DLL reference not copying into project bin

c# .net visual-studio .net-assembly solution
Dave New picture Dave New · May 8, 2014 · Viewed 20.3k times · Source

Project A references Project B, and Project B references an external DDL (restored using NuGet). The DLL should get copied into Project A's bin folder (along with Project B's DLL):

DLL References Copied To Bin

In my case, when running Project A, I get the following exception thrown:

Could not load file or assembly 'PostSharp, Version=3.2.18.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b13fd38b8f9c99d7' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.

The DLL is not being copied into Project A's bin. All other external references from Project B are being copied across just fine, which is what is confusing for me.

Copy Local is set to true for all references involved. Example:

Copy Local Reference

How do I do this?

Note: Using Visual Studio 2013.

Answer

Dave New picture Dave New · May 9, 2014

The options that I found were to:

  • Add a reference to PostSharp in Project A.
  • Add dummy code in Project B so that the compiler would detect that the reference is being used.
  • Add a build event to force copy the DLL.

I don't like any of the above solutions. They are hacks in my opinion and will only make for a more unmaintainable solution in the long run.

I have fixed the problem by using a common output directory. This seems to be a recommended solution by many. I have also experienced much faster build times. See this Stackoverflow post.

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