diff --git a/.vsts/ci-build.yml b/.vsts/ci-build.yml
index 107d12787..da41cd560 100644
--- a/.vsts/ci-build.yml
+++ b/.vsts/ci-build.yml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ jobs:
     displayName: build solution (Release)
     inputs:
       command: "build"
-      projects: OpenTelemetry.sln
+      projects: OpenTelemetry.proj
       arguments: "--configuration Release"
 
   # consider switch to https://docs.microsoft.com/vsts/pipelines/tasks/test/vstest?view=vsts
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ jobs:
     displayName: build
     inputs:
       command: "build"
-      projects: OpenTelemetry.sln
+      projects: OpenTelemetry.proj
       arguments: "--configuration Release"
 
   - task: DotNetCoreCLI@2
diff --git a/.vsts/ci-myget-update.yml b/.vsts/ci-myget-update.yml
index 2751cc2b2..af84cf803 100644
--- a/.vsts/ci-myget-update.yml
+++ b/.vsts/ci-myget-update.yml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ steps:
   displayName: pack solution with symbols (Release)
   inputs:
     command: "pack"
-    projects: OpenTelemetry.sln
+    projects: OpenTelemetry.proj
     configuration: 'Release'
     packDirectory: '$(build.artifactStagingDirectory)'
     buildProperties: "SymbolPackageFormat=snupkg"
diff --git a/OpenTelemetry.proj b/OpenTelemetry.proj
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3ef311bca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/OpenTelemetry.proj
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<Project ToolsVersion="15.0" DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
+  <Import Project=".\build\Version.props" />
+
+  <ItemGroup>
+     <Solution Include="OpenTelemetry.sln" />    
+  </ItemGroup>
+
+  <!-- The only need for this file is to synchronize the PreReleaseVersion -->
+
+  <Target Name="Build">
+    <MSBuild Projects="@(Solution)" Targets="Restore;Build" ContinueOnError="ErrorAndStop" Properties="PreReleaseVersion=$(PreReleaseVersion)"/> 	
+  </Target>
+
+  <Target Name="Pack">
+    <MSBuild Projects="@(Solution)" Targets="Restore;Build;Pack" ContinueOnError="ErrorAndStop" Properties="PreReleaseVersion=$(PreReleaseVersion)"/> 	
+  </Target>
+
+</Project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/build/Common.prod.props b/build/Common.prod.props
index 5a3af7d72..bd5be3201 100644
--- a/build/Common.prod.props
+++ b/build/Common.prod.props
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 <Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
+  <Import Project="Version.props" />
+
   <PropertyGroup>
     <CodeAnalysisRuleSet>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)/OpenTelemetry.prod.ruleset</CodeAnalysisRuleSet>
-    <DocumentationFile Condition="$(OS) == 'Windows_NT'">$(OutputPath)/$(TargetFramework)/$(AssemblyName).xml</DocumentationFile>
     <PackageOutputPath Condition="$(Build_ArtifactStagingDirectory) != ''">$(Build_ArtifactStagingDirectory)</PackageOutputPath>
+    <GenerateDocumentationFile Condition="$(OS) == 'Windows_NT'">true</GenerateDocumentationFile>
   </PropertyGroup>
 
   <PropertyGroup Condition="$(OS) == 'Windows_NT'">
@@ -17,34 +19,6 @@
     <AdditionalFiles Include="$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)/stylecop.json" />
   </ItemGroup>
 
