How can I create a clean project folder structure?

Question

Hello

I use many libraries that I downloaded from Nugget in a wpf c# project. These libraries are normally located under the "Bin" folder.

I want to create a cleaner folder structure. For this, I want to collect these libraries under a folder like "Lib" and have a cleaner structure in the project folder.

How can I create this clean structure so that the project can work without problems on other computers when it uses the libraries it references? I have seen many methods on the internet, but I could not understand which one would work better.

I ask for your help on this issue.

Thank you very much in advance.

Answer 1

Hi,@fatih uyanık. Welcome to Microsoft Q&A. 

I take CommunityToolkit.Mvvm as an example. I downloaded CommunityToolkit.Mvvm through NuGet and set its output location to the Lib folder when the project is generated.

 

First, move the CommunityToolkit.Mvvm.dll location to the Lib file through the Post-build event:

WPF Application

Right click on the project-> Properties ->Build->Events->Post-build event->Enter the following code

mkdir  $(OutputPath)\Lib

move $(OutputPath)\CommunityToolkit.Mvvm.dll  $(OutputPath)\Lib\CommunityToolkit.Mvvm.dll

      

WPF App(.NET Framework)

Right click on the project->Properties->Build-Events->Post-build event command line->Enter the following code

mkdir Lib

move CommunityToolkit.Mvvm.dll  Lib\CommunityToolkit.Mvvm.dll

 

Then reload the assembly:

WPF Application

Double-click the project and add <RuntimeHostConfigurationOption Include="SubdirectoriesToProbe" Value="Lib" /> in ItemGroup

<ItemGroup>

<RuntimeHostConfigurationOption Include="SubdirectoriesToProbe" Value="Lib" />

  <PackageReference Include="CommunityToolkit.Mvvm" Version="8.2.2" />

</ItemGroup>

 

Add the following code in App.xaml.cs

public partial class App : Application

{

    protected override void OnStartup(StartupEventArgs e)

    {

        //Load Assembly Event

        AssemblyLoadContext.Default.Resolving += ResolveAssembly;

 

        base.OnStartup(e);

    }

 

    // Load the specified location assembly

    private static Assembly ResolveAssembly(AssemblyLoadContext assemblyLoadContext, AssemblyName assemblyName)

    {

        var probeSetting = AppContext.GetData("SubdirectoriesToProbe") as string;

        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(probeSetting))

        {

            return null;

        }

 

        foreach (var subDirectory in probeSetting.Split(';'))

        {

            var pathMaybe = Path.Combine(AppContext.BaseDirectory, subDirectory, $"{assemblyName.Name}.dll");

            if (File.Exists(pathMaybe))

            {

                return assemblyLoadContext.LoadFromAssemblyPath(pathMaybe);

            }

        }

 

        return null;

    }

}

 

WPF App(.NET Framework)

Add the following code to <configuration> in App.config.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
       …
       <runtime>
          <assemblyBinding xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1">
                 <probing privatePath="Lib;"/>
          </assemblyBinding>
       </runtime>
</configuration>

---

If the answer is the right solution, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Answer 2

To organize your libraries in a custom "Lib" folder in a WPF C# project, follow these steps:

1. Create a "Lib" Folder: Manually create a "Lib" folder in your project directory where you want to store the libraries.
2. Move the DLLs: Move all the necessary NuGet package DLLs from the "bin" folder to your new "Lib" folder.
3. Update References: In Visual Studio, right-click on your project, go to "References," and remove the old references. Then, add new references pointing to the DLLs in your "Lib" folder.
4. Update the Build Action: Make sure the "Copy Local" property for each reference is set to "True" to ensure the libraries are copied to the output directory during the build process.
5. Ensure Compatibility: Test the project to make sure it works correctly. When distributing, include the "Lib" folder along with your project to ensure it runs on other computers.

This approach keeps your libraries organized and ensures the project remains portable.