Visual Studio 2015 was launched on 20th July 2015. This is great news for developers who have been using the Preview for the last few months, and represents a big step forward for Visual Studio, particularly for those developing solutions which leverage Azure, with great integration right in the IDE interface. And the upgrade from the Preview version is quick and seamless - all hail the new Microsoft!

There are too many great new features and innovations to list here - take a look at the keynote from the launch to get a flavour.

One thing that might not be immediately apparent is how to get started with SharePoint and Office 365 development in Visual Studio 2015 - this wasn't possible in the Preview/RC version as there was no corresponding Preview version of the Office Developer Tools (VSTO) 2015. Without the Office Developer Tools installed, you won't see any Office/SharePoint project templates available when you click New > Project.

A new version of the Office Developer Tools was promised for launch along with the RTM version of Visual Studio 2015, but Microsoft did a pretty good job of hiding it. But rejoice - Office Developer Tools 2015 was indeed launched, and can be installed by clicking the "Get Office Developer Tools" link here.

After installing the Office Tools, the project templates are available and you're all set for SharePoint, Office and Office 365 development in Visual Studio 2015.