C# / VS2008: Add separate debug / release references to a project

Question

When adding a user control or a project reference to a VS 2008 C# project, I can add only one configuration of the assembly. Is it possible to add separate configurations, depending on the configuration of the container project.

E.g. I am developing a user control, and I am working on a sample application. I want to add the user control so that a debug build of the sample will use the debug build of the user control, and the release build of the sample the release build of the user control.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

You can do this by editing the csproj file; add a "Condition" attribute to the reference.

<Reference Include="Foo" Condition="'$(Configuration)'=='Debug'"/>
<Reference Include="Bar" Condition="'$(Configuration)'=='Release'"/>

However, I would have concerns about what this means for unit testing.

Answer 2

While @Marc Gravell's suggestion will work, is there a reason that you don't want both projects in the same solution? If they are in the same solution, you can add a Project Reference when referencing the User Control project to the sample app's project. When a Project Reference is used, Visual Studio will automatically add the Debug version for a Debug build, and the Release version for the Release build.