I have a project file that is using a property $(source) such as :
<ItemGroup>
<ZipFiles Include="$(Source)\**\*.*" />
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="Package">
<Zip Files="#(ZipFiles)" ZipFileName="ZipOutputFullPath" />
</Target>
Now, I'm using this project file in a second project file and I need to copy some zip files into a folder that I construct based on some other parameters and I need to pass in that folder as $(source) to imported project, how can I do this? I'm referencing the imported target like this:
<Target Name="PrepareDropAndPackage" DependsOnTargets="PrepareDrop;Package">
<Message Text="Finishes preparing drop and packaging." />
</Target>
So basically I need to somehow pass in $(source) to Package target.
Thanks,
You need to update $(Source) property before calling the PrepareDropAndPackage target or to change $(Source) property inside that target like this:
<Target Name="PrepareDropAndPackage" DependsOnTargets="PrepareDrop">
<PropertyGroup>
<!-- :)) -->
<Source>C:\Windows<Source>
</PropertyGroup>
<CallTarget Targets="Package">
<Message Text="Finishes preparing drop and packaging." />
</Target>
Related
So here's what I want to do:
I want a build script that will xcopy deploy build outputs for a legacy winform app to a given directory. I want to specify a list of files to not overwrite (some config files).
I would rather have the list of files to not overwrite be passed as a parameter than hard code them.
This seems to be really unexpectedly hard. Here's what I have so far:
<!-- A property that is passed a semicolon delimited list of file names -->
<PropertyGroup>
<ProtectedFiles/>
</PropertyGroup>
<--! An ItemGroup to pick up the files>
<ItemGroup>
<FilesToDelete Include=$(DeploymentTargetFolder)\*.* Exclude="#(ProtectedFiles->'$(DeployTargetFolder)\%(identity)')"
<ItemGroup/>
<--! the delete isn't working, so I will stop just with that to keep the code brief -->
<Delete Files="#(FilesToDelete)"/>
The delete just ignores the exclude files and deletes everything
Is there a better way to do this? It doesn't seem too crazy -- I just want to
Delete all files from the target directory, except for the config files
Copy all of the files from the build outputs to the target directory, without overwriting the config files.
The first problem with your particular markup appears to confuse MsBuild $(properties) with MsBuild %(items) and MsBuild #(itemgroups).
ProtectedFiles is a property:
<!-- A property that is passed a semicolon delimited list of file names -->
<PropertyGroup>
<ProtectedFiles/>
</PropertyGroup>
But it's being treated as an Item and wouldn't have any %item.metadata:
<--! An ItemGroup to pick up the files>
<ItemGroup>
<FilesToDelete Include=$(DeploymentTargetFolder)\*.* Exclude="#(ProtectedFiles->'$(DeployTargetFolder)\%(identity)')"
<ItemGroup/>
Save the following markup locally as "foo.xml", then call "msbuild.exe foo.xml" and observe the output:
<Project ToolsVersion="4.0" DefaultTargets="foo" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<PropertyGroup>
<FilesProp>FileA.txt;FileB.txt</FilesProp>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<ProtectedFiles Include="FileA.txt" />
<ProtectedFiles Include="FileA.txt" />
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="foo">
<Message Importance="high" Text="ProtectedFiles ItemGroup: #(ProtectedFiles)" />
<Message Importance="high" Text="ProtectedFiles ItemGroup transform: #(ProtectedFiles->'%(Identity)')" />
<Message Importance="high" Text="FilesProp Property: $(FilesProp)" />
<Message Importance="high" Text="FilesProp Property: #(FilesProp->'%(FilesProp.Identity)')" />
</Target>
</Project>
Will yield the following output:
foo:
ProtectedFiles ItemGroup: FileA.txt;FileA.txt
ProtectedFiles ItemGroup transform: FileA.txt;FileA.txt
FilesProp Property: FileA.txt;FileB.txt
FilesProp Property:
If you're unable to change the design and need to convert a Property comprising a semi-colon delimited list of file paths, use the MsBuild <CreateItem /> task.
Add this markup to foo.xml occurring after the Foo target, then invoke msbuild again, but using the "bar" target (e.g. msbuild.exe foo.xml /t:bar)
<Target Name="bar">
<CreateItem Include="$(FilesProp)">
<Output TaskParameter="Include" ItemName="TheFiles"/>
</CreateItem>
<Message Text="TheFiles ItemGroup: #(TheFiles)" Importance="high" />
<Message Text="Output each item: %(TheFiles.Identity)" Importance="high" />
</Target>
Will yield the following output:
bar:
TheFiles ItemGroup: FileA.txt;FileB.txt
Output each item: FileA.txt
Output each item: FileB.txt
Next you should rethink some of your assumptions. I don't believe the file extension should be the determining factor when deciding which files to update, rather you should rely on MsBuild's ability to build tasks incrementally allowing it to perform a task only if the inputs are newer than the outputs. You can do this by using an MsBuild <Copy /> task configured to skip unchanged files.
