Including content files in .csproj that are outside the project cone

Question

I have a C# project say MyProject.csproj located at "C:\Projects\MyProject\". I also have files that I want copied into the output directory of this project. But, the files are at the location "C:\MyContentFiles\", i.e. they are NOT within the project cone. This directory has sub-directories as well. The contents of the directory is not managed. Hence I have to include all what is under it.

When I include them as 'Content' in the project, they are copied, but the directory structure is lost. I did something like this:-

<Content Include="..\..\MyContentFiles\**">
  <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
</Content>

How do I copy these files/directories recursively into the output directory of the project with the directory structure preserved?

Crossover

Answer 1

You need to add file as a link:

1. Right click on the project in VS.
2. Add -> Existing Item...
3. Find the file.
4. Select it and.
5. Add as a Link (drop down in the Add Button in the dialog).
6. Open the properties of the file and set "Copy to Output Directory" to "Copy always".

BUT You cannot do it for the directory tree.
Instead you need to write post-build task for that. This is a sample that will get you stared.

Blisse

As stated in this answer, the "You cannot do it for the directory tree." statement isn't true. – Uncurl

Answer 2

I believe @Dmytrii gets it right on one hand - you want to use the "link" feature.

However, he's only partly correct when saying you can't link to a directory tree. While this is, indeed, true when trying to add the links using Visual Studio's GUI, MSBuild supports this.

If you want to preserve the directory structure, just add the %(RecursiveDir) tag to your <link> node:

<Content Include="..\..\MyContentFiles\**\*.*">
  <Link>%(RecursiveDir)%(Filename)%(Extension)</Link>
  <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
</Content>

The page MSBuild Well-known Item Metadata goes into more detail on the metadata you can access.

Uncurl

1) What happens if a file is deleted from the Shared Assets store? It doesn't look like it will be deleted from the Solution Dir 2) Is there any way to get Visual Studio to delete these files from $(SolutionDir) after run completes. Leaving them there might confuse other devs. – Crack

@Crack See my answer below – Mortmain

Being crashed in the wilderness with little food, water and having the strong need for companionship, I find this answer helpful. By following these instructions, I was able to build a fully functional AI that now has replaced all human needs that once haunted me in the wilderness here. Thanks Mandark! – Eladiaelaeoptene

I can see the folders being created by above method by the files are not copied over. Also I need files need to be present in the folder before the build. I am using vs studio 2013 and .NET 4.5 – Maculate

@Maculate see my edit, you need <Content Include="..\..\MyContentFiles\**\*.*"> - note the \*.* at the end of the path. – Howl

This doesn't work for me. The %(Filename) and %(Extension) are empty. And the files don't copy over – Chatav

Not working for a .NET Core project on VS2017 (15.8.6). – Substantialism

If you need to do this in a .Net Core project, please see github.com/dotnet/msbuild/issues/2949#issuecomment-362823310 – Crowther

Is it possible to modify the linked file name?? Something like: <Link>%(Identity).Replace("text","")</Link> – Copyboy

@SoumyaMahunt, yes, it should. See Item Functions in MSBuild docs. – Carrie

This solution is working for VS2015 but not for VS2019. Does anyone have any idea what I need to do to make it work for VS2019? – Honghonied

It worked on VS2022. Thanks a lot – Sparks

Answer 3

The answer of Mandark adds the content files directly to the solution, and they will show up in the solution explorer. Whenever a file is added or deleted in the original directory, this is not picked up by visual studio automatically. Also, whenever a file is deleted or added in the solution explorer, the project file is altered, and all files are included separately, instead of just including the folder.

To prevent this, you can use the same trick, but put it in a separate project file and then import it.

The project file (for example include.proj) looks like this:

<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<ItemGroup>
<Content Include="..\..\MyContentFiles\**">
  <Link>%(RecursiveDir)%(Filename)%(Extension)</Link>
  <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
</Content>
</ItemGroup>
</Project>

In your own project file, add the following line

<Import Project="include.proj" />

Visual Studio will not mess with this file, and just adds files as content during a build. Changes in the original directory are always included. The files won't show up in your solution explorer, but will be included in the output directory.

Picked up on this trick here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/shawnhar/archive/2007/06/06/wildcard-content-using-msbuild.aspx

Mortmain

For some reason, this didn't seem to work for me using a .proj file, but I was able to make it work with a .csproj file. – Sassanid

You can add <Visible>true</Visible> to the Content element to make the items appear in Solution Explorer. – Bullshit

Mine was ok with just a .proj – Stupid

This didn't work for me at all and I'm assuming it's because the items-to-be-linked themselves were generated in a pre-build event. – Completion

This also gets rid of annoyingThis file is within the project directory tree errors - thanks! – Errant

Not working for a .NET Core project on VS2017 (15.8.6). – Substantialism

Answer 4

The following, which you would add to the bottom of your project file, will copy your content files maintaining the directory structure in a after build event to the target directory $(TargetDirectory) of your build (typically $(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\bin\Debug ).

<ItemGroup>
    <ExtraContent Include="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\..\..\MyContentFiles\**" />
</ItemGroup>

<Target Name="AfterBuild">
    <Copy 
        SourceFiles="@(ExtraContent)" 
        DestinationFiles="@(ExtraContent->'$(TargetDir)\%(RecursiveDir)%(Filename)%(Extension)')" 
        SkipUnchangedFiles="true" />
</Target>

If these files needed to go in a directory named MyContentFiles, you could add this before the copy:

<MakeDir Directories="$(TargetDir)\MyContentFiles" Condition=" !Exists('$(TargetDir\MyContentFiles') " />

and change

<Copy 
            SourceFiles="@(ExtraContent)" 
            DestinationFiles="@(ExtraContent->'$(TargetDir)\%(RecursiveDir)%(Filename)%(Extension)')" 
            SkipUnchangedFiles="true" />

To

<Copy 
            SourceFiles="@(ExtraContent)" 
            DestinationFiles="@(ExtraContent->'$(TargetDir)\MyContentFiles\%(RecursiveDir)%(Filename)%(Extension)')" 
            SkipUnchangedFiles="true" />

Ruel

Your transforms have a type-o: @(ExtraContent)->'...') should be @(ExtraContext->'...'). Otherwise good answer! – Auraaural

@Ruel 1) What happens if a file is deleted from the MyContentFiles store? It doesn't look like it will be deleted from the Solution Dir 2) Is there any way to get Visual Studio to delete these files from $(SolutionDir) after run completes. Leaving them there might confuse other devs. – Crack

This was what I needed. Project and build process are now working as expected, but the files are not published with a click once application. Any hints for that? – Robtrobust

Answer 5

To include files in a folder for a .NET Core project,

<!--Just files-->
<ItemGroup>
  <None Update="..\..\MyContentFiles\**\*.*">
    <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
  </None>
</ItemGroup>
<!--Content files-->
<ItemGroup>
  <Content Include="..\..\MyContentFiles\**\*.*" Link="MyContentFiles\%(RecursiveDir)%(Filename)%(Extension)">
    <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
  </Content>
</ItemGroup>

And the items' property "Copy to Output Directory" will be "Copy if newer":

Substantialism

Answer 6

I think

<Content Include="..\..\MyContentFiles\**\*.*">
  <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
</Content>

Is just enough, since you want everything in that folder and subfolders

Wield

Answer 7

To ignore a file in a .Net Core project:

<ItemGroup>
 <Content Include="appsettings.local.json">
   <CopyToOutputDirectory Condition="Exists('appsettings.local.json')">PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
 </Content>
</ItemGroup>

Pamilapammi