Visual Studio Extensibility: Adding existing folders to a project - visual-studio

I'm trying to use Visual Studio 2008's extensibility to write an addin that will create a project folder with various messages in it after parsing an interface. I'm having trouble at the step of creating/adding the folder, however. I've tried using
ProjectItem folder =
item.ProjectItem.Collection.AddFolder(newDirectoryName, string.Empty);
(item is my target file next to which I'm creating a folder with the same name but "Messages" appended to it) but it chokes when a folder already exists (no big surprise).
I tried deleting it if it already exists, such as:
DirectoryInfo dirInfo = new DirectoryInfo(newDirectoryParent +
newDirectoryName);
if (dirInfo.Exists)
{
dirInfo.Delete(true);
}
ProjectItem folder =
item.ProjectItem.Collection.AddFolder(newDirectoryName, string.Empty);
I can SEE that the folder gets deleted when in debug, but it still
seems to think the folder is still there and dies on a folder already
exists exception.
Any ideas???
Thanks.
AK
.... Perhaps the answer would lie in programmatically refreshing the project after the delete? How might this be done?

ProjectItem pi = null;
var dir = Path.Combine(
project.Properties.Item("LocalPath").Value.ToString(), SubdirectoryName);
if (Directory.Exists(dir))
pi = target.ProjectItems.AddFromDirectory(dir);
else
pi = target.ProjectItems.AddFolder(dir);
ProjectItems.AddFromDirectory will add the directory and everything underneath the directory to the project.

Yup, that was it...
DirectoryInfo dirInfo = new DirectoryInfo(newDirectoryParent + newDirectoryName);
if (dirInfo.Exists)
{
dirInfo.Delete(true);
item.DTE.ExecuteCommand("View.Refresh", string.Empty);
}
ProjectItem folder = item.ProjectItem.Collection.AddFolder(newDirectoryName, string.Empty);
If there's a more elegant way of doing this, it would be much appreciated...
Thanks.

This is my approach:
//Getting the current project
private DTE2 _applicationObject;
System.Array projs = (System.Array)_applicationObject.ActiveSolutionProjects;
Project proy=(Project)projs.GetValue(0);
//Getting the path
string path=proy.FullName.Substring(0,proy.FullName.LastIndexOf('\\'));
//Valitating if the path exists
bool existsDirectory= Directory.Exists(path + "\\Directory");
//Deleting and creating the Directory
if (existeClasses)
Directory.Delete(path + "\\Directory", true);
Directory.CreateDirectory(path + "\\Directory");
//Including in the project
proy.ProjectItems.AddFromDirectory(path + "\\Directory");

I am developing an extension for Visual Studio 2019 and had a similar issue. The question asked in the following page helped me out:
https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/f4a4f73b-3e13-40bf-99df-9c1bba8fe44e/include-existing-folder-path-as-project-item?forum=vsx
If the folder does not physically exist, you can use AddFolder(folderName). But if the folder is not included in the project while existing physically, you need to provide the full system path to the folder. (AddFolder(fullPath))

here's an idea i thought of because i've been using NAnt for so long and thought it might work.
Open the .csproj file in a text editor and add the directory as such:
<ItemGroup>
<compile include="\path\rootFolderToInclude\**\*.cs" />
</ItemGroup>
if an "ItemGroup" already esists, that's fine. Just add it into an existing one. Visual studio won't really know how to edit this entry, but it will scan the whole directory.
edit to whatever you'd like.

