C# – Combining multiple config files in Visual Studio

app-configcconfigurationconfiguration-filesvisual-studio-2008

I have a solution in Visual Studio 2008 which contains multiple C# projects. Each project has it's own config file (App.config and Settings.settings). This makes sense architecturally as each module is autonomous and is used in a number of different solutions.

My problem is that when I compile the solution only the config file for the startup project (or project containing the executable) is included. For other modules the config settings are compiled into the DLL. So my question is, is there any way in Visual Studio of combining multiple config files, or linking them so that settings for DLLs can be changed at runtime?

Best Answer

I'm not sure if this is what you are looking for or if it will help but just as a lead into an area to explore, note that you can link two Config files. For example, I have my connection string in a separate file so my connectionStrings line in Web.config reads:

<connectionStrings configSource="WebCS.config"/>

Then, in the separate file, I have:

<connectionStrings>
    <add name="BSDIConnString" 
         connectionString="Data Source=XXX;Initial Catalog=XXX;User ID=XXX;Password=XXX" 
         providerName="System.Data.SqlClient"/>
</connectionStrings>

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C# – .NET Configuration (app.config/web.config/settings.settings)

Any configuration that might differ across environments should be stored at the machine level, not the application level. (More info on configuration levels.)

These are the kinds of configuration elements that I typically store at the machine level:

When each environment (developer, integration, test, stage, live) has its own unique settings in the c:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v2.0.50727\CONFIG directory, then you can promote your application code between environments without any post-build modifications.

And obviously, the contents of the machine-level CONFIG directory get version-controlled in a different repository or a different folder structure from your app. You can make your .config files more source-control friendly through intelligent use of configSource.

I've been doing this for 7 years, on over 200 ASP.NET applications at 25+ different companies. (Not trying to brag, just want to let you know that I've never seen a situation where this approach doesn't work.)

C# – Catch multiple exceptions at once

Catch System.Exception and switch on the types

catch (Exception ex)            
{                
    if (ex is FormatException || ex is OverflowException)
    {
        WebId = Guid.Empty;
        return;
    }
    
    throw;
}

Best Answer

Related Solutions

C# – .NET Configuration (app.config/web.config/settings.settings)

C# – Catch multiple exceptions at once

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