Project and Solution Files
The following files are created when you create a project in Visual Studio. They are used to manage project files in the solution.
Filename |
Directory location |
Solution Explorer location |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Solname.sln |
Projname |
Not displayed in Solution Explorer |
The solution file. It organizes all elements of a project or multiple projects into one solution. |
Projname.suo |
Projname |
Not displayed in Solution Explorer |
The solution options file. It stores your customizations for the solution so that every time you open a project or file in the solution, it has the appearance and behavior you want. |
Projname.vcxproj |
Projname |
Not displayed in Solution Explorer |
The project file. It stores information specific to each project. (In earlier versions, this file was named Projname.vcproj or Projname.dsp.) For an example of a Visual C++ project file, see Project Files. |
Projname.sdf |
Projname |
Not displayed in Solution Explorer |
The browsing database file. It supports browsing and navigation features such as Goto Definition, Find All References, and Class View. It is generated by parsing the header files. |
Projname.vcxproj.filters |
Projname |
Not displayed in Solution Explorer |
The filters file. It specifies where to put a file that is added to the solution. For example, a .h file is put in the Header Files node. |
Projname.vcxproj.user |
Projname |
Not displayed in Solution Explorer |
The migration user file. After a project is migrated from Visual Studio 2008, this file contains information that was converted from any .vsprops file. |
Projname.idl |
Projname |
Source |
(Project-specific) Contains the Interface Description Language (IDL) source code for a control type library. This file is used by Visual C++ to generate a type library. The generated library exposes the interface of the control to other Automation clients. For more information, see Interface Definition (IDL) File in the Windows SDK. |
Readme.txt |
Projname |
Project |
The read me file. It is generated by the application wizard and describes the files in a project. |