ansaurus

Question

Is it OK to edit the project paths in a Visual Studio solution (.sln) file without updating the GUIDs?

Answer 1

+4 A:

Yeah sure - the GUID's are unique identifiers for the individual projects, but they are not linked to the project's path in any way, shape or form. Just an identifier that is used later on in the .sln file.

To be absolutely on the safe side :-), make a backup copy of your *.sln, then edit, and open the newly edited .sln in your Visual Studio.

marc_s 2010-01-15 22:46:46

I took a chance while I was waiting for an answer, and did exactly what you suggest (with the addition of a check into version control :)). Worked like a charm. Thanks and +1 for the reassurance, though.

DanM 2010-01-15 22:57:02

Hmm...well now I notice that I have a problem with my setup project. The main project works fine, but my installer is not building. The error is: "An error occurred while validating. HRESULT='80004005'".

DanM 2010-01-15 23:18:53

I tried rebuilding the installer from scratch. Didn't work. So, I ended up removing and adding each library project, reinstating the references in my main project, and voila, I'm back in business. So, the correct answer to my question is probably: "Sure, *as long as you don't have a Setup project*." If you do have a Setup project, you probably need to use VS and do everything through the GUI.

DanM 2010-01-15 23:40:35

Answer 2

A:

For the most part, this seems to work, but I ran into problems with my Setup Project/Installer. When I re-opened my solution after editing the .sln file, my solution wouldn't build. I got the following error:

An error occurred while validating. HRESULT='80004005'

I tried completely deleting and rebuilding my Setup Project from scratch, but the error remained. The only thing that worked was to remove and re-add each project using the Solution Explorer in Visual Studio.

So the lesson is: Edit the .sln project file at your own risk. If you have a Setup Project, it very well might break.

Update

Here's a link further explaining the "HRRESULT" error: https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=434666

DanM 2010-01-15 23:50:13

ansaurus

tags:

views:

answers:

Is it OK to edit the project paths in a Visual Studio solution (.sln) file without updating the GUIDs?

related questions