-  <PropertyGroup>
-    <!-- 
-      Semantic Version. See http://semver.org for full details. 
-      Update for every public release. 
-    -->
-    <SemanticVersionMajor>0</SemanticVersionMajor>
-    <SemanticVersionMinor>1</SemanticVersionMinor>
-    <SemanticVersionPatch>0</SemanticVersionPatch>
-    <!--Valid values: beta1, beta2, EMPTY for stable -->
-    <PreReleaseMilestone>alpha</PreReleaseMilestone>
-    <!-- 
-      Date when Semantic Version was changed. 
-      Update for every public release.
-      NOTE!!!!!! Do not update when updating PreReleaseMilestone update 
-      as it will restart file versions so 2.4.0-beta1 may have higher 
-      file version (like 2.4.0.2222) than 2.4.0-beta2 (like 2.4.0.1111)
-    -->
-    <SemanticVersionDate>2018-08-25</SemanticVersionDate>
-
-    <PreReleaseVersion Condition="'$(PreReleaseVersion)'==''">$([MSBuild]::Divide($([System.DateTime]::Now.Subtract($([System.DateTime]::Parse($(SemanticVersionDate)))).TotalMinutes), 5).ToString('F0'))</PreReleaseVersion>
-  </PropertyGroup>
-
-  <PropertyGroup>
-    <VersionPrefix>$(SemanticVersionMajor).$(SemanticVersionMinor).$(SemanticVersionPatch)</VersionPrefix>
-    <VersionSuffix>$(PreReleaseMilestone)-$(PreReleaseVersion)</VersionSuffix>
-    <FileVersion Condition="'$(PreReleaseVersion)' != ''">$(SemanticVersionMajor).$(SemanticVersionMinor).$(SemanticVersionPatch).$(PreReleaseVersion)</FileVersion>
-  </PropertyGroup>
-
   <PropertyGroup>
     <!-- Optional: Declare that the Repository URL can be published to NuSpec -->
     <PublishRepositoryUrl>true</PublishRepositoryUrl>
diff --git a/build/Version.props b/build/Version.props
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ad0da62b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/Version.props
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
+<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
+  <PropertyGroup>
+    <!-- 
+      Semantic Version. See http://semver.org for full details. 
+      Update for every public release. 
+    -->
+    <SemanticVersionMajor>0</SemanticVersionMajor>
+    <SemanticVersionMinor>1</SemanticVersionMinor>
+    <SemanticVersionPatch>0</SemanticVersionPatch>
+    <!--Valid values: beta1, beta2, EMPTY for stable -->
+    <PreReleaseMilestone>alpha</PreReleaseMilestone>
+    <!-- 
+      Date when Semantic Version was changed. 
+      Update for every public release.
+      NOTE!!!!!! Do not update when updating PreReleaseMilestone update 
+      as it will restart file versions so 2.4.0-beta1 may have higher 
+      file version (like 2.4.0.2222) than 2.4.0-beta2 (like 2.4.0.1111)
+    -->
+    <SemanticVersionDate>2018-08-25</SemanticVersionDate>
+
+    <PreReleaseVersion Condition="'$(PreReleaseVersion)'==''">$([MSBuild]::Divide($([System.DateTime]::Now.Subtract($([System.DateTime]::Parse($(SemanticVersionDate)))).TotalMinutes), 5).ToString('F0'))</PreReleaseVersion>
+  </PropertyGroup>
+
+  <PropertyGroup>
+    <VersionPrefix>$(SemanticVersionMajor).$(SemanticVersionMinor).$(SemanticVersionPatch)</VersionPrefix>
+    <VersionSuffix>$(PreReleaseMilestone)-$(PreReleaseVersion)</VersionSuffix>
+    <FileVersion Condition="'$(PreReleaseVersion)' != ''">$(SemanticVersionMajor).$(SemanticVersionMinor).$(SemanticVersionPatch).$(PreReleaseVersion)</FileVersion>
+  </PropertyGroup>
+</Project>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/Samples/Samples.csproj b/src/Samples/Samples.csproj
index 3a2149f78..c0895baad 100644
--- a/src/Samples/Samples.csproj
+++ b/src/Samples/Samples.csproj
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
+  <Import Project="$([MSBuild]::GetDirectoryNameOfFileAbove($(MSBuildProjectDirectory), 'OpenTelemetry.sln'))\build\Version.props" />
 
   <PropertyGroup>
     <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>