Setting up Visual Studio for Unreal

After you've installed Visual Studio, there are some steps you can take to make it easier to work with C++ code in Unreal. These steps are not at all necessary, and can be safely skipped.

Adding the Solution Platforms drop-down list

On the right-hand side of the toolbar is a drop-down arrow, as shown in the following screenshot:

Click on this button, hover over the Add or Remove buttons, and click on Solution Platforms to add the menu to the toolbar.

The Solution Platforms drop-down list allows you to switch the project between target platforms (for instance, Windows, Mac, and so on).

Disabling the Error List tab

The error list in Visual Studio shows you the errors that it detects in your code before you even compile the project. While normally this is incredibly useful, in Unreal, it can frequently detect false positives and become more annoying than helpful.

To disable the error list, first close the Error List tab (you can find this in the bottom pane, as shown in the following screenshot):

Then, navigate to Tools | Options, expand the Projects and Solutions group, and uncheck the Always show Error List if build finishes with errors option: