Inside my csproj I have a pre-build event where I run the build of Vue js project. It outputs to a "dist" folder, and that is loaded by an cshtml file.
In the csproj file I have a reference to the dist folder and I tell it to copy to publish directory:
<ItemGroup>
<Content Include="dist\**" CopyToPublishDirectory="Always" />
</ItemGroup>
On publish, MsBuild seems to be trying to copy the files in the dist folder that exist before the pre-build event starts. Is there an way to get MsBuild to copy the contents of the folder after the pre-build event?
In order to support all possible publish mechanisms that tooling (VS etc.) supports, I suggest setting it up similar to how the in-box angular template works:
<Target Name="PublishDistFiles" AfterTargets="ComputeFilesToPublish">
<ItemGroup>
<DistFiles Include="dist\**" />
<ResolvedFileToPublish Include="#(DistFiles->'%(FullPath)')" Exclude="#(ResolvedFileToPublish)">
<RelativePath>%(DistFiles.Identity)</RelativePath>
<CopyToPublishDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToPublishDirectory>
</ResolvedFileToPublish>
</ItemGroup>
</Target>
You can add a step to do it manually using the Copy task
<Target Name="MyCopyStep" AfterTargets="AfterPublish">
<ItemGroup>
<MyDistFiles Include="dist\**" />
</ItemGroup>
<Copy SourceFiles="#(MyDistFiles)" DestinationFiles="#(MyDistFiles->'$(PublishDir)\dist\%(RecursiveDir)%(Filename)%(Extension)')"/>
</Target>
Related
I'd like to download and copy files to the publish directory with MSBuild. I've tried the following which seems pretty obvious:
<Target Name="DownloadContentFiles" BeforeTargets="BeforePublish">
<DownloadFile SourceUrl="$(LatestValidatorUrl)" DestinationFolder="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)">
<Output TaskParameter="DownloadedFile" ItemName="Content" />
</DownloadFile>
</Target>
<ItemGroup>
<Content Include="org.hl7.fhir.validator.jar" CopyToPublishDirectory="PreserveNewest" CopyToOutputDirectory="PreserveNewest" />
</ItemGroup>
However CopyToPublishDirectory is running before BeforeTargets="BeforePublish" runs, so it fails to find the file.
I've tried many other variations as well, but nothing is working.
How can I download a file and copy it to the publish directory before the Publish step runs?
I have a shared.{Environment}.json file that is added as linked files in several .Net core 2.1 projects. When project is build or published file gets copied to output directory, in case of release its fine but on debug it doesn't work as when project run it looks up for that file in project directory not in output directory.
Whats the proper way to solve this issue for both debug and publish?
For linked files, it will not exist under the project directory.
For a workaround, you could try to copy the file with task in csproj like below:
<ItemGroup>
<Content Include="..\MVCPro\shared.{Environment}.json">
<Link>shared.{Environment}.json</Link>
<CopyToOutputDirectory>Always</CopyToOutputDirectory>
</Content>
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="CopyLinkedContentFiles" BeforeTargets="Build">
<Copy SourceFiles="..\MVCPro\shared.{Environment}.json" DestinationFolder=".\" SkipUnchangedFiles="true" OverwriteReadOnlyFiles="true" />
</Target>
Right now in my msbuild script is a task to delete a folder
<RemoveDir Directories="$(Bin)"/>
However I'd rather delete the contents of the folder but leave the folder be (in case someone has the folder open in Windows Explorer). How can I do that?
This will remove all files and subfolders:
<Target Name="CleanFolder">
<PropertyGroup>
<TargetFolder>c:\clean</TargetFolder>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<FilesToClean Include="$(TargetFolder)\**\*"/>
<Directories Include="$([System.IO.Directory]::GetDirectories('$(TargetFolder)', '*', System.IO.SearchOption.AllDirectories))"
Exclude="$(TargetFolder)"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Delete Files="#(FilesToClean)" ContinueOnError="true"/>
<RemoveDir Directories="#(Directories)" />
</Target>
It would also be good to drop open connections using the openfiles tool:
openfiles /disconnect /ID *
Download and install the msbuild extension pack then use
<MSBuild.ExtensionPack.FileSystem.Folder TaskAction="RemoveContent" Path="$(Bin)" />
In the process of cleaning up the folder/file structure on a project I inherited, I'm running into a problem with organizing the required external libraries. I want to keep them in their own .\dll\ folder, but they're not being copied to the build directory properly. They should be in the root build directory, but they're being moved to a subfolder instead.