Related

How to get Custom Build Tool property from VCConfiguration

Currently working on making an extension for Visual Studio C++ when dealing with files that are built using a custom build tool. For the life of me I can't find a way to drill down into the item that's currently selected's property panel.
Scenario:
I have a test.myfile file in solution
It is set to be built with a custom build tool
You can imagine it looks like this
I currently have a command button in the item menu that executes as expected. I can get the selected items and from that grab the project items selected. I have the VCProjectItem and the VCConfiguration of the project tied to the file for the active configuration.
How can I get the "Command Line" property from the property page?
How can I get the "Command Line" property from the property page?
After l do a deep research, I found that we cannot use the property VCCustomBuildTool.CommandLine to get the custom file's property Command. It can be used to get the project's property(right-click on the project) not the specific file's property(right-click on the file).
Or another way to think about it, since the file is created with the node like CustomBuild, so we can obtain them in xxxx.vcxproj file.
We can use DTE interface to get the current proj file of the current project and then read the child node command in the parent node custom build.
For an example:
using EnvDTE;
using System.Xml;
.........
VCProject prj;
XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
DTE dTE = Package.GetGlobalService(typeof(DTE)) as DTE;
prj = dTE.Solution.Projects.Item(1).Object;
doc.Load(prj.ProjectFile); //read the proj file for the current project
XmlElement root = doc.DocumentElement;
XmlNodeList nodeList = root.GetElementsByTagName("CustomBuild"); //get the customBuild Node
string str="";
foreach (XmlNode node in nodeList) //search the child node 'command' in the parent node named custombuild
{
str += node["Command"].InnerText.ToString()+"-----";
}
Please so not forget to reference the envdte.dll which exists in C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Community\Common7\IDE\PublicAssemblies.
Hope it could help you.

How do I programmatically refresh/reload a VS project after modifying the underlying file?

I am developing a Visual Studio package and I have written some code that will make a file in Solution Explorer dependant upon another file.
What this means is that it gives them the same relationship as code-behind files or designer files, where they appear nested under the parent file with a plus/minus icon.
+ MainForm.cs
- MainForm.cs
MainForm.Designer.cs
MainForm.resx
The code that I have written successfully and correctly modifies the underlying project file, however the change is not reflected in Solution Explorer until the project is closed and re-opened.
I'm looking for some code that will refresh or reload the project so that the change is visible in Solution Explorer immediately.
Further Information...
Here is the sudo code that demonstrates the mechanism by which I create the dependant file.
IVsBuildPropertyStorage vsBuildPropertyStorage = GetBuildPropertyStorage();
vsBuildPropertyStorage.SetItemAttribute(projectItemIdentifier, "DependentUpon", parentFileName);
I have also tried adding this in an attempt to get the project to reload, but it doesn't have any effect.
project.Save();
VSProject obj = project.Object as VSProject;
obj.Refresh();
AFAIK the only way of doing this is via automation of the Solution Explorer tool-window:
EnvDTE.DTE dte = ...;
string solutionName = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(dte.Solution.FullName);
string projectName = project.Name;
dte.Windows.Item(EnvDTE.Constants.vsWindowKindSolutionExplorer).Activate();
((DTE2)dte).ToolWindows.SolutionExplorer.GetItem(solutionName + #"\" + projectName).Select(vsUISelectionType.vsUISelectionTypeSelect);
dte.ExecuteCommand("Project.UnloadProject");
dte.ExecuteCommand("Project.ReloadProject");
Note that, if the project hasn't been saved, the user will get a dialog box prior to the "Project.UnloadProject" call.
Here is my code (with reactivating the old window):
public void RefreshSolutionExplorer(EnvDTE.Project activeProject, string captionOfActiveWindow)
{
DTE2 dte2 = activeProject.DTE as DTE2;
string solutionName = Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(dte2.Solution.FullName);
string projectName = activeProject.Name;
// Activate SolutionExplorer window
dte2.Windows.Item(Constants.vsWindowKindSolutionExplorer).Activate();
// Select your project to be updated
dte2.ToolWindows.SolutionExplorer.GetItem(solutionName + #"\" + projectName).Select(vsUISelectionType.vsUISelectionTypeSelect);
// Refresh SolutionExplorer window
dte2.ExecuteCommand("View.Refresh", String.Empty);
// Reactivate your old window
dte2.Windows.Item(captionOfActiveWindow).Activate();
}

Embedded Resource missing in Visual Studio 2010 when name ends with "No.xxx"

