How to: Create and Use Assemblies
An assembly is one or more .exe or .dll files that make up a Visual Studio-based application. Assemblies are created automatically when you compile Visual Basic source files.
Note
The dialog boxes and menu commands you see might differ from those described in Help depending on your active settings or edition. To change your settings, choose Import and Export Settings on the Tools menu. For more information, see Visual Studio Settings.
To create an assembly
- Compile your application by clicking Build on the Build menu or by building it from the command line using the command-line compiler. For details about building assemblies from the command line, see Building from the Command Line (Visual Basic).
To add a reference to another assembly
- Click the Add Reference command on the Project menu, and select the assembly you want to use. For details, see How to: Add or Remove References in Visual Studio (Visual Basic).
To use objects in another assembly
- Specify the fully qualified name for the object, or use an alias that has been defined for the object using an Imports statement. For details about fully qualified names, see Namespaces in Visual Basic. For details about adding references and using the Imports statement, see References and the Imports Statement.
See Also
Tasks
How to: Add or Remove References in Visual Studio (Visual Basic)
How to: View Assembly Contents
Concepts
References and the Imports Statement
Reference
Imports Statement (.NET Namespace and Type)
Other Resources
Assemblies in the Common Language Runtime