Visual Studio does not copy content files from an indirectly referencing project

Question

I have the following project structure:

Library1 <--[project reference]-- Library2 <--[ref]-- Executable -------- -------- ---------- ContentFile .cs files .cs files .cs files 

All references to the project have CopyLocal = true.

When I create the project, the ContentFile copied to the Library2 output Library2 , but not to the Executable output directory, which means that when the application starts, the ContentFile missing.

Why is the content file copied to the Library2 output directory but not Executable ? Is there a way to copy it to the latter (I would like to do this without build events, because I'm sure people will forget it)?

I am looking for a reasonable and supported solution; one that requires minimal effort when adding new projects or new indirectly linked content files, so as little as possible just forget about it.

Using Post-Build events (for example, xcopy ../Library/bin/Debug/SomeDll.dll bin/Debug ); and manually setting the project output directory to $(SolutionDir)/bin/... instead of the standard (for each project), both quickly become a huge mess. Adding content files as links to the "main project" was too tedious. It would be great if C # had the same default option for the output file as Visual C ++ (i.e. $SolutionDir/$Platform/$Configuration ), but it is not.

I also considered using the standard MSBuild routine in general and writing a custom build target (e.g. using gcc in Atmel Studio), but I didn’t leave at all. In addition, I want Visual Studio's standard Build and Debug commands to work as usual.

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UPDATE:

Here's more about what I'm doing.

I have a solution with an Executable project. In addition, there are many projects that you could call Plugin s. Executable refers to all those Plugin through a managed project link.

Since plug-in projects adapt to the executable file, but can have reusable components, the main functionality is often implemented in the External project, leaving the Plugin project a simple shell (not always).

These External projects sometimes use their own DLL files provided by third parties. Then these DLL files are added to the External project as a content file and have Copy to output dir for Copy always . Thus, the structure looks like the diagram above:

 External <---------------[is not aware of]--------------------+ -------- | .cs files <--[reference]-- PluginWrapper <--[reference]-- Executable "Native DLL" ------------- ---------- .cs files .cs files 

It is strange that the "Native DLL" is copied to the External output directory (obviously), as well as PluginWrapper , but not Executable .

Then the developer’s workflow would have to write External , which will work as a completely isolated object (they are often reused), wrap it with PluginWrapper , and then add the project link in PluginWrapper to Executable . It seemed strange to me that this was apparently such an unusual thing.

I thought that maybe editing the Executable target XML file of MSBuild (including indirectly linked content files) could solve the problem.

I might want to look into adding DLLs to projects as embedded resources, as suggested, but embedding DLLs like this seems strange to me. In the end, changing the developer’s workflow, dividing “[I don’t know]” in the above diagram and adding the project link to External , as Brenda Bell suggested, might be the most reasonable solution, even if it’s not perfect.

Update 2

Please note that the built-in idea of ​​resouce may not work in all cases. If you need to install a dependency in the executable directory (not cwd or something else), this may not work due to the lack of administrator privileges in the installation folder (to unzip the file from the built-in resource). It sounds strange, but it was a serious problem with one of the third-party libraries that we used.

Answer 1

Add the Library1 link to the executable project.

Answer 2

EDIT:

You can put all content in a separate project, set all its entries to “content” and “always copy” and refer to this project from an external and executable

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IMO you are looking for an embedded resource, not for content files.

When compiling library 1, content files are placed in the bin folder. When library 2 is compiled, the compiler recognizes the reference code and includes it (Library 1.dll), but the content files are not recognized because they are not mentioned anywhere in Library 2. The same thing happens when linking library 2 to the executable.

If your content files are relatively small (icons, templates, etc.) and you don’t see the need to edit them if you have lost the source code, then you can embed them as resources and provide a public method for returning the content, for example:

  public static Stream GetResourceContent(string rName){ string resName = System.Reflection.Assembly .GetExecutingAssembly().GetManifestResourceNames() .FirstOrDefault(rn => rn.EndsWith("."+rName)); if(resName!=null) return System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetManifestResourceStream(resName); else return null; } 

If your content needs to be modified, such as templates, etc., then consider including a copy with an executable project.

Answer 3

Another option is to insert the ContentFile as a resource in the assembly Library1 and retrieve it using Assembly.GetManifestResource ().

See these links for more information:

http://www.attilan.com/2006/08/accessing-embedded-resources-using.html

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/alexdan/archive/2007/12/19/loading-embedded-resources-in-c-using-getmanifestresourcestream.aspx

Answer 4

One of Brand’s answer is to add the Library1 content file as a link in the Executable project. You still have entries in the project, but you do not need to manage multiple copies of each file.

Answer 5

You may only refer to Library1 from the XAML file, in which case Visual Studio will not recognize the usage. Add a link in the code, for example, using the name attribute