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You can install Visual Studio on a computer that has an earlier or later major version of Visual Studio already installed. This article describes how to install multiple versions of Visual Studio.
If you uninstall a version of Visual Studio on a computer that has more than one version installed, the file associations for Visual Studio are removed for all versions.
Visual Studio doesn't automatically upgrade extensions because not all extensions are compatible. You must reinstall the extensions from the Visual Studio Marketplace or the software publisher.
Install different editions of the same major Visual Studio version side-by-side
Next, follow the steps to select the components you need for your installation. For more information, see Install Visual Studio.
Tip
IT Administrators who want to suppress visibility of the Visual Studio Installer Available tab, or otherwise customize the availability of layout offerings on the Available tab, can configure the client registry and policies. For more information, see Configure policies for enterprise deployments of Visual Studio.
Programmatic installation
You can also programmatically use either a bootstrapper or the installer to start a new installation of Visual Studio. Open a Command Prompt window as administrator and run one of the following commands. Specify a new folder path for the installation location. Replace the .exe file name with the appropriate bootstrapper name for the edition of Visual Studio that you're installing.
To install by using the bootstrapper:
vs_Enterprise.exe --installPath "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\<AddNewPath>"
To install by using the installer that's already on the client machine:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\setup.exe" --installPath "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\<AddNewPath>"
You can't start the installer programmatically from the same directory that the installer resides in.
.NET Framework versions and side-by-side installations
Visual Basic, Visual C#, and Visual F# projects use the Target framework option in the Project Designer to specify the version of the .NET Framework that they use. For a C++ project, you can manually change the target framework by modifying the .vcxproj file. For more information, see Version compatibility in the .NET Framework.
When you create a project, you can specify which version of the .NET Framework the project targets in the .NET Framework list in the New Project dialog box.
For language-specific information, see the appropriate article in the following table.
| Language | Article |
|---|---|
| Visual Basic | Application Page, Project Designer (Visual Basic) |
| Visual C# | Application Page, Project Designer (C#) |
| Visual F# | Develop with Visual F# in Visual Studio |
| C++ | How to: Modify the target framework and platform toolset |
Support or troubleshooting
Sometimes, things can go wrong. If your Visual Studio installation fails, see Troubleshoot Visual Studio installation and upgrade issues for step-by-step guidance.
Here are a few more support options:
- Use the installation chat (English only) support option for installation-related issues.
- Report product issues to us by using the Report a Problem tool that appears both in the Visual Studio Installer and in the Visual Studio IDE. If you're an IT Administrator and don't have Visual Studio installed, you can submit IT Admin feedback.
- Suggest a feature, track product issues, and find answers in the Visual Studio Developer Community.