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Opening a solution with msbuildworkspace gives diagnostics errors without details

I am trying to analyse a solution with Roslyn, with MSBuildWorkspace.
The solution is a new solution, with 2 class library projects in them, one referencing the other.
They are created in Visual Studio 2017, .Net 4.6.2.
When I open the solution, I receive two generic errors in workspace.Diagnostics, both are :
Msbuild failed when processing the file 'PathToProject'
There is nothing more in the diagnostics or output window, to indicate WHY it failed to process the project file.
The code for opening the solution:
namespace RoslynAnalyse
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
LocalAnalysis();
}
private static void LocalAnalysis()
{
var workspace = MSBuildWorkspace.Create();
var solution = workspace.OpenSolutionAsync(#"D:\Code\Roslyn\RoslynAnalyse\SolutionToAnalyse\SolutionToAnalyse.sln").Result;
var workspaceDiagnostics = workspace.Diagnostics;
}
}
}
The version of Microsoft.CodeAnalysis is 2.0.0.0.
Does anybody have any idea why MSBuild failed, how I can get more information ?

When MSBuildWorkspace fails to open a project or solution this way, it is almost always because the application using MSBuildWorkspace does not include the same binding redirects that msbuild.exe.config has in it.
MSBuild uses binding redirects to allow tasks (typically already compiled C# code using possibly different versions of msbuild API libraries) to all use the current msbuild API's. Otherwise, msbuild gets runtime load failures.
The solution is to add an app.config file to your project and copy the binding redirects (the assemblyBinding section of the msbuild.exe.config file) into your file.

How to programmatically determine the active solution build configuration using MSBuild libraries in Powershell

I'm in the process of writing a Powershell script that retrieves custom metadata from all the exe/dll projects in a particular C# solution.
My efforts have centered around using the Microsoft.MSBuild assembly (Construction and Evaluation namespaces) to parse the solution file and iterate over the projects to retrieve the metadata. This all works well.
The next desire is to only concentrate on those projects that are part of the solution Active Build/Platform configuration - those with the Build bit checked in Visual Studio Configuration manager.
While I am able to collect the list of project build configuration properties, I am struggling to find the how the solution file stores the Active Solution Build and Active Platform configuration selected values.
In addition, I have also reviewed the source code for the MSBuild library and it appears to use an expression match between the project and solution configurations using the string for example: .Debug - Build|Any CPU.ActiveCfg = Debug|Any CPU.
Can anyone shed any light as to how I should determine the Active Build/Platform configuration for the solution or projects?

Feedback from #stign got my mind moving in the right direction. A bit verbose, but it does what I need
script pseudo-code is as follows:
Add-Type -Path "C:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\MSBuild\v14.0\Microsoft.Build.dll"
$slnFile = [Microsoft.Build.Construction.SolutionFile]::Parse("<path_to_solution>")
$slnFile.ProjectsInOrder | Where-Object { $_.ProjectType -eq "KnownToBeMSBuildFormat" } | % {
$outValue = $null
$found = $_.ProjectConfigurations.TryGetValue("Debug|Any CPU", [ref]$outValue)
if($found)
{
if($outValue.IncludeInBuild) # This bit is set by the MS code when parsing the project configurations with ...Build.0
{
#Do stuff here
}
}
} #End collection iterate

TuesPechkin unable to load DLL 'wkhtmltox.dll'

I've been using TuesPechkin for some time now and today I went to update the nuget package to the new version 2.0.0+ and noticed that Factory.Create() no longer resolved, so I went to read on the GitHub the changes made and noticed it now expects the path to the dll?
IConverter converter =
new ThreadSafeConverter(
new PdfToolset(
new StaticDeployment(DLL_FOLDER_PATH)));
For the past few hours I've tried almost all the paths I can think of, "\bin", "\app_data", "\app_start", etc and I can't seem to find or figure out what it wants for the path and what dll?
I can see the TuesPechkin dll in my bin folder and it was the first path I tried, but I got the following error:
Additional information: Unable to load DLL 'wkhtmltox.dll': The
specified module could not be found. (Exception from HRESULT:
0x8007007E)
Where is that dll and now can I get it as the library doesn't seem to contain it, I tried installing the TuesPechkin.Wkhtmltox.Win32 package but the dll still is nowhere to be found. Also I am using this in a asp.net website project so I assume that using the following should work for obtaining the path, right?
var path = HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath(#"~\bin\TuesPechkin.dll");
Further information: https://github.com/tuespetre/TuesPechkin/issues/57

