xml file not being compiled by XNA

Question

I'm making a game using XNA 4.0/Visual Studio 2013. I want to load content using XML files, and I'm currently testing a really simple XML called Terminator.xml. (It's serialized in another project from a class called "Movie", with only one property called "Name").

I've added the xml file to the content project and set "Build Action" to Compile and "Copy to Output Directory" to Copy Always.

However, I keep getting a:

File not found

...error. It looks like the xml file is never being compiled and transferred to the debug folder, even though it should be.

Here is the relevant code. It's interesting to note that the spritefont loads, but not the xml file.

        font = Content.Load<SpriteFont>(@"font");
        movie = XnaSerializer.Deserialize<Movie>(@"Terminator");

Here's the error text:

Could not find file 'C:\Users\H119650\Documents\Visual Studio 2013\Projects\Elysium\Elysium\Elysium\bin\x86\Debug\Terminator'

Also, is it supposed to try to put the compiled file into Elysium instead ElysiumContent? Seems a bit suspect, looking at the file path above.

Nikola Dimitroff Nikola Dimitroff · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-31T06:20:52

I see two problems here.

You error message clearly states that it is looking for the Terminator file as opposed to Terminator.xml so it's probably a good idea to use XnaSerializer.Deserialize<Movie>(@"Terminator.xml").
You should not set Build Action to Compile if a file is not compiled. Use Content instead.

xml file not being compiled by XNA

1 Answers