Pre-build event/post-build event command line dialog box
Applies to: 
Visual Studio 
Visual Studio for Mac
Note
This article applies to Visual Studio 2017. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here
You can type pre- or post-build events for the Build Events Page, Project Designer (C#) directly in the edit box, or you can select pre- and post-build macros from a list of available macros.
Note
Pre-build events do not run if the project is up to date and no build is triggered.
UI Element List
Command line edit box
Contains the events to run either for pre-build or post-build.
Note
Add a call statement before all post-build commands that run .bat files. For example, call C:\MyFile.bat or call C:\MyFile.bat call C:\MyFile2.bat.
Macros
Expands the edit box to display a list of macros to insert in the command-line edit box.
Macro table
Lists the available macros and its value. See Macros below for a description of each. You can select only one macro at a time to insert into the command-line edit box.
Insert
Inserts into the command line edit box the macro selected in the macro table.
Macros
You can use any of these macros to specify locations for files, or to get the actual name of the input file in the case of multiple selections. These macros are not case-sensitive.
| Macro | Description |
|---|---|
$(ConfigurationName) |
The name of the current project configuration, for example, "Debug". |
$(OutDir) |
Path to the output file directory, relative to the project directory. This resolves to the value for the Output Directory property. It includes the trailing backslash '\'. |
$(DevEnvDir) |
The installation directory of Visual Studio (defined with drive and path); includes the trailing backslash '\'. |
$(PlatformName) |
The name of the currently targeted platform. For example, "AnyCPU". |
$(ProjectDir) |
The directory of the project (defined with drive and path); includes the trailing backslash '\'. |
$(ProjectPath) |
The absolute path name of the project (defined with drive, path, base name, and file extension). |
$(ProjectName) |
The base name of the project. |
$(ProjectFileName) |
The file name of the project (defined with base name and file extension). |
$(ProjectExt) |
The file extension of the project. It includes the '.' before the file extension. |
$(SolutionDir) |
The directory of the solution (defined with drive and path); includes the trailing backslash '\'. |
$(SolutionPath) |
The absolute path name of the solution (defined with drive, path, base name, and file extension). |
$(SolutionName) |
The base name of the solution. |
$(SolutionFileName) |
The file name of the solution (defined with base name and file extension). |
$(SolutionExt) |
The file extension of the solution. It includes the '.' before the file extension. |
$(TargetDir) |
The directory of the primary output file for the build (defined with drive and path). It includes the trailing backslash '\'. |
$(TargetPath) |
The absolute path name of the primary output file for the build (defined with drive, path, base name, and file extension). |
$(TargetName) |
The base name of the primary output file for the build. |
$(TargetFileName) |
The file name of the primary output file for the build (defined as base name and file extension). |
$(TargetExt) |
The file extension of the primary output file for the build. It includes the '.' before the file extension. |