Visual Studio C# IntelliSense not automatically displaying

Solution 1:

In prose, in case you can't see the above image:

Open Tools > Options > Text Editor. If you're only having this issue with one language, find that language; if it's for everything, click "All Languages". Right at the top, there'll be a few options labeled "Auto list members", "Hide advanced members", and "Parameter information". Make sure all of those are enabled (though the second may be disabled; if so, ignore it).

Solution 2:

I have found that at times even verifying the settings under Options --> Statement Completion (the answer above) doesn't work. In this case, saving and restarting Visual Studio will re-enable Intellisense.

Finally, this link has a list of other ways to troubleshoot Intellisense, broken down by language (for more specific errors).

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/vstudio/ecfczya1(v=vs.100).aspx

Solution 3:

I'll start off my noting that this hasn't happened since I upgraded my RAM. I was at 4GB and would often have multiple instances of VS open along with SSMS. I have since gone to 8GB and then 16GB.

Here's the steps I go through when I lose intellisense.

If only one file/window appears to be affected, close/reopen that file. If that doesn't work, try below.

In Visual Studio:

1. Click Tools->Options->Text Editor->All Languages->General
2. Uncheck "Auto list members"
3. Uncheck "Parameter information"
4. Check "Auto list members" (yes, the one you just unchecked)
5. Check "Parameter information" (again, the one you just unchecked)
6. Click OK

If this doesn't work, here's a few more steps to try:

1. Close all VS documents and reopen
2. If still not working, close/reopen solution
3. If still not working, restart VS.

For C++ projects:
MSDN has a few things to try: MSDN suggestions

The corrupt .ncb file seems most likely.

From MSDN:

1. Close the solution.
2. Delete the .ncb file.
3. Reopen the solution. (This creates a new .ncb file.)

Notes:

• This issue does not appear to be specific to C# as C++ and VB users report the same issue

• Tested in VS 2013/2015