Change the Target Framework for all my projects in a Visual Studio Solution
.NetVisual Studio-2010Visual Studio-2012.Net Problem Overview
I need to change the target framework for all projects. I have many solutions with hundreds of projects.
Anything new here or do I have to change every single project?
.Net Solutions
Solution 1 - .Net
Just published Target Framework Migrator, Visual Studio Extension for changing multiple .Net projects Target Framework at once
Solution 2 - .Net
You can do that using Scott Dorman's Visual Studio macro available on CodeProject:
> Visual Studio 2010 and Target Framework Version
Below is the code, download it to your <UserProfile>\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects\VSMacros80\MyMacros folder, open the Visual Studio Macro IDE (Alt-F11) and add it as an existing item to the “MyMacros” project:
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' Visual Studio 2008 Macros
'
' ProjectUtilities.vb
'
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' Copyright (C) 2007-2008 Scott Dorman ([email protected])
'
' This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
' modify it under the terms of the Microsoft Public License (Ms-PL).
'
' This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
' but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
' MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
' Microsoft Public License (Ms-PL) for more details.
'------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Imports System
Imports EnvDTE
Imports EnvDTE80
Imports EnvDTE90
Imports System.Diagnostics
Public Module ProjectUtilities
Private Class ProjectGuids
Public Const vsWindowsCSharp As String = "{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}"
Public Const vsWindowsVBNET As String = "{F184B08F-C81C-45F6-A57F-5ABD9991F28F}"
Public Const vsWindowsVisualCPP As String = "{8BC9CEB8-8B4A-11D0-8D11-00A0C91BC942}"
Public Const vsWebApplication As String = "{349C5851-65DF-11DA-9384-00065B846F21}"
Public Const vsWebSite As String = "{E24C65DC-7377-472B-9ABA-BC803B73C61A}"
Public Const vsDistributedSystem As String = "{F135691A-BF7E-435D-8960-F99683D2D49C}"
Public Const vsWCF As String = "{3D9AD99F-2412-4246-B90B-4EAA41C64699}"
Public Const vsWPF As String = "{60DC8134-EBA5-43B8-BCC9-BB4BC16C2548}"
Public Const vsVisualDatabaseTools As String = "{C252FEB5-A946-4202-B1D4-9916A0590387}"
Public Const vsDatabase As String = "{A9ACE9BB-CECE-4E62-9AA4-C7E7C5BD2124}"
Public Const vsDatabaseOther As String = "{4F174C21-8C12-11D0-8340-0000F80270F8}"
Public Const vsTest As String = "{3AC096D0-A1C2-E12C-1390-A8335801FDAB}"
Public Const vsLegacy2003SmartDeviceCSharp As String = "{20D4826A-C6FA-45DB-90F4-C717570B9F32}"
Public Const vsLegacy2003SmartDeviceVBNET As String = "{CB4CE8C6-1BDB-4DC7-A4D3-65A1999772F8}"
Public Const vsSmartDeviceCSharp As String = "{4D628B5B-2FBC-4AA6-8C16-197242AEB884}"
Public Const vsSmartDeviceVBNET As String = "{68B1623D-7FB9-47D8-8664-7ECEA3297D4F}"
Public Const vsWorkflowCSharp As String = "{14822709-B5A1-4724-98CA-57A101D1B079}"
Public Const vsWorkflowVBNET As String = "{D59BE175-2ED0-4C54-BE3D-CDAA9F3214C8}"
Public Const vsDeploymentMergeModule As String = "{06A35CCD-C46D-44D5-987B-CF40FF872267}"
Public Const vsDeploymentCab As String = "{3EA9E505-35AC-4774-B492-AD1749C4943A}"
Public Const vsDeploymentSetup As String = "{978C614F-708E-4E1A-B201-565925725DBA}"
Public Const vsDeploymentSmartDeviceCab As String = "{AB322303-2255-48EF-A496-5904EB18DA55}"
Public Const vsVSTA As String = "{A860303F-1F3F-4691-B57E-529FC101A107}"
Public Const vsVSTO As String = "{BAA0C2D2-18E2-41B9-852F-F413020CAA33}"
Public Const vsSharePointWorkflow As String = "{F8810EC1-6754-47FC-A15F-DFABD2E3FA90}"
End Class
'' Defines the valid target framework values.
Enum TargetFramework
Fx40 = 262144
Fx35 = 196613
Fx30 = 196608
Fx20 = 131072
End Enum
'' Change the target framework for all projects in the current solution.
