VS2010 linking of static library behave differently in separate solutions

Question

Lets say I have a solution S1 with two projects pdep and pmaster, respectively creating a static and dynamic library. I have the configurations:

• release win32 : produces pdep.lib
• debug win32 : produces pdepd.lib
• release x64 : produces pdepx64.lib
• debug x64 : produces pdepx64d.lib

pmaster link configuration is done by Configuration Properties -> Linker -> Input -> Additional Dependencies
No #pragma comment(lib ) in the code. No common properties references.

What I observe :

• In s1 with both pdep and pmaster the command line for the linker is fine. ie /LIBPATH:"c:\pdep\lib\x64\Release" "pdepx64.lib"

• In a solution S2 freshly created by clicking on the project pmaster, I always have an additional line with an absolute path to a specific version of pdep, regardless of the configuration. ie /LIBPATH:"c:\pdep\lib\x64\Release" "pdepx64.lib" "c:\pdep\lib\pdepd.lib"

How does the linker in S2 derives the additional option "c:\pdep\lib\pdepd.lib"?
How do I get rid of it?

Answer 1

You can flatten the project file using msbuild with a preprocess flag. Then load that into a plain text or xml editor. Look at the linker command and see what $(properties) hold the options, and then look at where that is being set.

With msbuild you can also use more verbose logging and it will report which conditions are evaluated and such.

Answer 2

Multiple possibilities:

• Common Properties -> References
• Link Library Dependencies in Linker or Librarian section. This assumes that Project Dependencies have been setup.
• #pragma comment(lib...) is playing some role