CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#.netwpfmsbuildnuget
flori10
flori10

Reputation: 522

Build WPF application with .net from the command line

I want to learn to use the c# build tools to build desktop applications from the command line. I just downloaded the .Net SDK from here and managed to run my first console application following the tutorial from here However, if i want to build a wpf application, it says type or namespace "System.Windows" is not available and there is a reference to an assembly possibly missing. My project file looks like this

 <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">

  <PropertyGroup>
    <OutputType>Exe</OutputType>
    <TargetFramework>net7.0</TargetFramework>
    <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
    <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
  </PropertyGroup>

</Project>

My C# file looks like this:

using System;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Controls;
using System.Windows.Media;
using System.Windows.Ink;

public class Sketchpad : Application {

    [STAThread]
    public static void Main(){
        var app = new Sketchpad();
        Window root = new Window();
        InkCanvas inkCanvas1 = new InkCanvas();

        root.Title = "Skortchpard";

        root.ResizeMode = ResizeMode.CanResizeWithGrip;
        inkCanvas1.Background = Brushes.DarkSlateBlue;
        inkCanvas1.DefaultDrawingAttributes.Color = Colors.SpringGreen;
        inkCanvas1.DefaultDrawingAttributes.Height = 10;
        inkCanvas1.DefaultDrawingAttributes.Width = 10;

        root.Content = inkCanvas1;
        root.Show();
        app.MainWindow = root;
        app.Run();
    }

}

How do I need to change the project file to include the necessary assemblies? How would it be for a Windows Forms-Application? What tutorial should you read, in order to compile C# programs from the console?

Upvotes: 2

Views: 3021

Answers (2)

Andy
Andy

Reputation: 12276

You can use command line to create a wpf project using dotnet new rather like that tutorial. Except of course with some parameters tell it you want a wpf app and what language.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/core/tools/dotnet-new

With .net 7 you can do:

dotnet new wpf --name "MyNewApp" -lang "C#"

That will create a folder called MyNewApp with a MyNewApp.csproj within whichever folder you're currently "in" with your command line.

The csproj has the correct settings for a wpf app.

This is what I get when I do that.

enter image description here

If I open in visual studio I can hit f5 and it spins up fine

Upvotes: 2

PMF
PMF

Reputation: 17298

You need to add the line

<UseWPF>True</UseWPF>

anywhere inside the <PropertyGroup> section of your .csproj file. That (implicitly) adds the System.Windows references to your project. (As such, this is kind of a special case, as most other external references would be added via <ProjectReference> entries).

Oh, and also change

 <TargetFramework>net7.0</TargetFramework>

to

 <TargetFramework>net7.0-windows</TargetFramework>

because WPF is windows-specific.

Upvotes: 2

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