AppSettings from custom files - c#

I am struggling with the configuration and setting classes in .NET 2.0
If the following is contaned in a file called app.config
<config>
<appSettings>
<add key="Foo" value="Hello World!"/>
</appSettings>
</config>
I know I can access the appSetting by
// this returns "Hello World!"
ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["Foo"]
However if the file is called app1.config (or any other name) I cannot access the appSetting.
As long as I understand, with ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration I should read custom config setting files.
Configuration conf = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(#"..\..\app1.config");
// this prints an empty string.
Console.WriteLine(conf.AppSettings.Settings["Foo"]);
However conf.AppSettings.Settings["Foo"] returns an empty string.
I have also tried the following code but no success
ExeConfigurationFileMap exeFileMap = new ExeConfigurationFileMap();
exeFileMap.ExeConfigFilename = System.IO.Directory.GetCurrentDirectory()
+ "\\App1.config";
Configuration myConf = ConfigurationManager.OpenMappedExeConfiguration
(exeFileMap, ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
// returns empty string as well
Console.WriteLine(myConf.AppSettings.Settings["Foo"]);
How to read setting from a file not called app.config?

I have created custom file myCustomConfiguration and changes its property Copy to Output Directory to true
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
<appSettings>
<add key="Foo" value="Hello World!"/>
</appSettings>
</configuration>
In CS file
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var filePath = Path.Combine(AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory, "myCustomConfiguration.config");
Dictionary<string, string> dictionary = GetNameValueCollectionSection("appSettings", filePath);
//To get your key do dictionary["Foo"]
Console.WriteLine(dictionary["Foo"]);
Console.ReadLine();
}
private static Dictionary<string, string> GetNameValueCollectionSection(string section, string filePath)
{
var xDoc = new XmlDocument();
var nameValueColl = new Dictionary<string, string>();
var configFileMap = new ExeConfigurationFileMap { ExeConfigFilename = filePath };
Configuration config = ConfigurationManager.OpenMappedExeConfiguration(configFileMap, ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
string xml = config.GetSection(section).SectionInformation.GetRawXml();
xDoc.LoadXml(xml);
XmlNode xList = xDoc.ChildNodes[0];
foreach (XmlNode xNodo in xList.Cast<XmlNode>().Where(xNodo => xNodo.Attributes != null))
{
nameValueColl.Add(xNodo.Attributes[0].Value, xNodo.Attributes[1].Value);
}
return nameValueColl;
}
Although this is working but I am also looking for better approach.

You should make use of a Settings-File, it's way more comfortable to use, has save and load methods and you can name it what ever you want. Eg. my Settings-File is called "EditorSettings.settings" and I access its properties like this:
MyNamespace.MyProject.EditorSettings.Default.MyProperty1

Related

C# XmlElement: Why does it always return Nulll?

I'm relatively new to C#, and just started using XmlElement and the SingleNode Method. For some reason "customSettings" keeps returning null, although the XML Document is being loaded correctly. I've checked that by loading it as a string. I've tried everything i could imagine so far including the attempt in the comment. Any help or suggestions are much appreciated. Here is my XML Doc:
EDIT: works with solution from CodingYoshi, but is there a better way?
EDIT: changed XML and code for NSGaga to resolve read only exception with NameValueCollection in user.config
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
<configSections>
<section name="users_fächer" type="System.Configuration.NameValueSectionHandler" />
</configSections>
<users_faecher>
<add key="user1" value="value1" />
<add key="user2" value="value2" />
</users_faecher>
</configuration>
Code:
string dir = Path.Combine(AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory, #"Users.config");
string new_fächer = input[1];
ExeConfigurationFileMap configMap = new ExeConfigurationFileMap();
configMap.ExeConfigFilename = dir;
Configuration config = ConfigurationManager.OpenMappedExeConfiguration(configMap, ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
ConfigurationSection myParamsSection = config.GetSection("users_faecher");
string myParamsSectionRawXml = myParamsSection.SectionInformation.GetRawXml();
XmlDocument sectionXmlDoc = new XmlDocument();
sectionXmlDoc.Load(new StringReader(myParamsSectionRawXml));
NameValueSectionHandler handler = new NameValueSectionHandler();
NameValueCollection users_fächer = handler.Create(null, null, sectionXmlDoc.DocumentElement) as NameValueCollection;
users_fächer.Set(user, new_fächer);
config.Save(ConfigurationSaveMode.Modified, true);
This will get you the first add element:
doc.ChildNodes[0].NextSibling.ChildNodes[1].ChildNodes[0].ChildNodes[0];
This will get you the first add element's value attribute.
doc.ChildNodes[0].NextSibling.ChildNodes[1]
.ChildNodes[0].ChildNodes[0].Attributes["value"].Value;

