Convert .Net Core to .Net Framework - asp.net

I have a .Net Core project web project, and for various reasons want to convert it to a .Net Framework project.
Is there an easy way to do this, or do I have to start again and import the code from the previous projects

I have loaded core project to the VS 2017 RC Community and open *.csproj in text editor.
Just delete teg
<RuntimeFrameworkVersion>
and replace
<TargetFramework>netcoreapp1.1</TargetFramework>
to
<TargetFrameworkVersion>v4.6.1</TargetFrameworkVersion>
And after all in project properties set to any another framework and reset back (VS reload and repair *.csproj file).

This worked for me in VS2017:
Start with .net core web project template.
Edit *.csproj so it looks like this:
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web">
<PropertyGroup>
<TargetFramework>net472</TargetFramework>
</PropertyGroup>
<ItemGroup>
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore" Version="2.1.3" />
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.CookiePolicy" Version="2.1.2" />
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.Http.Abstractions" Version="2.1.1" />
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.HttpsPolicy" Version="2.1.1" />
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc" Version="2.1.2" />
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Core" Version="2.1.2" />
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.RazorPages" Version="2.1.2" />
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.StaticFiles" Version="2.1.1" />
</ItemGroup>
</Project>
Save and close.
Try running project.
The PackReferences is just the NuGet files, and you can add them through the GUI if the versions are different from mine above.

There's lots of similar answers here, but I didn't see one that was quite what I ended up doing, so I'd like to leave this here just in case someone else is in the same shoes.
Just to be clear, my project was a console program. So, if you're trying to use this answer for something else, your mileage may vary.
In your .csproj file, inside of the <PropertyGroup></PropertyGroup> tag, modify <TargetFramework> to reflect the following:
<TargetFramework>net461</TargetFramework>
Now, in this example, I was using v4.6.1. I can only assume that you'll plug in your version behind the word "net", without the periods. Good luck!

None of the answers here worked for me. In .Net Core 2 the project.json file no longer exists. However, I did solve this problem using the following steps.
1) I removed all nuget packages from my existing project.
2) I created a separate .net core web app project, targeting .net 4.61. This was to get the default nuget packages.
3) I edited the temporary project's .csproj file, copied all the PackageReference nodes inside ItemGroup, and pasted them into my existing projects .csproj file.
4) Edited the TargetFramework node (inside PropertyGroup) from "netstandard2" to "net461"
I had a few package changes to track down and resolve, but otherwise I was able to run.

In my version of Visual Studio 2017 (15.6.2) after 'Unloading the Project', right-clicking and selecting 'Edit <your project file>, I had to:
Add the node:
<TargetFrameworkVersion>v4.5.2</TargetFrameworkVersion>
Delete the nodes:
<TargetPlatformIdentifier>UAP</TargetPlatformIdentifier>
<TargetPlatformVersion Condition=" '$(TargetPlatformVersion)' == '' ">10.0.16299.0</TargetPlatformVersion>
<TargetPlatformMinVersion>10.0.16299.0</TargetPlatformMinVersion>
<ProjectTypeGuids>{A5A43C5B-DE2A-4C0C-9213-0A381AF9435A};{FAE04EC0-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}</ProjectTypeGuids>

There are several steps that you need to do, in order to achieve this.
Firstly right click on the .csproj file and add the following
<TargetFrameworks>netstandard2.0;netcoreapp2.0;net35;</TargetFrameworks>
<RuntimeIdentifiers>win7-x86;win7-x64</RuntimeIdentifiers> <EnableDefaultCompileItems>false</EnableDefaultCompileItems>
Once you have made these changes reload the project and build it.
This will generate the .dll files and Nuget package for this
build in the Debug/Release folder of the project.
Add these .dll to the nuget and access these projects from
nuget.
Try the above steps. This should work.

My .net standard project is relatively simple with few Nuget packages. I just changed
<TargetFramework>netstandard2.0</TargetFramework>
TO
<TargetFramework>**net461**</TargetFramework> under PropertyGroup section of .csproj file and this did the job for me.. Thanks to Brandon Barkley for your answer in the comments.

add below in csproj
<PropertyGroup>
<TargetFrameworks>netcoreapp2.1;net471</TargetFrameworks>
</PropertyGroup>

I had only a handful of source files. For me it worked best by
Closing Visual Studio 2022
Renaming away the solution folder
Creating a new Visual Studio solution of type "WPF App (.NET Framework)" with the original folder name and same project name
Copying all *.xaml. *.xaml.cs and *.cs from the old project to the new, not touching *.sln, *.csproj and *.config.
Project->Add Existing Item… and adding the copied items
Adding all the special references.
That rebuilt all without a complaint.

