Is there an easy way to modify a decompiled file without having to deal with its dependencies?

Question

I managed to decompile a c# file (using dotpeek) and I want to edit a couple of simple things (using visual studio). The problem is this file has many dll dependencies even though the edits are necessary only on the main exe.

Obviously if you try to build an exe on vs without having the references and dependencies in place the compiler will complain. Are there any solutions to this?

Answer 1

You cannot build without the dependencies; however, there is no need to decompile the dependencies. Just add the DLLs themselves as reference to the project.

This is always fine if the decompiled assembly depends on other DLLs; however, if the other DLLs depend on the decompiled assembly, this will only work if the assemblies are not signed, i.e. if they are not using strong names. The purpose of signing is precisely to disallow such hacks.