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Read an xml file from non-web project in C# (Visual Studio)

I am trying to read an xml file that is present in one of the projects in my VS solution. Here's my code.
string path = HttpContext.Current.Server.MapPath(#"~\Resources\XmlDocument.xml");
XDocument document = XDocument.Load(path);
This works fine if my xml file is in the web project. But in reality I have my xml file in a different project under the same solution.
I cannot use Server.MapPath as this searches web project. I searched for an answer but did not find any solution that worked for me.
How can I access this xml file? I am trying to access this from a helper method in the same project.

Try this:
string path = HostingEnvironment.ApplicationPhysicalPath + (some path);
public void LoadXML()
{
if (System.IO.File.Exists(path))
{
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<int>));
lock (new object())
{
using (TextReader reader = new StreamReader(path))
{
return (List<int>)(serializer.Deserialize(reader));
}
}
}
}
this is working for me.

Once you get your current directory, why not just navigate up a number of parent directories and then locate your file?
DirectoryInfo info = new DirectoryInfo(Environment.CurrentDirectory);
DirectoryInfo parent = info.Parent.Parent;
string file = Path.Combine(parent.FullName, #"your\path");
Here I use Environment.CurrentDirectory to get where the program is at now, but you can stack as many Parent elements as you need. Then you can combine the path to get to your file in the other project.
EDIT:
Once your application is running all the environment variables and Server.MapPath will give you the location that it is executing from (i.e. the path you are getting now). In light of this it may be easier to create a folder and reference this via it's full path. (C:\Data\myfile.xml)

Loading resources from another project?

I'm trying to load an XML file from a separate project; One of these projects is a game engine, which calls the XML document reader and takes in a path specifying the relative directory to the file.
From Engine
XDocument doc;
try
{
Stream stream = this.GetType().Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(path);
doc = XDocument.Load(stream);
}
catch
{
doc = XDocument.Load(path);
}
From the other project
string filePath = "Test.xml";
Npc npc = new Npc("somename", 2,filePath);
Test.xml resides in the other project's root directory. The Npc constructor makes a call to a Statistics object constructor, which then calls the method which loads the XDocument. As this is happening, the filePath is simply passed downward through the layers.
I've looked at this, and tried the embedded resource example, which is ultimately what I'm trying to accomplish, and it didn't work for me.
What am I doing wrong, here?
Update
I changed Text.xml to Chronos.Text.xml, as that is where the file resides. In my debugger, I see that the stream simply returns null when I use that as a path:
try
{
Stream stream = this.GetType().Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("Chronos.Test.xml"); //returns null
doc = XDocument.Load(stream); //Exception thrown
}
catch
{
doc = XDocument.Load(path); //File not found
}

Embeded resources are embeded directly in the executable. Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream() is trying to open a stream on the embeded resource, what you should be providing is the resource name in the following format AssemblyDefaultNamespace.Directory.Filename.
If you are trying to open an XML file from another directory, you will have to provide the full path to XDocument.Load(), or a path relative from your current project output directory pointing to that other directory.
Another solution would be to copy the data from the other project into your project and specify that you want the file to be copied to your output directory.

How to load an XML file from a file in the solution, build with Embedded Resource?

Here's an outline of my solution:
I've set the build to Embedded Resource and when I generate the application the XML file doesn't appear in the /Release folder. This is correct, I want this behavior.
Now I'm trying to load that file into an XDocument so I can parse the data within:
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Console.WriteLine("Parsing XML.");
XDocument championXml = XDocument.Load("Champions.xml");
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
And I get a file not found error because it's trying to find the xml file in the full path of the release folder.
How can I properly load this data into my XDocument?

Reference the resource property directly and use Parse instead of load:
XDocument championXml = XDocument.Parse(Properties.Resources.ChampionsXML);
^^^^^^^^^^^^
//Name of your resource |
The namespace will be somewhat different depending on your project structure.

Use GetManifestResourceStream():
var asm = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
using(var stream = asm.GetManifestResourceStream("Namespace.Champions.xml"))
{
// ...
}
The exact names used to reference resources can be found by calling GetManifestResourceNames().

You should get stream from assembly:
Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().GetManifestResourceStream(name)
Where name will be something like: 'LinqToXml.Champions.xml'

Using embedded file in VS2008 ASP.NET Project

I have an ASP.NET project and want to include an XML file inside the project to store some relatively static data. To do this I selected "Add File" from the solution context menu and picked my XML file. Having added this to my project, I then wanted to load the XML from within code. I tried the following:
XmlDocument xmlDoc = new XmlDocument();
xmlDoc.Load("MyData.xml");
I also tried:
XmlDocument xmlDoc = new XmlDocument();
xmlDoc.Load("~/MyData.xml");
But it seems to be looking in the current directory (i.e. my VS2008 directory) and not the project. Am I going about this wrongly? Is there a way to simply reference a resource that’s embedded in the project like this?

The tilde '~' in your second attempt gets evaluated when it is part of a file url set in a control property such as HyperLink.NavigateUrl. If it is just part of a string passed to xmlDocument.Load(), it has to be explicitly evaluated using Server.MapPath("~/MyData.xml")
Alternatively,
You could include the file as an embedded resource. Right click the file in your solution and in the Build Action, select Embedded Resource. In the Copy to Output Directory option, select 'Do not copy'
Here is an example of how to read the file:
var assembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
if (assembly != null)
{
var stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("RootProjectNamespace.MyData.xml");
if (stream != null)
{
XmlDocument xmlDoc = new XmlDocument();
xmlDoc.Load(stream);
}
}
Note, you have to prefix the filename with the default namespace of your project. You can find this by right clicking your project, selecting properties and in the Application tab, the Default namespace is at the top.

The steps you followed to add the XML file in your ASP.NET project does not embed in your application it like just another file in your application like our .aspx pages.
you may try
XmlDocument xmlDoc = new XmlDocument();
xmlDoc.Load(Server.MapPath("~/MyData.xml"));
also it would be better keeping such files in App_Data folder

How to load from relative path in WPF application?

I'm reading an xml file and want to make it from a relative directory based on the location of the application, similar to ASP.NET with Server.MapPath or using the tilda.
How can you get the relative path in WPF?
WORKS: XDocument xmlDoc = XDocument.Load(#"c:\testdata\customers.xml");
DOES NOT WORK: XDocument xmlDoc = XDocument.Load(#"~\Data\customers.xml");
DOES NOT WORK: XDocument xmlDoc = XDocument.Load(#"~/Data/customers.xml");

XDocument xmlDoc = XDocument.Load(
Path.Combine(
AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory,
#"Data\customers.xml"));
I assume the Data directory is going to get deployed with your app, in the same root directory as your EXE. This is generally safe, except where shadow copying is involved; for example, when you use NUnit to test this code. (With shadow copying, the assemblies that make up your app get copied to a temporary directory, but files like this get left behind.)
Assuming you're not planning to modify customers.xml after deployment, the safest way to handle this is to embed the file as a resource within your assembly.

XDocument xmlDoc = XDocument.Load(#"Data\customers.xml");
OR
XDocument xmlDoc = XDocument.Load(#".\Data\customers.xml");
BTW, this has nothing to do with WPF and everything to do with Windows paths.

Try File.Create("./HiImHere.txt") to see where is the point directory; after that try the path relative to where HiImHere.txt is.