How can I get Emacs style key bindings in Visual Studio?

Question

How can I get Emacs style key bindings in Visual Studio? Is it available in Settings? Do I need a Plug-in?

Answer 1

You can try the Emacs keyboard scheme (Tools->Options->Environment->Keyboard)

Answer 2

Xkeymacs does a really good job of this. It is possible to configure this tool for every application running on your desktop.

Answer 3

With Settings:

Try the Emacs keyboard scheme on Environment options.

Plugins:

I have only seen this one: VisEmacs, it will integrate Emacs as the default text editor for Visual Studio.

Answer 4

After posting that Emacs keybindings/emulation would no longer be available in Visual Studio 2010, Emacs Emulation is now available as a free extension for VS 2010.

Answer 5

I use VisEmacs because the emacs keyboard scheme isn't quite as nice as emacs itself.

Answer 6

Unfortunately, the Emacs emulation extension for VS 2010 is not officially supported for VS 2012.

However, a workaround is possible if follow the steps outlined in this answer for an SO question on getting Emacs key-bindings in VS2012

Answer 7

A quick Live search for "visual studio emacs" gave this page. I'm not sure how thorough it is though (having never used emacs myself).

Answer 8

I used the Emacs keyboard scheme for a few days, but it quickly drove me crazy -- I couldn't rebind keys they way I was used to in Emacs (or couldn't find how to rebind quickly).

I should try XKeyMacs....

Answer 9

If you're using Visual Studio Express 2008 and want the Emacs key bindings then you need to install the Visual C++ edition of VSE 2008. Initially I only installed the C# edition and there were no custom key bindings in Tools->Options->Environment->Keyboard. Once I installed the C++ edition the Emacs key bindings became available in both products.