A Brief Guide on Converting SCSS to CSS in Visual Studio

In the realm of web development, we have access to an array of tools and technologies that can facilitate making our work more efficient and less tedious. Among these tools, SCSS, which stands for “Sassy CSS”, has become widely popular among developers. SCSS is a preprocessor that enables us to use variables, mixins, and functions, which makes coding and maintaining CSS more manageable. However, it is pertinent to note that web browsers will not be able to understand and interpret our SCSS code adequately, which indicates that we have to convert it into CSS. In this pillar article, we will outline how to convert SCSS into CSS in Visual Studio using a specific extension.

Step 1: Install Visual Studio

The initial step, which is obvious, is to download and install Visual Studio, an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that is designed by Microsoft. Visual Studio is available to download from the official website, and there are different versions offered, depending on your operating system and specific requirements.

Step 2: Create a New SCSS File

After you have installed Visual Studio, create a new SCSS file. To do this, you can either create a new project or open an existing one. Next, right-click on your project and select the “Add new item” option. Then, pick “SCSS File” and name it. Subsequently, you can begin writing your SCSS code in the file.

Step 3: Install the SCSS Compiler

Visual Studio does not come with an in-built SCSS compiler, meaning we have to install an appropriate extension or package that converts SCSS to CSS. Various options exist, though the most commonly used and popular is “Web Compiler” by Mads Kristensen. You can download and install it by getting onto the Extensions menu, searching for “Web Compiler,” and then installing it.

Once you have installed Web Compiler, navigate to the Tools menu and open it. Click on the “Add SCSS” button to bring up a new window. Here, you can select the SCSS file(s) you want to compile, set up the desired output folder, and the filename(s) for the resulting CSS files.

Step 4: Convert SCSS to CSS

After you have configured the Web Compiler, you can now proceed to convert your SCSS code into CSS. Simply save your SCSS file(s), and the Web Compiler will automatically compile and convert them to CSS based on the settings you have set up.

After SCSS has been converted to CSS, you can utilize the generated CSS file(s) in your project. You can also customize the Web Compiler in a way that enables it to automatically re-compile your SCSS code once you save any changes. This feature can save you time and ensure that your CSS is always current.

Conclusion

In summary, SCSS is a powerful resource that enables the creation of more maintainable and improved CSS code. However, using SCSS requires converting it to CSS. In this pillar article, we have explained how to convert SCSS to CSS in Visual Studio effectively using the Web Compiler extension. Following these simple steps, you can write your CSS stylesheets in SCSS format and convert them to CSS with ease.