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In Visual Studio 2013, Microsoft again presents the menu in UPPERCASE as the default.

Can these be modified to be Sentence Case?

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    @stonemetal the procedure w/2012 is similar, but different in details. There should be a wiki covering all versions. This is what I intended.
    – rubber boots
    Commented Jul 2, 2013 at 6:59
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    Not a dupe, the accepted answer to the other question does not work here!
    – Colonel Panic
    Commented Jul 2, 2013 at 15:24
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    It's the same in VS 2013 RC. Also same solution works for this.
    – Risto Välimäki
    Commented Oct 17, 2013 at 10:37
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    I've posted the workaround (for regedit and PowerShell) to connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/details/775717/…
    – Grault
    Commented Dec 7, 2013 at 7:54
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    Microsoft sure are clueless when it comes to interface design. Who thought doing this in all caps was a good idea?!?
    – Almo
    Commented May 26, 2015 at 14:40

6 Answers 6

Reset to default
368

Yes - in the new Visual Studio 2013 (as in VS 2012), MS reinforced their design decision to make ALL CAPS MENU ITEMS the default. The methods for reverting the menu style are almost the same methods used for Visual Studio 2012, which has been discussed before.

Update (after Visual Studio 2013 Update 4)

As of Visual Studio 2013 Update 4 you can go into Tools > Options > Environment
and uncheck Turn off upper case in the menu bar screenshot of the menu

Before Visual Studio 2013 Update 4:

You need to create a specific registry key if you want "old-style" menus back.

First Variant: Since Package Manager Console is Powershell, select menu options TOOLS / Library Package Manager / Package Manager Console and enter and run

Set-ItemProperty -Path HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\12.0\General -Name SuppressUppercaseConversion -Type DWord -Value 1 (as a single line).

Second Variant: Open up a Command Prompt (win+r, cmd, enter) and enter and run

REG ADD HKCU\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\12.0\General /v SuppressUppercaseConversion /t REG_DWORD /d 1 (as a single line).

Third Variant: Change registry values by hand, open regedit and navigate to

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\12.0\General

then, create (right click):

 DWORD value

with the content of

 SuppressUppercaseConversion

and set it to

 1

Close regedit.exe and you're done.

Fourth Variant: At least one VS Extension (VSCommands for Visual Studio 2013) has been published that enables you (among other things) to switch menu style via config menu from within VS 2013.

You may also set it to all-lower-case items (which is, imho, nice): enter image description here

switch to Sentence Case (subtly different from what you get with SuppressUppercaseConversion: the SQL menu gets renamed to Sql) enter image description here

or hide it completely (and have it appear on ALT key press or mouse over) enter image description here

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    +1 for the Power Shell version!
    – Mike Christensen
    Commented Nov 28, 2013 at 2:10
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    The full path for VS Commands is Tools > VSCommands > Options > IDE Enhancements > Main Menu > Check "Change Main Menu letter case" and select your preference.
    – Slate
    Commented Feb 27, 2014 at 10:41
  • [ctl] + [r] should be [win] + [r]. cmd, [enter]
    – JeroldHaas
    Commented Aug 18, 2014 at 9:49
  • Note: The Package Manager Console in VS.NET is actually a Powershell command window so those familiar with using it for NuGet can paste the 1st option in from above, run, restart VS.NET and it works like a charm.
    – atconway
    Commented Sep 10, 2014 at 2:16
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    This is a wonderful answer but with the full release of Update 3 and 4 it is no longer the best approach. It is much easier to use the Tools > Options approach described by @ScottWylie.
    – JohnC
    Commented Dec 8, 2014 at 16:19
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After years Microsoft has changed their mind on this feature. As of Visual Studio 2013 Update 3 RC, an option has been added in Tools -> Options to change to Mixed Case for Menu titles. Obviously this is not for VS 2012 but going forward this option will be there.

Here is the notification from Brian Harry of Microsoft....

Mixed Case Menus – I know I’m going to get some feedback on this one :) This is a long standing request by a vocal portion of the VS user base since VS 2012 to change the “ALL CAPS” menus. In VS 2013 Update 3, we have added a Tools –> Options setting to control whether you see ALL CAPS or Mixed Case. The default is still ALL CAPS but, if you change it, it will persist across upgrades and will roam across your IDE instances using the VS Online roaming settings feature (if you log into VS so it knows who you are).

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bharry/archive/2014/07/02/vs-tfs-2013-3-update-3-rc.aspx

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    I'm running VS2013 and can't find the option anywhere in Tools -> Options. I'm guessing I can't see the wood for the trees so could someone point out which section it is under?
    – Karle
    Commented Jul 3, 2014 at 13:17
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    Make sure you install VS 2013 Update 3 RC first. It is under Tools -> Options -> Environment -> General. It is right under the Color Theme option.
    – Scott Wylie
    Commented Jul 3, 2014 at 14:24
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    Now that Update 3 and 4 are RTM the accepted answer really should be this one as having the other valid and worthwhile answer that requires registry hacks or 3rd party extensions marked as accepted is leading people in the wrong direction.
    – JohnC
    Commented Dec 8, 2014 at 16:16
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I have been using the following reg files to enable/disable the lowercasing in Visual Studio 2013:

http://erwinmayer.com/dl/VS2013_ALLCAPS_Toggle.zip

Just double click on VS2013_ALLCAPS_Disable.reg inside the archive to disable all caps menu titles, and VS2013_ALLCAPS_Enable.reg to re-enable them.

You can easily edit the reg files before with a text editor to see what they contain.

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If you're using the "Visual Studio Express 2013 for Windows Desktop" version the registry key should be added in:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\WDExpress\12.0\General
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    Or for command prompt users: REG ADD HKCU\Software\Microsoft\WDExpress\12.0\General /v SuppressUppercaseConversion /t REG_DWORD /d 1 (all on one line)
    – ClickRick
    Commented Apr 20, 2014 at 21:20
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So simple! You can go to Tools -> Options -> Environment -> General tab and check the Turn off uppercase checkbox from the right side and click ok. Visual studio 2013 will automatically turn off uppercasing of the menubar.

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  1. VS 2013: Tools→Extensions and Updates→Online, Type "VSCommands" in search textbox, Click Download

  2. Tools→Options→VSCommands→General, Click Open-Configuration button

  3. IDEEnhancements→Main Menu→Change Main Menu Letter Case, click Sentence-Case

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