MSBUILD Unable to force PackageLocation for Package target - msbuild

Question

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?

Answer 1

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">

Answer 2

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