• 0

[Visual Studio 2005 App] Multiple Projects Open at Once


Question

Hey guys/gals,

I have a question I hope someone can answer.

I am using Visual Studio 2005 Professional and would like to be able to view files from multiple projects in a side by side view. I have figured out how to view multiple files in a side by side view as long as they are part of the same project but not from different projects. I would like to be able to do this so I can use my own code as reference.

I have tried searching on Google for an answer but so far no luck.

Thank you for the help!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

You can use a Solution. A Solution is a container for multiple projects. Open an existing project, and when you want to open the next, click File > Add > Existing Project and browse for the second project

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

So is a solution then considered the overall application/program while the projects inside it would each be a section of the overall application/solution?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Not quite, a solution can house multiple projects, but a project will only compile to one type, such as a library, an executable etc. Think of the projects as modules and the solution is the owning entity

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Awesome... I think I have got it.

I am now able to view multiple files from seperate projects.

Thank you!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

So I went to build my project and it now compiles every project that I have added to the solution. Is there a way to only build a specific project and not the whole solution?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Only have VS2008 Professional so I can't confirm this in VS2005, but I can't imagine it's vastly changed, but you can either right click the project in the Solution Explorer and select 'Build', or with the project or file belonging to the project selected or open in Code or Designer view, select Build <Project Name> from the Build menu.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

There are a couple of ways.

1. To build an individual project, select the Build <Project Name> from the Build menu, or Right-click the project in the solution explorer and select Build.

2. To build a set of projects in the solution, right click the projects you don't want to compile, and select the Unload Project option. You can then use the Build Solution command in the Build menu to build the just the ones you want.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

imo, you shouldnt really have multiple non-related projects in the same solution... typically you might have a class project that compiles to a reusable .dll as one project and then say a web app that uses that .dll as a reference. This would be an example of when multiple projects should be included in the same solution...

like you found out, it can get confusing when there are disparate projects grouped together..

again, imo, it would be better to open up two instances of visual studio and then tile them side by side if you want to look at both... but hey, if you want to lump all you projects in the same solution that's cool... just i don't like it unless they are being worked/developed on together :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

^ Thats good advice. I generally use solutions where I am building a framework that spans multiple projects. Then, when I need to compile a subset of those projects, I generally create a new solution with that subset in

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

After playing around with solutions/projects for a few days I ended just creating a project and then opening the source file in notepad++ where I could show multiple source files. Visual Studio watches the file for changes so when I go to build it asks me if I want to update the file first anyways.

Microsoft needs to add the ability to view source files from multiple projects in seperate views without making them part of the same solution (IMO).

I appreciate all the feedback though. I definitely have a better understand of solutions and projects than I did before.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
Microsoft needs to add the ability to view source files from multiple projects in seperate views without making them part of the same solution (IMO).
I agree. Another alternative for you is to double-click on the source code files you want to view in Windows Explorer and they will open up as separate tabs in Visual Studio that you can then compare side-to-side.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
Microsoft needs to add the ability to view source files from multiple projects in seperate views without making them part of the same solution (IMO).

Why? How would that work? Are we talking about a workspace scenario?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
I agree. Another alternative for you is to double-click on the source code files you want to view in Windows Explorer and they will open up as separate tabs in Visual Studio that you can then compare side-to-side.

I tried that and it opens a completely new VS for me. I am going to download Visual Studio 2008 from DreamSpark in a few weeks. I will see how that works out for this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
I tried that and it opens a completely new VS for me. I am going to download Visual Studio 2008 from DreamSpark in a few weeks. I will see how that works out for this.

yep, that's the idea... one solution, one solution..

if you open another solution it will open another instance.. vs2008 is the same :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
Why? How would that work? Are we talking about a workspace scenario?

I am not sure what you mean by workspace scenario but I just wanted to be able to look at old code for reference without having to close and open another whole project.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
I am not sure what you mean by workspace scenario but I just wanted to be able to look at old code for reference without having to close and open another whole project.

You don't have to close the entire project/solution. File > Open > File... (Or ctrl+O).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
You don't have to close the entire project/solution. File > Open > File... (Or ctrl+O).

That works perfect... and simple too. Thanks! That is the exact thing I was looking for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
That works perfect... and simple too. Thanks! That is the exact thing I was looking for.

Good. You can also drag files to Visual Studio too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.