Syncfusion® Project Conversion

18 Nov 20183 minutes to read

Syncfusion® ASP.NET MVC conversion is a Visual Studio add-in that converts an existing ASP.NET MVC application into a Syncfusion® ASP.NET MVC (Essential® JS 2) Web application by adding the required assemblies and resource files.

The Syncfusion® ASP.NET MVC (Essential® JS 2) Web Application Project Conversion utility is available from v16.3.0.17. Before using the Syncfusion® ASP.NET MVC Project Conversion, check whether the ASP.NET MVC Extensions - Syncfusion® is installed in Visual Studio Extension Manager by clicking Extensions > Manage Extensions > Installed (for Visual Studio 2019 or later). If this extension is not installed, install it by following the steps in the download and installation help topic. Also, check whether the corresponding Essential Studio® version build is installed or not. If the Essential Studio® version is not the same for both the Extension and build, the Project Conversion option will not be shown.

The steps below help you convert the ASP.NET MVC application to a Syncfusion® ASP.NET MVC application via Visual Studio 2022 or later:

  1. Open an existing Microsoft ASP.NET MVC Web Application or create a new Microsoft ASP.NET MVC Web Application.

  2. To open the Syncfusion® Project Conversion Wizard, follow either one of the options below:

    Option 1:

    Click Extensions > Syncfusion® and choose Essential Studio® ASP.NET MVC > Convert to Syncfusion® ASP.NET MVC Application… in Visual Studio Menu.

    convert-to-syncfusion

    Option 2:

    Right-click the Project from Solution Explorer, select Syncfusion® Web, and choose the Convert to Syncfusion® ASP.NET MVC Application… Refer to the following screenshot for more information.

    syncfusion-aspnet mvc

  3. The Syncfusion® ASP.NET MVC Project Conversion window will appear. You can choose the required version of Syncfusion® ASP.NET MVC, Assets from, and Themes to convert the application.

    project conversion wizard

    The versions are loaded from the Syncfusion® ASP.NET MVC NuGet packages published on NuGet.org, and this requires internet connectivity.

    The following configurations are used in the Project conversion wizard.

    Assets From: Loads the Syncfusion® Essential® JS 2 assets into the ASP.NET MVC Project from either NuGet, CDN, or Installed Location.

    Installed location option will be available only when the Syncfusion® Essential® JavaScript 2 setup has been installed.

    Starting from version 34.1.x, Syncfusion provides support through individual NuGet packages instead of the Syncfusion.EJ2.MVC common package. When converting a project to 34.1.x or later, the required individual NuGet packages for the selected components will be added instead of common package.

    Choose the Theme: Choose the required theme.

  4. Check the “Enable a backup before converting” checkbox if you want to back up the project and choose the location.

  5. The required Syncfusion® NuGet packages, Scripts and CSS are included in the ASP.NET MVC Web Application. Refer to the following screenshots for more information.

    syncfusion assemblies

    syncfusion layout

    web-config

    If you enabled project backup before converting, the old project is saved in the specified backup path location, as shown below, once the conversion process is completed.

    BackupLocation

  6. If you installed the trial setup or NuGet packages from nuget.org, you must register the Syncfusion® license key to your project since Syncfusion® introduced the licensing system from 2018 Volume 2 (v16.2.0.41) Essential Studio® release. Navigate to the help topic to generate and register the Syncfusion® license key to your project. Refer to this blog post to understand the licensing changes introduced in Essential Studio®.