/INCLUDE (Force Symbol References)
The latest version of this topic can be found at -INCLUDE (Force Symbol References).
INCLUDE:symbol
## Remarks
where:
`symbol`
Specifies a symbol to be added to the symbol table.
## Remarks
The /INCLUDE option tells the linker to add a specified symbol to the symbol table.
To specify multiple symbols, type a comma (,), a semicolon (;), or a space between the symbol names. On the command line, specify /INCLUDE:`symbol` once for each symbol.
The linker resolves `symbol` by adding the object that contains the symbol definition to the program. This feature is useful for including a library object that otherwise would not be linked to the program.
Specifying a symbol with this option overrides the removal of that symbol by [/OPT:REF](../Topic/-OPT%20\(Optimizations\).md).
### To set this linker option in the Visual Studio development environment
1. Open the project's **Property Pages** dialog box. For details, see [Setting Visual C++ Project Properties](../Topic/Working%20with%20Project%20Properties.md).
2. Click the **Linker** folder.
3. Click the **Input** property page.
4. Modify the **Force Symbol References** property.
### To set this linker option programmatically
- See [ForceSymbolReferences](assetId:///P:Microsoft.VisualStudio.VCProjectEngine.VCLinkerTool.ForceSymbolReferences?qualifyHint=False&autoUpgrade=True).
## See Also
[Setting Linker Options](../Topic/Setting%20Linker%20Options.md)
[Linker Options](../Topic/Linker%20Options.md)