TFS 2013 using the DefaultTemplate11.1.xaml.
Inside the BeforeCompile Target.
I'm trying to copy files in my .proj file to the droplocation but the variable, $(TF_BUILD_DROPLOCATION) does not seem to work.
I've tried evaluation it from inside the .proj but it with $(TF_BUILD_DROPLOCATION) but it evaluated to empty.
I've tried passing it in as a parameter from the msbuild arguments with DropLocation=$(TF_BUILD_DROPLOCATION); but it doesnt evaluate and appears in the script as $(TF_BUILD_DROPLOCATION).
The drop location should be our share with the build number appended.
I don't think it is possible to use the TF_BUILD_DROPLOCATION variable in the .proj file.
For your requirement to copy files to TFS build drop location, here are some options:
Just as Dave mentioned above, you can first use Copy task to copy files to one specific folder, then customize the TFS build process template via adding the CopyDirectory build activity to copy contents in source folder to destination folder. You can set the Destination to be: Microsoft.TeamFoundation.Build.Activities.Extensions.WellKnownEnvironmentVariables.DropLocation
Customize your build process template via adding InvokeProcess activity to call xcopy command to copy files. Please check Ewald's blog. (The blog was written for TFS2010, it applies to TFS2013 as well)
I should have been more specific. We're working with VSO, hence the process can not be edited.
So the answer is no, the drop location is not available.
I've had to construct the droplocation myself using $(MyDropLocationRootParam)\$(BuildDefinition)\$(BuildNumber)
Related
I would like to create a Build Definition inside TFS 2012 Express which will simply copy all files within my project source tree to another folder on my drive. Just to underline - I do not want the build output to go to another directory - I want the source files themselves to. The reason for this is I have IIS pointed at a specific folder, and I want the build to copy the latest asp and aspx files to the IIS hosted folder.
I am not sure of the intricacies of doing this, I did find : http://toadcode.blogspot.co.uk/2008/06/copy-multiple-files-via-tfs-build.html articles like this but I simply need a more direct list of what I need to do from somebody who understands this area.
Basically - when the build is queued, all I want is to copy my project source files to another directory :). I think this can be done by editing some Build.xml file...but when making a build definition I dont seem to be given the freedom to do what I would like to!
I think what I am looking for to alter my DefaultTemplate.11.1.xaml file to alter the build process which will let me run this / or a batch file after the build process completes?
My TFS build process edit screen looks like this:
Using this post as a guide on how to start editing TFS Build Templates (or the Wrox TFS 2012 book), you need to make the following changes:
Locate the Copy to Drop Folder Activity:
Drag in a "CopyDirectory" activity under the "Drop Files to Drop Location" (from the Toolbox under Team Foundation Build Activities):
Goto the Properties Window for the new Activity and set Source and Destination as follows:
Destination: Path.Combine(BuildDetail.DropLocation, "MyOutputFolder")
Source: Path.Combine(SourcesDirectory, "MyFileFolder")
You may need to repeat this if you don't have all your files in one folder.
I actually put something together for TFS2010 and 2013 (not 2012, unfortunately) a few weeks ago that does exactly that. Basically, anything in the workspace you define for your build just gets shoved over to the drop location.
Here's a link to the blog post where you can download them:
http://www.incyclesoftware.com/2014/06/deploying-uncompiled-resources-release-management/
For the record, I strongly recommend against using a build process template to deploy software. Don't try to overextend the build... its job is taking stuff from source control and compiling/packaging it for deployment. Use a real release management solution to actually handle deploying software.
Add a bat file to your source folder. within the batch file add an xcopy %1*.* TargetLocation.
Add an invoke process activity to your workflow, somewhere near the end. call the bat file and pass it the SourcesDirectory.
I think its a rather simple question but I couldn't really find an answer for it so I will ask it in case someone else might need it .
There are developers who in-order to copy all projects to bin folder set the bin folder path using the project output path property and there are developers who use the xcopy command in post build event.
What are the main reasons for it ?
