How can I get tlbimp to not automatically generate assemblies for referenced types?

Question

I want to create an interop assembly from a type library using the tlbimp.exe tool that is included in the .NET SDK.

My problem is that the source type library is referencing a type in another library that I do not have available. How can I get tlbimp to not automatically generate assemblies for referenced types?

I get the following error:

Resolving reference to type library 'GridEX20'. 
Auto importing 'GridEX20' to 'C:\tmp\GridEX20.dll'. 
TlbImp : error TI0000 : System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException - Error loading type library/DLL. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80029C4A (TYPE_E_CANTLOADLIBRARY))

Using Process Monitor I have concluded that the GridEX20 library is found but it refers to another library that is not found and tlbimp reports an error when this library can't be found.

Answer 1

You can try the /strictref option, but I don't think it's going to help you.

I suggest you examine the GridEX20.dll with Dependency Walker (for VS2005, it was found in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\Tools\Bin, but I don't think it's shipped any more - you can find a version here).

That should tell you which assemblies the dll depends on - which will at least confirm whether your initial hypothesis is correct.