Related

Dependencies in Nuspec vs. csproj

I have a Dotnet Core 2.1 project which has both a nuspec and a csproj file - one major hassle is that the csproj describes dependencies like this:
<ItemGroup>
<PackageReference Include="Refit" Version="4.6.16" />
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.AspNetCore.All" Version="2.1" />
<PackageReference Include="Refit.HttpClientFactory" Version="4.6.16" />
</ItemGroup>
While the nuspec does this:
<dependencies>
<dependency id="Refit" version="4.6.16" />
<dependency id="Refit.HttpClientFactory" version="4.6.16" />
<dependency id="Microsoft.AspNetCore.All" version="2.1" />
</dependencies>
Both are easily out of sync and keeping the same information twice is annoying.
Is there a way to avoid that?
There is certain to be a easy way for this, just use dotnet pack instead of nuget pack and .csproj files instead of .nuspec files.
dotnet pack supports 2 ways to specify the nuget package properties.
The legacy way: using .nuspec file, which would disable the 2nd way
The new way: specifying them in .csproj file
dotnet pack supports both ways but you must add a NuspecFile property to reference the .nuspec file and there are a lot of bugs and feature missings for the legacy way, which means you can only use the new one.
dotnet pack executes restore and build on the project and packs it with a automatically generated .nuspec file resolving all nuget metadata properties in .csproj as .nuspec properties and all projects references as nuget package references (This is not available with manually specified .nuspec file), so that versioning, dependency, and package file structure things can be automatically ensured.
My own library could be an example. Version and dependency things are specified for only once at where they are supposed to be and there are no longer any annoying duplicate configurations. Executing dotnet pack on the solution directory would generate all good .nupkgs on the dist directory.

How does .net core project know which files to include while building

I observed there is a difference in .csproj file in .Net standard and .Net Core.
In .Net projects all files(.cs,.js etc) were included in .csproj file for each project. e.g:
<Compile Include="ViewModel\LiveViewViewModel.cs" />
<Compile Include="ViewModel\RegistrationViewModel.cs" />
<Compile Include="Views\LiveView.xaml.cs">
<DependentUpon>LiveView.xaml</DependentUpon>
</Compile>
But if i see the new .Net Core .csproj file, there is no mention of any .cs/.js or any file.
I am very curious to understand how does .net core projects include files while being compiled.
They are now coming from msbuild definition files imported via the Microsoft.NET.Sdk MSBuild sdk and use wildcards to specify a search pattern based off the project file's location.
The (simplified) equivalent would be if you wrote
<Compile Include="**\*.cs" />
into the project file, which has been supported by msbulid for long time but didn't work well with Visual Studio tooling. The new project system can deal with wildcards much better and then add the appropriate <Compile Remove".."/> or Update=".." definition if you exclude some files or change metadata in the properties windows.
The source code for the default items be found here as well as some extra definitions brought in by the web-sdk for ASP.NET Core projects here.

