How to Configure Library Files to Run in a Subfolder?

Question

How to Configure Library Files to Run in a Subfolder?

fatih uyanık 245

Hello

There is a library named TolkDotNet.dll in a c# wpf project. This library references various dll files in the x86 and x64 folders. To get rid of the file confusion, I placed them in the Lib folder as TolkDotNet, x86, x64. Then I showed the Lib/TolkDotNet.dll reference in the project dependencies. But the application looks for these dll files and folders in the project output directory. Therefore, the project is causing problems. How can I configure these references to run in the Lib folder?

Thanks.

Anonymous

Hi,@fatih uyanık. Welcome to Microsoft Q&A.

I simulated the project you described in the following way.

I created two Class Library (.NET Framework) programs to simulate your x86/x64 dll.

Its Class_x64 code:


namespace ClassLib_x64

{

    public class Class_x64

    {

        public void Fun_x64()

        {

            Console.WriteLine("-----x64.dll-----");

        }

    }

}

Its Class_x86 code:


namespace ClassLib_x86

{

    public class Class_x86

    {

        public void Fun_x86()

        {

            Console.WriteLine("-----x86.dll-----");

        }

    }

}

Create a WPF project and put the ClassLib_x64 and ClassLib_x86 generated dll into it.

Then create a Class Library (.NET Framework) program named TolkDotNet.

Then go to References->Add Reference..->Browse.. to find ClassLib_x64.dll and ClassLib_x86.dll in the Lib folder for reference.

Then create the code to call.


using ClassLib_x64;

using ClassLib_x86;

 

namespace TolkDotNet

{

    public class Class1

    {

        public void TolkDotNet_Fun()

        {

            var class_x64 = new Class_x64();

            var class_x86 = new Class_x86();

            class_x64.Fun_x64();

            class_x86.Fun_x86();

        }

    }

}

Put the TolkDotNet.dll generated by TolkDotNet into the Lib folder. And reference it through References->Add Reference..->Browse..

Call in MainWindow.xaml.cs


using TolkDotNet;

 

namespace WpfApp

{

    public partial class MainWindow : Window

    {

        public MainWindow()

        {

            InitializeComponent();

            Class1 class1 = new Class1();

            class1.TolkDotNet_Fun();

        }

    }

}

Finally, the WPF project successfully outputs the results without any errors.

If you could describe your project structure and operation process in more detail, I will be able to provide you with a more accurate answer.

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Anonymous

2024-10-21T08:54:51.4466667+00:00

Hi,@fatih uyanık.

Did you solve your problem? If you found a solution, you could share it here to help others in the community who have similar problems. If you still have problems, you could describe your problem in more detail and I will further analyze and answer it for you.

3 answers

Your answer

Anonymous

2024-10-11T03:29:28.8533333+00:00

Hi,@fatih uyanık. Welcome to Microsoft Q&A.

I simulated the project you described in the following way.

I created two Class Library (.NET Framework) programs to simulate your x86/x64 dll.

Its Class_x64 code:

namespace ClassLib_x64 { public class Class_x64 { public void Fun_x64() { Console.WriteLine("-----x64.dll-----"); } } }

Its Class_x86 code:

namespace ClassLib_x86 { public class Class_x86 { public void Fun_x86() { Console.WriteLine("-----x86.dll-----"); } } }

Create a WPF project and put the ClassLib_x64 and ClassLib_x86 generated dll into it.

Then create a Class Library (.NET Framework) program named TolkDotNet.

Then go to References->Add Reference..->Browse.. to find ClassLib_x64.dll and ClassLib_x86.dll in the Lib folder for reference.

Then create the code to call.

using ClassLib_x64; using ClassLib_x86; namespace TolkDotNet { public class Class1 { public void TolkDotNet_Fun() { var class_x64 = new Class_x64(); var class_x86 = new Class_x86(); class_x64.Fun_x64(); class_x86.Fun_x86(); } } }

Put the TolkDotNet.dll generated by TolkDotNet into the Lib folder. And reference it through References->Add Reference..->Browse..

