Power shell script - can we set dll Product Version when we build it?

Question

I am new to Powershell. I am using power shell script to build VB6 dlls.

$compiler = "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\VB98\VB6.EXE".
$vbpPath= "C:\...\Desktop\ProjectFile\ProjectName.vbp"
$Outputpath = "C:\...\Desktop\Destination\ProjectName.dll"

Start-Process -FilePath "`"$compiler `"" -ArgumentList "/out
error.txt /make `"$vbpPath`" `"$Outputpath `""  -PassThru -Wait

Can we set its product version by our self when we build it? Let's say set product version to "Mysoftware 5.1 Beta 6". Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Hi to anyone who faced similar issues,

After referencing this link: How do I set the version information for an existing .exe, .dll?

I was able to change dlls and exes' product version under a specific folder. This step is done after all the dlls and exes were built.

1. Use Resource Hacker to Extract the *.RC file from exes/ dlls :

   $ResourceHackerPath = "C:\Tools\resource_hacker\ResourceHacker.EXE"
   $Dllpath = "...\MySoftware\Mydll.dll" 
   $RCpath = "...\MySoftware\Mydll.RC"
   Start-Process -FilePath "`"$ResourceHackerPath`""  -ArgumentList "-extract `"$ProductPath`",`"$RCpath`",versioninfo,," -wait                                                                          
   

2. Edit product version in *.RC file :

   $OriProVer = (Get-Item -literalpath $Dllpath ).VersionInfo.ProductVersion
   $NewProVer = "Mysoftware 5.1 Beta 6"
   (Get-Content $Dllpath).Replace($OriProVer, $NewProVer ) | Set-Content $Dllpath
   

3. Use GoRC to change *.RC file format to *.RES file:

   Start-Process -FilePath "`"$GoRCPath`""  -ArgumentList "/r `"$RCpath`"" -wait
   

4. Use Resource Hacker again to add the *.RES file to the dlls or exes

   $RESpath = "...\MySoftware\Mydll.RES"
   Start-Process -FilePath "`"$ResourceHackerPath`""  -ArgumentList "-addoverwrite  `"$Dllpath `",`"$Dllpath `",`"$RESpath`", , ," -wait
   

Your dlls' product version should be updated to any string that you want.

Extra tips, if you wish to update a lot of dlls and exes product version: You can try this:

1. Search all the dlls and exes under a specific folder:

   $directory = "...\Desktop\New Folder"
   $FileNameList = Get-ChildItem -literalpath  $directory -Include *.dll, *.exe  -recurse | foreach-object { "{0}" -f [System.Diagnostics.FileVersionInfo]::GetVersionInfo($_).FileName}
   

2. Doing the all 4 steps above in a for loop:

   for ($i = 0;$i -lt $FileNameList.count;$i++){...}
   

Thanks & have a nice day :)