Add this markup to the above Xml file, then modify the $(SourceFolder) and $(TargetFolder) to point to a source folder you'd like to copy recursively, and a destination folder to place the files. Build using "msbuild.exe foo.xml /t:Deployment" and observe the output.
<Target Name="Deployment">
<PropertyGroup>
<SourceFolder>c:\sourcefolder\</SourceFolder>
<TargetFolder>c:\destinationfolder\</TargetFolder>
</PropertyGroup>
<CreateItem Include="$(SourceFolder)\**\*.*">
<Output TaskParameter="Include" ItemName="FilesToCopy" />
</CreateItem>
<Copy SourceFiles="#(FilesToCopy)" DestinationFolder="$(TargetFolder)%(RecursiveDir)" SkipUnchangedFiles="true" />
</Target>
Without modifying any of the source files, run the command again and note that no files were copied.
Modify a file in the source folder, then run the command again. Notice that only the updated files were copied?
I hope this gets you on the right track.
There seems to be an already existing post, similar to this. Please check this Trying to exclude certain extensions doing a recursive copy (MSBuild)
I have a AfterBuild target that I would like to use for multiple projects in a solution. Is there a way that I can put that target into a .targets file and reference the file in each project.
Below is what I tried which does not seem to work.
Project File:
<Import Project="..\debug.targets"/>
.Targets File:
<Project ToolsVersion="4.0" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<Target Name="AfterBuild">
<PropertyGroup>
<WebsiteDirectory>C:\Inetpub\wwwroot</WebsiteDirectory>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<output Include=".\**\*.dll" Exclude=".\**\obj\**" />
<output Include=".\**\*.pdb" Exclude=".\**\obj\**" />
<output Include=".\**\*.svc" />
<output Include=".\**\*.xap" />
<output Include=".\**\*.aspx" />
<output Include=".\**\*.js" />
<output Include=".\**\*.config" />
</ItemGroup>
<PropertyGroup>
<VirtualDirectoryPath>$(WebsiteDirectory)\$(RootNamespace)</VirtualDirectoryPath>
</PropertyGroup>
<copy SourceFiles="#(output)" DestinationFiles="#(output->'$(VirtualDirectoryPath)\%(RecursiveDir)%(Filename)%(Extension)')" />
</Target>
Use this
<Import Project="$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)\debug.targets"/>
$(MSBuildThisFile) = The current project file.
$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory) = The directory that contains current project file.
Relative paths in project files are difficult to use depending on what is invoking the project file. Using msbuild directly and the relative path will resolve to the project file. Use VS and the relative path will use the solution file as the base path.
Using $(MSBuildThisFileDirectory) will force the relative path to use a pre-determined beginning path. All you need to do is fill in the rest of the relative path.
What you are doing is fundamentally correct, but ensure that your Import statement is the last Import in the project file.
To verify that the target is being invoked correctly, run msbuild in diag mode from the command line and note the output regarding your target.
msbuild myproj.proj /v:diag
I'm trying to build a deployment package for my web service from msbuild just like you can do in Visual Studio by right-clicking on the project file.
The package gets created fine and is put in the /obj/Release/Packages folder under my source directory for the project file.
You should be able to specify where that package is created by setting the PackageLocation property in a PropertyGroup inside the project file. However, that is not working for me. It still puts the package in /obj/Release/Packages under the source directory.
Here is the snippet from my project file:
<Import Project="$(SrcTreeRoot)\Build\TaskInit.Tasks" />
<Import Project="$(MSBuildBinPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" />
<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v10.0\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" />
<Import Project="$(SrcTreeRoot)\Build\TaskOverrides.Tasks" />
<PropertyGroup>
<Platform>Any Cpu</Platform>
<Configuration>Dev</Configuration>
<PackageLocation>$(PackageOutputDir)\MatrixOnCdsService\MatrixOnCdsService.zip</PackageLocation>
<PackageAsSingleFile>True</PackageAsSingleFile>
<EnablePackageProcessLoggingAndAssert>True</EnablePackageProcessLoggingAndAssert>
<!--OutDir>$(PackageOutputDir)\MatrixOnCdsService\</OutDir-->
</PropertyGroup>
We are also using a MasterBuild.proj that has the following sections:
<PackageProject Include="..\Source\AnalysisSuite\MatrixOnCdsService\MatrixOnCdsService.csproj"/>
...
