Change (use older) c++ version in Visual Studio

Question

Is it possible to use an older version in Visual Studio than c++11? A similar question revealed that it is not possible to use a newer version, but I want the compiler to complain when I am using language features that are only available for c++11.

Solution

To completely disable C++11 features in Visual Studio, you must compile with a toolset old enough that it does not have any C++11 features. The last version of Visual Studio to have no C++11 support was VS2008 (question about that here: Visual Studio 2008 with c++11).

To use an older toolset, you must first install that version of Visual Studio, and then modify the "Configuration Properties->General->Platform Toolset" and set it to the appropriate Visual Studio version. When you compile with Visual Studio 2008 toolset, any C++11 usage will be errors.