Sub ChangeTargetFrameworkForAllProjects()
Dim project As EnvDTE.Project
Dim clientProfile As Boolean = False
Write("--------- CHANGING TARGET .NET FRAMEWORK VERSION -------------")
Try
If Not DTE.Solution.IsOpen Then
Write("There is no solution open.")
Else
Dim targetFrameworkInput As String = InputBox("Enter the target framework version (Fx40, Fx35, Fx30, Fx20):", "Target Framework", "Fx40")
Dim targetFramework As TargetFramework = [Enum].Parse(GetType(TargetFramework), targetFrameworkInput)
If targetFramework = ProjectUtilities.TargetFramework.Fx35 Or targetFramework = ProjectUtilities.TargetFramework.Fx40 Then
Dim result As MsgBoxResult = MsgBox("The .NET Framework version chosen supports a Client Profile. Would you like to use that profile?", MsgBoxStyle.Question Or MsgBoxStyle.YesNo, "Target Framework Profile")
If result = MsgBoxResult.Yes Then
clientProfile = True
End If
End If
For Each project In DTE.Solution.Projects
If project.Kind <> Constants.vsProjectKindSolutionItems And project.Kind <> Constants.vsProjectKindMisc Then
ChangeTargetFramework(project, targetFramework, clientProfile)
Else
For Each projectItem In project.ProjectItems
If Not (projectItem.SubProject Is Nothing) Then
ChangeTargetFramework(projectItem.SubProject, targetFramework, clientProfile)
End If
Next
End If
Next
End If
Catch ex As System.Exception
Write(ex.Message)
End Try
End Sub
'' Change the target framework for a project.
Function ChangeTargetFramework(ByVal project As EnvDTE.Project, ByVal targetFramework As TargetFramework, ByVal clientProfile As Boolean) As Boolean
Dim changed As Boolean = True
If project.Kind = Constants.vsProjectKindSolutionItems Or project.Kind = Constants.vsProjectKindMisc Then
For Each projectItem In project.ProjectItems
If Not (projectItem.SubProject Is Nothing) Then
ChangeTargetFramework(projectItem.SubProject, targetFramework, clientProfile)
End If
Next
Else
Try
If IsLegalProjectType(project) Then
SetTargetFramework(project, targetFramework, clientProfile)
Else
Write("Skipping project: " + project.Name + " (" + project.Kind + ")")
End If
Catch ex As Exception
Write(ex.Message)
changed = False
End Try
End If
Return changed
End Function
'' Determines if the project is a project that actually supports changing the target framework.
Function IsLegalProjectType(ByVal proejct As EnvDTE.Project) As Boolean
Dim legalProjectType As Boolean = True
Select Case proejct.Kind
Case ProjectGuids.vsDatabase
legalProjectType = False
Case ProjectGuids.vsDatabaseOther
legalProjectType = False
Case ProjectGuids.vsDeploymentCab
legalProjectType = False
Case ProjectGuids.vsDeploymentMergeModule
legalProjectType = False
Case ProjectGuids.vsDeploymentSetup
legalProjectType = False
Case ProjectGuids.vsDeploymentSmartDeviceCab
legalProjectType = False
Case ProjectGuids.vsDistributedSystem
legalProjectType = False
Case ProjectGuids.vsLegacy2003SmartDeviceCSharp
legalProjectType = False
Case ProjectGuids.vsLegacy2003SmartDeviceVBNET
legalProjectType = False
Case ProjectGuids.vsSharePointWorkflow
legalProjectType = False
Case ProjectGuids.vsSmartDeviceCSharp
legalProjectType = True
Case ProjectGuids.vsSmartDeviceVBNET
legalProjectType = True
Case ProjectGuids.vsTest
legalProjectType = False
Case ProjectGuids.vsVisualDatabaseTools
legalProjectType = False
Case ProjectGuids.vsVSTA
legalProjectType = True
Case ProjectGuids.vsVSTO
legalProjectType = True
Case ProjectGuids.vsWCF
legalProjectType = True
Case ProjectGuids.vsWebApplication
legalProjectType = True
Case ProjectGuids.vsWebSite
legalProjectType = True
Case ProjectGuids.vsWindowsCSharp
legalProjectType = True
Case ProjectGuids.vsWindowsVBNET
legalProjectType = True
Case ProjectGuids.vsWindowsVisualCPP
legalProjectType = True
Case ProjectGuids.vsWorkflowCSharp
legalProjectType = False
Case ProjectGuids.vsWorkflowVBNET
legalProjectType = False
Case ProjectGuids.vsWPF
legalProjectType = True
Case Else
legalProjectType = False
End Select
Return legalProjectType
End Function
'' Sets the target framework for the project to the specified framework.
