What is the value of MSBuildThisFileDirectory?

Question

If I have a project structure like this:

\MySolution
  \MyProject
    ReadMe.md
    \build
      MyProject.targets

What would the value of $(MSBuildThisFileDirectory) be when used in the MyProject.targets file?

Assuming my solution folder is in the root of C: drive, would it be?..

c:\MySolution\MyProject\build\

In the MyProject.targets file, how would I reference the ReadMe.md file using the $(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)?

Additional information:

MyProject.targets looks like:

<Project xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
  <ItemGroup>
    <None Include="$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)\xxx\ReadMe.md">
      <Link>FrameworkTests.feature</Link>
      <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
      <CustomToolNamespace></CustomToolNamespace>
    </None>
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

Answer 1

What is the value of MSBuildThisFileDirectory?

It depends on your MyProject.targets. According to the literal meaning of this variable, you could to know ThisFileDirectory means "This File Directory".

Since you have use this argument in the file MyProject.targets, the path should be related to the location of the "this file" MyProject.targets. So the value of this argument should be the directory of this file MyProject.targets.

After install the nuget, the file MyProject.targets should be added to the path:

c:\MySolution\packages\MyProject.1.0.0<YouPackagefolder>\build

You can use a target to output that value in your project file, to accomplish this, unload your project. Then at the very end of the project, just before the end-tag </project>, place below scripts:

<Target Name="TestValue" AfterTargets="build">
  <Message Text="@(none)">
  </Message>
</Target>