick-fix or fix in scope. Default ReSharper's preferences say that the C# keywords are preferred.

Built-in type usage style quick-fix

If you change your preference, ReSharper will help you use .NET Framework type names:

Built-in type usage style quick-fix

Another option to enforce preferences for C# built-in types in a bulk mode is code cleanup. You can either run code cleanup with one of the built-in profiles Full Cleanup or Reformat & Apply Syntax Style, or create and run a custom profile solely targeted at your specific task as described below.

Apply preferences for C# built-in type references with custom Code Cleanup profile

  1. Select ReSharper | Options from the main menu or press Alt+R O.

  2. Go to the cleanup profiles settings page: Code Editing | Code Cleanup | Profiles.

  3. Create a new profile as described in the Create a new custom cleanup profile section. In the Selected profile settings section for the new profile, tick the Fix built-in type references checkbox. Optionally, you can enable other code cleanup tasks in this profile.

  4. Click Save in the Options dialog 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 list. For more information, see Manage and Share ReSharper Settings.

  5. Select the scope where you want to enforce your preferences:

    • Set the caret anywhere in the file to enforce your preferences to the file.

    • Select one or more items in the Solution Explorer to enforce your preferences in the files under these nodes and their child items.

  6. Do one of the following:

    • Press Control+Alt+F or choose ReSharper | Edit | Cleanup Code... from the main menu.

    • Right-click anywhere in the text editor or right-click the selection and choose Cleanup Code in the context menu.

  7. In the Code Cleanup dialog that opens, select the newly created profile.

  8. Click Run. ReSharper will enforce your preferences in the selected scope.

If you want to enforce preferences for C# built-in types without opening the Code Cleanup dialog to choose a profile, you can bind the created profile to the silent cleanup and run it by pressing Control+Shift+Alt+F. You can also create a custom cleanup profile that would combine applying the preferences with other code style tasks.

Configure preferences for referencing C# built-in types

Your built-in type naming preferences are saved using the mechanism of layer-based settings. Among other things, this mechanism allows you to maintain different preferences for different solutions as well as to keep these preferences under a VCS and automatically share them with your team members.

Configure preferences for C# built-in types

  1. Go to the Code Editing | C# | Syntax Style page of ReSharper options(Alt+R, O).

  2. Modify settings in the Built-in type naming category according to your coding practices/standards.

  3. The Notify with selectors in the right column allow you to set severity levels of code inspections detecting code that differs from your preferences.

  4. Click Save in the Options dialog 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 list. For more information, see Manage and Share ReSharper Settings.

You can also change your preference of referencing C# built-in types right in the editor, where a corresponding issue is highlighted:

Change preference of referencing C# built-in types from the editor

  1. Set the caret to a code issue highlighted by a ReSharper's inspection.

  2. Press Alt+Enter or click the action indicator to the left of the caret to open the action list.

  3. In the action list, choose Inspection "Replace built-in type reference..." | Configure code style and then select a desired preference:

    Changing code style preference for referencing C# built-in types

  4. Your change will be saved using the smart save logic.

  5. If you need to save the modified style preference in a shared settings layer, click the Configure code style menu item or press Enter when it is selected. ReSharper will open the Code Editing | C# | Syntax Style page of ReSharper options(Alt+R, O) where you can modify your preference as needed, click Save To and then choose the desired settings layer.

This feature is supported in the following languages and technologies:

Language: C#Language: VB.NETLanguage: C++Language: HTMLLanguage: ASP.NETLanguage: RazorLanguage: JavaScriptLanguage: TypeScriptLanguage: CSSLanguage: XMLLanguage: XAMLLanguage: ResxLanguage: Build ScriptsLanguage: ProtobufLanguage: JSON
Feature is available in C# Feature is not available in Visual Basic .NET Feature is not available in C++ Feature is not available in HTML Feature is not available in ASP.NET Feature is not available in Razor Feature is not available in JavaScript Feature is not available in TypeScript Feature is not available in CSS Feature is not available in XML Feature is not available in XAML Feature is not available in Resource files Feature is not available in build script files Feature is not available in Protobuf Feature is not available in JSON
Last modified: 13 July 2021