Visual Studio 2019 has been a reliable and popular development environment for .NET developers, offering a wide range of tools and features. However, the official support for .NET 6.0 development was introduced in Visual Studio 2022. Despite this, there might be scenarios where you need to continue using Visual Studio 2019 on your development PC but want to update your projects to target .NET 6.0. In this article, we will explore a workaround that allows you to achieve this, but it's essential to keep in mind that this approach is not officially supported, and you might encounter unexpected issues.
Prerequisites:
Before proceeding, ensure you have the following installed on your development PC:
Visual Studio 2019: Any version with C# 9.0 support (e.g., Visual Studio 2019 version 16.8 or later).
.NET 6.0 SDK: Download the desired SDK version from the 6.0.1xx SDK branch (e.g., 6.0.101).
It can be located here:-
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/6.0Make suire you get the 6.0.101 version of the SDK. It is listed as 6.0.1 (Latest release date
December 14, 2021)
Step-by-step Guide:
Install Visual Studio 2019:
If you don't have Visual Studio 2019 installed, download and install it from the Visual Studio website. Make sure you have a version that supports C# 9.0 to utilize the latest language features.
Install .NET 6.0 SDK:
Download the .NET 6.0 SDK from the 6.0.1xx SDK branch (e.g., 6.0.101) from the official .NET website. Installing the correct SDK version is essential for compatibility with your chosen Visual Studio version.
Create a New .NET 5.0 Project:
Open Visual Studio 2019 and create a new project of the type you need (e.g., Console Application, Web Application) targeting .NET 5.0. This step is necessary because Visual Studio 2019 does not natively support .NET 6.0 project templates.
Open .csproj File:
After creating the project, right-click on the project in Solution Explorer and select "Edit Project File" to open the .csproj file in the text editor.
Update Target Framework:
In the .csproj file, locate the <TargetFramework> element and change its value from net5.0 to net6.0.
Optional: Enable C# 9.0 Features (Preview):
If you want to use C# 9.0 features that are still in preview, add the following element inside the .csproj file:
<PropertyGroup>
<LangVersion>preview</LangVersion>
</PropertyGroup>
Save and Close .csproj File:
Save the changes you made to the .csproj file and close the text editor.
Restore and Build:
Back in Visual Studio 2019, right-click on the project in Solution Explorer and select "Restore NuGet Packages" to ensure all dependencies are restored. Then, build the project to compile it with the updated .NET 6.0 target framework.
Address Warning and Errors:
With the project now targeting .NET 6.0, you may encounter warnings or errors related to the code or dependencies. Review and address them accordingly.
Conclusion:
Updating projects to .NET 6.0 in Visual Studio 2019 using this workaround can be beneficial in certain situations where migrating to a newer version of Visual Studio is not feasible or preferred. However, it's essential to keep in mind that this approach is not officially supported, and you might encounter compatibility issues or limitations. For the best development experience and long-term support, it's recommended to use the officially supported toolchain, which includes Visual Studio 2022 or later versions. Always verify your project's functionality thoroughly after the update and consider upgrading to Visual Studio 2022 for ongoing .NET 6.0 development.
Visual Studio 2019 Support and lifecycle from Microsoft.
Visual Studio 2019 version 16.11 is the fifth and final supported servicing baseline for Visual Studio 2019. Enterprise and Professional customers needing to adopt a long term stable and secure development environment are encouraged to standardize on this version. As explained in more detail in our lifecycle and support policy, version 16.11 will be supported with fixes and security updates through April 2029, which is the remainder of the Visual Studio 2019 product lifecycle.
