Kevin,

>this to the Toolbox. So should I be creating and compiling a separate "Solution" for my base classes / common utilities, and referencing this in the app Solutions where I use it?<

Well, I suppose you could do it that way. Just be sure that you have it as a separate project in your Solution such that it compiles to a DLL, separate it from the main form (which will compile to an .EXE). The main problem I see with this way of doing it, is that if you change something in the base classes, the new version will not be automatically copied to all the solutions that use it (unless you remove and re-add the reference to it).

A better way to do this is to actually have the project in every solution you create. So, because the actual code will be in every solution, how do you keep all the versions in sync ? With source control ... we use Source Safe. Intially, to first create your base classes, create it as a project in your current Solution. In VSS, share all the files in this project between all our applications in VSS. Whenever you work on a new application, you share these base classes, via VSS, and voila! you then add that project to your new Solution. It stays in sync because you get the files from VSS.

I unfortunately have the feeling that I'm not explaining this too well. I hope you get what I'm trying to say. I haven't had my coffee yet this morning. <g>

~~Bonnie




>>>>Sort of. What I can't quite get my head around is the creation of my custom base classes (which are supposed to be generic) within a specific solution, and them then being available to other soltions?<
>>
>>Well, when you need to add the custom base classes to another solution, you simply add a reference to it, just like you would with any other class library. And add it to your toolbox as well, so you can drag the controls to your IDE. The namespace for your custom base classes should be something like MyCompany.WinUI.MyBaseClasses.
>
>Thanks, although my question related to how to create my base classes in the first place, in that VS will not let you do File / New / Class without a Solution open.
>
>However, looking back over this thread, I note that you suggested to somebody else to compile into a DLL and add this to the Toolbox. So should I be creating and compiling a separate "Solution" for my base classes / common utilities, and referencing this in the app Solutions where I use it?
>
>Kevin