When it comes to software development, keeping track of different versions of a project is crucial. Each iteration of a software build may include bug fixes, new features, or performance improvements. In order to keep track of these changes and ensure that the latest version is being used, developers often use a build versioning system.
One popular tool for software development is Microsoft Visual Studio. This powerful integrated development environment (IDE) provides a robust set of features to help developers create, debug, and deploy various types of applications. However, one task that can be time-consuming for developers is manually incrementing the build version of their project. In this article, we will explore how to automatically increment the file build version in Visual Studio, saving developers time and effort.
First, let's understand what a build version is. In simple terms, a build version is a unique identifier that is assigned to each version of a software build. It typically consists of a set of numbers separated by periods, such as 1.0.0.0. This version number can be used to track changes, troubleshoot issues, and ensure that the latest version is being used by end-users.
In Visual Studio, the build version is stored in the project file, which is usually named "AssemblyInfo.cs" or "AssemblyInfo.vb" depending on the programming language used. This file contains important information about the project, including the version number. By default, the build version is set to 1.0.0.0 and needs to be manually updated for each new build.
To automate this process, we can use the "AssemblyInfo Task" in Visual Studio. This task allows us to specify the build version format and automatically increments the version number each time the project is built. To access this task, right-click on the project in the Solution Explorer and select "Properties." In the properties window, click on the "Build Events" tab and then click on the "Edit Pre-build…" button.
In the pre-build event command line, we can add the following code to the "AssemblyInfo Task" to increment the build version:
"$(SolutionDir)packages\MSBuild.Extension.Pack.1.8.0\tools\MSBuild.ExtensionPack.VersionNumberTask.dll" /AssemblyInfoFiles:"$(SolutionDir)ProjectFolder\Properties\AssemblyInfo.cs" /BuildType:Increment /RevisionType:Increment /MajorType:Increment /MinorType:Increment /BuildType:Increment /AssemblyInfoType:AssemblyInfo
This code uses the MSBuild Extension Pack, a collection of MSBuild tasks that can be used to automate various build tasks. The code instructs the "AssemblyInfo Task" to increment the build version by one for each build. We can also specify which part of the version number to increment, such as major, minor, or build.
Once the code is added, save the changes and build the project. The build version will now be automatically incremented each time the project is built. This not only saves time but also ensures that the correct version number is being used for each build.
In addition to automatically incrementing the build version, we can also specify a custom format for the version number. For example, we can include the date and time of the build in the version number by using the following code:
