How do I fix these C# errors?

Question

I found some code to help me in a project and when I first ran the code I received an error message indicating: "Visual Studio cannot start debugging because the debug target c:\path\'dirInfo.exe' is missing. Please build the project and retry, or set the OutPath and AssemblyName properties appropriately to point at the correct location for the target assembly."

Then I select OK and receive an error message indicating that partial is missing. I add partial to the code and receive 3 more error messages.

1. The type 'RecursiveSearchCS.Form1' already contains a definition for 'components'

   • does this mean I should delete this from the Form1.cs file?

2. Type 'RecursiveSearchCS.Form1' already defines a member called 'Dispose' with the same parameter types.

3. Type 'RecursiveSearchCS.Form1' already defines a member called 'InitializeComponent' with the same parameter types.

(I notice, when I comment out the InitializeComponent line and/or Dispose line, many more error messages populate in ERRORS)

By they way you can find the original code @ MicrosoftSite.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

Answer 1

I went to the Microsoft site to see what you did. The site shows code for an entire "one file" solution. We've all agreed that Visual Studio creates multi-file solutions, so you're duplicating code.

I don't know if the current answers/comments have helped you get this sample code working, so I thought I'd add my share. I was able to get this sample working by doing the following:

First, where the sample code at the Microsoft site shows declarations for button, textbox, labels, and combobox, rather than attempting to copy that portion, I simply used the toolbox and dragged a button, the labels, the textbox, and the combobox from the toolbox to my form.

You'll probably want to arrange these to your liking.

This process created my form correctly with the appropriate objects on it. All I had to do was use the properties window for each object and rename them according to what they were named in the sample. For example, my new button was originally button1, but I renamed it to btnSearch just as it is named in the Microsoft sample.

I noticed that the Microsoft sample has an established event handler setup for the Form1_load() event. I created this same event in my form by clicking the form in the designer, clicking properties, clicking on the Events button in that properties, and double-clicking the "Load" event. This automatically generated the appropriate code.

In a similar way, I had to create the btnSearch_Click() event. I did this by simply double-clicking the button in the designer.

After that, all I had to do was manually copy and paste from the specific sections of the sample to my code -- fill in the Form1_Load() event with what was in the sample. Copy the DirSearch() method over. Fill in the btnSearch_Click() event. That was it.

I hope this helps solve the overall issue and gives you more insight into how you can avoid these problems in the future.

Answer 2

Just gut instinct, if you were following along and copy pasting remember one key thing:

The designer creates two files when you create a form: A "code" file, and a "designer" file. However, when microsoft (and others) release "templates", they like to merge these two files.

Just create a new .cs file and paste the code and all should be good. It's the code basically saying "in the designer, we already have this stuff". (a good way to note this is the "partial" keyword located before your Form1 declaration)

---

More info:

The Code file will house all your own implementations. That is click events, methods you personally override, events you bind to, etc. This is the default file when you select "View Code" from either your solution explorer or the dialog itself. Within this file is a construct that calls a "hidden" method, (InitializeComponent) that if you right click and "Go to Definition" will bring you to the next file:

The Designer file is the IDE's generated file. This takes everything you do in the designer and stores it for you. That includes new controls, location and properties of the controls, and the IDisposable implementation. The idea is to keep the "meat an potatoes" out of the way while you worry only about implementation.

Answer 3

You have duplicated functionality in the classes, you have a file that was automatically generated with that functionality already in it.

Answer 4

Yes it sounds like you've copied the entire code which includes many things already contained within your Form in a partial class. Either remove these or remove the partial class and partial class declaration from your Form to get rid of these errors