Microsoft quietly launches Insider-like Visual Studio Preview Program

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by Radu Tyrsina 

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Earlier this week, Microsoft released Visual Studio 2017 on Windows, the latest version of its popular integrated development environment (IDE). But if you’re developer looking to get early access to upcoming Visual Studio features, Microsoft has quietly released Visual Studio 2017 Preview, a separate version of the IDE that can be installed next to the stable version (via Thurrott.com).

With no official announcement from Microsoft, the Preview version was discovered earlier today by Twitter user WalkingCat:

https://twitter.com/h0x0d/status/839686599990390784

According to the dedicated website, Visual Studio 2017 Preview features “the latest pre-release Visual Studio innovations, bug fixes, and platform support.” The pre-release version brings support for the Python workload, with “improved IntelliSense, web development projects, git and VSTS integration.” However, please note that the pre-release is not supported in production environnments, which means that you can’t use it to build shipping apps.

Visual Studio 2017 Preview Python support
Visual Studio 2017 Preview supports the Python development workload.

You can get Visual Studio 2017 Preview on the dedicated website, and Microsoft recommends developer to choose the same edition of the IDE that they currently have a license for. Once you’re up and running, feel free to share your feedback on the new features by using the links in the Help menu.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina Shield

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.