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 Filter by title Reference Manager In this article

Manage references in a project 08/02/2019 • 9 minutes to read • +7
Reference Manager dialog
Add or remove references by using the box
You can use the Reference Manager dialog box to add and manage references to components that you, Microsoft, or another
Reference Manager Add a reference
company developed. If you're developing a Universal Windows app, your project automatically references all of the correct Windows
Add or remove imported namespaces (Visual Assemblies tab
SDK DLLs. If you are developing a .NET application, your project automatically references mscorlib.dll. Some .NET APIs are exposed in
Basic) Projects tab
components that you have to add manually. References to COM components or custom components have to be added manually.
Troubleshoot broken references Shared Projects tab

Manage application resources (.NET) Universal Windows tab

Ｔ Application settings (.NET)

Reference Manager dialog box COM tab
Browse
Ｔ Sign manifests The Reference Manager dialog box shows different categories on the left side, depending on the project type:
Recent
Specify an application icon (Visual Basic, C#)
Assemblies, with Framework and Extensions subgroups Search
Target a framework
See also
Ｔ Create templates COM lists all COM components that are available for referencing
Locate project and item templates
Projects
Ｔ Customize templates

64-bit support Shared Projects

Ｔ Develop without projects or solutions Windows, with Core and Extensions subgroups. You can explore the references in the Windows SDK or extension SDKs by
Connect to a project or repo using the Object Browser.
Ｔ Editor
Browse, with Recent subgroup
Ｔ Code views

Use the Task List

Ｔ Class Designer Add a reference
Improve your code 1. In Solution Explorer, right-click on the References or Dependencies node and choose Add Reference. You can also right-click
 Download PDF
on the project node and select Add > Reference.

Reference Manager opens and lists the available references by group.

2. Specify the references to add, and then select OK.

Assemblies tab
The Assemblies tab lists all .NET assemblies that are available for referencing. The Assemblies tab doesn't list any assemblies from
the global assembly cache (GAC) because assemblies in the GAC are part of the run-time environment. If you deploy or copy an
application that contains a reference to an assembly that's registered in the GAC, the assembly won't be deployed or copied with the
application, regardless of the Copy Local setting. For more information, see Manage references in a project.

When you manually add a reference to any of the EnvDTE namespaces (EnvDTE, EnvDTE80, EnvDTE90, EnvDTE90a, or EnvDTE100), set
the Embed Interop Types property of the reference to False in the Properties window. Setting this property to True can cause build
issues because of certain EnvDTE properties that can't be embedded.

All desktop projects contain an implicit reference to mscorlib. Visual Basic projects contain an implicit reference to
Microsoft.VisualBasic. All projects contain an implicit reference to System.Core, even if it's removed from the list of references.

If a project type doesn't support assemblies, the tab won't appear in the Reference Manager dialog box.

The Assemblies tab consists of two sub-tabs:

1. Framework lists all assemblies that constitute the targeted framework.

For projects that don't target .NET Core or the Universal Windows Platform, the Framework tab enumerates assemblies from
the targeted framework. The user must add any references that the application requires.

Universal Windows projects contain references to all of the assemblies in the targeted framework by default. In managed
projects, a read-only node under the References folder in Solution Explorer indicates the reference to the entire framework.
Accordingly, the Framework tab doesn't enumerate any of the assemblies from the framework and instead displays the
following message: "All of the Framework assemblies are already referenced. Please use the Object Browser to explore the
references in the Framework".

2. Extensions lists all assemblies that external vendors of components and controls have developed to extend the targeted
framework. Depending on the purpose of the user application, it might need these assemblies.

