# 32-bit and 64-bit Applications > Why bitness matters to a Windows Forms app with TX Text Control, when to build as x86, x64 or AnyCPU, and how to add both configurations in Visual Studio. - **Product:** TX Text Control .NET for Windows Forms - **Section:** Documentation - **Kind:** Topic - **Path:** TX Text Control .NET for Windows Forms > Installation Guide > System Requirements > 32-bit and 64-bit Applications - **950 words** - **Web URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/installation/requirements/32-bit-64-bit/ - **LLMs URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/installation/requirements/32-bit-64-bit/llms.txt - **LLMs-Full URL:** https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/installation/requirements/32-bit-64-bit/llms-full.txt --- TX Text Control consists of .NET assemblies and native Windows libraries, and the native libraries exist twice: once for 32-bit and once for 64-bit processes. Whether your application runs as a 32-bit or a 64-bit process therefore decides which libraries it loads and ships. Read on to choose a build configuration and to set it up in Visual Studio. ### Why Bitness Matters The .NET assemblies of TX Text Control are the same for both, but the native libraries are compiled separately for 32-bit and 64-bit processors: | | 32-bit (x86) | 64-bit (x64) | |---|---|---| | NuGet package | *runtimes/win-x86/native* | *runtimes/win-x64/native* | | Setup (.NET Framework) | *Assembly\\bin* | *Assembly\\bin64* | Your application needs the set that matches the bitness of the process it runs in. The 64-bit version is part of all three editions. A 64-bit application has more memory available, so it can open and save much larger documents than a 32-bit one. ### Choose a Build Configuration | Configuration | Runs as | Native libraries | |---|---|---| | x64 | A 64-bit process | The 64-bit set | | x86 | A 32-bit process, on 32-bit and on 64-bit Windows | The 32-bit set | | AnyCPU | A process with the bitness of the Windows it runs on | The set that matches the host: the 32-bit set on 32-bit Windows, the 64-bit set on 64-bit Windows | - **x64** is the configuration for a 64-bit application. - **x86** is the configuration for an application that has to run on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows. - **AnyCPU**, the default of new Visual Studio projects, works if you deploy the set of native libraries that matches the machine your application runs on. The sample programs installed by the setup have an x86 and an x64 configuration. ### Create x86 and x64 Configurations in Visual Studio 1. Open your project and choose **Build** > **Configuration Manager**. 2. In the **Active solution platform** list, select ****. The **New Solution Platform** dialog opens. ![The Visual Studio Configuration Manager dialog with the Active solution platform list open, showing Any CPU, New and Edit.](https://docs.textcontrol.com/assets/img/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/vs-configuration-manager.b677530f.webp) 3. Select **x64** and click **OK**. ![The New Solution Platform dialog with x64 selected as the new platform and settings copied from Any CPU.](https://docs.textcontrol.com/assets/img/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/vs-new-solution-platform.6b1dd9b5.webp) 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for **x86**. The **Active solution platform** list now holds **Any CPU**, **x64** and **x86**: ![The Active solution platform list of the Configuration Manager with Any CPU, x64 and x86 above the New and Edit entries, x86 selected.](https://docs.textcontrol.com/assets/img/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/vs-solution-platforms-list.b45a3d56.webp) 5. Optionally, remove **Any CPU**: select **** in the **Active solution platform** list, select **Any CPU**, click **Remove** and close the dialog. 6. Close the **Configuration Manager**. To compile for one of the platforms, select it in the **Solution Platforms** list of the Visual Studio toolbar. ![The Solution Platforms list of the Visual Studio toolbar next to the Debug configuration, with x64, x86 and Configuration Manager.](https://docs.textcontrol.com/assets/img/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/vs-toolbar-platforms-list.4000c3f9.webp) ### Publishing .NET Applications When you publish a .NET 8 or higher application with **Build** > **Publish Selection**, you select the target runtime in the publish settings, for example `win-x64`. The publish process copies the TX Text Control files for that runtime to the output folder. [Publishing .NET Applications](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/deployment/dotnet/llms-full.txt) describes the steps. The native libraries also need the Microsoft Visual C++ runtime of the same bitness. See [Visual C++ Runtime Dependencies](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/deployment/vc-runtime/llms-full.txt). ### Related Pages - [x86, x64, and AnyCPU](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/deployment/x86-x64-anycpu/llms-full.txt): deploying each configuration. - [Managed Assemblies and Native Libraries](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/deployment/assemblies/llms-full.txt): the files your application ships. - [Native Libraries and Architecture Mismatches](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/troubleshooting/native-libraries/llms-full.txt): what to check when the libraries do not load. - [Product Architecture](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/overview/architecture/llms-full.txt): how the engine is built. --- ## Nearby - **Previous:** [Visual Studio](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/installation/requirements/visual-studio/llms-full.txt) - **Next:** [Installing the Product](https://docs.textcontrol.com/tx-text-control-dotnet-winforms/installation/setup/llms-full.txt)