ReSharper in Detail: Reformatting Code

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ReSharper can reformat an arbitrarily selected block of C# or VB.NET code, all code in the current file, all files in a directory, the current project, or even the current solution, according to options configurable in:

• ReSharper | Options | Languages | C# | Formatting Style for C# code, or
• ReSharper | Options | Languages | Visual Basic .NET | Formatting Style for VB.NET code.

Once the formatting settings are configured, you can share them with your fellow team members to ensure uniform code appearance.

Whenever you have a file opened in the editor, select a fragment that you want to reformat, or, alternatively, don’t select anything, in which case reformatting will apply to the entire file. Then launch Reformat Code in one of three ways:

• Choose ReSharper | Code | Reformat Code on the main menu.
• Press Ctrl + Alt + F (no default shortcut in VS scheme).
• Choose Reformat Code in the context menu.

The Reformat Code dialog box (shown above) contains several formatting options:

• Optimize ‘using’ directives removes redundant namespace import directives from the source code. Note that this option is disabled when you have a selection – even if it includes the imports section of your file.
• Shorten references replaces fully qualified names with short names where possible by importing namespaces.
• Remove redundant ‘this.’ qualifier deletes unnecessary this keywords (note that it doesn’t do the same for VB.NET keyword Me).
• Reorder type members (for C# code only) reorders type members according to patterns specified in ReSharper Options | Languages | C# | Type Members Layout.

After you have reformatted your code, ReSharper saves the state of check-boxes for future use. Subsequently, you can even launch Reformat Code silently, without opening the dialog box, by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Alt + F (or Ctrl+E, F in the Visual Studio keyboard layout).

An additional advantage is that you can execute reformatting via Solution Explorer. For example, you can reformat a specific C# code file, or all such files in a project or entire solution. Just right-click the required node and choose Reformat Code.

Additional links:

Kyle Baley explains how to remove regions with the Reformat Code feature (C# only)
An example of how you can customize a type member layout pattern
Tips for using Reformat Code with aspx pages
Joe White’s detailed review of ReSharper’s reformatting tools

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