How to Download and Install Visual Studio on Windows

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How to Download and Install Visual Studio on Windows

In this article, I am going to discuss How to Download and Install Visual Studio on Windows. Please read our previous article where we discussed Introduction to C# Programming Language.

What is Visual Studio?

Microsoft Visual Studio is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) from Microsoft. Visual Studio is a comprehensive tool for developing applications on the .NET platform. It’s the go-to resource for all your programming needs. One can develop, debug and run applications using Visual Studio.

Both Desktop and Web-Based applications can be designed and developed using Visual Studio. Now, let us proceed and understand the step-by-step process of how to Download and Install Visual Studio. I am going to show you how to Download and Install Visual Studio on Windows Operating System.

To develop any type of application or learn a language, you’ll be working in the Visual Studio Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Beyond Code Editing, Visual Studio IDE brings together Graphical User Interface, Compilers, Code Completion Tools, Source Control like TFS, Extensions, and many more features in one place. 

How to Download and Install Visual Studio for Windows

Let us see the step-by-step process to download and Install Visual Studio 2022. In this article, I will guide you through the process of downloading and installing Visual Studio on a Windows operating system. Here, we are going to download Visual Studio 2022 which is currently the latest version. To thoroughly explore the newest features of C# 10, it is necessary to have the latest version of Visual Studio.

Download Visual Studio Latest Version

In order to download visual studio, please visit the following Visual Studio download link

https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/

Once you visit the above link, you will get the following page.

Here, you can select

1. Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition
2. Visual Studio 2022 Professional Edition (90-Day Free Trial)
3. Visual Studio 2022 Enterprise Edition (90-Day Free Trial)

If you are a student, or you just want to practice C# Programming, then you can select the Community Edition which is absolutely free. I am selecting the Community Edition and simply clicking on the free download button as shown in the above image. Once you click on the free download button, it will download the Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition EXE file as shown in the below image.

Open the .exe file

Simply click on the downloaded EXE file as shown in the below image.

Or you can also double-click on the EXE file which is downloaded on your machine as shown in the below image.

Once you double-click, it will open one popup asking do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device, simply click on the Yes button to continue.

Start the Visual Studio Installation

Once you click on the Yes button in the previous step, it will open the following window. From this screen, simply click on the continue button to start the Visual Studio installation as shown in the below image.

After clicking on the Continue button, Visual Studio will begin downloading the necessary initial files. The download speed is subject to change depending on your internet connection. Let the installation complete as shown in the below image.

Select the Visual Studio Features:

Once the initial files are downloaded, then you will get the following Visual Studio installer screen. Here, I am selecting two checkboxes.

1. ASP.NET and Web Development: For developing Web Based application
2. .NET Desktop Development: For developing Console, Windows Form, WPF Applications

Once you select the above two checkboxes from the workload section, simply click on the Install button as shown in the below image.

Wait for the files to be downloaded

Once you click on the Install button, Visual Studio will start downloading the relevant files based on the features you selected in the previous step. This will take some time to download the required files. You can monitor the same as shown in the below image.

Sign in to Visual Studio

Once the download is completed, you will get the screen asking you to sign in to Visual Studio. You can sign in or you can sign in later also.

Open Visual Studio

Open the Visual Studio IDE. As we are opening for the first time, it will ask you to select the theme as per your choice and then simply click on the Start Visual Studio Button as shown in the below image.

That’s it. Now you are ready to develop .NET Applications using C# language in Visual Studio. In Visual Studio IDE, you can create new C# applications by clicking on Create a new project option as shown in the below image.

In our upcoming articles, we will discuss how to create different types of applications like Console, Windows Form, Web Applications, etc.

Download .NET Framework 4.8:

https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet-framework/net48

Visual Studio Key Features

Here are the key features of Visual Studio:

1. Creating .NET Application using Multiple Programming Languages: The Visual Studio IDE is versatile enough to support the development of .NET applications with any programming language that is compatible with .NET, including C#, VB, F#, and others.
2. Creating Different Types of Application: With the Visual Studio IDE, the developer can develop a variety of .NET applications, including Web-Based Applications, Windows Forms-Based Applications, Console Applications, Restful Services, Mobile Apps, and many more.
3. Debuging Applications Becomes Very Easy: The Visual Studio IDE allows us to debug the applications on the fly. The Developer can test applications as they are being built using the Visual Studio IDE. This also allows the developer to run the application at any point during the development process. Therefore, it is possible to check for errors and make necessary changes along the way while developing the applications.
4. Installing Third-Party Extensions: The Visual Studio IDE has the facility to install third-party extensions. As we progress in this course, I will explain how to install and use third-party extensions using Visual Studio.

In the next article, I am going to discuss Creating the First C# Application using Visual Studio. Here, in this article, I try to explain How to Download and Install Visual Studio on Windows. and I hope you enjoy this How to Download and Install Visual Studio on Windows article.