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Framework and References, Common Properties, <Projectname> Property Pages Dialog Box

Visual Studio 2010

Updated: July 2010

Use this property page to set references from a C++ project to .NET Framework assemblies, COM components, or external projects.

To open this property page, right-click the project in Solution Explorer, click Properties, expand the Common Properties node, and then select References.

By default for new projects, the targeted framework is set to .NET Framework 4. The IDE does not support modifying the targeted framework, but you can change it manually.

In the project file (.vcxproj), the default targeted framework is represented by the <TargetFrameworkVersion>v4.0</TargetFrameworkVersion> property element. To change the targeted framework, unload the project, use a text editor to open the project file, and then change the value of the property element from v4.0 to another version that is installed on your server. For example, if you specify v3.5, which represents the .NET Framework 3.5, Visual Studio 2008 SP1 must be installed. Save and close the file, reload the project, and verify that the targeted framework is displayed in the property page. For more information, see How to: Modify the Target Framework and Platform Toolset.

The References pane displays a list of all the components that your project currently references, for example, .NET Framework assemblies, COM components, and external projects.

Add New Reference

Opens the Add Reference dialog box.

Remove Reference

Deletes the reference that is selected in the References list.

ActiveX Reference Properties

ActiveX reference properties are available only for references to COM components. These properties are displayed only when a COM component is selected in the References pane. The properties cannot be modified.

Control Full Path

Displays the directory path of the referenced control.

Control GUID

Displays the GUID for the ActiveX control.

Control Version

Displays the version of the referenced ActiveX control.

Type Library Name

Displays the name of the referenced type library.

Wrapper Tool

Displays the tool that is used to build the interop assembly from the referenced COM library or ActiveX control.

Assembly Reference Properties

Assembly reference properties are available only for references to .NET Framework assemblies. These properties are displayed only when a .NET Framework assembly is selected in the References pane. The properties cannot be modified.

Relative Path

Displays the relative path from the project directory to the referenced assembly.

Build Properties

The following properties let you specify how to build with references.

Copy Local

Specifies whether to automatically copy the referenced assembly to the target location during a build.

Copy Local Satellite Assemblies

Specifies whether to automatically copy the satellite assemblies of the referenced assembly to the target location during a build. Only used if Copy Local is true.

Reference Assembly Output

Specifies that this assembly is used in the build process. If true, the assembly is used on the compiler command line during the build.

Project Reference Properties

The following properties define a project-to-project reference from the project that is selected in the References pane to another project, which typically is not in the same solution. The selected project is the dependent project and the other project is the independent project. As the result of creating a project-to-project reference, the independent project is built before the dependent project. A project reference applies to a specific dependent project, not the entire solution. For more information, see Project References.

Link Library Dependencies

When this property is True, the project system links into the dependent project the .lib files that are produced by the independent project. Typically, you will specify True.

Project Identifier

Uniquely identifies the independent project. The property value is an internal system GUID that cannot be modified.

Use Library Dependency Inputs

When this property is False, the project system will not link into the dependent project the .obj files for the library produced by the independent project. Consequently, this value disables incremental linking. Typically, you will specify False because building the application can take a long time if there are many independent projects.

Reference Properties

The following properties cannot be modified.

Assembly Name

Displays the assembly name for the referenced assembly.

Culture

Displays the culture of the selected reference.

Description

Displays the description of the selected reference.

Full Path

Displays the directory path of the referenced assembly.

Identity

For the .NET Framework assemblies, displays the full path. For COM components, displays the GUID.

Label

Displays the label of the reference.

Name

Displays the name of the reference.

Public Key Token

Displays the public key token that is used to identify the referenced assembly.

Strong Name

true if the referenced assembly has a strong name. A strong named assembly is uniquely versioned.

Version

Displays the version of the referenced assembly.

Date

History

Reason

July 2010

Described the "Project Reference Properties" section.

Content bug fix.

January 2012

Added a link to the topic that describes how to modify the target Framework and platform toolset.

Content bug fix.
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Annotations FAQ
What if my project is missing TargetFrameworkVersion?

The <TargetFrameworkVersion>v4.0</TargetFrameworkVersion> property element may be missing
if you used the Upgrade Wizard to upgrade the project from an earlier version of Visual Studio. The
TargetFrameworkVersion element should be placed underneath these two lines: (the GUID will be
different in your project file.)

<propertygroup label="Globals">
   <projectguid>{96FD1FEF-8A07-44E6-9CC1-D4284218B186}</projectguid>

Therefore, if you want to target v2.0, it will look like this: (again, your GUID will be different.)

<propertygroup label="Globals">
   <projectguid>{96FD1FEF-8A07-44E6-9CC1-D4284218B186}</projectguid>
   <TargetFrameworkVersion>v2.0</TargetFrameworkVersion>

Do not change the declaration at the top of the vcxproj file where it says ToolsVersion="4.0".

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