i have a main project A which uses a library project B.
But since B is used via dependency injection (loaded via reflection) it is not in the references of A and Visual Studio does not automatically copy the binaries and data of B to the bin directory of A.
is there a way to accomplish this without making a huge post-build-event?
If project B binary is only used by project A then you could change the build property of project B to always copy the output binary to bin folder of project A
To change the out put path go to Project Property > Build > Output path:
Related
One of my library projects contains a license file which I'm having copied to the bin folder by setting the file's Copy to Output Directory property to Copy if newer.
Now, in one of my other projects which reference the first project, I want to have this license file copied, too. But I don't want to add a custom build step to the second project.
What is necessary to have dependent projects copy all files from a referenced project's bin folder?
Edit:
VS Solution contains the following projects:
Class Library #1 (= CL1)
Class Library #2 (= CL2)
Class Library #3 (= CL3)
CL2 has a reference to CL1. CL3 has a reference to CL2.
CL1 contains a file that's supposed to be copied to the bin folder (e.g. "ServerList.txt").
When I now build the solution (e.g. Debug configuration) ...
CL1\bin\Debug\ contains "ServerList.txt"
CL2\bin\Debug\ contains "ServerList.txt"
CL3\bin\Debug\ does not contain "ServerList.txt"
This is wrong!
Workaround:
If I add a reference to CL1 to the CL3 project, then CL3\bin\Debug\ will also contain "ServerList.txt".
However, this should not be necessary.
So, is this a bug? Or is this by design? Why should it make sense for Visual Studio not to copy everything from CL2\bin\Debug\ when there is a reference to CL2 in CL3 alone?
I have a solution made out of 2 projects. One is A which is my main project and one is B. A has a reference of B in it. So when I build the entire solution, B's .exe file is created in the release folder. But B also has reference to some .dll libraries that are also needed for the program to be working. And they do not appear in the release folder.
How can I change my build properties so that all the necessary files will be copied so I don't have to copy them manually every time?
The quick and dirty way is to manually add B's dependencies into A's project.
A less error prone way would be to have a single common bin folder that both projects output to. You set B to build into it and then A references the B dll from there so all the transitive dependencies are put in place just by building B.
Yet another approach would be to get B to build a Nuget package (which then describes its dependencies) and then use Nuget to add B as a package to A and it'll sort the rest out for you.
I have 2 separate Visual Studio C# solutions. One solution contains projects that generate DLL files (class library projects) and the other solution contains projects that depend on the DLL files from the other solution.
I have two questions about adding the DLL files from the first solution as references to each of the projects in the second solution.
When I add the DLL files as references (using the Browse option) is
there a way to use relative directories so that if I move the
solutions to a different folder I won't have to update the
references? (Assuming the two solutions are always in the same
location relative to one another.)
For example: ....\Solution1\Project1\bin\Debug\Project1.dll
If I change the DLL solution's configuration from Release to Debug I
want the other solution projects to reference the DLLs in the Debug
folder and vice versa. When adding the DLL files to each project can
I use something like the Visual Studio macro $(ConfigurationName) in
the DLL file path so that, depending on whether I build in Debug or
Release mode, I use the correct DLL file?
For example:
....\Solution1\Project1\bin\$(ConfigurationName)\Project1.dll
Thank you.
I have a C++ wrapper DLL added to one of my projects, the proect is my "Set as startup" project.
To do this I just right clicked on the project and did "Add exisitng item" and then in the properties I have
Build Action = None
Copy to Output Directory = Copy always
The code in this project does not directly use this dll, it's used in another project that's part of the solution and I cannot add it to the References as it's not a proper .NET dll.
My TeamCity build doesn't include this dll when it builds my project and I don't know why. I changed the build script so that it just copies the dll from a location to the bin folder but that doesn't work, when I run my app I get a run time error "could not find dll" even though I can actually see it in the bin folder.
So I cannot just copy it to the bin folder, I need to tell Team City to include that dll when the project is built, as it does when I compile it from Visual Studio
So my question is how can I tell Team City to include the dll when it complies my project?
I'm using VS2010, .NET 4
Say I create a visual studio class project A which is a wrapper around an exe. Getting the exe to be copied to the output directory is easy.
Now I create another project B that references the class A. Is there a way to set up project A such that project B will also copy the exe to the output directory when compiling? Like the exe to be a sort of "copy local dependency" of project A.
Thanks
Charles
Right, this is one way to do it. Will work if you have them both in the same solution in Visual Studio.
Add the reference Project A to Project B. (Or vice versa if I missunderstood you)
Right click the solution and select properties.
In Common properties you select Project dependencies.
In the project drop down select Project B and check Project A in "Depends on"-Checked listbox. (or vice versa)
Build project.
You should now have Project A.exe in Project B output folder.
To add an existing exe, which isn't inside your solution, you add the exe as a reference to your project.