Information about how many files to compile before build in Visual Studio

Question

How can I figure out, how many files needs to be recompiled before I start the build process.

Sometimes I don't remember how many basic headerfiles I changed so a RebuildAll would be better than a simple build. There seams to be no option for this, but IMHO it must be possible (f.e. XCode give me this information).

Update:

My problem is not, that Visual Studio doasn't know what to compile. I need to know how much it will compile so that I can decide if I can make a quick test with my new code or if I should write more code till I start the "expensive" build process. Or if my boss ask "When can I have the new build?" the best answer is not "It is done when it is done!".

It's really helpfull when the IDE can say "compile 200 of 589 files" instead of "compile x,y, ..."

Answer 1

Could your version control tell you this? For example in Subversion "Check for modifications" will list everything changed since your last checkin (although not since your last build)

Mind you, doesn't "build" automatically do exactly that? (build only what's changed)?

Answer 2

Usually Visual Studio is good at knowing what needs to be compiled for you.

If you have multiple projects in a solution then just make sure your solution dependencies are set up correctly and it should just work when you hit Build.