Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 Professional at a glance
This edition sits in the middle of Microsoft's Visual Studio 2022 family, between the free Community edition and Enterprise. It is a full integrated development environment (IDE) for writing, debugging, testing and publishing applications, and it uses the same editor, compilers and project system as its sibling editions. The 2022 release was the first version of the IDE to run as a 64-bit process, so very large solutions with hundreds of projects load and stay responsive without the memory ceiling of older versions.
Functionality is grouped into workloads that you choose in the Visual Studio Installer, such as ASP.NET and web development, Azure development, .NET desktop development, .NET Multi-platform App UI development, desktop development with C++ and Python development. Professional is intended for developers and small teams who build software commercially and need the complete everyday toolset, while the advanced testing and diagnostics layer stays reserved for Enterprise.
How it is used in everyday work
A typical session starts in the Git Changes window: pull the latest commits, switch to a feature branch and open the solution. A backend developer working on an ASP.NET Core API reproduces a failing request, sets a conditional breakpoint, inspects variables and the call stack, fixes the code and runs the related unit tests in Test Explorer before committing. Someone maintaining a WPF or Windows Forms application moves between the visual designer and the code editor and sees edits applied to the running program without restarting it.
C++ developers use the same environment for native Windows programs, CMake projects and code that is built on a remote Linux machine or in WSL. When a colleague needs help with a difficult problem, Live Share opens a joint editing and debugging session in which each participant keeps their own editor and settings. The edition suits software agencies and in-house development departments that maintain business applications, internal tools and web services over many years.
The functions that make a practical difference
IntelliCode suggests whole-line completions for C# based on the surrounding code, which reduces repetitive typing in large codebases. Hot Reload applies code changes to an application that is already running, in both .NET and C++ projects, so small fixes can be checked without a full rebuild. The debugger handles conditional breakpoints, multi-threaded code and attaching to running processes, and the Performance Profiler measures CPU usage and memory allocation to locate slow code paths.
Git is part of the IDE itself, with branch management, history, merge-conflict resolution and, since version 17.4, support for several repositories within one solution. Test Explorer runs MSTest, NUnit and xUnit tests, while Roslyn-based code analysis and code metrics point out maintainability problems as you type. For web projects, the editor includes tooling for JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML and CSS alongside the ASP.NET Core project templates.
Choosing the right edition
The Community edition offers a very similar core feature set, but its licence terms limit use inside companies to narrow cases such as individual developers, open-source work, education and very small teams, so businesses normally choose Professional or Enterprise. Enterprise adds code coverage analysis, Live Unit Testing, IntelliTest, Microsoft Fakes for test isolation, IntelliTrace historical debugging and architecture tools such as dependency validation. Professional fits teams that work with standard unit tests and the live debugger, while Enterprise suits organisations with formal coverage targets or complex architectures that need automated validation.
Practical limits worth knowing before you buy
In the 2022 generation, code coverage is an Enterprise feature, so Test Explorer in this edition does not show coverage figures; Microsoft opened that tool to all editions only in the successor release. For .NET projects, the free dotnet-coverage command-line tool can serve as an alternative. Code maps and dependency diagrams created in Enterprise open here in read-only mode, and Microsoft Fakes assemblies cannot be generated in Professional. Check these points if your team takes over a codebase built with Enterprise tooling.
Common questions before ordering
Can I build mobile apps with this edition?
Yes. The .NET Multi-platform App UI workload creates apps for Android, iOS, macOS and Windows from a shared C# and XAML codebase. It replaces the older Xamarin framework, whose support ended in 2024.
Is GitHub Copilot included?
Recent updates integrate GitHub Copilot chat and code suggestions directly into the editor. Using them requires a GitHub account with Copilot access, which is managed through GitHub and is not part of this licence.
Will projects from Visual Studio 2019 open?
In most cases, yes. Solutions created in the 2019 and 2017 versions open directly, and many project types can be shared between those versions without conversion. Older project types that Microsoft has retired may need to be migrated first.
Ordering Microsoft Visual Studio 2022 Professional at Keys.discount
Every order is processed automatically, so you normally have everything you need within a few minutes of paying.
Delivery: Your product key and the official download link arrive by email.
Activation guarantee: If activation fails, we replace the key.
Sourcing: Licences come from audited distribution channels and are documented.
Setup help: Written step-by-step instructions accompany every delivery.
Support: Our team answers by chat, email and phone in several languages.
