AssemblyName property in Directory.Build.targets has no effect - msbuild

Question

I am trying to override the AssemblyName property defined in .NET projects in my Azure Pipeline. (The purpose is to standardize assembly names for NuGet packages.)
It works when I create a Directory.Build.props file right before building with MSBuild.
The problem is that this only works if the AssemblyName has not been defined in the .csproj file. Otherwise the .csproj property takes precedence.
According to the docs, I should be able to use Directory.Build.targets to override .csproj properties:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/msbuild/customize-your-build?view=vs-2022#choose-between-adding-properties-to-a-props-or-targets-file
If you need to override properties, do it in a .targets file, after
all user-project customizations have had a chance to take effect.
This is what the Directory.Build.targets file contains:
<Project>
<Target Name="IncludeProjectMatchMessage" Condition="$(MSBuildProjectName) == ''${{ parameters.projectName }}''" BeforeTargets="Build">
<Message Text="The custom Directory.Build.targets properties will be applied to this project $(MSBuildProjectName), AssemblyName = $(packageName)" Importance="high" />
</Target>
<PropertyGroup Condition="$(MSBuildProjectName) == ''${{ parameters.projectName }}''">
<GenerateDocumentationFile>true</GenerateDocumentationFile>
<Company>MyCompany</Company>
<AssemblyName>$(packageName)</AssemblyName>
</PropertyGroup>
</Project>
I have also tried this, with the same result:
<Project>
<Target Name="IncludeProjectMatchMessage" Condition="$(MSBuildProjectName) == ''${{ parameters.projectName }}''" BeforeTargets="Build">
<Message Text="The custom Directory.Build.targets properties will be applied to this project $(MSBuildProjectName), AssemblyName = $(packageName)" Importance="high" />
<PropertyGroup Condition="$(MSBuildProjectName) == ''${{ parameters.projectName }}''">
<GenerateDocumentationFile>true</GenerateDocumentationFile>
<Company>MyCompany</Company>
<AssemblyName>$(packageName)</AssemblyName>
</PropertyGroup>
</Target>
</Project>
The text message is displayed during the MSBuild, but the properties are not applied.
Why is that, and how do I fix it?

Answer 1

I could not get .targets to work, nor could I find any documentation on the properties that it is possible to override using this method.
Instead, I added a PS script that modifies the .csproj file directly:
- task: PowerShell#2
displayName: Modify .csproj file
inputs:
targetType: 'inline'
script: |
# This script will overwrite csproj properties that are already defined.
# If they are not defined, no changes are made - values are not added.
# The case of missing properties is handled by adding a .props file in the next step.
# Note that changing the assembly name may break the build when the library contains xaml files.
# Read more below.
$path = "$(projectFolder)\${{ parameters.projectName }}.csproj"
Write-Host "Reading project file: " $path
[xml]$xml =(gc $path)
$projectAssemblyName = $xml.Project.PropertyGroup.AssemblyName
Write-Host "AssemblyName: " $projectAssemblyName
if ($projectAssemblyName -like "$(packageName)")
{
Write-Host "AssemblyName corresponds to package name."
}
else
{
Write-Host $projectAssemblyName "is different from package name:" $(packageName)
Write-Host "Overwriting AssemblyName with " $(packageName)
$xml.Project.PropertyGroup |? AssemblyName |% {$_.AssemblyName="$(packageName)"}
}
$xml.Project.PropertyGroup |? Company |% {$_.Company="MyCompany"}
$xml.Project.PropertyGroup |? GenerateDocumentationFile |% {$_.GenerateDocumentationFile="True"}
$xml.Save($path)
$fileContent = Get-Content $path
Write-Host "Success. File contents: " $fileContent