CODEWITHSUNDEEP
visual-studio-2010referenceproject
Erik
Erik

Reputation: 229

Visual Studio 2010 - Add Reference Tabs will only give me projects. No Browse Allowed?

My problem seems pretty simple. I have a Solution with multiple projects and basically I am trying to do some mixing with C++, C# and CLI. My problem is that I need to add references from my c++ project. When the "Add Reference" dialog comes up, I only get tab for "Projects". I know that usually you get multiple tabs for adding different reference types. What I am interested in is the "Browse" dialog. I need this to add a reference to a dll that is prebuilt. I am targeting .Net 4.0.

It seems like there is a project property that can be set to limit this but I'm not sure. MSDN seems to mention something along the lines that if you have multiple projects in a solution and they target different versions of the .Net framework, the list of possibilities may be limited.

In "How to: Add or Remove References in Visual Studio" MSDN mentions: "The number of tabs available at the top of the Add Reference dialog box can vary, depending on the type of project open and the resources it is using. C++ native projects contain only a Projects tab."

It doesn't really mention what these are specifically so maybe its just a broad subject. Anyways, I have stripped down the solution to only my C++ project and I can build successfully. However, I can only add References to other projects.

Upvotes: 2

Views: 7199

Answers (1)

Erik
Erik

Reputation: 229

Apparently, setting the CLR option on the project is what opens up the list to include more options. I only wanted to enable it on one source file, but I guess Visual Studio will not add reference capabilities unless you turn it on for the whole project.

Therefore, my solution was to enable it for the whole project, add the reference, and then remove the option on the project. Basically a dirty trick but just in case people run into the same issue, that is what worked for me.

Erik

Upvotes: 7

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