$(SolutionDir) MSBuild property incorrect when running Sandcastle Help File Builder via CMD

Question

When I run the Sandcastle Help File Builder project file (for example, myproject.shfbproj) using Windows CMD, I get an annoying issue: $(SolutionDir) has the same value as $(ProjectDir), and this means that project documentation sources won't build correctly, because I'm adding custom targets which already use $(SolutionDir).

If I build the whole Sandcastle Help File Builder from Visual Studio it builds successfully.

I'm using the following command (executed from the directory where the project is stored):

"C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\14.0\Bin\MSBuild.exe" /p:Configuration=Development myproject.shfbproj

Is there a workaround for this?

what's the command-line you're using? `msbuild myproject.shfbproj`? — m0sa, Sep 07 '15 at 09:47
@m0sa yes, and providing a property to define build configuration — Matías Fidemraizer, Sep 07 '15 at 09:49
in most cases you can use "$(ProjectDir)\.." instead "$(SolutionDir)" — anion, Apr 30 '18 at 12:12

score 30 · Answer 1 · edited Jul 21 '19 at 10:14

30

You only get the the correct $(SolutionDir) if you're building your solution (.sln file). The .shfbproj is a project file, and as such has no reference to its parent solution. You can try specifying the $(SolutionDir) in your command line explicitly:

msbuild /p:Configuration=Development /p:SolutionDir=MySolutionDir myproject.shfbproj

For reference: $(SolutionDir) and MSBuild

edited Jul 21 '19 at 10:14

Peter Mortensen

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answered Sep 07 '15 at 10:46

m0sa

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I tried this with no luck. I managed to workaround the issue defining the whole solution dir in each csproj before I need the right `$(SolutionDir)` value.. – Matías Fidemraizer Sep 07 '15 at 10:49
Needed quotes to work for me - /p:SolutionDir="MySolutionDir" rather than /p:SolutionDir=MySolutionDir – Alex Jul 14 '17 at 12:29
This also works when running `msbuild /target:Package xxx.csproj` – SandRock May 09 '20 at 15:12

score 14 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 21 '19 at 10:18

While @m0sa has pointed out a very obvious fact (since I'm building the Sandcastle Help File Builder project, there's no actual solution directory), the issue was also happening during a TFS Build when building the solution where the so-called documentation project resides.

For now I've managed to solve the issue using a nasty workaround: adding a SolutionDir property in each C# project that needs to be built as part of documentation project:

  <PropertyGroup>
    <SolutionDir>$([System.IO.Path]::GetDirectoryName($(MSBuildProjectDirectory)))\</SolutionDir>
  </PropertyGroup>

Since my solution file will always be located in the parent directory of Sandcastle Help File Builder project directory, in my case this workaround works...

Now referenced projects as documentation sources are able to import a custom project where I define common MSBuild properties, both in Visual Studio builds or external ones:

<Import Project="$(SolutionDir)MSBuild\Common.properties" />

I think it is very better to define some of these variable as predefined variable by Microsoft by default. — sorosh_sabz, Mar 23 '20 at 10:22

score 3 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 04 '23 at 16:53

3

For me, I fixed this by having the Directory.Build.Props file on the root of the solution. Here are the contents of my Directory.Build.Props:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Project>
  <PropertyGroup>
    <SolutionDir Condition="'$(SolutionDir)'==''">$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)</SolutionDir> 
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>

edited Apr 04 '23 at 16:53

l33t

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answered Dec 13 '22 at 18:54

Kamalpreet

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$(SolutionDir) MSBuild property incorrect when running Sandcastle Help File Builder via CMD

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