Question

I am trying to use 7-zip compression to create a zip of a sample file as given in the example
http://www.dotnetperls.com/7-zip
As the URL says, “you must specify “Copy if newer” or “Copy always” to copy files such as executables to the output directory.”

I found that when I use this code in a VS Project, I do get the option to specify “Copy if newer” when I see properties of 7za.exe in the properties window

But when I use in a VS Web site, I am unable to find this option. As a result, when I debug this program, it saying that its unable to find 7za.exe

string sourceName = "pdfSample.pdf";
string targetName = "pdfSample.gz";

ProcessStartInfo p = new ProcessStartInfo();
p.FileName = "7za.exe";

p.Arguments = "a -tgzip \"" + targetName + "\" \"" + sourceName + "\" -mx=9";
p.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;

try
{
    Process x = Process.Start(p);
    x.WaitForExit();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
    Console.Write(ex.ToString());
} 

Any idea why there is no “Copy if newer” option in case of VS Web site?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Personally, I would never dare to start a new process from within an ASP.NET application.

The reason is that I don’t know whether the process may or may not show up some windows or do other things like single-instance.

If I had to solve your requirement, I would use a class library to work with 7zip files.