Visual Studio "Layout Folder Path" not created during build

oregonduckman 6

I created a simple UWP app using VS 2022 and I noticed that the Appx directory specified in the project Debug properties is not created at build time. It seems like Appx is needed for debugging locally and the real AppX would be created with the distribution package> In fact I want to copy files to the Appx\Assets directory for use in my project. The "Layout folder path:" in my test app is specified as "C:\Users\SomeUser\source\repos\LayoutFolderPath\LayoutFolderPath\bin\x64\Debug\AppX". What is the expected behavior? Note that this can easily be replicated in VS 2022 by using the Blank UWP template.

Karen Payne MVP 35,036 Reputation points

2022-04-11T17:02:06.683+00:00
Unsure if this will work for you, see MakeDir Copy Tasks.

With MakeDir you can create multiple levels

<Target Name="MakeMailFolder" AfterTargets="Build"> <MakeDir Directories="$(OutDir)Pickup\Temp" /> </Target>
oregonduckman 6 Reputation points

2022-04-11T18:44:21.397+00:00

Thank you for your response. Please note that my question is "What is the expected behavior?" Since the UWP project template creates the project settings and thus the "Layout folder path:" it seems reasonable that the build process would use the settings to create all of the expected directories. Your answer seems to suggest that even though the "Layout folder path:" is specified correctly by the UWP template it is up to the developer to actually create the directory as a build event.
Roy Li - MSFT 31,766 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-04-12T03:09:43.863+00:00

Since you are asking about the default mechanism of the Visual Studio, it will be better to ask in the Visual Studio Developer Community. In the Developer Community, you are able to talk to the Visual Studio product team directly and ask about this.