Visual Studio Code Activity bar completely missing, Version 1.28

Question

Just downloaded VSCode, ver 1.28 and the activity bar (left side) and the left side of the side bar are not there. This happened yesterday too, so uninstalled the program and tried again today. I have no way to get to settings, debug, search, etc. Tried right clicking on black space and they don't show up, merely options to open a new file. If I do open (untitled) I still do not get that left part of the screen. I am comparing it to MS's user interface page (https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/getstarted/userinterface). Is it possible that I would have to change the resolution on my laptop? Thanks.

Answer 1

For the Activity Bar, the style will significantly change depending on how you position it. You can change this position under the following settings:

View / Appearance / Activity Bar Position / [Choose a Position]

Answer 2

F11 2 times working for me. Please try with fn+F11 or only f11.

Answer 3

1. Simply go to the setting.
2. Under the user settings search for Activity Bar.
3. You'd find it under the workbench.
4. Click the Activity bar visible and that's green and working.

Answer 4

You can also pull up the command pallet with

Ctrl + Shift + P (Windows/Linux)

Cmd + Shift + P (Mac)

Then type/select

View: Toggle Activity Bar Visibility

Answer 5

Another way to loose Activity Bar is to accidently active Zen Mode. Check if

View/Apperance/Zen Mode

is checked and if so uncheck it.

Answer 6

From the menu bar at the top try

View/Apperance/Show Activity Bar

When the Activity Bar is visible, this option will show "Hide Activity Bar"

See screenshot