When IntelliSense Is Unavailable

There are certain cases when the IntelliSense options may not work as you expect.

There is a code error above the cursor

If an incomplete function or other error exists in the code above the cursor, then IntelliSense may be unable to parse the code elements and therefore will not work. You can comment out the applicable code to enable IntelliSense again.

The cursor is in a code comment

If the cursor is in a comment in your source file, then IntelliSense options is unavailable.

The cursor is in a string literal

If the cursor is in the quotation marks around a string literal, as in the following,

MessageBox( hWnd, "String literal|") )

then IntelliSense options is unavailable.

The automatic options are turned off

By default, IntelliSense works automatically, but you can disable it.

Even when automatic statement completion is disabled, you can invoke an IntelliSense feature.

For more information, see Modifying IntelliSense Options.

[C++] Intellisense is not supported for CLI projects

Intellisense is not supported for projects that use the /clr compiler option.

For more information, see /clr (Common Language Runtime Compilation).

[C++] There is an issue with include files

Make sure that your include directories and include files are set up correctly. Use the /I (Additional Include Directories) and the /INCLUDE (Force Symbol References) options to configure these settings.

For more information about the include directive, see #include Directive (C/C++) and Using C++ Library Headers.

See Also

Other Resources

Using IntelliSense

Change History