For decades, C++ has powered the world’s most critical systems—from banking infrastructure and trading platforms to game engines, aerospace software, and embedded devices. Its unmatched performance and control make it the tool of choice when efficiency matters most.
But that control comes at a cost.
C++ assumes minimal guard rails. It assumes the developer knows exactly what they’re doing.
Break Free from IntelliSense Hell with Visual Assist: Learn UE5 C++ Development Techniques [Webinar Recap]
October 13, 2025
This is the third session in the webinar series on Unreal Engine 5 workflows with Assembla and Visual Assist. Chris Gardner, lead developer at Whole Tomato Software, challenges conventional wisdom about when to use C++ versus Blueprints and demonstrates how Visual Assist…
What did we learn? A back-to-school update about Visual Assist's latest from our GM
September 11, 2025
New season, fresh start
As Fall approaches, it’s not just students heading back to school. it’s also a perfect time to evaluate your coding tools. Which ones are ready for advanced coursework, and which might need some upgrading? You might find that some of those…
Visual Assist 2025.3 release post
July 3, 2025
Visual Assist 2025.3 is now public and available to download.
This release improves developer experience by updating the feedback UI when using some of our added features from recent releases. We’ve also updated our options dialog’s look and feel alongside some of line highlighting options. We’ve also fixed many of the bugs and issues based on user reports.
The highlight of this release is…
The best part of working in dev tools? Hearing directly from the people who use them. Over the past several months, we here at Whole Tomato have had the privilege of speaking with C++ professionals across many industries: gaming, fintech, agtech, manufacturing, and…
If you’re a developer working in Visual Studio, chances are you’ve hit a few bumps in the road—slow load times, clunky navigation, unreliable IntelliSense, and the occasional “Where did that file go?” moment. These common pain points can quickly add up…
Visual Assist 2025.1 release post
March 31, 2025
VA 2025.1 enhances usability with smarter navigation, better C++ module support, and more flexible refactoring options. The updated first-run dialog, configurable test snippets, and a refreshed UI improve the overall experience. Additionally, several key fixes address navigation issues, assignment suggestions, and UI inconsistencies, ensuring a more stable and efficient development…
How to Query File Attributes 50x faster on Windows
November 14, 2024
Imagine you’re developing a tool that needs to scan for file changes across thousands of project files. Retrieving file attributes efficiently becomes critical for such scenarios. In this article, I’ll demonstrate a technique to get file attributes that can…
Visual Assist 2024.7 release post
October 1, 2024
We are excited to announce the release of 2024.7 of Visual Assist! This update introduces several powerful features aimed at improving your coding efficiency and project navigation. Download the release now.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s new in this version:
New…
Making a case for investing in software tools: convincing yourself, your team, and your boss
September 27, 2024
Introduction
Visual Assist has been a longtime partner for coding in Visual Studio. It adds missing features and sometimes even replaces the default features in the IDE. In fact, you can even argue that Visual Assist had a direct influence as to how some of the features in Visual Studio panned out.
But what makes Visual Assist (VA) such a compelling purchase? And what about it makes it a…
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