Get UWP Package.appxmanifest version in MSBuild

Question

I need the Package.appxmanifest Version in a MSBuild.Target. What I do is:

<Target Name="Zip">
<ItemGroup>
    <BinDirectoryFiles Include="...\AppPackages\My-App_$(Version)\**\*.*" />
</ItemGroup>
<Zip Files="@(BinDirectoryFiles)" WorkingDirectory="...\AppPackages\My-App_$(Version)" 
ZipFileName="...\Zip\My-App_$(Version).zip" />

(I have shorten the paths and the names)

So this is the target where I zip an app package to upload it to HockeyApp. (If I hardcode the complete file Name with the Version number, than the zip target is working.) But to get the right apppackage and the right Name for the zip file I need the Version which is set in the Package.appxmanifest. But I don't know how to get it in my MSBuild.Target in the .csproj file.

Answer 1

The Package.appxmanifest is just an xml file, so you can either create a custom MSBuild task to read it, or use the MSBuild Extension Pack to get the value.

The following MSBuild file contains a custom GetPackageVersion that will read the Package.appxmanifest from the current folder and output the version:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project ToolsVersion="12.0"
         DefaultTargets="Build"
         xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">

<Target Name="Build">
  <GetPackageVersion Filename="Package.appxmanifest">
    <Output PropertyName="PackageVersion" TaskParameter="PackageVersion" />
  </GetPackageVersion>

  <Message Text="PackageVersion: $(PackageVersion)" />
</Target>

<UsingTask TaskName="GetPackageVersion" TaskFactory="CodeTaskFactory" AssemblyFile="$(MSBuildToolsPath)\Microsoft.Build.Tasks.v4.0.dll">
  <ParameterGroup>
    <FileName ParameterType="System.String" Required="true" />
    <PackageVersion ParameterType="System.String" Output="true" />
  </ParameterGroup>
  <Task>
    <Reference Include="System.Xml" />
    <Reference Include="System.Xml.Linq" />
    <Using Namespace="System.IO" />
    <Using Namespace="System.Xml.Linq" />
    <Code Type="Fragment" Language="cs"><![CDATA[
      var doc = XDocument.Load(FileName);
      var defaultNamespace = doc.Root.GetDefaultNamespace();
      PackageVersion = doc.Root.Element(defaultNamespace.GetName("Identity")).Attribute("Version").Value;
]]></Code>
  </Task>
</UsingTask>

</Project>