I've come across a strange behaviour in Visual Studio 2010.
When using embedded resources (files which are added to my C# project and for which the Build Action property is set to Embedded Resource), the files are included in the output assembly as binary data. Listing the resources is straightforward:
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
string[] names = typeof (Program).Assembly.GetManifestResourceNames ();
foreach (var name in names)
{
System.Console.Out.WriteLine (name);
}
}
}
However, if the embedded resource file name ends with No.xxx (the extension is irrelevant), the file does not show up in the list. I cannot figure out any reason why Visual Studio 2010 would not include such a file. What did I miss?
Note: if I rename the embedded resource file in the solution explorer to something else, then everything works as expected.
Dan from the Microsoft Connect team has finally provided a valid explanation for this behaviour:
Hello, thanks for the report, this is actually working normally. The reason is that any resx files whose names match the pattern .VALIDCULTURE.resx are assumed to be specific to that culture. (This is how it has worked since VS2002, for better or worse)
In your case "no" is a valid culture (Norwegian, I guess) so the build process builds it into a satellite assembly. Here's what I got when I tried this. Note the "no" subfolder. If in your app you change your current culture to Norwegian, the resource load will load this set of resources.
So the problem has nothing to do with the word No itself, but rather with the fact that it is a valid, two-letter, culture name (in my case Norwegian). I checked, and indeed, there was a sub-folder in bin\Debug named No, containing a satellite assembly named Project.resources.dll in it.
Renaming the resource to end with .EN.xxx or .FR.xxx does, of course, exhibit the same behaviour.
As of MSBuild 16.9 you can include files like these by setting the WithCulture property to "false", as pointed out by #reduckted :-)
<EmbeddedResource Include="Resources.en.xml" WithCulture="false" />

Add a link to an existing item during project creation

I've created a custom VS template which uses an IWizard class to do some automatic actions when a user creates a project to set project properties and paths, I've managed to set some project properties like build path by saving the .csproj file with parameters inside $ signs and setting those parameters in the replacementDictionary, during the RunStarted method.
Unfortunately I'm having trouble adding items as links to the .csproj using the same method. I have a .cs file I need to add as an existing and as a link item to each project created, it's path would be determined by where the user chooses to save the project. I've got to the part where I know the path of the .cs file, (absolute and relative to the project's path).
Here's what I've tried so far:
Save the .csproj file with a section for the item, with placeholders for the path:
<Compile Include="$path_to_cs_file\cs_file_name.cs$">
<Link>$cs_file_name.cs$</Link>
</Compile>
I've tried doing this with both absolute and relative paths, but this for some reason makes VS replace the path with a completely different relative path under Documents and Settings\user\Local Settings.
In RunStarted, cast the automationObject as DTE and call it's ItemOperations.AddExistingItem method. Using either path results in errors (The parameter is incorrect).
In ProjectFinishedGenerating, save the project's path, then at RunFinished, create a Microsoft.Build.BuildEngine.Project object with that path, call DTE commands to save all files and unload the project, then call the project object's AddNewItem Method and SetMetaData on the resulting ProjectItem, afterwards I save the project and reload it with the DTE object, this, again results the same errors as before
I'd appreciate any help with the subject, I'm pretty much stumped. Thank you in advance.
I managed to "solve" this issue, what I did is the following:
Kept the placeholder in the csproj, but never added the related parameters to the replacement dictionary:
<Compile Include="$path_to_cs_file$\$cs_file_name.cs$">
<Link>$cs_file_name.cs$</Link>
</Compile>
At the ProjectFinishedGenerated method, unloaded the project, edited the csproj file to replace the paths, and reloaded the project:
projectFileName = project.FullName
// Unload file and manually add the linked item
dte.ExecuteCommand("File.SaveAll");
dte.ExecuteCommand("Project.UnloadProject"); // See Note Below
StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(projectFileName);
string content = reader.ReadToEnd();
reader.Close();
content = Regex.Replace(content, #"\$path_to_cs_file\$", ...);
content = Regex.Replace(content, #"\$cs_file_name\$", ...);
StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter(projectFileName);
writer.Write(content);
writer.Close();
dte.ExecuteCommand("Project.ReloadProject");
Note: The above code assumes the project needed modifying is currently selected project, usually when ProjectFinishedGenerating runs this is the case, however in a multi-project template or if you've added a project manually to the solution this might not be the case, you'll have to call dte methods to choose your "main" project in the project explorer, then go on with unloading, editing, and reloading. The code to do so would look something like this:
UIHierarchy UIH = dte2.ToolWindows.SolutionExplorer;
UIHierarchyItem UIHItem = UIH.UIHierarchyItems.Item(1);
UIHItem.UIHierarchyItems.Item(testProjectName).Select(vsUISelectionType.vsUISelectionTypeSelect);
An alternative solution if you don't want to mess around with IWizard is to set CreateInPlace to true in your vstemplate in TemplateData.
<CreateInPlace>true</CreateInPlace>
I'm having exactly the same problem and it's driving me mad.
I have found one really dirty workaround however:
In my situation I am using the following in the RunStarted method:
EnvDTE.DTE dte = automationObject as EnvDTE.DTE;
string solutionPath = System.IO.Path.GetDirectory(dte.DTE.Solution.FullName);
This returns a path which includes the folder "documents". Calling System.IO.Directory.Exists() confirms that this is a valid directory, however on checking my file system, it seems that this does not exist. If you replace "documents" with "my documents", and then continue to use that path for the linked item, all works perfectly.
So it seems that VS is getting confused with the "documents" directory alias and therefore defaulting to some crazy "AppData" directory instead.
I hope this helps, but if you find a better way to do this, please let me know!

