I have an annoying error that's been popping up, and I don't know where it is coming from. The error is:
Error 31 Unable to copy file "app.config" to "bin\Debug\Framework.Tests.dll.config". Could not find file 'app.config'. Framework.Tests
The problem is, I don't have a bin\Debug folder anywhere, and it does not say from where it is trying to copy app.config. Double clicking on the error doesn't bring me to any code where it is trying to copy, so that doesn't help me either. So I don't know where I should make the app.config.
How can I find this out?
You have added a reference to a file called app.config or Visual Studio did this for you. The file does not exist on the disk, presumably because after adding the reference you later deleted the file.
Search for the missing file in your Solution Explorer, and either delete the reference or create the file.
It is most likely in the root folder of one of your projects, and should have a yellow triangle warning icon showing that the file is missing.
In an MSTest project the app.config is the one that you would like to provide any calls to the ConfigurationManager class.
It resides in the root of your test project.
The bin\debug folders will be created once the project compiles for the first time. Show all files in the solution explorer should help as they are not (and should not) be included in the project.
HTH
You probably do have a bin\Debug folder beneath your project folder, being the build target folder created by Visual Studio when you build your project for the Debug configuration.
My guess is that something (a test framework perhaps) still has the DLL file loaded, so Visual Studio can't delete and replace the existing Framework.Tests.dll.config file with the contents of your app.config. [Note: the project build action for app.config files is to copy it to the target folder renamed to match the executable with an extension of .config appended.]
Related
Following on from my issues with a simple Visual Studio Installer Package, I'm making the switch to WiX. The learning curve is annoying, because once I've set this up I'm going to forget how it works before I need to do it again next project. But anyway, here we go.
My environment is Visual Studio 2019 and Azure DevOps (the full TFVC). The projects involved are class libraries and a WPF application all written in C#. I also have the WiXWax extension thingy to give me a GUI for adding projects and dependencies quickly.
When I created my WiX project I stupidly included a typo in the name of the project and consequently in the underlying folders. When I noticed this I decided to fix it;
Unload the projects
Using the source control explorer, rename the folder
Using notepad, open the sln file and correcting the path to the project, and the project name
Using notepad, open the project file and correct its references to the path and project name
Rename the project files
As you can see I have changed every reference to the the incorrect spelling.
Unfortunately, Visual Studio won't load the project. I get an error telling me this:
C:(correctly spelled path that matches the file system and file names).wixproj
: error : The project file
'C:(path with a typo in it)(correctly spelled project name).wixproj'
has been moved, renamed or is not on your computer.
Now the message is partly correct, because the file it says has been moved or renamed has in fact been renamed. If I click on the error it opens the wixproj file (it's just an xml of course). This file doesn't have a self referenced location though, the only things that's close is the include to the projects which haven't changed and are correct (..<correct detals>.csproj)
I have opened every xml file including the solution files and wix project files and none of them contain the typo (Ctrl+F, case insensitive, not whole word - no results).
I have tried "Removing" the WiX project from the solution and re-adding it, but I get the same error and it doesn't add it to the solution file.
What is remembering the old path name, and how can I make it forget it?
edit: I've also tried Ctrl+Shift+F per Klaus' suggestion and it finds no references.
I have Visual Studio 2017 project in which I need to open a folder named Devdog.General, which is also included in my Solution. However, it won't recognize it as an existing folder and gives me a missing directory / namespace error when I try to import it. See screenshot for more info.
Try this button:
I had a similar problem the other day and it had to do with files that Visual Studio didn't know were part of the project because they'd been created externally (and that included folders). Visual Studio could see them but it was hiding them from me.
After clicking that button, you will be able to right click on the folder and select "include in project" which will include the files for compilation and navigation.
First, try selecting any of your "*.cs" files inside this "General" folder and check in the "Properties" view if the Build Action is configured to Compile. Visual Studio will only compile your file if it has the correct build action.
Secondly, open that "*.cs" file and verify if the namespace defined inside it is correct. For C#, folder structures don't matter much: what really matters is the namespace you have defined your classes in. You can define your classes in namespaces completely different than the folder they are included in your project. That is completely arbitrary, and up to your organizational needs.
An image illustrating what you need to check (and where) follows.
Things to Check
1.) Check the namespaces inside .CS files - they collectively create usable namespaces you are referencing - not folder names. If you create a few files, then move them to a folder, and create newer files inside that folder they will have different namespaces. The newer files will have the default Namespace value followed by .FolderName. So be sure to check that out.