My .csproj file contains the following xml:
<Project>
<ItemGroup>
<None Include="dlls\libraryA.dll">
<CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
</None>
</ItemGroup>
</Project>
Then, on build, the libraryA.dll file is copied to the bin\Debug\dll\ folder, but I want it in the bin\Debug\ folder.
I tried this and msbuild always wants to copy the files using their directory path, but there is a workaround...
Edit the csproj file and after this line:
<Import Project="$(MSBuildToolsPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" />
Add these lines:
<PropertyGroup>
<PrepareForRunDependsOn>$(PrepareForRunDependsOn);MyCopyFilesToOutputDirectory</PrepareForRunDependsOn>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="MyCopyFilesToOutputDirectory">
<Copy SourceFiles="#(None)" DestinationFolder="$(OutDir)" />
</Target>
The copy of the output files happens in the PrepareForRun target. This adds your own target to the list of targets that are executed as part of PrepareForRun.
This example copies all items in the None item group. You could create your own item group (e.g. MyFiles) and do the copy on that item group if you have other "None" files you don't want copied. When I tried this I had to change the item group name by editing the csproj file directly. Visual Studio did not allow me to set the item group of a file from the UI, but after I edited the csproj and changed it, Visual Studio displayed my custom item group name correctly.
If you only want to change it for one file, it may be easier to use the property:
<None Include="dlls\libraryA.dll">
<Link>%(Filename)%(Extension)</Link>
<CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
</None>
Including content files in .csproj that are outside the project cone
This approach works
If you need to force copy of a specific file/nuget package into an asp.net core project (2.2), add at the end of your csproj :
<!-- Force copy MathNet because we need it in compilation -->
<Target Name="EnsureNuGetPackageBuildImports" BeforeTargets="Build">
<PropertyGroup>
<ErrorText>This project references NuGet package(s) that are missing on this computer. The missing file is {0}.</ErrorText>
</PropertyGroup>
<Error Condition="!Exists('..\packages\MathNet.Numerics.4.8.1\lib\netstandard2.0\MathNet.Numerics.dll')" Text="$([System.String]::Format('$(ErrorText)', '..\packages\MathNet.Numerics.4.8.1\lib\netstandard2.0\MathNet.Numerics.dll'))" />
</Target>
<ItemGroup>
<ContentWithTargetPath Include="..\packages\MathNet.Numerics.4.8.1\lib\netstandard2.0\MathNet.Numerics.dll">
<CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
<TargetPath>MathNet.Numerics.dll</TargetPath>
</ContentWithTargetPath>
</ItemGroup>
In SDK-style csproj you can write something like:
<Target Name="CopyFilesTargetName" AfterTargets="Build">
<Copy SourceFiles="$(OutDir)\dlls\Some.dll;$(OutDir)\dlls\SomeOther.dll" DestinationFolder="$(OutDir)" />
</Target>
You can also use <Move instead of <Copy to move files
I have an MSBuild script which compiles my existing solution but I'd like to change some properties of one of the projects within the solution at compile-time, including but not limited to AssemblyProduct and AssemblyTitle.
Here's a snippet of my build script:
<Target Name="Compile" >
<MSBuild Projects="..\MySolution.sln"
Properties="Configuration=MyReleaseConfig;Platform=x86" />
</Target>
I've got one main executable and several DLLs that are compiled. I am aware of the MSBuild Extension Pack and I suspect it might help me to get to where I need to be, although I'm not sure how to proceed.
Can I selectively change AssemblyInfo properties at build time?
You're on the right track with the MSBuild Extension Pack.
