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A Utility to Convert VS.NET 2003 Project Files

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4.91/5 (123 votes)
14 Mar 20042 min read 874.9K   23.1K   135   99
This utility converts projects and solutions from VS.NET 7.0 to VS.NET 7.1 and vice versa.

Image 1

Introduction

I decided to create a utility that converts projects from the new Visual Studio .NET 2003 (codename "Everett") to Visual Studio .NET 2002. This is because in my experience I was working with both and found it hard to manually convert the projects and it often introduced problems, so I made an automated tool to do this job for me. So, all who are having the same difficulty, this tool is for you.

I've included full source code so you can see how I've done it and also so you can customize the tool to fit your own needs. As of March 12, 2004, I have updated the original VSConvert with some minor changes. Version 2.0 detects read-only files and also warns the user about losing .NET references when converting Managed C++ projects.

How I did it

So, you may ask, "How did you know how to convert the project files?" Here is a step-by-step description of the changes that happen when you convert a project from VS 7.1 to VS 7.0.

  1. In SLN files, the 8.0 must be replaced with 7.0.
  2. In vcproj files (and only vcproj), the 7.10 part must be replaced by 7.0. Note: The <References> portion of MC++ projects will be incompatible with VS.NET 2002 since it uses #using statements from 'stdafx.h'.
  3. In VB.NET or C# project files, 7.10.3077 is replaced with 7.0.9466.
  4. Also in VB.NET and C# projects, the schema version 2.0 should be replaced with 1.0.
  5. In RESX files, the types declared are 1.0.5000 and must be replaced with 1.0.3300.
  6. Again, in RESX files (binary streams), the base-64 encoded part that describes the version of the stream must also change from LjAuNTAw to LjAuMzMw (basically base-64-encoded versions of 1.0.5000 and 1.0.3300 respectively)

To convert from VS.NET 2002 to VS.NET 2003, just apply this process backwards.

License

This article has no explicit license attached to it but may contain usage terms in the article text or the download files themselves. If in doubt please contact the author via the discussion board below.

A list of licenses authors might use can be found here


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Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Carlos Liu21-Aug-12 20:47
Carlos Liu21-Aug-12 20:47 
GeneralVS 2002&lt;-&gt;2003&lt;-&gt;2005&lt;-&gt;2008 converter Pin
TorontoSkidder3-Mar-09 14:23
TorontoSkidder3-Mar-09 14:23 
GeneralRe: VS 2002<->2003<->2005<->2008 converter Pin
Kieran8219-Feb-10 3:33
Kieran8219-Feb-10 3:33 
GeneralTo convert visual studio 2003 application to visual studio 2005 application Pin
gnanaraj.t7-Jul-08 4:37
gnanaraj.t7-Jul-08 4:37 
General2005 to 2003 Pin
Sonal Satpute30-Jun-08 1:42
Sonal Satpute30-Jun-08 1:42 
General[Message Removed] Pin
nompel1-Oct-08 7:34
nompel1-Oct-08 7:34 
Generalconversion of websites Pin
devinaren18-Apr-08 21:33
devinaren18-Apr-08 21:33 
QuestionIs there a way to convert Visual Studio 2005 project to 2003 or 2002? Pin
Jan Palmer2-Apr-07 21:48
Jan Palmer2-Apr-07 21:48 
GeneralAbout convert vs7.1 to vs7.0 Pin
Tearsofwind9-Jan-07 15:12
Tearsofwind9-Jan-07 15:12 
GeneralRe: About convert vs7.1 to vs7.0 Pin
Jan Palmer2-Apr-07 21:39
Jan Palmer2-Apr-07 21:39 
GeneralI want to a convert vs.net 2003 to vs.net 2005? [modified] Pin
lover_xia24-Nov-06 18:52
lover_xia24-Nov-06 18:52 
GeneralMaking VS2005 build code backward compatibile to VS6.0 code Pin
deepakbm7917-Nov-06 22:31
deepakbm7917-Nov-06 22:31 
QuestionWhat are the files to be selected Pin
b.prithviraj11-Oct-06 20:20
b.prithviraj11-Oct-06 20:20 
GeneralVB 2005 to VB2003 Pin
natasha_hy21-Sep-06 20:57
natasha_hy21-Sep-06 20:57 
GeneralVS2005 -> VS6.0 Pin
nomeansyes9-Aug-06 11:57
nomeansyes9-Aug-06 11:57 
QuestionRe: VS2005 -> VS6.0 Pin
David Crow9-May-07 2:43
David Crow9-May-07 2:43 
JokeIt is Great Utility Pin
vinayb1030-May-06 4:39
vinayb1030-May-06 4:39 
GeneralVs2005 to 2003 Pin
Boniolopez2-Mar-06 23:58
Boniolopez2-Mar-06 23:58 
GeneralRe: Vs2005 to 2003 Pin
azsd10-May-06 17:42
azsd10-May-06 17:42 
GeneralVS 2005 opening of 2003 project breaks solution Pin
Mowie66624-Jan-06 6:10
Mowie66624-Jan-06 6:10 
General2005-&gt;2003 converter plz! Pin
ziggyware30-Dec-05 12:58
ziggyware30-Dec-05 12:58 
GeneralRe: 2005-&gt;2003 converter plz! Pin
andrewcates29-May-06 10:35
andrewcates29-May-06 10:35 
Generalnew version for VS 2005 Pin
Konrad Windszus15-Dec-05 6:46
Konrad Windszus15-Dec-05 6:46 
QuestionWhat files should be selected Pin
madraban21-Sep-05 23:39
madraban21-Sep-05 23:39 
AnswerRe: What files should be selected Pin
offo27-Oct-05 22:04
offo27-Oct-05 22:04 

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