Regards ,
James Roeiter
I think setting project output path is a better option. The reason is that in this case Visual Studio is in control: it takes care of cleaning up, replacing older files, deciding which files to copy... When using xcopy, Visual Studio just invokes blindly a batch file. It will run all the commands on the batch which will result in files being copied whether they were compiled or not. Also, if the compilation order of projects changes, or new projects are added or removed, the corresponding post-build actions need to be updated, resulting in extra steps.
How specifically should my command line be written as to copy the output from one project into the output of another project? The list of macros that are avaliable does not list anyway of accessing OTHER project directories under the same solution:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/42x5kfw4(v=vs.80).aspx
Here is what I currently have:
copy "$(TargetDir)FILE_TO_MOVE.EXE" ""
What should I put in the second quote to complete this command?
NOTE: A similar question does NOT actually show you HOW to do it, which is what I am asking: Visual Studio 2008: How do I include project output as an embedded resource in another project?
It is much easier to do it the other way around, have the project that has the dependency on the file also copy the file. Which you can do in the IDE without pre/post buid event or macro trickery.
Ensure the source project is built. Right click the target project, Add Existing Item and select the file. Click the added file in the Solution Explorer window and set the properties to Build Action = Content, Copy to Output Directory = Copy if newer. And right-click the target project, Project Dependencies, tick the source project to ensure that it always gets built first.
I am assuming that yout are copying the "FILE_TO_MOVE.EXE" in the post build events of your project.
The thing about the build events in Visual Studio is that they are run just like a batch file, therefore I beileve that the easiest way to solve your problem is to use a system environment variable in your project... This way your code would be similar to the one below.
copy "$(TargetDir)FILE_TO_MOVE.EXE" "$(MyVariable)"
Note: Visual Studio doesn't let you use your environment variable like this: %MyVariable%.
I think the correct way now would be to simply add your secondary project, i.e a Windows Service, to the References of the main project.
For example if you have a main GUI project (that the solution was created with), and a second Service project added to the solution, adding it to References of the GUI project will cause the EXE and the PDB of the service to be placed in the Debug/Release folder of you main project.
I am not sure if you still need to add the Project Dependancy as Hans suggested . This is probably automatic thanks to the reference.
We have different dev environments between developers here. When I build, I want my compiled files to be copied to a bin folder located in C:\Web\bin\. Another developer may want those files dropped in C:\Web_2011\bin\.
Using Visual Studio 2010, the way we work this now is to run a BAT file with the directories defined as parameters that need to be changed if pulling from another developer's branch.
Is it possible to store a solution-wide parameter, (in a .user or .suo file maybe,) to define where a developer wants to drop his builds?
You could do it through the project file (.vcxproj for C++ project for example).
The simplest solution would be to add a Custom Build Step that runs some batch file. This batch file could check the current user name and copy the files based on that.
(An even simpler solution would be to run a user specific batch file from his local disk)
If you really want the fully fledged solution that will allow you to save this data to the user file, you can do it by editing the project file and adding a PropertyPageSchema element that extends VS property pages with another parameter (your destination directory). You can define the Persistence attribute of DataSource element as "UserFile" and the data will be saved on your .user file. You will need to add some target that actually uses this data (copies files to the directory specified).
For more information, read about msbuild and PropertyPageSchema.
I have two projects in one Visual Studio 2008 solution. I'd like to use the primary output from one of the projects as an embedded resource in the other, but for the life of me I can't find any way to accomplish this.
If I simply add the output file as a resource, then it doesn't seem to change when its source project is rebuilt. I even have the project dependencies/build order set up properly and this does not seem to help.
Anyone have any hints for me?
Thanks!
the best option is to "reference" the other project as if it were a class library.
that way you make sure the whole references tree is copied to your output dir.
When you add an existing file to a project, Visual Studio copies the file into the project's directory.
Any subsequent changes to the original file are ignored.
There are two workarounds:
Add a post-build action to the first project that copies its output file to the second project, and edit the dependencies so that the first project is always built first.
Add the output file to the second project as a link (Click the down arrow next to the Add button in the open dialog).
This will reference the file from its original location without making any copies.
Set the output directory of the project that generates the resource to point to the resource directory in the project that uses it.
If that's not possible for some reason, use a post-build command (also available in the project settings) to copy the file there.