How to correctly iterate application settings in C# using reflection

Question

I am trying to iterate through application properties in C# using reflection (.NET 3.5 using VS 2010). The code "works" in that it successfully gets properties. However, it always gets the property values that were defined at design time and does not see the current values in myapp.exe.config. Properties that I access directly by name do reflect what is in the .config file. Here is the reflection-based code which only sees design-time properties:

List<StringDictionary> dictList = new List<StringDictionary>();
  StringCollection bogus = new StringCollection();
  foreach (PropertyInfo info in Properties.Settings.Default.GetType().GetProperties())
  {
    if (!("logLevel".Equals(info.Name) || "eventURL".Equals(info.Name)))
    {
      if (bogus.GetType().IsAssignableFrom(info.PropertyType))
      {
        StringCollection rawConfig = (StringCollection)info.GetValue(Properties.Settings.Default, null);
        // do something
      }
    }
  }

This code does pick up the current values in myapp.exe.config.

String logLevelStr = Properties.Settings.Default.logLevel

What am I doing wrong in my reflection code that causes me to pull only the properties defined at design time and not what is currently in myapp.exe.config?

Possible duplicate of [C# How to loop through Properties.Settings.Default.Properties changing the values](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5872994/c-sharp-how-to-loop-through-properties-settings-default-properties-changing-the) — NoWar, Apr 29 '16 at 19:06

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 21 '14 at 05:28

To get the current value you need to use something like this which looks at Default.PropertyValues instead of Default.Properties

 foreach (SettingsPropertyValue  property  in Properties.Settings.Default.PropertyValues)
            {
                Debug.WriteLine(string.Format("Property {0}'s value is {1}",property.Name,property.PropertyValue));
            }

// note: the above may not work in some multi-form app, even if the applicaton prefix is prepended in front of Properties esp for visual studio 2010 compiled app with .net frame work 4

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered May 19 '12 at 05:00

I think that there is a fundamental misunderstanding here. Settings can be one of two types- Application settings and User settings.

Application settings are intended to be written only at design time. As Henk points out it is possible to edit them after deployment if you are admin, but that isn't really the intent. Also, it should be noted that while Application settings are stored in the .config file, they are only read once and then cached in memory. That's why you don't see the new values when you edit the file.

User settings can be overwritten at run time by application code and saved, but they are saved at a user scope, so a different user running the same application can have different values. The intention there was things like user preferences. There is a drop down in the settings designer grid to switch between Application and User scope for each Setting.

Either way, you shouldn't be accessing them via reflection.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered May 19 '12 at 04:41

0

Consider:

foreach (SettingsProperty sp in Settings.Default.Properties)
{
  Console.WriteLine(sp.Name + "=" + Settings.Default.Properties.Default[sp.Name].ToString());
}

answered May 19 '12 at 04:41

Eric Patrick

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Andre Pena · Answer 4 · 2011-04-15T15:57:46.603

0

There must be some kind of misunderstanding here.

If you want to read the configurations from myapp.exe.config you should use ConfigurationManager. This class allows you to access AppSettings and ConnectionString directly through static properties or read custom sections by the GetSection method.

Beside, application configurations are meant to be design-time only. You shouldn't alter myapp.exe.config at runtime. Never. This file must be the same for each execution of your application.

Beside, what is Properties.Settings.Default.logLevel ???

edited Apr 15 '11 at 15:57

answered Apr 15 '11 at 15:42

Andre Pena

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Why would I not want to modify the config file. This is a console app with a simple configuration. The whole point of my using settings was to allow deployment time configuration of that file. Is that not what settings us for? – busyspin Apr 15 '11 at 20:29
You can alter Application settings provided you run as Admin. – H H Apr 15 '11 at 20:37

How to correctly iterate application settings in C# using reflection

4 Answers4