I want to execute a text template before my MSBuild project in Visual Studio. I have added the following to my project file:
<Target Name="TransformOnBuild" BeforeTargets="ResolveProjectReferences">
<PropertyGroup>
<_TransformExe>$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\..\Common7\IDE\TextTransform.exe</_TransformExe>
<_TextTransform>$(ProjectDir)AssemblyInfo.tt</_TextTransform>
<_TextTransformResult>$(ProjectDir)AssemblyInfo.cs</_TextTransformResult>
</PropertyGroup>
<Exec Command="del "$(_TextTransformResult)"" />
<Exec Command=""$(_TransformExe)" "$(_TextTransform)" -out "$(_TextTransformResult)"" />
</Target>
This simply deletes my AssemblyInfo.cs and regenerates it from AssemblyInfo.tt.
I use BeforeTargets="ResolveProjectReferences" because I need this file regenerated before any of the referenced projects get built.
Basically, this already works but I have noticed something strange: When I have this in my project file while Visual Studio is open, the AssemblyInfo.cs file constantly dissappears and then reappears. To me it looks like VS repeatedly executes my build target in the background. Of course I don't want it to behave like this. I want it to regenerate the file only when I start a build.
Is there any way to achieve my goal without generating constant CPU load and annoying file-wobbling in the explorer? Maybe a different base target than ResolveProjectReferences?
I use Visual Studio Professional 2022, Version 17.2.6
Update based on latest comments.
You could also try Condition="'$(DesignTimeBuild)' != 'true'".
Details/Background.
If you can live withit never being run inside Visual Studio, you can add this condition to the target element:
Condition="'$(BuildingInsideVisualStudio)' != 'true'"
Otherwise you can try this:
<Target Name="TransformOnBuild" BeforeTargets="ResolveProjectReferences"
Inputs="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)AssemblyInfo.tt"
Outputs="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)AssemblyInfo.cs">
<PropertyGroup>
<!-- ... -->
</Target>
You can learn more about Inputs/Outputs here. Basically, in this case, it means that the target will only be run, when AssemblyInfo.tt is newer than AssemblyInfo.cs.
Note that VS (for intellisence, etc.) will run targets in the background.
I have created dot net core dll project. CS files for this project will be files generated by tool (Apache Thrift compiler) but output dll is not picking up generated file. I have added the pre build set to generate the file.
Repro Steps:
Build solution
Open the ThriftSample.dll with object brower. (Delete the generated cs files and bin, com and obj folder.)
Actual: Nothing is there in ThriftSample.dll
Expected: Generated CS code should be there.
Note: I have checked CS file is generated. Attached is the sample project.(
https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=aef000afffca3540&id=AEF000AFFFCA3540%21144&authkey=!AAlMaW2IqIt6l1k
)
Refer: Is there a .NET Core CLI pre before build task?
The "default items" as the .NET SDK calls it are part of the static evaluation of the project file - before any target is run. So you'll need a target that is run before the #(Compile) items are needed.
The trick is to include files added to the filesystem after the custom tool is run. This can be done by re-scanning all files and excluding those already part of the project inside a target that is run before the build:
<Target Name="GenerateSomeFiles" BeforeTargets="BeforeBuild">
<Exec Command="dotnet my-tool" />
<ItemGroup>
<Compile Include="**/*$(DefaultLanguageSourceExtension)"
Exclude="$(DefaultItemExcludes);$(DefaultExcludesInProjectFolder);$(BaseIntermediateOutputPath)**;$(BaseOutputPath)**;#(Compile)" />
</ItemGroup>
</Target>
I have a project in visual studio 2017 for making a WinJS UWP windows 10 app. I'm using babel to compile some files from one folder and put them in another -- > jsx/src includes my .jsx files, and they get compiled into jsx/out.
I've set up a babel watcher to watch the jsx/src file and output a new file to jsx/out, but for now every new file I add, I have to manually add it in visual studio so that it shows in the folder. I'd like this to be automatic.
