If you create a project in Blend 2 May Preview and right click on the project and select “Edit in Visual Studio”. Blend 2 creates that VS project using version 2.0 of the .NET Framework. Some symptoms are that the XAML code behind won’t have the controls and InitializeComponent won’t resolve. To work around this you need to create a Blend.exe.config file to redirect the assembly bindings. After you do this, your projects will be created automattically with .NET Frameowrk 3.5.
Apply the following (one-time only) workaround to enable projects created in Visual Studio Code Name “Orcas” to be opened with Expression Blend.
1. Close Expression Blend.
2. Navigate to the Expression Blend installation directory typically installed at Program Files\Microsoft Expression\Blend 1.1.
3. Create a new XML file in that folder and rename the file to Blend.exe.config.
Copy and paste the following XML into that file:
<?xml version ="1.0"?>
<configuration>
<startup>
<supportedRuntime version="v2.0.50727" safemode="true"/>
<requiredRuntime version="v2.0.50727" safemode="true"/>
</startup>
<runtime>
<assemblyBinding xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1">
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="Microsoft.Build.Framework" publicKeyToken="b03f5f7f11d50a3a" culture="neutral"/>
<bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-99.9.9.9" newVersion="3.5.0.0"/>
</dependentAssembly>
<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="Microsoft.Build.Engine" publicKeyToken="b03f5f7f11d50a3a" culture="neutral"/>
<bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-99.9.9.9" newVersion="3.5.0.0"/>
</dependentAssembly>
</assemblyBinding>
</runtime>
</configuration>
4. Save the changes to the file and close it.
5. Start Expression Blend. Now you should be able to successfully build your projects and solutions.
Note If you uninstall Visual Studio Code Name “Orcas” and the .NET Framework 3.5, you should also delete the Blend.exe.config file.