Should I worry that referenced *.js files are not found; if so, what should I do about it?

Question

I just opened my ASP.NET site / project in VS 2013. I noticed (maybe they were there in VS 2012, too, but I paid no attention to it), that I get this in the Output window:

07:20:45.5493: Referenced file 'jquery-1.8.2.js' not found.
07:20:45.5512: Referenced file 'jquery-ui-1.8.24.js' not found.
07:20:45.6332: Referenced file 'knockout-2.2.0.debug.js' not found.
07:22:11.0550: Referenced file 'jquery-1.8.2.js' not found.
07:22:11.0550: Referenced file 'jquery-ui-1.8.24.js' not found.
07:22:11.0570: Referenced file 'knockout-2.2.0.debug.js' not found.

It's true, I reference jQuery using a CDN, and a newer version than 1.8.2, so I don't need a reference to that version. But where does my project say that it needs it? I did a solution-wide search, and the only reference (no pun intended) to it was in _references.js, which contains this:

/// <reference path="jquery-1.8.2.js" />
/// <reference path="jquery-ui-1.8.24.js" />
/// <reference path="jquery.validate.js" />
/// <reference path="jquery.validate.unobtrusive.js" />
/// <reference path="knockout-2.2.0.debug.js" />
/// <reference path="modernizr-2.6.2.js" />

So the output window's complaints and what's in _references.js partially coincide. So: how is _references.js used? Should I remove the contents of the file? Remove the named files from my Scripts folder, since they're not being used, or what?

Answer 1

It is not something to worry about unless you want code insight for your JS.

To fix it, place all the mentioned missing Referenced JS files into the same folder as your _references.js file. Most likely found in your ~/Scripts folder.

The other alternative is either remove those file names and paths from the _references.js file or update those references to point to the correct paths.

For more detailed information check Mads Kristensen blog