I have the answer for this now! Didn't realize this was left unanswered.
The answer is to modify the project.jsproj file directly. Open your project folder, find the file called {projectname}.jsproj and open it in your favorite text editor.
For my use case, I wanted to:
Fully include the 'bundle.js' file in /jsx/out
Include, but not export with the build, any .js / .jsx files in /jsx/src
So I added these lines:
<None Include="jsx\src\**\*.jsx" />
<None Include="jsx\src\**\*.js" />
<Content Include="jsx\out\bundle.js" />
"None" means the files are shown in Visual Studio, still remain debuggable, but don't end up getting put in with the files when you build it for the windows store.
Now any new files get included in when they're added to the appropriate folder (sometimes you might have to force reload the project to see them)
I am working with a web application that was written using VS2015, and is being maintained using VS2017. I am trying to write another application to build the full web stack locally using the MSBuild API and other tools. In VS2015 or VS2017 the ASP.NET Web Application project will build successfully, but when running MSBuild programmatically, I keep getting this error:
The imported project "C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v15.0\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" was not found. Confirm that the path in the declaration is correct, and that the file exists on disk.
I have the following build packages installed in my app:
Microsoft.Build
Microsoft.Build.Framework
Microsoft.Build.Tasks.Core
Microsoft.Build.Utilities.Core
The standard advice I've seen in forums for this error is to install Visual Studio on the build server, but I am doing this locally and I do have Visual Studio installed. I've also read that MSBuild 15 does not come with the WebApplication.targets file. There is also a toolsVersion parameter on the constructor for Microsoft.Build.Execution.BuildRequestData that I've tried setting manually to 14.0 but it still seems like my app is trying to use MSBuild 15. (I do have MSBuild 14 installed.)
Questions:
Can I make this build run in MSBuild 14 programmatically without updating any csproj files?
Where can I get WebApplication.targets for MSBuild 15?
Solution:
Thanks in large part to #Leo-MSFT I was able to get this working. Here's how:
Uninstalled the VS2017 ASP.NET and Web Application Development workload, then reinstalled with all of its optional components. This downloaded the missing .targets file.
In my builder application, added this property to my instance of BuildRequestData to make MSBuild look in the folders used by v15, rather than using the folders used by v14.
["MSBuildExtensionsPath32"] =
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Professional\MSBuild"
Can I make this build run in MSBuild 14 programmatically without updating any csproj files?
MSBuildExtensionsPath32 is set internally by MSBuild. If you do not want update you .csproj file, you can try to override the value in your project file:
<PropertyGroup>
<MSBuildExtensionsPath32>C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Enterprise\MSBuild</MSBuildExtensionsPath32>
</PropertyGroup>
<PropertyGroup>
<VisualStudioVersion Condition="'$(VisualStudioVersion)' == ''">10.0</VisualStudioVersion>
<VSToolsPath Condition="'$(VSToolsPath)' == ''">$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v$(VisualStudioVersion)</VSToolsPath>
</PropertyGroup>
<Import Project="$(MSBuildBinPath)\Microsoft.CSharp.targets" />
<Import Project="$(VSToolsPath)\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" Condition="'$(VSToolsPath)' != ''" />
<Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v10.0\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" Condition="false" />
But I'm not sure if it will introduce other error(Not tested).
Where can I get WebApplication.targets for MSBuild 15?
The path of WebApplication.targets for MSBuild 15 is:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Enterprise\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v15.0\WebApplications
Has anyone seen this error and know how to fix it?
The "TransformXml" task could not be loaded from the assembly C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v11.0\Web\Microsoft.Web.Publishing.Tasks.dll.
Could not load file or assembly 'file:///C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v11.0\Web\Microsoft.Web.Publishing.Tasks.dll' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.
Confirm that the declaration is correct, that the assembly and all its dependencies are available, and that the task contains a public class that implements Microsoft.Build.Framework.ITask.
I read elsewhere that the problem is when you don't have SQL Server installed. But I do have SQL Express 2012 x64 installed with SP1. I am also running VS 2013 Professional.
