Question

I know that I can set a major and minor release number for every project in my solution in VS. Can I set a general major.minor number for all my projects in my solution, that all have the same format e.g. 2.3.3?

Answer 1

I recommend that you have a common file called GlobalAssemblyInfo.cs that contains the assembly information that applies across your entire solution. It would probably include the following attributes:

[assembly: AssemblyProduct("Your Product Name")]
[assembly: AssemblyCompany("Your Company")]
[assembly: AssemblyCopyright("Copyright © 2010 Your Company")]
[assembly: AssemblyTrademark("Your Trademark (if applicable)")]

[assembly: AssemblyVersion("1.0.0.0")]
[assembly: AssemblyFileVersion("1.0.0.0")]

Then, each project should have a local file called AssemblyInfo.cs that contains the specific information applying only to that project. This will include the information you might want to supply on a per-assembly basis:

[assembly: AssemblyTitle("Your Assembly Title")]
[assembly: AssemblyDescription("Your Assembly Description")]
[assembly: AssemblyCulture("Assembly Culture (if not neutral)")]

[assembly: ComVisible(true/false)]
[assembly: Guid("xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx")]

Finally, follow these steps to share the GlobalAssemblyInfo.cs file between multiple projects:

1. Right-click on your project in the Solution Explorer, point to “Add”, and click “Existing Item.”
2. Navigate to your global assembly file and select it.
3. Click the drop-down arrow on the “Add” button, and click “Add As Link” in the menu.