The Tuespechkin has a zip file as a resource in the Win32 and Win64 embedded packages for the 'wkhtmltox.dll' file.
What it does when you use the Win32 or Win64 Embedded package is unzips the file and places it in the directory that you specify.
I have been putting a copy of the wkhtmltox dll at the root portion of my web app directory and pointing the DLL_FOLDER_PATH to it using the server physical path of my web app to get to it.
According to the author, you must set the converter in a static field for best results.
I do that, but set the converter to null when I am finished using it, and that seems to work.
Tuespechkin is wrapper for the wmkhtmlox dll file.
The original file is written in C++ and so will not automatically be usable in C# or VB.NET or any of the other managed code domains.
The Tuespechkin.dll file DOES NOT contain a copy of 'wkhtmltox.dll'. You either have to use one of the other embedded deployment modules or install a copy of the 'wkhtmltox.dll' in your web app after downloading it from the internet. That is what I do, and it seems to work just fine.
I am using Team Foundation Server, and attempts to compile code after using the Tuespechkin routines will fail the first time because the 'wkhtmltox.dll' file gets locked, but all you have to do is simply retry your build and it will go through.
I had issues with the 32-bit routine not working in a 64-bit environment and the 64-bit environment not being testable on localhost. I went with the workaround I came up with after examining the source code for Tuespechkin and the Win32 and Win64 embedded deployment packages.
It works well as long as you specify a url for the input rather than raw html.
The older package didn't render css very well.
If you are using a print.aspx routine, you can create the url for it as an offset from your main url.
I don't have the source code I am using with me at this point to offset to your base url for your web application, but it is simply an offshoot of HttpRequest.
You have to use the physical path to find the .dll, but you can use a web path for the print routine.
I hope this answers your question a bit.

If you are getting this error -> Could not load file or assembly 'TuesPechkin.Wkhtmltox.Win64' or one of its dependencies. An attempt was made to load a program with an incorrect format.
In Visual Studio Go to -
Tools -> Options -> Projects and Solutions -> Web Projects -> Use the 64 bit version of IIS Express for web sites and projects.

I installed TuesPechkin.Wkhtmltox.Win64 Nuget package and used the following code in a singleton:
public class PechkinPDFConvertor : IPDFConvertor
{
IConverter converter =
new ThreadSafeConverter(
new RemotingToolset<PdfToolset>(
new Win64EmbeddedDeployment(
new TempFolderDeployment())));
public byte[] Convert(string html)
{
// return PechkinSync.Convert(new GlobalConfig(), html);
return converter.Convert(new HtmlToPdfDocument(html));
}
}
The web application then has to be run in x64 otherwise you will get an error about trying to load an x64 assembly in an x86 environment. Presumably you have to choose x64 or x86 at design time and use the corresponding nuget package, it would be nicer to choose this in the web.config.
EDIT: The above code failed on one server with the exact same message as yours - it was due to having not installed VC++ 2013. So the new code is running x86 as follows
try
{
string path = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), "MyApp_PDF_32");
Converter = new ThreadSafeConverter(
new RemotingToolset<PdfToolset>(
new Win32EmbeddedDeployment(
new StaticDeployment(path))));
}
catch (Exception e)
{
if (e.Message.StartsWith("Unable to load DLL 'wkhtmltox.dll'"))
{
throw new InvalidOperationException(
"Ensure the prerequisite C++ 2013 Redistributable is installed", e);
}
else
throw;
}

If you do not want run the installer for wkhtmltox just to get the dll, you can do the following:
As #Timothy suggests, if you use the embedded version of wkhtmltox.dll from TuesPechkin, it will unzip it and place it in a temp directory. I copied this dll and referenced it with the StaticDeployment option without any issues.
To find the exact location, I just used Process Monitor (procmon.exe). For me it was C:\Windows\Temp\-169958574\8\0.12.2.1\wkhtmltox.dll

In my case, I am deploying on a 64-bit VPS then I got this error. I have solved the problem by installing the wkhtmltopdf that I downloaded from http://wkhtmltopdf.org/downloads.html. I chose the 32-bit installer.