I have ran this exact same solution in VS 2012 express with no problems.
The answers provided by Dai Bok and emalamisura work fine as long as you use Visual Studio 2012.
For VS 2013 this fails as well. In order to make this work with all versions of Visual Studio you should:
Open the project file (.csproj) of the project failing to load
Search for <Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v10.0\Web\Microsoft.Web.Publishing.targets" />
Change it to <Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v$(VisualStudioVersion)\Web\Microsoft.Web.Publishing.targets" />
Reload the project
That will set the correct version of Visual Studio dynamically and properly.
To get mine to work, I just copied my v10.0 folder and renamed it to v11.0, and things seems to work well from then on. That's the quick fix for now.
As this is probably not the best solution, and although it works, I was going to try installing the Microsoft Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4 Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4, but it is taking to long to download.
To fix the issue,
Find the Visual studio Installer in your computer
Click or tap to start the installer, and then select Modify.
From the Individual Components screen, select Asp.net and web development tools and then select Modify/Install.
This solved the issue as it creates the dll's in the mentioned path.
I've been combating this problem on our build server for several days, so I figured I'd document the resolution I came to. First, my build server has the web publishing extensions installed. I can use the TransformXml task to my heart's content inside of a web application project.
To use it outside of a web application project, I tried to add the UsingTask element to my project and point it to the right place using ms build properties (as Benjamin demonstrated). However, they weren't there on my build server (those with easy access to the file system of their build server can probably skip this and just install the relevant package to Visual Studio). I even went so far as to hard code visual studio versions, but it always dropped that error on me.
I finally gave up, pulled the DLLs from my local PC:
C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v12.0\Web\Microsoft.Web.Publishing.Tasks.dll
C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v12.0\Web\Microsoft.Web.XmlTransform.dll
I uploaded them to source control and added that folder to my build's workspace (Edit Build Definition -> Source Settings -> Source Control Folder). From there, I don't even need to reference the folder -- here's what my UsingTask looks like:
<UsingTask TaskName="TransformXml" AssemblyFile="Microsoft.Web.Publishing.Tasks.dll" />
Now I can use the TransformXml task to my heart's content from any project.
For VS2019
<UsingTask TaskName="TransformXml" AssemblyFile="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v$(MSBuildToolsVersion
I replaced MSBuildToolsVersion with VisualStudioVersion.
Because there are only v12.0, v14.0 and v15.0 in my VisualStudio folder, I edit my project file and change the reference path from v10.0 to v14.0. Then the project builds successfully.
Before:
<UsingTask TaskName="TransformXml" AssemblyFile="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v10.0\Web\Microsoft.Web.Publishing.Tasks.dll" />
After:
<UsingTask TaskName="TransformXml" AssemblyFile="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v14.0\Web\Microsoft.Web.Publishing.Tasks.dll" />
Solutions provided seem to work for using VS as an IDE, but if you use DotnetCore via CLI or on a unix based system this does not work.
I found that the following seem to work
<PropertyGroup>
<XmlTransformDllPath Condition="'$(XmlTransformDllPath)' == '' AND '$(MSBuildRuntimeType)' == 'core'">$(MSBuildSDKsPath)/Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Publish/tools/net5.0/Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Publish.Tasks.dll</XmlTransformDllPath>
<XmlTransformDllPath Condition="'$(XmlTransformDllPath)' == '' AND '$(MSBuildRuntimeType)' != 'core'">$(MSBuildSDKsPath)/Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Publish/tools/net472/Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Publish.Tasks.dll</XmlTransformDllPath>
<XmlTransformDllPath Condition="!Exists($(XmlTransformDllPath))">$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v$(VisualStudioVersion)\Web\Microsoft.Web.Publishing.Tasks.dll</XmlTransformDllPath>
</PropertyGroup>
<UsingTask TaskName="TransformXml" AssemblyFile="$(XmlTransformDllPath)" />
This solution takes into account netcore, full .net
For some reason MSBuildSDKsPath and MSBuildExtensionsPath32 are different on windows when using CLI vs VS2019
CLI:
MSBuildSDKsPath = C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk\5.0.103\Sdks
MSBuildExtensionsPath32 = C:\Program Files\dotnet\sdk\5.0.103
Vs2019
MSBuildSDKsPath = C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Enterprise\MSBuild\Sdks
MSBuildExtensionsPath32 = C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Enterprise\MSBuild
Which on my Mac returns /usr/local/share/dotnet/sdk/5.0.201
Only problem I see is with the tools/net5.0 part of the name which changes ever release
Also created https://github.com/dotnet/sdk/issues/16469 and answers this on The "TransformXml" task was not found (error MSB4036) on TeamCity build
The correct answer to this is to unload the project in question and then edit the csproj file, look for an entry where they are referencing the 10.0 path and change it to point to 11.0 instead.
