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We have a dozen or so Visual Studio solutions in this software application, each having between two and nine C# projects. There are many dependencies between the projects, not only within the same solution, but also across different solutions.

We use CreateNewNugetPackageFromProjectAfterEachBuild to automatically create a new Nuget package each time a project is built. New Nugets are manually copied into a local Nuget gallery, and we use the Nuget package manager to maintain correct References between the projects by upgrading the packages in each project as new packages become available in the local Nuget gallery. We aren't using a build manager or CI yet, but that's where this is inevitably headed.

Since every reference in every project points to an already-built DLL, and not a project file, it is not uncommon to encounter a metadata reference instead of actual code when you use "Go To Definition" or "Find Usages" on a class or method. Additionally, almost every method call goes through an interface. Navigating between projects in this way has become a bit of a nightmare, especially since the referenced code isn't always where it should be (the convention of naming the C# file the same name as the C# class isn't always respected). We are using a professional edition of Resharper, but it's not much help in this instance because it's not smart enough to jump into the other project/solution and show you the referenced code.

So here's my question. Is there some way to make Visual Studio smart enough so that, when you right click/go to reference and the reference is in another project in another solution, that Visual Studio will just go ahead and open that solution and project and show you the referenced code?

Or perhaps there is some other solution to our workflow problem that eludes us.

Robert Harvey
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  • The question posed at the bottom seems disjoint from the workflow / management itself .. perhaps there is too much for a single SO question? – user2864740 Sep 01 '15 at 22:05
  • I can put it in a comment instead if you like, but I'd still like to know what people think about it, since there exists the possibility that our workflow is simply bollocks, and the references thing is a red herring. – Robert Harvey Sep 01 '15 at 22:06
  • I guess I'm torn between with of the questions/paths is of primary interest: "Is this workflow 'good'?" (preferably with better terms) and "Given referenced projects (or build assemblies of such), does VS allow cross-solution navigation?" And then, which of such should make it's way into a title / summary .. – user2864740 Sep 01 '15 at 22:08
  • The current title is fine. – Robert Harvey Sep 01 '15 at 22:09

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