You can open your existing COBOL files in Visual COBOL as standalone files and edit them without a project. Either double-click such a file in Windows Explorer or, in the IDE click File > Open File and browse to select the file and open it.
There is basic support in the IDE for editing, compiling and debugging of files that are not part of a project. To take advantage of all features that the IDE offers for compiling, editing and debugging, it is recommended to add the file to a project. The easiest way to add a standalone file to a project is to right-click in the editor, click Create COBOL Project and then specify your preferences for the new projects.
The Net Express project format is not the same as the project format in Visual COBOL for Eclipse so it is not possible to edit Net Express projects in Visual COBOL directly.
You can use the Import and Convert Net Express Projects wizard to convert existing Net Express projects into Eclipse projects, and to import the COBOL source into the IDE. Click . The wizard analyzes your Net Express project, converts it to the appropriate project type and sets Compiler directives as needed.
In Eclipse, you import files into your project using . This automatically adds to the project all files from the project directory, the subdirectories and from any linked directories. To prevent a file from being compiled, right-click the file and click .
After importing your existing sources into a project in the new IDE, you need to set the required Compiler directives.
In Eclipse, to set Compiler directives on COBOL files in native COBOL projects, use the file properties, or the Determine Directives command from the context menu for the files in COBOL Explorer. This triggers file scanning and sets directives as specified in .