Encrypting XML custom configuration file

I have this method which populates an object from my XML "custom configuration" config file:
public static BindingList<StationConfiguration> GetStationsFromConfigFile()
{
string xmlDocumentText = File.ReadAllText(GetConfigFilePath());
var doc = new XmlDocument();
doc.LoadXml(xmlDocumentText);
BindingList<StationConfiguration> stations = new BindingList<StationConfiguration>();
foreach (XmlNode node in doc.DocumentElement["StationsSection"].ChildNodes[0].ChildNodes)
{
stations.Add(
new StationConfiguration(
node.Attributes["Comment"].Value
, node.Attributes["FtpUsername"].Value
, node.Attributes["FtpPassword"].Value
, node.Attributes["DestinationFolderPath"].Value
));
}
return stations;
}
As you can see, I'm using File.ReadAllText to pull the contents of the XML config file into a String.
This all works well for a non-encrypted config file. But now I need to encrypt it. The way MSDN suggests doing that begins like this:
System.Configuration.Configuration config =
ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(
ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
(Incidentally, when I look at the config.FilePath property, it shows me the correct path of the XML config file, just having an extra ".config" extension for some strange reason. It ends with ".exe.config.config" for some odd reason. But I digress...)
This is my StationConfigurationSection class:
public class StationConfigurationSection : ConfigurationSection
{
[ConfigurationProperty("Stations", IsDefaultCollection = false)]
[ConfigurationCollection(typeof(StationCollection),
AddItemName = "add",
ClearItemsName = "clear",
RemoveItemName = "remove")]
public StationCollection Stations
{
get
{
return (StationCollection)base["Stations"];
}
}
public override bool IsReadOnly()
{
return false;
}
}
My complete XML config file looks like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
<configSections>
<section name="StationsSection" type="EcFtpClient.StationConfigurationSection, EcFtpClient" />
</configSections>
<StationsSection>
<Stations>
<add Comment="ABC" FtpUsername="eliezer" FtpPassword="secret" DestinationFolderPath="C:\Users\eliezer\Desktop\local dest" FtpTimeoutInSeconds="30" FtpHostname="ftp://192.168.1.100/" FtpFolderPath="" />
</Stations>
</StationsSection>
<startup>
<supportedRuntime version="v2.0.50727" />
</startup>
<appSettings>
<add key="NameOfService" value="ECClient" />
<add key="PollingFrequencyInSeconds" value="60" />
</appSettings>
</configuration>
I would like to use the MSDN System.Configuration approach, since it makes en/de-cryption very easy, but how can I blend their approach with what I have to make it work?
-- UPDATE --
I've got the loading of the file but am still stuck when it comes to saving the file.I've changed the loading method (at the very top of this question) to this:
public static BindingList<StationConfiguration> GetStationsFromConfigFile()
{
Configuration config = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(GetConfigFilePath());
StationConfigurationSection stationsConfig = (StationConfigurationSection)config.GetSection("StationsSection");
var stationCollection = ((StationCollection)stationsConfig.Stations);
BindingList<StationConfiguration> stationsToReturn = new BindingList<StationConfiguration>();
for (int index = 0; index < stationCollection.Count; index++)
{
stationsToReturn.Add(
new StationConfiguration(
stationCollection[index].Comment,
stationCollection[index].FtpUsername,
stationCollection[index].FtpPassword,
stationCollection[index].DestinationFolderPath)
);
return stationsToReturn;
}
What that gets me is the ability to load a file regardless of whether it's encrypted or not - it loads successfully. That's great.
But I'm still not sure how to get saving working. Here's my save method:
public static void SaveStationsToConfigFile(BindingList<StationConfiguration> updatedStations, bool isConfigToBeEncrypted)
{
string configFilePath = GetConfigFilePath();
var xDoc = XDocument.Load(configFilePath);
var xDeclaration = xDoc.Declaration;
var xElement = xDoc.XPathSelectElement("//StationsSection/Stations");
// clear out existing station configurations
xDoc.Descendants("Stations").Nodes().Remove();
foreach (var station in updatedStations)
{
xElement.Add(new XElement("add",
new XAttribute("Comment", station.Station),
new XAttribute("FtpUsername", station.Username),
new XAttribute("FtpPassword", station.Password),
new XAttribute("DestinationFolderPath", station.FolderName),
new XAttribute("FtpTimeoutInSeconds", 30),
new XAttribute("FtpHostname", GetEnvironmentAppropriateFtpHostName()),
new XAttribute("FtpFolderPath", GetEnvironmentAppropriateFtpFolderPath())
));
}
xDoc.Declaration = xDeclaration;
xDoc.Save(configFilePath);
}
And in order to save it with the protection/encrpytion, I need to do something like this - in other words, using the System.Configuration.Configuration objects:
stationsConfig.SectionInformation.ProtectSection("RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider");
stationsConfig.SectionInformation.ForceSave = true;
objConfig.Save(ConfigurationSaveMode.Modified);
But I'm currently still doing the save with XDocument.Save...
Is there a way to convert my XDocument into a System.Configuration.Configuration compatible object?The hack that comes to mind is after the call to XDocument.Save - to load it and save it again using the System.Configuration.Configuration stuff. But that's a hack...
I believe you have to play along with the configuration settings framework. Rather than trying to open the xml file yourself, you need to create a descendant of ConfigurationSection.
That way it will read and write from the encrypted configuration for you.
It looks like you already started that route (EcFtpClient.StationConfigurationSection), but you didn't include any of that code.