dotnet core nuget package copying content files on restore

So I feel like I have come to the end of the rope here, but hoping someone knows more than I do here. I have some Typescript files, though that is mostly irrelevant as I am having this problem with all content files.
I am able to generate a nuget, or more precisely dotnet pack, nuget package that includes my content files in the package by using this in the .csproj of my parent project:
<ItemGroup>
<Content Include="Scripts\Utility.ts">
<Pack>true</Pack>
<PackagePath>contentFiles\Scripts\;content\Scripts</PackagePath>
</Content>
</ItemGroup>
I can browse the generated .nupkg and see that indeed the file was added to the package in both the content\Scripts and contentFiles\Scripts locations
The problem is that whenver I consume this package in my 'child' progect, that Typescript never gets copied into any folder of the child project, though I can see it extracted in the .nuget\packages\parent\... folders.
At first I thought it was something with my initial settings in the parent project, and it may be, but after trying what seems like everything in the book, that fails to copy the content files to the child project. I then tried going the dark path of trying to use Init.ps1 in the tools folder of my package, and though it was impossible to debug, it also seemed to run sporatically (I completely unistalled and reinstalled the package and it still failed to run most of the time.) This could be the way but I don't know why I can't get it to output to the Package Manager Console... maybe there's still hope with Init.ps1 but I can't seem to figure it out. Finally I see some potential with a nuget .targets file but I can's seem to grasp how to use it for my purpose either! I would love some feedback as to how to get this done.
From: Announcing NuGet 3.1 with Support for Universal Windows Platform
Importing content from a Nuget package was depreciated for projects using a project.json file in Nuget v3.1. Since then the project.json file has been dropped in favour of the new .csproj format. Importing content from a Nuget package should still work though if you're using the packages.config file instead.
Also mentioned is the fact that there are other package managers available for delivering content.
It looks to me like the answer in the new world is to create a node module containing utility.js and let npm deliver it to your project.
Possible Workaround:
I've looked at .targets to copy files and got this working, but it does run on each build - which may or may not be a problem for you. I can't do what I want with it.
In [PackageId].targets:
<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
<!-- Either do this for all scripts in the Scripts/js folder -->
<Target Name="CopyScriptsToProject" BeforeTargets="Build">
<Message Text="Copying scripts to project" />
<ItemGroup>
<SourceScripts Include="$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\..\content\Scripts\js\**\*.*"/>
</ItemGroup>
<Copy SourceFiles="#(SourceScripts)" DestinationFiles="#(SourceScripts -> '$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\wwwroot\js\%(RecursiveDir)%(Filename)%(Extension)')" Condition="!Exists('$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\wwwroot\js\%(RecursiveDir)%(Filename)%(Extension)')" />
</Target>
<!-- Or do this for the individual script -->
<Target Name="CopyUtilityScriptToProject" BeforeTargets="Build">
<Copy SourceFiles="$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\..\content\Scripts\js\Utility.js" DestinationFiles="$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\wwwroot\js\Utility.js" Condition="!Exists('$(MSBuildProjectDirectory)\wwwroot\js\Utility.js')" />
</Target>
</Project>
<!-- Note: condition can be removed from either if you want it to overwrite each build -->
and in the .csproj file (replacing [PackageId] with the name of your package):
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
... any Globals for source control stuff ...
<PropertyGroup>
<TargetFramework>netcoreapp2.0</TargetFramework>
<Version>7.0.0</Version>
<PackageId>[PackageId]</PackageId>
</PropertyGroup>
... any PackageReference stuff ...
<ItemGroup Label="Packaging">
<Content Include="build\netcoreapp2.0\[PackageId].targets" PackagePath="build\netcoreapp2.0\[PackageId].targets" />
<!-- Either -->
<Content Include="Scripts\js\**\*.*" PackagePath="content\Scripts\js;contentFiles\Scripts\js" />
<!-- or -->
<Content Include="Scripts\js\Utility.js" PackagePath="content\Scripts\js;contentFiles\Scripts\js" />
</ItemGroup>
</Project>
There seemed to be a bug whereby when the <PackageId>[PackageId]</PackageId> wasn't set explicitly in the .csproj, the build targets didn't work. Although that may well be an issue with my development environment.
Apparently you need the any\any in the path (learn more) as well as to include <PackageCopyToOutput>true</PackageCopyToOutput>, like this:
<ItemGroup>
<Content Include="Scripts\js\Utility.js">
<Pack>true</Pack>
<PackagePath>contentFiles\any\any\wwwroot\js\;content\any\any\wwwroot\js\</PackagePath>
<PackageCopyToOutput>true</PackageCopyToOutput>
</Content>
</ItemGroup>
You'll also need to precompile your TypeScript before including the .js files in the package
However, this still doesn't create a file there, just some strange reference to it.
In the end, we got it working with a .targets file, you can find a working repo here: https://github.com/NuGet/Home/issues/6743
Serj Sagan's answer got me on the right track, but it wasn't sufficient to deploy the content file to the bin directory (as he noted). I was able to get the file to be deployed by changing the package reference options in the consuming project's .csproj file, as follows:
<PackageReference Include="MyNuGetPackage" Version="0.0.0.1">
<IncludeAssets>all</IncludeAssets>
<PrivateAssets>analyzers;build</PrivateAssets>
</PackageReference>
It seems like the default for PrivateAssets is contentfiles;analyzers;build (documentation), which is not what we want in this case.
Simplified code and explanation from #PurplePiranha
TL;DR:
Basic .NET6 simplified sample code on Github
Step by Step guide
Selection of the files
First we need to select all the files that needs to get into the nuget package.
Add this to the <LibraryPackageName>.csproj:
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
...
<ItemGroup Label="Packaging">
<Content Include="<Your directory path>\<your file(s)>" />
</ItemGroup>
Multiple content lines are allowed.
Write a target
Make a target file to copy the files before (or after) the build to the bin directory:
The location and name of this file is important:
<root>\build\<LibraryPackageName>.targets
Now, make sure that it will get executed by referencing it in the <LibraryPackageName>.csproj by adding a content line:
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
...
<ItemGroup Label="Packaging">
<Content Include="build\<LibraryPackageName>.targets" PackagePath="build\<LibraryPackageName>.targets" />
<Content Include="filesToAdd\*.txt">
<Pack>true</Pack>
</Content>
</ItemGroup>
Eg: From the code in github:
<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
...
<ItemGroup Label="Packaging">
<Content Include="build\PackageToGenerateFile.targets" PackagePath="build\PackageToGenerateFile.targets" />
<Content Include="filesToAdd/*.txt">
<Pack>true</Pack>
</Content>
</ItemGroup>
NOTE: By copying the files to the bin directory, the files are not part of your version control, but your package is!
Build and pack
In Visual Studio, right-click on the package name and select "Pack".
A new nuget package should be created in the bin directory of your library.
Use the nuget package
Install the nuget package now in your destination package.
Notice that the files are in the solution explorer, but not in a directory on your disk. They have a shortcut symbol.
Build the destination package
Check the bin directory.
The files should be copied to the location mentioned in the targets.

