Is there a way to get a string path reference to an embedded resource file?

Question

I have a method that takes a string parameter that is a file path to a text file. I want to be able to pass in a text file that I have embedded as a resource in my assembly.

Is there any way to get a string reference to an embedded text file so that it would function as a file path for opening a StreamReader?

Thanks.

score 8 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 09 '12 at 22:32

8

You can use Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(resource_name_of_the_file) to access the file's stream, write it to TEMP directory and use this path.

For example, if you have a file in your project at the path "Resources\Files\File.txt" and the project's assembly default namespace is "RootNamespace", you can access the file's stream from within this assembly's code with

Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetManifestResourceStream("RootNamespace.Resources.Files.File.txt")

answered Aug 09 '12 at 22:32

twoflower

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After many hours of searching, I can confirm that this is the only way (afaik). – RaidenF Jan 29 '16 at 14:19
related: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/400140/how-do-i-automatically-delete-tempfiles-in-c – StayOnTarget Nov 14 '19 at 14:25

score 6 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 09 '12 at 22:32

Is there any way to get a string reference to an embedded text file so that it would function as a file path for opening a StreamReader?

No, an embeded resource is not a separate file but embedded into the executable file. However, you can get a stream that you can read from using a StreamReader.

var name = "...";
using (var stream = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetManifestResourceStream(name)) 
  using (var streamReader = new StreamReader(stream)) {
    // Read the embedded file ...
  }

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 03 '21 at 19:15

One method that worked for my use case was from the following answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/34664553/11860907

For Binary files: File.WriteAllBytes(outputpath, Properties.Resources.file);

For Text files: File.WriteAllText(outputpath, Properties.Resources.file);

I just ran this line of code for every embedded resource file I needed when my program first opened and it placed the resource files somewhere that I could then reference as a string path.

Is there a way to get a string path reference to an embedded resource file?

3 Answers3

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