Sub SetTargetFramework(ByVal project As EnvDTE.Project, ByVal targetFramework As TargetFramework, ByVal clientProfile As Boolean)
Dim currentTargetFramework As TargetFramework = CType(project.Properties.Item("TargetFramework").Value, TargetFramework)
Dim targetMoniker As String = GetTargetFrameworkMoniker(targetFramework, clientProfile)
Dim currentMoniker As String = project.Properties.Item("TargetFrameworkMoniker").Value
If currentMoniker <> targetMoniker Then
Write("Changing project: " + project.Name + " from " + currentMoniker + " to " + targetMoniker + ".")
project.Properties.Item("TargetFrameworkMoniker").Value = targetMoniker
project.Properties.Item("TargetFramework").Value = targetFramework
Else
Write("Skipping project: " + project.Name + ", already at the correct target framework.")
End If
End Sub
Function GetTargetFrameworkMoniker(ByVal targetFramework As TargetFramework, ByVal clientProfile As Boolean) As String
Dim moniker As String = ".NETFramework,Version=v"
Select Case targetFramework
Case ProjectUtilities.TargetFramework.Fx20
moniker += "2.0"
Case ProjectUtilities.TargetFramework.Fx30
moniker += "3.0"
Case ProjectUtilities.TargetFramework.Fx35
moniker += "3.5"
Case ProjectUtilities.TargetFramework.Fx40
moniker += "4.0"
End Select
If clientProfile Then
moniker += ",Profile=Client"
End If
Return moniker
End Function
'' Writes a message to the output window
Sub Write(ByVal s As String)
Dim out As OutputWindowPane = GetOutputWindowPane("Change Target Framework", True)
out.OutputString(s)
out.OutputString(vbCrLf)
End Sub
'' Gets an instance of the output window
Function GetOutputWindowPane(ByVal Name As String, Optional ByVal show As Boolean = True) As OutputWindowPane
Dim win As Window = DTE.Windows.Item(EnvDTE.Constants.vsWindowKindOutput)
If show Then win.Visible = True
Dim ow As OutputWindow = win.Object
Dim owpane As OutputWindowPane
Try
owpane = ow.OutputWindowPanes.Item(Name)
Catch e As System.Exception
owpane = ow.OutputWindowPanes.Add(Name)
End Try
owpane.Activate()
Return owpane
End Function
End Module
Solution 3 - .Net
A PowerShell script that I used to do mine. Admittedly bruce force-ish.
Get-ChildItem . -Recurse -Filter *.*proj |ForEach {
$content = Get-Content $_.FullName
$content |ForEach {
$_.Replace("<TargetFrameworkVersion>v4.0</TargetFrameworkVersion>", "<TargetFrameworkVersion>v4.5</TargetFrameworkVersion>")
} |Set-Content $_.FullName
}
Solution 4 - .Net
There's always the simple. A decent text editor such as notepad++ will include a find/replace in files function. Just search for the current version string in your csproj/vbproj files:
<TargetFrameworkVersion>v3.5</TargetFrameworkVersion>
and replace with the new version
<TargetFrameworkVersion>v4.5</TargetFrameworkVersion>
Good idea to check out first though...
Solution 5 - .Net
From bash:
$find . -name "*.csproj" -exec sed -b -i "s,<TargetFrameworkVersion>[^<]*</TargetFrameworkVersion>,<TargetFrameworkVersion>v4.6.1</TargetFrameworkVersion>," {} \;
Solution 6 - .Net
I think by far the easiest way to do this is using a search and replace tool. It is an advantage if it supports regex.
There must be quite a few out there - the first one I tested worked for me, though: http://www.ecobyte.com/replacetext/
There is a note saying it has some issues on Win7, but I didn't experience that.
Step by step instructions in that tool:
- Replace | Add Group | Name it (e.g. "MyGroup")
- Right-Click MyGroup | Add File(s)...
- Choose your source (e.g. Use Folder, browse to root folder of the projects you want to change)
- Set the Include File Filter if necessary (e.g. *.csproj)
- Right-Click the row below Original Text | Advanced Edit...
- Enter your regular expression in Search Text Box (e.g.
<TargetFrameworkVersion>.*</TargetFrameworkVersion>) - Select "Regular Expression Search" in the combobox below the Search Text
- Enter Replacement Text (e.g.
<TargetFrameworkVersion>4.0</TargetFrameworkVersion>) - Choose Destination and Backup settings (will create a backup by default)
- Start Replacing (Ctrl+R)
Now If for some reason you need to do this in code, I would probably be able to do that as well (it's how I found this question). In that case, please request it in a comment.
