Are Visual Studio versions backwards compatible?

Is Visual Studio backwards compatible?

You can install and use Visual Studio 2019 alongside previous versions of Visual Studio, including Visual Studio 2017, Visual Studio 2015, Visual Studio 2013, and Visual Studio 2012.

Is Visual Studio 2015 backwards compatible?

You can transfer projects and files among the versions as long as you don't add features that are not supported by one of the versions. You can run the same solution in different versions of Visual Studio as long as you don't implement a feature in a higher version that is not supported in a lower version.

Can I install Visual Studio 2015 and 2019 together?

Yes you can install multiple versions of Visual studio side by side.

Can I open a Visual Studio 2019 solution in 2017?

Visual Studio 2019 can open projects created in Visual Studio 2013, Visual Studio 2015, and Visual Studio 2017.