> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://devdocs.xbox.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# MicrosoftGame.config Element - KnownDependency

> MicrosoftGame.config Element - KnownDependency

# MicrosoftGame.config Element - KnownDependency

Shortcut to specify one of the commonly used framework packages. Attribute specification of name is required and MinVersion is set automatically. Refer to the ST\_KnownDependency section in the following schema for a list of possible shortcuts.

## Parent

This element's parent is the DependencyList element.

## Requirement

This element is optional and is not required to be set.

## Platform

This element only pertains to PC devices.

## Behavior

* No attributes.
* No default value.
* Allowed value is DX11 (for DirectX Runtime dependencies), VC11 (for Visual Studio C++ Runtime for Visual Studio 2012), VC12 (for Visual Studio C++ Runtime for Visual Studio 2013) and VC14 (for Visual Studio C++ Runtime for Visual Studio 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022).

## Remarks

### Differences between Dependency and KnownDependency elements.

The KnownDependency element is intended to provide a simpler way to specify common dependencies. Please refer to the schema for a list of allowed values. The KnownDependency element also uses a minimum version by default and does not require this to be set.

The Dependency element requires specification of the full identity name of the framework package in addition to requiring a minimum version to be set.

We recommend using KnownDependency for common dependencies that are specified and only using Dependency if you want finer grain control of a specific framework package or framework package version.

## See Also

[MicrosoftGame.config Reference - Table of Contents](/reference/system/microsoftgameconfig/elements/gc-microsoftgameconfig-toc)