visual studio 2008 and 2010

Question

I have a question about a C#.net solution file. I am trying to open a C#.net solution file with visual studio.net 2008 that my company obtained from a contractor. I can not open this file. I click on the file and it looks like it will open but it does not.

I am thinking problem could be one of the following:

1. This could be a 2010 C#.net solution file. If that is the case, is there some way to convert the visual studio ide to 2008? If not, I will just need a copy of visual studio.net 2010,correct?

2. My 2008 visual studio is setup for C#.desktop application. This solution file is asp.net. Thus would I need to install the asp.net options in my visual studio.net ide to be able to see these files? If so, how do I add the C#.asp.net to to visual studio ide?

Sam Hobbs · Accepted Answer

The contractor should tell you what type of project it is, including what version. It is frustrating when people don't provide necessary information. People trying to help others are often frustrated when people requesting assistance do not provide adequate documentation. You say "it does not" open but you don't specify what does happen. What happens when you use "File | Open | Project/Solution" (or the equivalent in VS 2008) from within VS?
Honestly, it is totally reasonable to expect the contractor to specify critical information. If it is a VS 2010 project then it would help to have some instructions for how to create a project from the source files. Ask the contracor if it is a web site project or a web application project or something else. At a minimum, you need to get an explicit answer to the question of what version of VS was used. If VS 2010 was used, then why not upgrade VS?
You could try installing VS Express in a system and using that to open the project; at least then you know that that is a solution.