You need two things to make it work:
1) Install Visual Studio Build Tools (You don't need the whole Visual Studio, only the VS Build Tools) with selected "Web development build tools" option on your build server
https://www.visualstudio.com/pl/thank-you-downloading-visual-studio/?sku=BuildTools&rel=15
2) Ensure that path to Microsoft.Web.Publishing.Tasks.dll is correct
<UsingTask TaskName="TransformXml" AssemblyFile="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Web\Microsoft.Web.Publishing.Tasks.dll" />
For me it started working just by adding reference to the NuGet package MSBuild.Microsoft.VisualStudio.Web.targets v14.0.0.3
Even no need to add UsingTask element to the project file as it mentioned by the package author
https://github.com/pdonald/nuget-webtargets
Just install the NuGet package. The package automatically sets the
$(VSToolsPath) property to use the targets file in the tools folder.
And then I was able to use TransformXml and other tasks, defined in the package, for instance to transform app.config
<Target Name="app_config_AfterCompile" AfterTargets="AfterCompile" Condition="Exists('app.$(Configuration).config')">
<!--Generate transformed app config in the intermediate directory-->
<TransformXml Source="app.config" Destination="$(IntermediateOutputPath)$(TargetFileName).config" Transform="app.$(Configuration).config" />
<!--Force build process to use the transformed configuration file from now on.-->
<ItemGroup>
<AppConfigWithTargetPath Remove="App.config" />
<AppConfigWithTargetPath Include="$(IntermediateOutputPath)$(TargetFileName).config">
<TargetPath>$(TargetFileName).config</TargetPath>
</AppConfigWithTargetPath>
</ItemGroup>
</Target>
Just in case someone is using an SDK-style csproj, you can achieve this without having to install Visual Studio on the build server.
First you should install the SlowCheetah nuget package to your project. Once you install it, you'll see the following in your SDK-style project.
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.VisualStudio.SlowCheetah" Version="3.2.20">
<PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
<IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers</IncludeAssets>
</PackageReference>
Then make sure you add the GeneratePathProperty="true" attribute (see below). This is very important for the next part because it'll help you grab the path of where the nuget package is restored on your machine. George Dangl explains it in his article here.
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.VisualStudio.SlowCheetah" Version="3.2.20" GeneratePathProperty="true">
<PrivateAssets>all</PrivateAssets>
<IncludeAssets>runtime; build; native; contentfiles; analyzers</IncludeAssets>
</PackageReference>
Import the SlowCheetah targets into your project:
<Import Project="$(PkgMicrosoft_VisualStudio_SlowCheetah)\build\Microsoft.VisualStudio.SlowCheetah.targets" />
You can now use an target command (in this case after publish) to apply some custom transformations. If you need to, you can always hard-code the file names below instead of using the variables in the below example.
<Target Name="AfterPublishs" AfterTargets="Publish">
<TransformTask Source="Web.config" Transform="Web.$(Configuration).MyCustomTransformFile.config" Destination="$(PublishDir)\Web.config" />
</Target>
If you haven't used SlowCheetah before, I recommend checking it out. They have a Visual Studio extension that will make it easier for you to preview transform files.