Solution 7 - .Net
Target Framework Migrator by Pavel Samokha (VHQLabs)
http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/47bded90-80d8-42af-bc35-4736fdd8cd13
Solution 8 - .Net
Conditional regexes are giving me a headache. So here is a coded solution for search/replace (I'm avoiding EnvDTE as long as possible).
Order does not seem to matter for the project file entries:
Try something along those lines:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;
using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
namespace TextReplaceDemo
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
try
{
ReplaceTargetFrameworkVersion("v4.0", "c:/projekt/2005", "*.csproj");
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Inserts the denoted targetFramework into all occurrences of TargetFrameworkVersion.
/// If the TargetFrameworkVersion is not present in the file, the method searches for the
/// OutputType tag, which should be present, and inserts the TargetFrameworkVersion before that.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="targetFramework">New target framework (e.g. "v4.0")</param>
/// <param name="rootDirectory">Root directory for the file search (e.g. "c:\Projects\2005")</param>
/// <param name="fileSearchPattern">Pattern to find the project files (e.g. "*.csproj).
/// Will get all files for empty parameter.</param>
public static void ReplaceTargetFrameworkVersion(string targetFramework, string rootDirectory, string fileSearchPattern)
{
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(targetFramework)) throw new ArgumentNullException("targetFramework");
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(rootDirectory)) throw new ArgumentNullException("rootDirectory");
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(fileSearchPattern)) fileSearchPattern = "*.*";
string regexPattern = "<TargetFrameworkVersion>.*</TargetFrameworkVersion>";
string insertText = string.Format("<TargetFrameworkVersion>{0}</TargetFrameworkVersion>", targetFramework);
string alternativeMarker = "<OutputType>";
// get all files
List<FileInfo> files = GetAllFiles(rootDirectory, fileSearchPattern);
// iterate over found files
foreach (var file in files)
{
string fileContent = File.ReadAllText(file.FullName);
Match match = Regex.Match(fileContent, regexPattern);
string newfileContent = null;
if (match.Success)
{
// replace <TargetFrameworkVersion>
newfileContent = fileContent.Replace(match.Value, insertText);
}
else if (fileContent.Contains(alternativeMarker))
{
// create <TargetFrameworkVersion>
newfileContent = fileContent.Replace(alternativeMarker,
insertText + Environment.NewLine + " " + alternativeMarker);
}
// overwrite file
if (newfileContent != null)
File.WriteAllText(file.FullName, newfileContent);
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Recursive function to find all files in a directory by a searchPattern
/// </summary>
/// <param name="path">Path to the root directory</param>
/// <param name="searchPattern">Pattern for the file search, e.g. "*.txt"</param>
public static List<FileInfo> GetAllFiles(string path, string searchPattern)
{
List<FileInfo> files = new List<FileInfo>();
DirectoryInfo dir = new DirectoryInfo(path);
if (dir.Exists)
{
// get all files in directory
files.AddRange(dir.GetFiles(searchPattern));
// get all files of subdirectories
foreach (var subDir in dir.GetDirectories())
{
files.AddRange(GetAllFiles(subDir.FullName, searchPattern));
}
}
return files;
}
}
}
Solution 9 - .Net
You can use a macro to do this, or remember that the VS project files are text files, which means a simple global search and replace can achieve the same, and is a more general technique for making the same change to lots of project files.
First back up an existing project file, then make the change you want (e.g., change the target framework). Use WinDiff or WinMerge to compare the new project file with the back up. This will tell you the change you need to make. Then use the Visual Studio IDE's Find and Replace in Files function to make the change to all your project files.
Solution 10 - .Net
An alternative with no external tools (and the ability to change other settings, e.g. ToolsVersion):
- Using Visual Studio, create a new c# console project 'ManageCSProjFiles' (or whatever name you like) in a temporary directory. Be sure to check 'Place solution and project in same directory'
- Remove Program.cs and Properties/AssemblyInfo.cs from the project. There is no need to ever compile the project.
- Save the project and close Visual Studio.
- Using a text editor open ManageCSProjFiles.csproj. Add the following lines at the bottom, before the last line:
<ItemGroup>
<None Include="**\*.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>
- Copy ManageCSProjFiles.sln and ManageCSProjFiles.csproj to the topmost directory of your solution tree.
- If you load the ManageCSProjFiles solution in Visual Studio, it will now show all your .csproj files and you can change them with the search/replace tools in Visual Studio.
This can easily be extended for other project types.