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Is there any way to change the output executable name (ProjectName.exe) to some custom name in Visual C++ 2010, without changing the project name?


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Why do you want to name the executable different than the project? Why not rename the project as well? –  sbi Jun 27 '10 at 21:41
@sbi: I can think of a few good reasons. I have some legacy projects that have to be named a certain thing, but I like to have the project named using our latest naming conventions so it isn't out of place in the solution explorer (ok, that one is kind of dumb). It can also be nice to name binaries differently based on the configuration settings (e.g., we name our debug binaries with a 'd' suffix to distinguish them from the release binaries). –  James McNellis Jun 28 '10 at 4:34
@James: While there might be valid reasons to have project and executable name differ, I believe them to be rare. And it might confuse others, especially when done in projects that are part of huge solutions. –  sbi Jun 28 '10 at 7:01
@sbi: Because this is a plugin, which must be in a specific executable name template. –  Alon Gubkin Jun 28 '10 at 12:34
That seems indeed a very valid reason. So +1 to the question from me. –  sbi Jun 28 '10 at 13:23

1 Answer 1

up vote 16 down vote accepted

In the Project Properties under "Configuration Properties" -> "General," there is a property called "Target Name." It defaults to "$(ProjectName)" but can be changed to whatever you like.

Or, you can set it directly in the linker options under "Configuration Properties" -> "Linker" -> "General;" the property is called "Output File."

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This is the right answer but don't forget the Microsoft factor! Sometimes you will do these changes but it will have no effect! In that case make sure your .vcproj file is not set to read only. If it is read only, you will change these settings in project which will appear to have changed but they will have no effect! –  zadane May 28 '13 at 20:58

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