References failing to import to a VS 2005 (VB) ASP.NET Web Service Application Project

Question

I have this VB ASP.NET Web Service Application project running VS 2005. I'm trying to add references. To do so I click on the "Properties" icon in the Solution Explorer window which presents me with a window to add/update/remove references. I click "Add", I select the reference I want and then "OK". Lo en behold, NOTHING! It simply won't add references (I tried adding several different ones). Specifically I'm trying to add the System.Configuration assembly.

I'm not sure why this is happening, but perhaps another clue to the puzzle is that I also see no "References" folder in the Solution Explorer nor can I view it by clicking the "Show All Files" icon since it's greyed out.

Maybe I'm missing something obvious, I'd be grateful if someone could shed some light on this problem.

P.S: The project is source-controlled using VSS, although it had no effect when I checked out the entired project.

*Progress Updates:

• Modified project folder & file permissions, no effect.
• Scanned through paths in project source files, they are pointing to correct locations (not that I can see why that would have an effect).
• Tried to create a new project and adding the existing project files, this fails horribly.
• Stared blankly at the screen for minutes at a time. Forcibly willing it to work has no effect.

Answer 1

After a lot of frustration, cupous amounts of caffiene and nictotine, I managed to find the problem. When you "Get Latest Version" on a folder, be sure to "Set Working Folder" on the root of your VSS database. If you don't do that, the original project code may be duplicated under the main solution file like this:

• C:\Projects\MyAwesomeProject
• C:\Projects\MyAwesomeProject\MyAwesomeProject

From that you should be able to gather that now you have duplicate code and duplicate configuration files that both gets treated as the main app.config/web.config. Changes made in one is not reflected in the other. When you try to add references it technically adds it to one, but not to the other, also causing VSS not to "show" the references in the solutions property pages.

I second-guessed myself on this one, since I took the project over from a previous developer that didn't set the working folder when he did "Get Latest Version" and check all of the duplicate files created as a result back into VSS. My question was basically "Which one is the right one?".

Deleting "C:\Projects\MyAwesomeProject\MyAwesomeProject\" = Build Successfull.

Happy programming!