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VS 2003 IDE changes a referenced DLL when more than one version is available

We have seen cases where the IDE, on a Build, will somehow change the version of a reference dll.  An example is this:

c:\myapp\bin\my.dll (v 1.00)

c:\myapp\bin\my.dll (v 2.00)

We reference (File) v 1.00 in the IDE.  Another file in the same project needs v 2.00.  On a build, the ide will change the reference from v 1.0 to v 2.0.  Now, the file that needs v 1.00 generate build errors as it is no longer referenced.  How, in this case where I need to reference both versions, do I do this from with the IDE? 

2 Comments




  • Does this perhaps point to a bad design? The fact that you've broken backwords compatibility on public APIs shows a fundamental design flaw, and now you are looking to trying to fix this with a visual studio hack.


    The short answer is no, I don't know how to fix this in the IDE. Perhaps someone else does?

  • Actually, it is a 3rd party dll that we are using 2 versions of (this is not going out in a production app). We downloaded a patch to the dll. Thus, we now have 2 versions and we were experimenting with trying to use both just to see how the IDE handles this. It does not, at least that I can see. So, if one has 'side-by'side- dlls, how do you reference them in the same project through the IDE?

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