In my case, I have solved the problem by installing the Wkhtmltox for win32 at https://www.nuget.org/packages/TuesPechkin.Wkhtmltox.Win32/

This error: Unable to load DLL 'wkhtmltox.dll': The specified module could not be found. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8007007E) is returned in two situations:
1- Deploy dependency not installed:
For solve this, you can install nuget package "TuesPechkin.Wkhtmltox.Win64" and use this code (for WebApplications running in IIS):
IConverter converter =
new ThreadSafeConverter(
new RemotingToolset<PdfToolset>(
new Win64EmbeddedDeployment(
new TempFolderDeployment())));
// Keep the converter somewhere static, or as a singleton instance!
// Do NOT run the above code more than once in the application lifecycle!
byte[] result = converter.Convert(document);
In runtime this code will copy the dependency "wkhtmltox.dll" in a temporary directory like: "C:\Windows\Temp\1402166677\8\0.12.2.1". It's possible to get the destination of file using:
var deployment = new Win64EmbeddedDeployment(new TempFolderDeployment());
Console.WriteLine(deployment.Path);
2- Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable not installed:
As described here:
https://github.com/tuespetre/TuesPechkin/issues/65#issuecomment-71266114, the Visual C++ 2013 Runtime is required.
The solution from README is:
You must have Visual C++ 2013 runtime installed to use these packages. Otherwise, you will need to download the MingW build of wkhtmltopdf and its dependencies from their website and use that with the library. https://github.com/tuespetre/TuesPechkin#wkhtmltoxdll
or, you can install the Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable:
choco install msvisualcplusplus2013-redist

Here is AnyCpu version, also support iis-base or winform application
using TuesPechkin.Wkhtmltox.AnyCPU;
...
var converter = PDFHelper.Factory.GetConverter();
var result = converter.Convert(This.Document);
Reference : https://github.com/tloy1966/TuesPechkin

Installing the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2013 resolved the error for me.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40784

Merge DLL into EXE?

I have two DLL files which I'd like to include in my EXE file to make it easier to distribute it. I've read a bit here and there how to do this, even found a good thread here, and here, but it's far too complicated for me and I need real basic instructions on how to do this.
I'm using Microsoft Visual C# Express 2010, and please excuse my "low standard" question, but I feel like I'm one or two level below everyone else's expercise :-/ If someone could point out how to merge these DDL files into my EXE in a step-by-step guide, this would be really awesome!

For .NET Framework 4.5
ILMerge.exe /target:winexe /targetplatform:"v4,C:\Program Files\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.0" /out:finish.exe insert1.exe insert2.dll
ILMerge
Open CMD and cd to your directory. Let's say: cd C:\test
Insert the above code.
/out:finish.exe replace finish.exe with any filename you want.
Behind the /out:finish.exe you have to give the files you want to be
combined.

Use Costura.Fody.
You just have to install the nuget and then do a build. The final executable will be standalone.

Download ilmerge and ilmergre gui . makes joining the files so easy
ive used these and works great

Reference the DLL´s to your Resources and and use the AssemblyResolve-Event to return the Resource-DLL.
public partial class App : Application
{
public App()
{
AppDomain.CurrentDomain.AssemblyResolve += (sender, args) =>
{
Assembly thisAssembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
//Get the Name of the AssemblyFile
var name = args.Name.Substring(0, args.Name.IndexOf(',')) + ".dll";
//Load form Embedded Resources - This Function is not called if the Assembly is in the Application Folder
var resources = thisAssembly.GetManifestResourceNames().Where(s => s.EndsWith(name));
if (resources.Count() > 0)
{
var resourceName = resources.First();
using (Stream stream = thisAssembly.GetManifestResourceStream(resourceName))
{
if (stream == null) return null;
var block = new byte[stream.Length];
stream.Read(block, 0, block.Length);
return Assembly.Load(block);
}
}
return null;
};
}
}

Download
ILMerge
Call
ilmerge /target:winexe /out:c:\output.exe c:\input.exe C:\input.dll

Install ILMerge
as the other threads tell you to
Then go to the installation folder, by default
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\ILMerge
Drag your Dll's and Exes to that folder
Shift-Rightclick in that folder and choose open command prompt
Write
ilmerge myExe.exe Dll1.dll /out:merged.exe
Note that you should write your exe first.
There you got your merged exe. This might not be the best way if your going to
do this multiple times, but the simplest one for a one time use, I would
recommend putting Ilmerge to your path.

static class Program
{
/// <summary>
/// The main entry point for the application.
/// </summary>
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
/* PUT THIS LINE IN YOUR CLASS PROGRAM MAIN() */
AppDomain.CurrentDomain.AssemblyResolve += (sender, arg) => { if (arg.Name.StartsWith("YOURDLL")) return Assembly.Load(Properties.Resources.YOURDLL); return null; };
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Application.Run(new Form1());
}
}
First add the DLL´s to your project-Resources. Add a folder "Resources"

2019 Update (just for reference):
Starting with .NET Core 3.0, this feature is supported out of the box. To take advantage of the single-file executable publishing, just add the following line to the project configuration file:
<PropertyGroup>
<PublishSingleFile>true</PublishSingleFile>
</PropertyGroup>
Now, dotnet publish should produce a single .exe file without using any external tool.
More documentation for this feature is available at https://github.com/dotnet/designs/blob/master/accepted/single-file/design.md.

