Are you converting a Windows Forms Application from 2003 to 2005?

I have an application that I started writing in 2003 and wanted to convert to 2005. When you open the project in the 2005 IDE, it converts it for you. However, this conversion left a lot to be desired for me. Granted, the application will still work. But when you add a new control to a form, it isn't smart enough to place it into the "Windows Forms designer generated code" region. It just places the declaration at the top of the form file, which I thought was sloppy. There were other things I did not like, hence this posting.

In a true 2005 application, each form has a .Designer.vb file that accompanies it. This file includes most of the information from the 2003 "Windows Forms designer generated code" region, plus some other things.

The attached VB.NET 2005 project (Conversion Assistant) will allow you to point to a solution and further process the conversion done by the 2005 IDE. Conversion Assistant adds the necessary information into the .vbproj files, changes the form files accordingly and also creates the .Designer.vb files with the correct information for you.

NOTE: You must convert the application using the 2005 IDE first, then run Conversion Assistant.


Warning: I have tested this application on the solutions that I have at hand, which is by no means a complete range of the possibilities. As always, make a backup of your solution files before attempting to convert it. You now have the source code, so if it doesn't work perfectly for you in your scenario, you can modify the source code as needed.

As I said in your previous thread when you were attempting to convert this app to 2005 to have it function fully like a 2005 app you'll probably need to create a new project.

It is relativly easy as long as the project isn't too large. But here are the steps the way I have done it before:

Create a new project in 2005
In the Solutions Explorer Select View all Files
Create all the forms with the same name as the 2003 version
For each form open the .Designer.vb file
Open the old project in 2003
Copy all the code in the windows generated region
Paste it into the .designer.vb file
Copy the rest of your code to the standard vb file.

It's tedious but you'll get the results you want.

The reason I wrote this application was because the app I was converting to 2005 has over 60 forms in it. Recreating the application and using copy/paste would have taken forever and would have surely had some errors in it when all was said and done.

This application does all of what you listed for you. It is just much simpler than manually recreating everything.