Microsoft’s Visual Studio 2022 17.10 Preview 2 introduces expanded capabilities with GitHub Copilot, enabling developers to generate pull request descriptions and understand commits more efficiently.

Released on March 12, Visual Studio 2022 17.10 Preview 2 is now available for download from the Visual Studio website. This update integrates GitHub Copilot functionalities, allowing developers to create initial pull request descriptions by analyzing changes in a pull request. With GitHub Copilot’s assistance, developers can provide context for reviews and ensure the inclusion of relevant changes in their pull requests.

Furthermore, Visual Studio 2022 17.10 Preview 2 introduces a Copilot-powered feature to explain commits within the Commit Details window, simplifying the comprehension of commit contents. Developers can also conveniently view comments from GitHub and Azure DevOps pull requests directly within Visual Studio’s working files. Access to Copilot-powered features requires a GitHub Copilot subscription.

In addition to pull request descriptions and commit explanations, GitHub Copilot can also generate Git commit messages, a feature introduced in Visual Studio 2022 17.10 Preview 1.

For diagnostics and debugging, Visual Studio’s .NET Counter profiler introduces two new metrics: UpDown for real-time value tracking with incremental and decremental changes, and ObservableCounter for managing aggregated totals with customizable callback delegates. Additionally, a filter flyout control feature facilitates data point filtering based on tags, enhancing dynamic value monitoring in projects.

Other notable features in Visual Studio 2022 17.10 Preview 2 include:

• Improved readability with new text formatting options in the editor, including italics, strikethrough, and underline options.
• Substantial performance enhancements in the WinForms out-of-process designer, particularly for scenarios triggering server process restart and designer reload.
• Added support for SQL Server Developer Tools on ARM64 devices, enabling features such as SQL Projects, schema compare, and query editor.
• The Managed Memory window’s insights tab now supports Garbage Collection Insights, providing deeper insights into application performance.

Visual Studio 2022 17.10 Preview 2 builds upon the initial preview released in February, aligning with the continuous enhancements introduced in Visual Studio 2022 17.9.