Set <ApplicationDisplayVersion> using Target BeforeBuild in csproj

Simon Says 1

Before project builds, I would like to read from external source and set the <ApplicationDisplayVersion>. In my csproj, I've the following:

   ...  
   <Target Name="CalculateVersionCodeProperties" BeforeTargets="Build">  
     
       <PropertyGroup Condition=" '$(Configuration)' == 'Debug' ">  
           <ApplicationDisplayVersion>1.2.3</ApplicationDisplayVersion>  
           <ApplicationVersion>2</ApplicationVersion>  
       </PropertyGroup>  
   </Target>  
   ...

But the above doesn't seems to work. When running AppInfo.VersionString in the code, it is showing the default 1.0.0; it should read 1.2.3

Any pointers? Thanks.

Yonglun Liu (Shanghai Wicresoft Co,.Ltd.) 36,231 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2022-09-02T08:25:05.357+00:00
Could you please provide more detailed information about what doesn't work, in what way, and what is your expected behavior?

You could use MSbuild to check log for confirming whether <ApplicationDisplayVersion> works.

If you want to read your BuildNumber from an external file when it runs, the following documentations would be helpful for you to create task to do it:

Create a custom task - MSBuild | Microsoft Learn
If you don't mind importing an external DLL file, you could refer to this documentation which is easy to use.

MSBuild Inline Tasks - MSBuild | Microsoft Learn
It is more difficult to debug than the first one, but it doesn't have to refer to the extra DLL file.
Simon Says 1 Reputation point

2022-09-05T16:03:50.3+00:00

Why it doesn't work: When running AppInfo.VersionString in the code, it is showing the default 1.0.0

Expected Behavior: It should show 1.2.3

My question is not about how to read my BuildNumber from external file. But whether if there is a way to set <ApplicationDisplayVersion> in MSBuild Task

Szantar Daniel 0

Hi,

maybe this will help:


<Target Name="SetAppVersion" BeforeTargets="BeforeBuild" Condition=" '$(JENKINS)' == '1' ">
   <XmlPoke XmlInputPath="Properties\AndroidManifest.xml" Namespaces="&lt;Namespace Prefix='android' Uri='http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android' /&gt;" Query="manifest/@android:versionCode" Value="$(buildNumber)" />   
<XmlPoke XmlInputPath="Properties\AndroidManifest.xml" Namespaces="&lt;Namespace Prefix='android' Uri='http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android' /&gt;" Query="manifest/@android:versionName" Value="$(BUNDLE_SHORT_VERSION_STRING)" />
</Target>