Visual Studio 2019 v16.11 Preview 2 Improves Git Tooling -- Visual Studio Magazine

Visual Studio 2019 v16.11 Preview 2 Improves Git Tooling

By David Ramel
06/16/2021

Microsoft shipped Visual Studio 2019 v16.11 Preview 2, a nondescript release most notable for improvements to Git tooling.

Preview 1 shipped last month during the Build developer conference, introducing much-requested Hot Reload functionality, support for .NET MAUI and other notable features. "In this release we're excited to make available the first release of the new Hot Reload user experience when editing code files for applications such as WPF, Windows Forms, ASP.NET Core, Console, etc." Microsoft said. "With Hot Reload you can now modify your apps managed source code while the application is running with no need to pause execution or use a breakpoint. Instead, simply make a supported change and use the new 'apply code changes' button in the toolbar to apply them immediately."

The Preview 2 announcement, however, basically refers developers to check out Preview 1 for new features, with the release notes listing the only new items of note as addressing Git tooling:

Access additional actions from the overflow menu in the branch picker in Git Changes window and status bar.
Hover over a branch name to see last commit details in a tooltip.
Access additional actions in the repository picker overflow menu from the status bar.
Hover over a repository name to see repository details such as local path and remote URL.

The bug-fixing team was busy, though, as 22 fixes were listed.

However, the Preview 2 announcement did provide guidance about various versions of Microsoft's flagship IDE, including VS 2019 v11, slated to be the last in the 2019 series as the company looks to the upcoming 64-bit VS 2022:

Version 16.11 will be the final version of Visual Studio 2019 and receive support through April 2029. Additionally, the final release of 16.11 will be a servicing baseline. So, it will start the 12-month support clock for the prior baseline -- version 16.9. We offer fixes for servicing baselines for 12 months after the next baseline is declared. This differs from minor version releases, like 16.10, which only receive servicing fixes until the next minor update is released. Organizations can choose when to adopt the new features that ship in minor version updates with servicing baselines.

It's a good time for developers, administrators, and DevOps managers to review their current version usage. Version 16.4 will go out of support in October. Administrators should plan for migration and consider testing the final release of Visual Studio 2019. You can install preview versions of Visual Studio side-by-side with the Release Channel!

About the Author

David Ramel is an editor and writer at Converge 360.

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