Question

I have a bunch of external dlls I use in multiple projects. These dlls are referenced by these projects and everything compiles fine.

Now I am trying to get a Team Foundation Server build going for my projects. When I run the build, it complains that it can’t find the needed files. How do I get TFS to find the needed files?

I was thinking I could use the copydirectory windows workflow function in a custom build template but I’m not sure if this is the right way to do things. Also, if I do use copydirectory, how do I reference directories that reside on TFS rather than on the file system? And where do I copy the files to?

Answer 1

Try this:(if using 2010)
At the Workspaces tab you can map the folder that has all the DLLs you want, just make sure you reference the assemblies in your project appropriately.

For instance, if your project is referring to the assemblies one level UP, before the project root folder, you may set the workspace like below:

$\Team Project\src -> $(BuildDirectory)\src

$\Team Project\dlls -> $(BuildDirectory)

Something like that should solve your issue.

There’s also a way to do it in VS2010 build: You should add a copy command to the prebuild step for the project (select the project -> Properties -> Build Events).

If you want to use the windows workflow – template method, refer to this guide: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/buckh/archive/2010/01/21/deep-dive-on-windows-workflow-4-0-activities.aspx