Also you can use ilmergertool at codeplex with GUI interface.

Here is the official documentation. This is also automatically downloaded at step 2.
Below is a really simple way to do it and I've successfully built my app using .NET framework 4.6.1
Install ILMerge nuget package either via gui or commandline:
Install-Package ilmerge
Verify you have downloaded it. Now Install (not sure the command for this, but just go to your nuget packages):
Note: You probably only need to install it for one of your solutions if you have multiple
Navigate to your solution folder and in the packages folder you should see 'ILMerge' with an executable:
\FindMyiPhone-master\FindMyiPhone-master\packages\ILMerge.2.14.1208\tools
Now here is the executable which you could copy over to your \bin\Debug (or whereever your app is built) and then in commandline/powershell do something like below:
ILMerge.exe myExecutable.exe myDll1.dll myDll2.dll myDlln.dll myNEWExecutable.exe
You will now have a new executable with all your libraries in one!

I answered a similar question for VB.NET. It shouldn't however be too hard to convert. You embedd the DLL's into your Ressource folder and on the first usage, the
AppDomain.CurrentDomain.AssemblyResolve event gets fired.
If you want to reference it during development, just add a normal DLL reference to your project.
Embedd a DLL into a project

NOTE: if you're trying to load a non-ILOnly assembly, then
Assembly.Load(block)
won't work, and an exception will be thrown:
more details
I overcame this by creating a temporary file, and using
Assembly.LoadFile(dllFile)

I Found The Solution Below are the Stpes:-
Download ILMerge.msi and Install it on your Machine.
Open Command Prompt
type cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\ILMerge Preess Enter
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\ILMerge>ILMerge.exe /target:winexe /targetplatform:"v4,C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319"
/out:NewExeName.exe SourceExeName.exe DllName.dll
For Multiple Dll :-
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\ILMerge>ILMerge.exe /target:winexe /targetplatform:"v4,C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319"
/out:NewExeName.exe SourceExeName.exe DllName1.dll DllName2.dll DllName3.dll

The command should be the following script:
ilmerge myExe.exe Dll1.dll /target:winexe /targetplatform:"v4,c:\Program Files (x86)\Reference Assemblies\Microsoft\Framework\.NETFramework\v4.0\" /out:merged.exe /out:merged.exe

Storing settings for a nuget package. Is there a better way?

I have a console application that is available via nuget or on it's own. It gets installed into the tools directory for the NuGet package. The application requires 3 pieces of 'configuration' information.
a database connection string
a folder path
one more configuration option (string)
Currently, I store these configuration values in a text file right next to the exe in a file called settings.js, serialized as json.
When the application first runs, if the file is not present, it creates one with default values.
I keep the settings.js file in this location so the file will get checked into source control.
My question is about maintaining the settings file across versions.
If you Update-Package via nuget, everything works great, except the new version doesn't have any settings i had configured, because there is a new folder created for the new version.
I have written a powershell script to run in init.ps1 to pull the settings from the last version of the package, and seems to work. However this feels kinda dirty and I am wondering if there is a better way to solve this problem when using nuget to deliver my application.
param($installPath, $toolsPath, $package)
Set-Alias hump (Join-Path $toolsPath hump.exe)
$sorted_list = new-object system.collections.SortedList
$parent_path = Join-Path $installPath ".."
foreach($f in Get-ChildItem $parent_path -Filter Humpback* | Foreach {$_.FullName}){
$sorted_list.Add($f,$f)
}
if($sorted_list.Count -gt 1){
$old_path = $sorted_list.Values[$sorted_list.Count - 2]
$new_path = Join-Path $installPath "tools"
$current_settings = Join-Path $new_path "settings.js"
$has_current_settings = Test-Path $current_settings
if($has_current_settings -eq $false){
$old_settings = Join-Path $old_path "tools\settings.js"
Copy-Item $old_settings $new_path
}
}
Also, init.ps1 doesn't appear to run when installing a package using the command line tool (nuget.exe). Is this expected behavior?

Can you access System.Environment.GetFolderPath? I'd just create a folder under ApplicationData special folder, and store the settings there.