# ExternalProject\_Add + SOVERSION ?

**URL:** <https://discourse.cmake.org/t/externalproject-add-soversion/3367>\
**Category:** Code\
**Created:** [May 19, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/externalproject-add-soversion/3367 "2021-05-19T15:23:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![cmak](https://discourse.cmake.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@cmak](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/cmak)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2021, 3:23pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/externalproject-add-soversion/3367/1 "2021-05-19T15:23:32Z")

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Can I use SOVERSION on an external project? The external project build system does not create any symlinks to its so files.

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**Author:** ![ben.boeckel](https://discourse.cmake.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@ben.boeckel](https://discourse.cmake.org/u/ben.boeckel)\
**Post date:** [May 19, 2021, 4:08pm UTC](https://discourse.cmake.org/t/externalproject-add-soversion/3367/2 "2021-05-19T16:08:06Z")

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You’ll probably need to patch the source code to set it; there’s no variable seeding for that target property.