Get wildcard reference in csproj node

Question

Take the following example:

<EmbeddedResource Include="Resources\files\main-*.png">
   <LogicalName>Images\main\???.resources</LogicalName>
</EmbeddedResource>

How can I get the part from "*" inside a child of a node? I have found %Filename%, but that's too much.

Answer 1

It is possible, but requires some property functions kung fu.

<Project>
    <!--
        Create files:
        Resources\files\main-foo.png
        Resources\files\main-bar.png

        Run:
        MSBuild.exe foo.proj /t:Test

        Output:
        LogicalName: Images\main\foo.resources
        LogicalName: Images\main\bar.resources
    -->

    <ItemGroup>
        <EmbeddedResource Include="Resources\files\main-*.png">
            <_DashPosition>$([System.String]::Copy('%(FileName)').IndexOf('-'))</_DashPosition>
            <_LogicalNameStart>$([MSBuild]::Add(%(_DashPosition), 1))</_LogicalNameStart>
            <LogicalName>Images\main\$([System.String]::Copy('%(FileName)').Substring(%(_LogicalNameStart))).resources</LogicalName>
        </EmbeddedResource>
    </ItemGroup>

    <Target Name="Test">
        <Message Text="LogicalName: %(EmbeddedResource.LogicalName)" Importance="high"/>
    </Target>

</Project>

The general approach is like it would be in C# or other language. Find the delimiter (here - in the filename) and take everything after that as LogicalName.

Note that I used "temporary" item metadata (the '_' is just a convention here) to keep things a little more clear. In theory, you could cramp all into the <LogicalName> itself.