"Run Custom Tool" for resx files in MVC2 project (from an external application/script)

I am trying to get the localization for my MVC project working with our existing infrastructure for editing string resources. We store all our resource string in database tables and have a front end web UI to edit them with, and an export application which generated the .resx files. This all works great, but I am having a little difficulty with a new project using MVC2 and VS2010.
I have asked another question on this, the answer to which almost got me there, but not quite.
I have now changed the resources to be in a Resources folder (instead of App_GlobalResources), as recommended by a number of people. And have the following settings against my .resx files ...
Build Action = Embedded Resource
Copy to Output Directory = Do not copy
Custom Tool = PublicResXFileCodeGenerator
Custom Tool Namespace = Resources
File Name = MyApp.resx
I have changed my export application to run the resgen.exe tool with the following parameters ...
string args = string.Format("/publicClass \"{0}\" /str:cs,Resources,{1},\"{2}\"", resourceFile, Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(resourceFile), csFilename);
... which generates an almost identical .designer.cs file as I get when I add the .resx file to my project initially. The only difference is the
The generated .designer.cs file differs slightly from the file I get when I run the resgen.exe tool from within my export application.
This is the code generated by VS2010 when I first add the .resx file to my Resources folder ...
public static global::System.Resources.ResourceManager ResourceManager {
get {
if (object.ReferenceEquals(resourceMan, null)) {
global::System.Resources.ResourceManager temp = new global::System.Resources.ResourceManager("Resources.MyApp", typeof(MyApp).Assembly);
resourceMan = temp;
}
return resourceMan;
}
}
... the difference when I run the resgen.exe tool is that is prefixs MyCompany.MyApp to the namespace in the constructor to ResourceManager
new global::System.Resources.ResourceManager("MyCompany.MyApp.Resources.MyApp", typeof(MyApp).Assembly);
Now, this to me seems to be a bug in the resgen.exe tool, because I've told it that the Namespace for my resources is Resources, not MyCompany.MyApp.Resources.
So, is there a fix/work-around for this problem?
The only thing I can think to do at the moment is to post-process the generated .designer.cs file with powershell and fix it!
Finally, I have solved the problem.
I decided to simplify things a bit by breaking my resources out in to a new assembly called Resources. I then added my resx files and set the properties for them as below ...
Build Action = Embedded Resource
Copy to Output Directory = Do not copy
Custom Tool = PublicResXFileCodeGenerator
Custom Tool Namespace = Resources
File Name = MyApp.resx
I then changed my export application to run ...
resgen MyApp.resx /str:c#,Resources,MyApp,MyApp.designer.cs /publicClass
... and to delete *.resources from the folder (created by the resgen.exe utility, but not needed)
This got rid of the prefix on the constructor to ResourceManager, and then i just added a reference to my new Resources assembly to my web application.
I've run a few tests to make sure all is good, including going in to the .designer.cs file and deleting one of the properties to cause a compiler error. Then re-ran my export app, and everything worked again.
So, I am a happy bunny!

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