Extensions is populated by enumerating the assemblies that are registered in the following locations:

32-bit machine:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\[Target Framework Identifier]\v[Target Framework Version]\AssemblyFoldersEx\

[UserComponentName]\@default=[Disk location of assemblies]
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\[Target Framework Identifier]\v[Target Framework Version]\AssemblyFoldersEx\
[UserComponentName]\@default=[Disk location of assemblies]

64-bit machine:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\[Target Framework Identifier]\v[Target Framework

Version]\AssemblyFoldersEx\[UserComponentName]\@default=[Disk location of assemblies]
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\[Target Framework Identifier]\v[Target Framework
Version]\AssemblyFoldersEx\[UserComponentName]\@default=[Disk location of assemblies]

And older versions of the [Target Framework Identifier]

For example, if a project targets .NET Framework 4 on a 32-bit machine, Extensions enumerates assemblies that are registered
under \Microsoft.NETFramework\v4.0\AssemblyFoldersEx, \Microsoft.NETFramework\v3.5\AssemblyFoldersEx,
\Microsoft.NETFramework\v3.0\AssemblyFoldersEx, and \Microsoft.NETFramework\v2.0\AssemblyFoldersEx.

Some components in the list may not be shown, depending on the framework version of your project. This can occur under the
following conditions:

A component that uses a recent framework version is incompatible with a project that targets an earlier version.

For information about how to change the target framework version for a project, see Framework targeting overview.

A component that uses .NET Framework 4 is incompatible with a project that targets the .NET Framework 4.5.

You should avoid adding file references to outputs of another project in the same solution, because doing this may cause
compilation errors. Instead, use the Projects tab of the Add Reference dialog box to create project-to-project references. This makes
team development easier by enabling better management of the class libraries you create in your projects. For more information, see
Troubleshoot broken references.

７ Note

In Visual Studio 2015 or later, a file reference instead of a project reference is created if the target framework version of one
project is .NET Framework 4.5 or later, and the target version of the other project is .NET Framework 2, 3, 3.5, or 4.0.

To display an assembly in the Add Reference dialog box

Move or copy the assembly to one of the following locations:

The current project directory. (You can find these assemblies by using the Browse tab.)

Other project directories in the same solution. (You can find these assemblies by using the Projects tab.)

- or -

Set a registry key that specifies the location of assemblies to display:

For a 32-bit operating system, add one of the following registry keys.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\<VersionMinimum>\AssemblyFoldersEx\MyAssemblies]@="
<AssemblyLocation>"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\<VersionMinimum>\AssemblyFoldersEx\MyAssemblies]@="
<AssemblyLocation>"

For a 64-bit operating system, add one of the following registry keys in a 32-bit registry hive.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\<VersionMinimum>\AssemblyFoldersEx\MyAssemblies]@="
<AssemblyLocation>"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\<VersionMinimum>\AssemblyFoldersEx\MyAssemblies]@="
<AssemblyLocation>"

<VersionMinimum> is the lowest framework version that applies. If <VersionMinimum> is v3.0, folders specified in
AssemblyFoldersEx apply to projects that target .NET Framework 3.0 and later.

<AssemblyLocation> is the directory of the assemblies that you want to appear in the Add Reference dialog box, for example,
C:\MyAssemblies.

Creating the registry key under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE node allows all users to see the assemblies in the specified location in
the Add Reference dialog box. Creating the registry key under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER node affects only the setting for the
current user.

Open the Add Reference dialog box again. The assemblies should appear on the .NET tab. If they do not, make sure that the
assemblies are located in the specified AssemblyLocation directory, restart Visual Studio, and try again.

Projects tab
The Projects tab lists all compatible projects within the current solution, in the Solution sub-tab.

A project can reference another project that targets a different framework version. For example, you could create a project that
targets the .NET Framework 4 but that references an assembly that's been built for the .NET Framework 2. However, the .NET
Framework 2 project can't reference a .NET Framework 4 project. For more information, see Framework targeting overview.

７ Note

A project that targets the .NET Framework 4 is incompatible with a project that targets the .NET Framework 4 Client Profile.

Shared Projects tab

Add a reference to a shared project on the Shared Projects tab of the Reference Manager dialog box. Shared Projects let you write
common code that's referenced by a number of different application projects.

Universal Windows tab

The Universal Windows tab lists all SDKs that are specific to platforms on which Windows operating systems run. This tab has two
subgroups: Core and Extensions.

