Many applications use their executable folder for creating and accessing various forms of files while an alternative is to use a folder devoid of the folder where the executable resides or any sub folder, this project show how to create a working folder using MS-Build task.
- First decide on the folder to perform work e.g. read/write to files or open a database
- Next create a variable in a
PropertyGroup
as shown belowWorkingFolder
as we need it in to places - Create a
Target
for creating the folder indicated above before the build process takes place which uses MakeDir task to create the folder - Create a
PropertyGroup
to set the working forlder using RunWorkingDirectory. The RunWorkingDirectory property defines the working directory for the application process to be started in. It can be an absolute path or a path that's relative to the project directory. If you don't specify a directory,OutDir
is used as the working directory.
Example First decide on the folder to perform work e.g. read/write to files or open a database
- Next create a variable in a
PropertyGroup
as shown belowWorkingFolder
as we need it in to places - Create a
Target
for creating the folder indicated above before the build process takes place which uses MakeDir task to create the folder - Create a
PropertyGroup
to set the working forlder using RunWorkingDirectory. The RunWorkingDirectory property defines the working directory for the application process to be started in. It can be an absolute path or a path that's relative to the project directory. If you don't specify a directory, OutDir is used as the working directory.
Example for file operations
Set the working folder to C:\Work
. Open the project file by clicking on the project name in Solution Explorer. Add the following.
<PropertyGroup>
<WorkFolder>C:\Work</WorkFolder>
</PropertyGroup>
<Target Name="MakeWorkFolder" BeforeTargets="Build">
<MakeDir Directories="$(WorkFolder)" />
</Target>
<PropertyGroup>
<RunWorkingDirectory>$(WorkFolder)</RunWorkingDirectory>
</PropertyGroup>
Now use the following to create a new text file
File.WriteAllText("test.txt", "hello");
Without added the task to the project file the code above would write to the application folder but with the MS-Build Task the file is created under C:\Work.
Example working with EF Core SqlLite
The following defines the DbContext which normally creates file.db
in the application folder but since we set the working folder to C:\Work this is where the database is created.
public class Context : DbContext
{
public DbSet<FileContainer> FileContainers { get; set; }
protected override void OnConfiguring(DbContextOptionsBuilder optionsBuilder)
=> optionsBuilder.UseSqlite("Data Source=files.db");
}
On a similar note, suppose there are unit test that send messages to a specific folder? When working by yourself simply create the folder under the application folder e.g. call it MailDrop. But when working with a team of developers they must manually create the needed folder. A better idea is to use a MS-Build task.
<Target Name="MakeMailDir" AfterTargets="Build">
<MakeDir Directories="$(OutDir)MailDrop" />
</Target>
Source code
See the following GitHub repository, project MsBuildWorkingDirApp
Requires
Microsoft Visual Studio 2022
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