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Allow a project file to be edited without unloading first

I should be able to edit the MSBuild xml of a project file (eg *.csproj) in the Visual Studio xml text editor without first unloading the project. Visual Studio copes fine if the project file changes by getting a new version from source control or using an external application to edit the file so this limitation seems artificially restrictive.

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    Jason StangroomeJason Stangroome shared this idea  ·   ·  Flag idea as inappropriate…  ·  Admin →

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      • David NelsonDavid Nelson commented  ·   ·  Flag as inappropriate

        If the project file changes externally, the project is reloaded anyway. So having to unload it first doesn't seem to be a particularly onerous restriction.

      • Peter JonesPeter Jones commented  ·   ·  Flag as inappropriate

        I'm not sure about this exactly but the proj file is an important part of the development process and at the moment it's definitely a 2nd class citizen in VS. It needs to be more obvious that this is a source file like .cs & .vb files and has an impact on the compilation of an application - ie, it's very easy to hide all sorts of evil in there.

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