Edit a .NET 2003 solution with an earlier version of .NET

If you try to open a Visual Studio .NET 2003 solution with VS.NET 2002 you get the error message: "The selected file is not a valid Visual Studio solution file.". Provided you have not used any features new in VS.NET 2003, you can still edit the source code using the older VS.NET version.

Edit the .sln file with notepad:

    Change the line:

    Microsoft Visual Studio Solution File, Format Version 8.00

    to

    Microsoft Visual Studio Solution File, Format Version 7.00

Edit the .vbproj file with notepad:

    Change the lines:

    ProductVersion = "7.10.3077" 
    SchemaVersion = "2.0"

    to

    ProductVersion = "7.0.9466"
    SchemaVersion = "1.0"

Save and close these files then double click the .sln file to open the solution with VS.NET.