“Unleash the Power of Visual Studio 2017: Hack Your Way to Adding App.Config Files!”
Adding an App.config file to your Visual Studio 2017 project
Introduction
As a developer using Visual Studio 2017, you may come across situations where you need to configure different settings for your application. This is when the App.config file comes in handy. It is an XML-based configuration file used to store settings like connection strings, application-specific settings, and more.
Steps to add an App.config file
Step 1:
To begin, the first step is to create a new Visual Studio 2017 project. Click on “File” > “New” > “Project”. There are different options available, like selecting the type of project you want to create, and choosing a name for it.
Step 2:
After creating your project, it is time to add the App.config file to it. Right-click on the project “Solution Explorer”, and select “Add” > “New Item”. Choose “Application Configuration File” from the list of templates available under “Visual C# Items”.
Upon selecting the file, give your App.config file a meaningful name and click on the “Add” button. Visual Studio will create a new App.config file and add it to your project.
Step 3:
With the App.config file created, the next step is to add the configuration settings needed for your application. You can do this by opening the App.config file and adding different sections and settings as per your needs.
For example, you might need to add a connection string, which enables your application to connect to a database. You do this by adding the following XML code to the App.config file:
“`
“`
This code block creates a connection string named “myConnectionString,” which points to a SQL Server database.
You can also add other configuration settings like application-specific settings, logging settings, and more.
Step 4:
Once you have added the configuration settings to your App.config file, you need to access them from your application. You can do this using the ConfigurationManager class, which is part of the System.Configuration namespace.
For example, to retrieve the connection string defined in the previous example, you can use the following code:
“`
using System.Configuration;
…
string connectionString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings[“myConnectionString”].ConnectionString;
“`
This code retrieves the “myConnectionString” connection string from the App.config file and assigns it to a string variable named connectionString.
Conclusion
Adding an App.config file to your Visual Studio 2017 project is a crucial step in configuring your application. With this file, you can store various settings, including connection strings, application-specific settings, and more. By following the steps outlined in this pillar article, you can create and manipulate an App.config file in Visual Studio 2017 and access configuration settings in your application.