Where is app.config supposed to reside?

Ron Howerton · July 26th, 2011, 01:41 PM

I'm having trouble getting a Windows vb program to read app.config and have been unable to locate any useful information. This code, located in the form_load curently, runs as expected in the debugger:

Dim strProgramID AsString = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings("ProgramID")
MsgBox("strProgramID='" & strProgramID & "'")

But it returns NOTHING when running the compiled version. It appears to give no reason for failure and I can only assume the problem is that it can't find the app.config file. I copied the file named "app.config" to the same folder as the executable because it was not there, but that did not appear to have resolved this.

I usually code web programs and this has never been a problem for me in that environment, and can find nothing online to explain why this should not work outside the debugger, so I am stumped! Can somebody please explain what I've overlooked before I start coding my own INI file class?

Imar · July 26th, 2011, 03:18 PM

Hi there,

The app.config file should indeed be in the same folder as your executable, but it should also be named after the execuable.

To see how this works, try this:

1. Create a new Win Forms application.

2. Right-click the project, choose Add | New Item and add an Application Configuration File.

3. Compile

4. Take a look in the Bin\Debug folder. There you find the config file with a name such as WindowsFormsApplication1.exe.config.

Hope this helps,

Imar

Ron Howerton · July 26th, 2011, 03:27 PM

Hi Imar! Thanks for your response. While I would agree it SHOULD have created the file using the proper name, it appears to have called it simply app.config.

I finally found a helpful post about 15 minutes ago on some obscure site pointing this out but hadn't had time to update my post before you replied. I renamed the file and it now works as expected. So, I apparently didn't sacrifice the chicken properly or wasn't holding my mouth right when I first created the config file or something?

For more app.config fun, try creating a multiple project solution containing DLL and Windows application projects, where each project has its own app.config. The DLL reads its own app.config in the debugger, but reads the CALLING PROGRAM's app.config when running the EXE. That was so much fun figuring out! Wheeeeee!!!!!

Imar · July 26th, 2011, 06:01 PM

It must have been the chicken... ;-)

Imar