Block comment in C# keeps adding *

Question

When I use a block comment /* */ in C# every line is preceeded by an * which is fine when the comment is really a comment.  However sometimes I need to comment out an entire block of code or a section and everytime I hit the enter key an * shows up.  This is a problem because I have to remove all of them to re-activate the code and sometimes I miss one or two then the code doesn't compile and I have to edit the code again.  It is distracting to my thought process, I lose my place and have to spend time going back over what I just did.

I have looked at customizing the editor and cannot find anything pertaining to comments for any language. Basically it is non-productive feature, if I had not wanted block comments I would be writing in VB.  I spend more time reformatting my code than I do writing it and it is annoying as h$!!, can someone tell me why Microsoft is trying to make C# work like the worst of VB?

 

 

Answer 1

HI Pamela,

The editor works this way to make it easy to write comments. If your need is to comment out code (one or more lines), you simply comment them out using //. There is a very handy keyboard shortcut CTRL-K, CTRL-C.

This way you can easily remove parts of your code and later decide what to do with them. 

Kind regards,
Tom de Koning

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Answer 2

hi Pamela,

slightly OT:

there is normally no reason to comment out an entire block of code. If you can do so, you have in most cases a block of code - an aspect or concern - which is worth being extract to its own method:

http://sourcemaking.com/refactoring/long-method
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_concerns

Also use a version control system like SVN, hg or TFS. Then you can simply delete the code for test purposes. And revert the changes afterwards.

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Microsoft MVP Office Access
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Stefan.Hoffmann

Answer 3

Am I the only one who recognizes this keystroke combination?  CTRL-K, CTRL-C used to be block copy in Wordstar, back in the 80s.  BTW, to uncomment, use CTRL-K, CTRL-U.

--Al--

Answer 4

Where's the "I Like" when ones needed :)

Answer 5

Another set of keystroke combinations that performs the same block commenting is:
CTRL-E, C -- to comment out a block of code
CTRL-E, U -- to un-comment a block