Why wont my application read my DataAccessLayer.dll.config file?

1
votes

I'm trying to use application settings with a C#.NET project I am working on. But I can't seem to get it to return anything other then the default values. Through the project properties I've added a single setting, DBConnectionString, and set its value to a connection string I want to use. Its scope is set to "application".

Doing this created a number of files including Settings.settings, Settings.Designer.CS, and app.config. The Settings class then has custom, type safe, properties that can be used to set and retrieve each setting. The app.config file is a XML file that stores the actual settings values.

When I build my project it looks like the app.config file is copied to the target directory as DataAccessLayer.dll.config. My program runs fine and is able to use the default connection string.

Next I tried to edit the DataAccessLayer.dll.config file to change the connection string. I ran my program again, but it continued to use the default value.

This project is a class library that use to a Web project and sometimes the connection string can changes.

1
c#.netdll
Is your config file being deployed to the \bin folder? Also what version of VS are you using? – DeanOC
I'm using Visual Studio 2012, the file is in \bin folder deploy, and I tried change this file, but the DataAccessLayer.dll continues with the default value when was compiled. – Jesus Garza
The Settings.settings has type "ConnectionString" and Scope "Application" – Jesus Garza

1 Answers

1
votes

Builds will output config files named after the dll however those aren't actually what's read on app start up. You could put the setting in the web apps config (example here Equivalent to 'app.config' for a library (DLL)), those are the settings you'll actually be running with in this case.

If you want your library to be portable you'll have to either; 1) make your own config class/file 2) Read your dll's app config manually (example in the answer I linked to above) or 3) Put your setting in the importing projects app.config

In this case I would just put your connection string data in the web apps config. If DataAccessLayer.dll is only for internal use, this is in my experience the most common pattern, and doesn't really have many cons. Ultimately I would have these values set during my build or by a deploy utility like Salt or Chef. If you're manually editing the web apps config on or after deploy then you're doing it wrong.