2.) CSPROJs can get hosed and lose reference to folders that display in the UI. Remove the folder from the project (through the VS2017 UI, right click and choose that option). DO NOT DELETE. Then recreate the folder in the UI (it shouldn't let you, navigate to the folder directory manually and rename the folder.OLD temporarily). Once the folder is rename, try recreating the folder. Upon success move all your CS files into the new folder from folder.OLD. After files and folders are back to where they were essentially, then in Visual Studio, "Add existing items" on your .cs files. This recreates the CSPROJ references one by one.
3.) Unload CSPROJ, right click and Edit CSPROJ to manually check all the .CS references in ItemGroups. Make sure its myfolder\myotherfolder\mycsfile.cs.
4.) Remove reference to other projects that contain namespace, and re-add them. Verifying, one by one, the namespaces begin reappearing in Intellisense as recognized.
5.) If you try the above step, close Solution, close Visual Studio, navigate to SLN folder container, and delete hidden folder .vs and then reopen everything.
What happens is sometime a folder rename or file transfer doesn't propagate to the .CSPROJ folder, a namespace then doesn't get intellisense cached, and errors galore show up.
Please check your folder name and namespace name. probably folder name and namespace did not match
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I had a C# class library project as part of my solution. I later updated the root folder of the project. Since the solution was pointing to the wrong path, I had to "delete" the project and then re-add it.
However, when I add the existing project, it says "The project file \myproject.csproj' has been moved, renamed or is not on your computer".
This is baffling because the .sln file has no reference to the project. (I checked the text contents)
How does VS cache the project with it's old folder path? The solution is version controlled in TFS, but the mappings point to the new folder structure, so it's even more confusing as to where it's trying to get the old folder path from.
Edit: I checked the .csproj file, the .csproj.vspscc and none of them have a path variable in them.
I have also tried deleting the .suo file.
This has been a trouble with Visual Studio for years now. In such a case, deleting the hidden .suo file in the root folder and restart VS will reconstruct a proper .suo file and almost always eliminate the issue.
If you use TFS, take a look at Just TFS' comment in the original post to avoid this problem in the future.
I've added an executable to my Visual Studio 2010 C# Solution. In the properties of this executable, the executable path is a full path ("C:\Test\MyProgram\MyProgram.exe")
When I deploy my solution (with installshield) on a new PC, the executable is part of the deployed solution together with some source files and the solution file. So far so good.
But when I open the installed solution file (in Visual Studio 2010),
I'm not able to build it because It can't find the executable in the specified path:
("C:\Test\MyProgram\").
Here is the question: How can change the full path of the executable, so it gets the path of where the solution is installed on the new PC. Something like :
"[InstallDir]\MyProgram.exe"
Thanks
Update: I found out that you can use relative path in Application's Executable path. Thanks for all your answers.
You could use TargetDir property
I am just thinking off the top of my head here. There may be a much simpler way. I'm thinking you might want to create a Custom Action that runs at the end of your installer that manually opens the .xxproj file, and manually edits the path of the reference. As another poster stated, you can get the new path from the TargetDir property: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa372064%28VS.85%29.aspx
Example of creating Custom Actions: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/9cdb5eda(v=vs.80).aspx
Add your Executable to your Project TO The Main Dir, right click-> Copy To OutPutDirectory -> Copy
this is easiest way to make your file to copy to your target dir, and have your SourceControl Visual studio plugin manage it.
Your executable should be be somewhere in your project source files structure, perhaps in a subfolder. When you add this executable file to project it should then be added on a relative path which is what you want. If this is not happening you should manually edit csprj file. To do this, right click on project, unload it, right click again and edit project file.
Of course, your executable file should have its property Build Action set to None and Copy to output Directory to what you want.
If for some reason you cannot add this executable directly into your project files structure I'd suggest to use pre-build event to copy it from where it exists into your project files.
I have a C# project that has multiple folders: Folder1, Folder2.
I added a shortcut in 'Folder1' to an xml file that is already in 'Folder2'. In this case when I compile the project the xml file will I have two copies in the assembly?
You were not clear with your description - did you reference the file with a shortcut, or did you add it to Folder1 by using the VS Solution Explorer and adding an existing item as a link?
The two methods are quite different. If you simply went into the filesystem and added a shortcut, then that is not automatically part of the project unless you specifically add it. And if you did add it, then it obviously can't be compiled, the best you could do is just have it set to No Compile and copy to the output directory.
If you added the file to folder one via the VS solution explorer and added it as a link, then it will be part of the project, and will be included twice, but it will be placed in Folder1 under the bin/debug or bin/release folder upon building. There will be no clash because they are in different folders, and they are not compiled, simply copied to the folder structure under the output directory.
Edit: and it won't be part of the assembly unless you set it to be a Resource or Embedded Resource. If you do that then yes, it will be in the assembly, but under two different resource paths.
In the Properties(context menu) of the selected file in the Solution Explorer change Build Action property to No Compile.