I have noticed that setting the "Copy to Output Directory" property on a ResourceDictionary file to "Copy if newer" or "Copy always" causes the application to build everytime I run the application, even though I haven't made any changes since the last build. Setting the property to "Do not copy" only triggers a rebuild when changes have been made.
Having only a faint idea of the use cases for these different options I'm wondering what the implications might be setting the flag to "Do not copy"? The default is "Copy if newer" but I can't see that it makes any difference setting it to "Do not copy" - except for said build issue.
"Copy to Output Directory" is one of the most misunderstood and misused file properties.
When you build the project it will create an assembly (usually an exe but sometimes a DLL) and put it in the output folder. It will also include any other files the assembly needs in that folder. This will normally be copies of included libraries and a manifest. If you need to distribute any other files with your assembly, such as config files, a database, or some images then you can copy them to the output folder too.
For anything that is compiled or embedded into the app there is no need to copy the file to the output directory as well.
There is no need to copy a ResourceDictionary to the output directory of your app.
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I am trying to copy my build to a particular drop location. But instead of copying the some important files and directories it is copying all the solution file and directories there like .csproj files and .csfiles and also all the folders present there.
I only want to copy dlls(projects dlls and references dlls of the project) and some data Folders and files to drop location so that I can use them to execute my test cases. But it ends up copying the whole solution.
Below are the setting I am using to copy and publish build artifacts.
Can Anyone tell me how can it be done?
Note: when I tried to put $(build.sourcesdirectory)\bin in the copy root it gave me an error that "Cannot bind argument to parameter 'Path' because it is null".
I also tried putting only **.dll in my contents but then it copies nothing. The folder created in drop location comes empty.
You're telling it to publish **/*test*.dll, from the root of the build agent. That minmatch pattern is saying "find everything in every subfolder that matches test.dll", so the results you're getting aren't surprising.
What you probably want to do is specify the path to the binary output location of your test projects. Without seeing the structure of your code or what MSBuild variables you're providing/overriding, it's impossible to give more guidance. Look at the documentation on pre-defined variables and that should give you some ideas.
In general, you want to set your output folder (via MSBuild arguments) to $(Build.ArtifactStagingDirectory), so only build outputs go there. Then you can use that as your Copy Root.
To access the resource file namefile from a program:
I ostensibly just need to check the box "target membership" to identify it as a resource file:
but this box is disabled.
What am I missing?
The helloworld target in your project is configured as a command-line tool (the square black icon that looks like a Terminal indicates this). Those compile to a single, standalone file thus Xcode cannot embed a resource file with it (which is why it's disabled).
You need to build a "Cocoa Application" target if you want to be able to include resource files. You can start a new project using the Cocoa Application template or manually add a target to your current project. You'll probably find it easier to start with a new project.
Add resource files to a command line tool
Add the file to the "Copy Files" section of your project's Build Phases:
Make sure to set Destination to "Resources", clear Subpath, and untick Copy only when installing.
Then whenever you build, Xcode will copy the file into your app's build directory, right next to the executable:
That's a screenshot of the ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/[your project]/Build/Products/Debug folder.
This method also works when you archive your app.
Note: if you want the file to be in some subfolder relative to the executable, e.g. res/images/, set the Subpath to that path.
I have some custom made XML files and a read me file that I've included in my project.
How do I make it so that these files are copied to my debug/release folders automatically when I build my project? I've tried setting the Copy to Output Directory property to "Copy Always" but this doesn't seem to do the trick.
I'm using VS2010
I've found the answer. The build action needs to be set to Content if you want to just directly copy the file to the output folder.
I'm trying to publish my web solution to the file system, using the "Only files needed to run this appllication" option.
I have the following problems:
a) I have a connectionStrings.config file that should be included; I've marked this file as Content and Copy Always.
b) For testing purposes, I've added a textfile.txt that should not be included; I've marked this as Content and Do Not Copy.
Both of these settings fail...
It seems that the setting "Copy to output directory" is simply disregarded.
Any ideas why this happens, and what to do about it?
The "Copy to output directory" is for when you are building your application, not publishing it.
This property specifies the conditions under which the selected source file will be copied to the output directory. Select Do not copy if the file is never to be copied to the output directory. Select Copy always if the file is always to be copied to the output directory. Select Copy if newer if the file is to be copied only when it is newer than an existing file of the same name in the output directory.
Source
There's more information on publishing web sites and applications here
I had the same problem, that files marked as content, with "copy always" set, were not appearing in the output dir.
At the time i noticed this, i was tracking down why certain of my dlls were not getting deployed.
Sorting my project dependencies fixed both issues.
I just had this problem and for some reason choosing "Create application without a manifest" under the project's properties finally copied the linked content file to the build directory.
I re-started my visual studio and select the "copy always" option again. Rebuild and worked.
Good Luck.
I have been trying to build a code that has dependencies with other header files that are not in the project directory. I added the paths to these header files in both HEADER_PATH and USER_PATH. However, I still see error while building. It says that the file is not found. I verified that the file exist in the path added to the header search path in project settings.
How do I make sure that all my header files referenced in the project is included and the paths are being picked by Xcode during compilation?
I tried copying all the files to the project with no luck. This is the first time iam using Xcode, so its kind of frustrating. Iam a linux guy and comfortable with make files. Is there a Make file for xcode which i can modify to include the header file directories.
You might want to check the order of your source files in your target's build phases to ensure that your dependencies are compiled before your source files that reference them.
Select your project in the Project Navigator.
Select your target.
Click on the Build Phases tab.
Click on Compile Sources to expand the section.
Drag the dependencies to the top of the list.
Are you sure you spelled the header file name correctly ? Is the case correct ? Did you use user quotes "" rather than system quotes <> ?
Assuming you've checked all the obvious things such as the above then one other thing to try is to quit Xcode, delete the "build" folder in your project directory, and try again - sometimes the build folder gets in a pickle internally.