Using Configuration manager?

Looking at an example where the server receives a file on the streamReader from the client.
string key = "UploadSalesFileToServer";
GetValue(key);
is added to the function, which uses:
private static string GetValue(string name)
{
var fileMap = new ExeConfigurationFileMap();
fileMap.ExeConfigFilename = System.Web.HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath("~/Modules/Work/web.config");
var configuration = ConfigurationManager.OpenMappedExeConfiguration(fileMap, ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
string configValue = configuration.AppSettings.Settings[name].Value;
return configValue;
}
and in web.config I use:
<appSettings>
<add key="UploadSalesFileToServer"
value="1111-fasad-32233-ffdsff"/>
</appSettings>
Can anyone tell me what happens here through out? the app settings is used to check the correct file is being received?
GetValue trying to read config value from configuration file which is not exactly application configuration and situated in different directory under relative path "~/Modules/Work/web.config"

Reading custom configuration section's key values in C#

I need to read key values from custom sections in app/web.config.
I went through
Reading a key from the Web.Config using ConfigurationManager
and
How can I retrieve list of custom configuration sections in the .config file using C#?
However, they do not specify how to read a custom section when we need to explicitly specify the path to the configuration file (in my case, the configuration file is not in it's default location)
Example of my web.config file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
<MyCustomTag>
<add key="key1" value="value1" />
<add key="key2" value="value2" />
</MyCustomTag>
<system.web>
<compilation related data />
</system.web>
</configuration>
in which i need to read key value pairs inside MyCustomTag.
When i try (configFilePath is the path to my configuration file):-
var configFileMap = new ExeConfigurationFileMap { ExeConfigFilename = configFilePath };
var config =
ConfigurationManager.OpenMappedExeConfiguration(
configFileMap, ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
ConfigurationSection section = config.GetSection(sectionName);
return section[keyName].Value;
I get a error stating "Cannot access protected internal indexer 'this' here" at section[keyName]
Unfortunately, this is not as easy as it sounds. The way to solve the problem is to get file config file with ConfigurationManager and then work with the raw xml. So, I normally use the following method:
private NameValueCollection GetNameValueCollectionSection(string section, string filePath)
{
string file = filePath;
System.Xml.XmlDocument xDoc = new System.Xml.XmlDocument();
NameValueCollection nameValueColl = new NameValueCollection();
System.Configuration.ExeConfigurationFileMap map = new ExeConfigurationFileMap();
map.ExeConfigFilename = file;
Configuration config = ConfigurationManager.OpenMappedExeConfiguration(map, ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
string xml = config.GetSection(section).SectionInformation.GetRawXml();
xDoc.LoadXml(xml);
System.Xml.XmlNode xList = xDoc.ChildNodes[0];
foreach (System.Xml.XmlNode xNodo in xList)
{
nameValueColl.Add(xNodo.Attributes[0].Value, xNodo.Attributes[1].Value);
}
return nameValueColl;
}
And the call of the method:
var bla = GetNameValueCollectionSection("MyCustomTag", #".\XMLFile1.xml");
for (int i = 0; i < bla.Count; i++)
{
Console.WriteLine(bla[i] + " = " + bla.Keys[i]);
}
The result:
Formo makes it really easy, like:
dynamic config = new Configuration("customSection");
var appBuildDate = config.ApplicationBuildDate<DateTime>();
See Formo on Configuration Sections

read custom config file in asp.net

How do I read connection strings from custom config file (say abc.config) using WebConfigurationManager from asp.net's C# code?
Configuration conf = WebConfigurationManager.OpenWebConfiguration("~/abc.config");
This doesn't seem to work.
you can use this trick:
its my custom method- using webapp.config from web root. readl all app settings and return;
//Read WebAppConfiguration
public static AppSettingsSection ReadAllWebappConfig()
{
string physicalWebAppPath = "";
AppSettingsSection appSettings;
ExeConfigurationFileMap fileMap = new ExeConfigurationFileMap();
physicalWebAppPath = System.Web.Hosting.HostingEnvironment.MapPath("~/webapp.config");
if (System.IO.File.Exists(physicalWebAppPath))
{
fileMap.ExeConfigFilename = physicalWebAppPath;
Configuration config = ConfigurationManager.OpenMappedExeConfiguration(fileMap, ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
appSettings = (AppSettingsSection)config.GetSection("appSettings");
}
else
appSettings = null;
return appSettings;
}
webapp.config sample:
<configuration>
<appSettings>
<add key="WebApp-FixedTopMenu" value="true"/>
<add key="WebApp-FixedTopMenuThickness" value="true"/>
</appSettings>
</configuration>
I dont think you can read it with webconfigurationmanager. you will have read like any xml file as it is an xml file
public static string GetSingleValue(string strXPathExpression, string strAttributeName)
{
XmlNode node = GetNode(strXPathExpression);
if (node != null)
{
XmlAttribute attribute = node.Attributes[strAttributeName];
if (attribute != null)
return attribute.Value;
}
return string.Empty;
}

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