| title | Manage project and solution properties |
|---|---|
| description | Manage project and solution properties in Visual Studio, including .NET and .NET Framework Project Designer settings, for C#, Visual Basic, F#, C++, and JavaScript projects. |
| ms.date | 04/20/2026 |
| ms.topic | concept-article |
| author | ghogen |
| ms.author | ghogen |
| ms.subservice | general-ide |
| ms.custom | awp-ai |
| monikerRange | >= vs-2022 |
Projects have properties that govern many aspects of compilation, debugging, testing, and deploying. Some properties are common among all project types, and some are unique to specific languages or platforms.
You can access project properties by right-clicking the project node in Solution Explorer and selecting Properties. You can also type properties into the search box on the menu bar and select Properties Window from the results.
Most project properties don't depend on the configuration or the platform, but some do. For more information, see setting properties based on configurations.
:::moniker range="visualstudio" :::image type="content" source="reference/media/visualstudio/properties-from-solution-explorer-context-menu.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Solution Explorer context menu with the Properties option highlighted."::: :::moniker-end
:::moniker range="vs-2022" :::image type="content" source="media/vs-2022/properties-from-solution-explorer-context-menu.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Solution Explorer context menu with the Properties option highlighted."::: :::moniker-end
.NET projects might also have a properties node in the project tree itself.
:::moniker range="visualstudio" :::image type="content" source="reference/media/visualstudio/properties-node-solution-explorer.png" alt-text="Screenshot of Solution Explorer with a Properties node showing."::: :::moniker-end
:::moniker range="vs-2022" :::image type="content" source="media/vs-2022/properties-node-solution-explorer.png" alt-text="Screenshot of Solution Explorer with a Properties node showing."::: :::moniker-end
Project properties are organized into groups, and each group has its own property page. The pages might be different for different languages and project types.
In C#, Visual Basic, and F# projects, the .NET Project Designer exposes the properties.
The following screenshot shows the Build property page in the .NET Project Designer for a console project in C#:
:::moniker range="visualstudio" :::image type="content" source="reference/media/visualstudio/project-properties-designer-build-csharp.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Project Designer, with the Build tab selected."::: :::moniker-end
:::moniker range="vs-2022" :::image type="content" source="reference/media/vs-2022/project-properties-designer-build-csharp.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Project Designer, with the Build tab selected."::: :::moniker-end
The following screenshot shows the Compile property page in the .NET Project Designer for a console project in Visual Basic:
:::moniker range="visualstudio" :::image type="content" source="reference/media/visualstudio/project-properties-designer-compile-visual-basic.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Project Designer, with the Compile tab selected."::: :::moniker-end
:::moniker range="vs-2022" :::image type="content" source="reference/media/vs-2022/project-properties-designer-compile-visual-basic.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Project Designer, with the Compile tab selected."::: :::moniker-end
For more information about each .NET property, see .NET Project Designer.
Tip
Solutions and project items each have a few properties. Access these properties in the Properties window, not the .NET Project Designer.
For .NET Framework projects, the Project Designer has a different set of tabs. The following table links to the property reference for each tab.
Important
The project properties that you access through the .NET Project Designer differ from the properties in the Properties window.
| Property | Language/platform | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Application | C#, F#, Visual Basic, UWP, WPF | Specify application settings and properties for a project. |
| Build | C#, F#, WPF | Specify build configuration properties for a project. |
| Build Events | C#, Visual Basic, WPF | Specify build configuration instructions. |
| Code Analysis | C#, F#, Visual Basic, WPF | Configure the code analysis tool. |
| Compile | Visual Basic | Specify compilation properties. |
| My Extensions | Visual Basic | Manage My Namespace extensions. |
| Package | C#, F#, Visual Basic | Generate a NuGet package on build. |
| Publish | Visual Basic, WPF | Configure properties for ClickOnce. |
| References | Visual Basic | Manage the references used by a project. |
| Reference Paths | WPF | Manage reference paths for a project. |
| Resources | C#, F#, Visual Basic, WPF | Access the RESX file from Solution Explorer for a C# project, create a default resources file for a Visual Basic project, or add resources to a WPF project. |
| Services | Visual Basic, WPF, Windows Forms | Enable client application services. |
| Settings | C#, F#, Visual Basic, WPF | Specify a project's application settings. |
| Signing | Visual Basic, WPF | Sign application and deployment manifests, and sign the assembly. (For a Visual Basic project, the ClickOnce manifest signing for .NET projects is now under Build > Publish.) |
| Security | Visual Basic, WPF | Configure code access security settings for applications that are deployed by using ClickOnce deployment. |
C++ and JavaScript projects use a different user interface for managing project properties. The following screenshot shows a C++ project property page. JavaScript pages are similar.
:::moniker range="visualstudio" :::image type="content" source="reference/media/visualstudio/properties-page-cpp-console.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the C++ project properties page."::: :::moniker-end
:::moniker range="vs-2022" :::image type="content" source="media/vs-2022/properties-page-cpp-console.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the C++ project properties page."::: :::moniker-end
For information about C++ project properties, see Work with project properties (C++). For more information about JavaScript properties, see Property pages, JavaScript.
To access properties on the solution, right-click the solution node in Solution Explorer and select Properties. The context menu from the Solution node also depends on your project type, programming language, or platform.
:::moniker range="visualstudio" :::image type="content" source="reference/media/visualstudio/solution-node-properties.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the solution node right-click menu."::: :::moniker-end
:::moniker range="vs-2022" :::image type="content" source="media/vs-2022/solution-node-properties.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the solution node right-click menu."::: :::moniker-end
In the dialog box, you can set project configurations for Debug or Release builds, and choose which projects should be the startup project when you select F5. The Code Analysis property page at the solution level was removed. You can still set code analysis properties at the project level.
:::moniker range="visualstudio" :::image type="content" source="reference/media/visualstudio/solution-properties-dialog.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the solution properties dialog."::: :::moniker-end
:::moniker range="vs-2022" :::image type="content" source="media/vs-2022/solution-properties-dialog.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the solution properties dialog."::: :::moniker-end
Solution properties are stored in a Solution User Options (.suo) file. For more information about this file type, see Solution file.