Call in MainWindow.xaml.cs

using TolkDotNet; namespace WpfApp { public partial class MainWindow : Window { public MainWindow() { InitializeComponent(); Class1 class1 = new Class1(); class1.TolkDotNet_Fun(); } } }

Finally, the WPF project successfully outputs the results without any errors.

If you could describe your project structure and operation process in more detail, I will be able to provide you with a more accurate answer.
Deleted

This comment has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The comment was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.
Anonymous

2024-10-21T08:54:51.4466667+00:00

Hi,@fatih uyanık.

Did you solve your problem? If you found a solution, you could share it here to help others in the community who have similar problems. If you still have problems, you could describe your problem in more detail and I will further analyze and answer it for you.

Answer 1

fatih uyanık 245

Hello

No matter what I did, I couldn't use the dll file in the subdirectory properly at runtime. The error still persists. Could you help me by trying the TolkDotNet library in a WPF project?

Thank you.

RLWA32 52,256 Reputation points

2024-10-09T08:32:49.41+00:00

@fatih uyanık Is TolkDotNet.dll an .Net Framework assembly? If it is not .Net Framework then the app.config probing is not applicable. If it is .Net Framework then the Lib folder must be a sub-folder of the application folder.
Digvijay Chauhan 1 Reputation point Microsoft Employee

2024-10-10T01:10:46.48+00:00

Hi,

I looked through the documentation and apparently it should be as simple as copying the lib folder somewhere e.g. c:\shared\lib and update windows environment variables PATH=$PATH;c:\shared\lib and it should work!

have you tried it?

Answer 2

Hi,

the above answer would work if the library mentioned by OP (TolkDotNet.dll) is unmanaged/native winPE that exports symbols. I suspect that is not the case (I did not bother to google since the name says it all) - so this TolkDotNet.dll seems to use other native libraries using interop and would load appropriate runtime based on the platform being invoked on.

that said - you can consider a commercial/free obfuscator tool (I have experience with redgate SmartAssembly) and it allowed me to bundle all custom dependencies in a single executable file/dll with the dependencies embedded as encrypted binary blobs within the main assembly.

i hope that helps you assess your options -

The x86/64 folder needs to exist wherever the tolkdotnet.dll is , and it can not be the GAC so
add a manifest file and specify the folder you would like to load this DLL from - it can be any folder on the file system - even outside your solution- however that would create a deployment chore for you to ensure that you package and deploy the same configuration to a target machine (maybe it’s not even required in OPs scenario so I would leave it at that)

Answer 3

KOZ6.0 6,735

To change the path that references an assembly, see https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/configure-apps/specify-assembly-location.

Use LoadLibrary to switch to a native dll at runtime.

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

internal class Program
{
    static Program() {
        var pathToDll = Environment.Is64BitProcess ? @".\x64" : @".\x86";
        LoadLibrary(Path.Combine(pathToDll, "YourNative.dll"));
    }

    [DllImport("kernel32", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
    static extern IntPtr LoadLibrary(string lpFileName);

    [DllImport("YourNative.dll")]
    internal static extern IntPtr YourNativeFunction();

    static void Main(string[] args) {
        Console.WriteLine($"{YourNativeFunction()}");
        Console.ReadKey();
    }
}

fatih uyanık 245 Reputation points

2024-10-08T06:39:52.75+00:00
Hello

I created the App.config file and set it as shown in the Microsoft article. However, the library is still not detected by the application. Since the project is small, I am not looking for a comprehensive search.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> <configuration> <runtime> <assemblyBinding xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1"> <probing privatePath="Lib;Lib\x64;Lib\x86"/> </assemblyBinding> </runtime> </configuration>
KOZ6.0 6,735 Reputation points

2024-10-09T17:31:41.2633333+00:00

The URL I provided shows how to load a library created in .NET.

For native dlls, follow the method in the sample code.

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How to Configure Library Files to Run in a Subfolder?

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Your answer