<Target Name="Package">
<MSBuild Projects="#(PackageProject)" Targets="Package" Properties="Platform=$(Platform);
Configuration=$(Configuration);
DeployOnBuild=true;
DeployTarget=Package;
PackageLocation=$(PackageLocation);"/>
</Target>
TaskInit.tasks is our own custom import file that contains the PackageOutputDir property that we use to tell the project where to put the package.
My question is why is the package still being placed in the /obj/Release/Packages folder even after specifying the PackageLocation?
Stick the property group you have in a target:
<Target Name="SetValues">
<PropertyGroup>
<Platform>Any Cpu</Platform>
<Configuration>Dev</Configuration>
<PackageLocation>$(PackageOutputDir)\MatrixOnCdsService\MatrixOnCdsService.zip</PackageLocation>
<PackageAsSingleFile>True</PackageAsSingleFile>
<EnablePackageProcessLoggingAndAssert>True</EnablePackageProcessLoggingAndAssert>
<!--OutDir>$(PackageOutputDir)\MatrixOnCdsService\</OutDir-->
</PropertyGroup>
</Target>
then add this as a DependsOnTarget for your Package Target and i think you will have your values passed.
e.g. <Target Name="Package" DependsOnTargets="SetValues">
You could do the following in your MasterBuild.proj.
<Target Name="Package">
<ConvertToAbsolutePath Paths="$(PackageOutputDir)">
<Output TaskParameter="AbsolutePaths" PropertyName="Source_Dir_Abs"/>
</ConvertToAbsolutePath>
<MSBuild Projects="#(PackageProject)" Targets="Package"
properties="Platform=$(Platform);
Configuration=$(Configuration);
DeployOnBuild=false;
DeployTarget=Package;
PackageLocation=$(Source_Dir_Abs)\$(PackageProjectName).zip;
PackageAsSingleFile=true;
ExcludeFilesFromDeployment=Web.config;
_PackageTempDir=$(PackageOutputDir)\temp;">
</MSBuild>
</Target>
Where you are calling msbuild you will need to add a property that will be used in $(PackageProjectName) by doing the following:
msbuild.exe /property:PackageProjectName=$project
How to specify additional assembly reference paths for the MSBuild tasks?
I have following script so far, but can't figure out how to specify additional search paths.
<ItemGroup>
<ProjectsToBuild Include="..\Main\Main.sln" />
</ItemGroup>
<!-- The follwing paths should be added to reference search paths for the build tasks -->
<ItemGroup>
<MyAddRefPath Include="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\Build\Lib1" />
<MyAddRefPath Include="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\Build\Lib2" />
</ItemGroup>
<MSBuild
Projects="#(ProjectsToBuild)"
Properties="Configuration=Debug;OutputPath=$(BuildOutputPath)">
</MSBuild>
UPDATE:
Please show one complete working script which invokes original project, such as an SLN with multiple additional reference paths.
No suggestions on how to improve the project structure please.
I know how to build a good structure, but now it's the task of building an existing piece of crap.
I have finaly figured out how to do it:
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<ItemGroup>
<ProjectsToBuild Include="ConsoleApplication1\ConsoleApplication1.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<AdditionalReferencePaths Include="..\Build\ClassLibrary1" />
<AdditionalReferencePaths Include="..\Build\ClassLibrary2" />
</ItemGroup>
<PropertyGroup>
<BuildOutputPath>..\Build\ConsoleApplication1</BuildOutputPath>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="MainBuild">
<PropertyGroup>
<AdditionalReferencePathsProp>#(AdditionalReferencePaths)</AdditionalReferencePathsProp>
</PropertyGroup>
<MSBuild
Projects="ConsoleApplication1\ConsoleApplication1.csproj"
Properties="ReferencePath=$(AdditionalReferencePathsProp);OutputPath=$(BuildOutputPath)"
>
</MSBuild>
</Target>
The property you want to modify is AssemblySearchPaths. See the ResolveAssemblyReference task more information.
<Target Name="AddToSearchPaths">
<CreateProperty Value="x:\path\to\assemblies;$(AssemblySearchPaths)">
<Output PropertyName="AssemblySearchPaths" TaskParameter="Value" />
</CreateProperty>
</Target>
Making use of item groups, as in your example, it would look like:
<Target Name="AddToSearchPaths">
<CreateProperty Value="#(MyAddRefPath);$(AssemblySearchPaths)">
<Output PropertyName="AssemblySearchPaths" TaskParameter="Value" />
</CreateProperty>
</Target>
Looking in %WINDIR%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\Microsoft.Common.targets, you can see that the ResolveAssemblyReference Task is executed as part of the ResolveAssemblyReferences target. Thus, you want the newly added target to modify the AssemblySearchPaths property before ResolveAssemblyReferences is executed.
