: If the text looks distorted, try turning off hardware graphics acceleration within Visual Studio. Go to Tools > Options > Environment > General and uncheck "Automatically adjust visual experience based on client performance" and "Use hardware graphics acceleration if available". 2. Make Text "Solid" (Bold)

In late 2014, Microsoft made a pivot that effectively ended the "Express" era. They released , which provided the full power of the Professional edition (including extension support) for free to individuals and small teams.

Yes, but only for specific, narrow use cases.

Provide a professional-grade debugging and code editing experience for specific Microsoft stacks, completely free.