.net core build produces localization folders

I have a web asp.net solution that is using .net core 2.0. I am building it using the command:
dotnet publish MySolution.sln --configuration release --output d:\test_output
But when I check the output folder, I'm seeing a lot of localization folders, as you can see in the image bellow:
Is there a way to publish the code without generating these folders?
For the projects using ASP.NET Core 3.1, add this line to your *.csproj file:
<PropertyGroup>
<SatelliteResourceLanguages>en</SatelliteResourceLanguages>
</PropertyGroup>
The source of the answer in this post: Disable Dll Culture Folders on Compile.
The solution provided by #Igor.K worked for my API project, but for the ASP.NET Core MVC website in my solution, I had to make a minor change.
Try adding the line below to your .csproj file.
<PropertyGroup>
<ResourceLanguages>en</ResourceLanguages>
</PropertyGroup>
You can edit this file by right-clicking your project and selecting "Unload Project". Then, when you right-click again you will be able to edit the .csproj file. Make sure you reload the project when you're finished though.
So, if SatelliteResourceLanguages doesn't solve your problem, ResourceLanguages might do the trick.
[in net 5.0] All above solutions didn't work for me.
Out of despair I added:
<PropertyGroup>
<SatelliteResourceLanguages>en-US;en</SatelliteResourceLanguages>
</PropertyGroup>
and it worked, absolutely no idea why
On the .csproj file, you look for "Microsoft.VisualStudio.Web.CodeGeneration.Design" Package reference and add the property ExcludeAssets="All"
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.VisualStudio.Web.CodeGeneration.Design" Version="3.1.1" ExcludeAssets="All" />
Here is the reference: Disable Dll Culture Folders on Compile
Neither the SateliteResourceLangauges nor the ResourceLangauges solutions worked for me. In my case the files were being generated by the following nuget:
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.NET.Test.Sdk" Version="17.1.0" ExcludeAssets="All" />
Affixing ExcludeAssets="All" to it as shown above resolved the issue.

How is the ExcludeFromBuild itemgroup supposed to work in Web Deployment Projects?

I added an ItemGroup for ExcludeFromBuild items in the PreBuild target in my Web Deployment project:
<ItemGroup>
<ExcludeFromBuild Include="$(SourceWebPhysicalPath)\Test\**\*.*" />
</ItemGroup>
After the build the assembly in the output still contains the compiled classes from the files in ~/Test. That's not what I expected.
Here is a snippet from Using Web Deployment Projects with Visual Studio 2005 on MSDN:
For example, by adding the following
section to a Web
Deployment project, you can exclude
the Test and Images folder from the
build process:
<ItemGroup>
<ExcludeFromBuild Include="$(SourceWebPhysicalPath)\Test\**\*.*"/>
<ExcludeFromBuild Include="$(SourceWebPhysicalPath)\Images\**\*.*"/>
</ItemGroup>
This is useful if you have test code
in the Web site project that should
not be included in the staging or
release builds.
Seems not work that way for me though. Am I missing something obvious?
Never mind, I have found the problem. The ExcludeFromBuild item group is evaluated in the _CopyBeforeBuild target, which is called before the BeforeBuild target.
Doh!

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