You've stated that you want to be able to modify the assembly search paths without modifying the project files directly. In order to accomplish that requirement you need to set an environment variable that will override the AssemblySearchPaths. With this technique you will need to provide every assembly reference path used by all the projects in the solutions. (Modifying the projects or copies of the projects would be easier. See final comments.)
One technique is to create a batch file that runs your script at sets the environment variable:
set AssemblySearchPaths="C:\Tacos;C:\Burritos;C:\Chalupas"
msbuild whatever.msbuild
Another way is to define a PropertyGroup in your custom msbuild file (otherwise known as the "hook" needed to make this work):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project ToolsVersion="4.0" DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<ItemGroup>
<ProjectsToBuild Include="..\Main\Main.sln" />
</ItemGroup>
<PropertyGroup>
<AssemblySearchPaths>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\Build\Lib1;$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\Build\Lib2</AssemblySearchPaths>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="Build">
<MSBuild Projects="#(ProjectsToBuild)" Properties="AssemblySearchPaths=$(AssemblySearchPaths);Configuration=Debug;OutputPath=$(OutputPath)" />
</Target>
</Project>
Now if it were me, and for whatever unexplained reason I couldn't modify the project files to include the updated references that I am going to build with, I would make copies of the project files, load them into the IDE, and correct the references in my copies. Synching the projects becomes a simple diff/merge operation which is automatic with modern tools like mercurial (heck I'm sure clearcase could manage it too).
...and remember that you don't need to use a target for this, you can use project-scoped properties or items, as...
<ItemGroup>
<MyAddRefPath Include="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\Build\Lib1" />
<MyAddRefPath Include="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\Build\Lib2" />
</ItemGroup>
<PropertyGroup>
<MyAddRefPath>$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\Build\Lib3</MyAddRefPath>
<!-- add in the property path -->
<AssemblySearchPaths>$(MyAddRefPath);$(AssemblySearchPaths)</AssemblySearchPaths>
<!-- add in the item paths -->
<AssemblySearchPaths>#(MyAddRefPath);$(AssemblySearchPaths)</AssemblySearchPaths>
</PropertyGroup>
...and if you do need to do this in a target to pick up paths from a dynamically populated item group, use inline properties, not the CreateProperty task (if you are not stuck in v2.0)
<Target Name="AddToSearchPaths">
<PropertyGroup>
<!-- add in the item paths -->
<AssemblySearchPaths>#(MyDynamicAddRefPath);$(AssemblySearchPaths)</AssemblySearchPaths>
</PropertyGroup>
</Target>
How can I dependably verify the existence of a folder using an msbuild extension pack task?
How could i do it without throwing an error and stopping the build?
Could you use the Exists condition on a target?
This will execute the OnlyIfExists target only if there is a directory or file called Testing in the same directory as the msbuild file.
<ItemGroup>
<TestPath Include="Testing" />
</ItemGroup>
<Target Name="OnlyIfExists" Condition="Exists(#(TestPath))">
<Message Text="This ran!" Importance="high" />
</Target>
There is no need to use the extension pack, MSBuild can handle this just fine. You need to consider whether this is a folder that might be created or deleted as part of the build. If it is, then you want to be sure to use a dynamic item group declared within a target (in the case of checking more than one folder) or you can use a path if just checking one. This example shows both:
<Target Name="MyTarget">
<!-- single folder with property -->
<PropertyGroup>
<_CheckOne>./Folder1</_CheckOne>
<_CheckOneExistsOrNot
Condition="Exists('$(_CheckOne)')">exists</_CheckOneExistsOrNot>
<_CheckOneExistsOrNot
Condition="!Exists('$(_CheckOne)')">doesn't exist</_CheckOneExistsOrNot>
</PropertyGroup>
<Message
Text="The folder $(_CheckOne) $(_CheckOneExistsOrNot)"
/>
<!-- multiple folders with items -->
<ItemGroup>
<_CheckMultiple Include="./Folder2" />
<_CheckMultiple Include="./Folder3" />
</ItemGroup>
<Message
Condition="Exists('%(_CheckMultiple.Identity)')"
Text="The folder %(_CheckMultiple.Identity) exists"
/>
<Message
Condition="!Exists('%(_CheckMultiple.Identity)')"
Text="The folder %(_CheckMultiple.Identity) does not exist"
/>
</Target>