IntelliSense Options
Home Page (Text Editor) | Overview | How Do I ... Topics | FAQ | Reference
IntelliSense provides an array of options that put the MFC, ATL, and Win32 language references literally at your fingertips. While coding, you no longer need to "switch away" to perform searches on language elements. You can keep your context, find the information you need, insert language elements directly into your code, and even have IntelliSense complete your typing for you.
Note IntelliSense works automatically by default, but you can control this behavior from the Editor tab of the Options dialog box (Tools menu), in the Statement completion options area. If you choose to disable the automatic behavior, you can still invoke IntelliSense options from the Edit menu, or with a keystroke combination.
Here is a summary of each IntelliSense option.
List Members Option
This feature displays a list of valid member variables or functions for the selected class or structure. Selecting from the list inserts the member into your code. For more information, see Viewing the Members List.
If you invoke the List Members option with the insertion point on a blank line, or outside a recognizable scope, IntelliSense populates the Members list with global members, including system API functions, C++ classes, instance variables and local variables.
For more information about the contents of the Members list, see Icons in the Members List.
Quick Type Information Option
This feature displays the complete declaration for any identifier in your code. Simply rest the mouse cursor over the identifier and its declaration appears in a pop-up window. For more information , see Viewing the Variable Type.
Parameter Info Option
This feature displays the complete declaration, including a parameter list, for the function to the left of the cursor. The parameter in bold indicates the next parameter required as you type the function. For more information, see Viewing the Parameter List for a Function.
Code Comments Option
This feature displays any comments associated with the member currently selected in the Members list. The comments appear in their own pop-up window next to the list. For more information, see Viewing Code Comments.
Complete Word Option
This feature types the rest of a variable or function name once you have entered enough characters to disambiguate the term. If what you've typed has more than one possible match (or no match at all), invoking Complete Word displays the Members list, which you can then use to find the term and insert it into your code. For more information, see Automatically Completing a Variable or Function Name
What do you want to do?
Turn off automatic IntelliSense options
Invoke IntelliSense with a menu command