I find the easiest way to conditionally generate the assembly details at build time is to add an "AssemblyVersion" target directly to my .csproj file(s) that require an updated AssemblyInfo file. You can add the target directly to each csproj file that requires an updated AssemblyInfo file, or as I prefer to do it, create a custom targets file with the AssemblyVersion target and have each csproj file include your custom targets file.
Either way you likely want to use the MSBuild Extension Pack or the MSBuild Community Tasks to use their respective AssemblyInfo task.
Here's some code from our build scripts:
<!-- Import the AssemblyInfo task -->
<Import Project="$(MSBuildCommunityTasksPath)\MSBuild.Community.Tasks.Targets"/>
<!-- Overriding the Microsoft.CSharp.targets target dependency chain -->
<!-- Call our custom AssemblyVersion target before build, even from VS -->
<PropertyGroup>
<BuildDependsOn>
AssemblyVersion;
$(BuildDependsOn)
</BuildDependsOn>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<AssemblyVersionFiles Include="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\Properties\AssemblyInfo.cs"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="AssemblyVersion"
Inputs="#(AssemblyVersionFiles)"
Outputs="UpdatedAssemblyVersionFiles">
<Attrib Files="%(AssemblyVersionFiles.FullPath)"
Normal="true"/>
<AssemblyInfo
CodeLanguage="CS"
OutputFile="%(AssemblyVersionFiles.FullPath)"
AssemblyCompany="$(CompanyName)"
AssemblyCopyright="Copyright $(CompanyName), All rights reserved."
AssemblyVersion="$(Version)"
AssemblyFileVersion="$(Version)">
<Output TaskParameter="OutputFile"
ItemName="UpdatedAssemblyVersionFiles"/>
</AssemblyInfo>
</Target>
Sneal's answer was very helpful, but I'd like to show what I actually ended up doing. Instead of editing csproj files (there are several) I instead added tasks to my build script. Here's a snippet:
<PropertyGroup>
<ProductName>MyApp</ProductName>
<CompanyName>MyCompany</CompanyName>
<Major>1</Major>
<Minor>0</Minor>
<Build>0</Build>
<Revision>0</Revision>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<AssemblyVersionFiles Include="..\MyMainProject\Properties\AssemblyInfo.cs"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="AssemblyVersionMAIN" Inputs="#(AssemblyVersionFiles)" Outputs="UpdatedAssemblyVersionFiles">
<Attrib Files="%(AssemblyVersionFiles.FullPath)" Normal="true"/>
<AssemblyInfo
CodeLanguage="CS"
OutputFile="%(AssemblyVersionFiles.FullPath)"
AssemblyProduct="$(ProductName)"
AssemblyTitle="$(ProductName)"
AssemblyCompany="$(CompanyName)"
AssemblyCopyright="© $(CompanyName) 2010"
AssemblyVersion="$(Major).$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)"
AssemblyFileVersion="$(Major).$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)"
AssemblyInformationalVersion="$(Major).$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)">
<Output TaskParameter="OutputFile" ItemName="UpdatedAssemblyVersionFiles"/>
</AssemblyInfo>
</Target>
<Target Name="Compile" DependsOnTargets="AssemblyVersionMAIN">
<MSBuild Projects="..\MySolution.sln"
Properties="Configuration=Release;Platform=x86;Optimize=true" />
</Target>
Then, I can override my variables from the command line, or a batch script, like so:
set MAJ=1
set MIN=2
set BLD=3
set REV=4
msbuild buildScript.xml /t:Compile /p:Major=%MAJ% /p:Minor=%MIN% /p:Build=%BLD% /p:Revision=%REV%
<Target Name="SetVersion">
<ItemGroup>
<AssemblyInfoFiles Include="$(TargetDir)\**\AssemblyInfo.cs"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Message Text="change the Version number for:"/>
<Message Text="%(AssemblyInfoFiles.FullPath)"/>
<MSbuild.ExtensionPack.Framework.AssemblyInfo
AssemblyInfoFiles="#(AssemblyInfoFiles)"
AssemblyTitle="newTitle"
AssemblyMajorVersion="2"
AssemblyMinorVersion="0"/>
</Target>