Core subgroup

Universal Windows app projects have a reference to the Universal Windows SDK by default. Accordingly, the Core subgroup in the
Reference Manager doesn't enumerate any of the assemblies from the Universal Windows SDK.

Extensions subgroup

Extensions lists the user SDKs that extend the targeted Windows platform.

An SDK is a collection of files that Visual Studio treats as a single component. In the Extensions tab, SDKs that apply to the project
from which the Reference Manager dialog box was invoked are listed as single entries. When added to a project, all of the SDK
content is consumed by Visual Studio such that the user doesn't need to take any further actions to leverage the SDK contents in
IntelliSense, toolbox, designers, Object Browser, build, deployment, debugging, and packaging.

For information about how to display your SDK in the Extensions tab, see Creating a Software Development Kit.

７ Note

If a project references an SDK that depends on another SDK, Visual Studio won't consume the second SDK unless you manually
add a reference to the second SDK. When a user chooses an SDK on the Extensions tab, the Reference Manager dialog box
helps you identify SDK dependencies by listing any dependencies in the details pane.

If a project type doesn't support extensions, this tab doesn't appear in the Reference Manager dialog box.

COM tab
The COM tab lists all COM components that are available for referencing. If you want to add a reference to a registered COM DLL
that contains an internal manifest, unregister the DLL first. Otherwise, Visual Studio adds the assembly reference as an ActiveX control
instead of as a native DLL.

If a project type doesn't support COM, the tab doesn't appear in the Reference Manager dialog box.

Browse
You can use the Browse button to browse for a component in the file system.

A project can reference a component that targets a different framework version. For example, you could create an application that
targets .NET Framework 4.7 but references a component that targets .NET Framework 4. For more information, see Framework
targeting overview.

Avoid adding file references to outputs of another project in the same solution, because this tactic may cause compilation errors.
Instead, use the Solution tab of the Reference Manager dialog box to create project-to-project references. This makes team
development easier by enabling better management of the class libraries that you create in your projects. For more information, see
Troubleshoot broken references.

You can't browse to an SDK and add it to your project. You can only browse to a file (for example, an assembly or .winmd) and add it
to your project.

When doing a file reference to a WinMD, the expected layout is that the <FileName>.winmd, <FileName>.dll, and <FileName>.pri
files are all placed alongside each other. If you reference a WinMD in the following scenarios, an incomplete set of files will be copied
into the project output directory and, consequently, build and runtime failures will occur.

Native component: a native project will create one WinMD for each disjoint set of namespaces and one DLL that consists of
the implementation. The WinMDs will have disparate names. When referencing this native component file, MSBuild won't
recognize that the dissimilarly named WinMDs make one component. Consequently, only the identically named <FileName>.dll
and <FileName>.winmd will be copied, and runtime errors will occur. To work around this issue, create an extension SDK. For
more information, see Create a Software Development Kit.

Consuming controls: at a minimum, a XAML control consists of a <FileName>.winmd, <FileName>.dll, <FileName>.pri,

<XamlName>.xaml, and an <ImageName>.jpg. When the project is built, the resource files that are associated with the file
reference won't get copied into the project's output directory, and only <FileName>.winmd, <FileName>.dll and
<FileName>.pri will be copied. A build error is logged to inform the user that the resources <XamlName>.xaml and
<ImageName>.jpg are missing. To succeed, the user will have to manually copy these resource files into the project output
directory for build and debugging/runtime. To work around this issue, either create an extension SDK by following the steps in
Create a Software Development Kit or edit the project file to add the following property:

XML ＝ Copy

<PropertyGroup>
<GenerateLibraryOutput>True</GenerateLibraryOutput>
</PropertyGroup>

７ Note

If you add the property, the build might run slower.

Recent
Assemblies, COM, Windows, and Browse each support a Recent tab, which enumerates the list of components that were recently
added to projects.

Search
The search bar in the Reference Manager dialog box operates over the tab that's in focus. For example, if a user types "System" in the
search bar while the Solution tab is in focus, the search won't return any results unless the solution consists of a project name that
contains "System".

See also
Manage references in a project

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