Where to place dlls for unmanaged libraries?

Question

I am trying to create a Nuget package for a library that depends on ghostscript and therefore references gsdll32.dll - an unmanaged library. I can\'t just included that a st

Answer 1

One problem I had was that the packages path wasn't always in the same place relative to the project file. The following worked for me:

1. Within the NuGet package, place your unmanaged DLLs in the lib\native folder.

2. Add the following script to the tools folder:

install.ps1

#This script creates or updates a PackagesPath property in the project file
param($installPath, $toolsPath, $package, $project)

$project.Save()

#Load the csproj file into an xml object
[xml] $xml = Get-Content -path $project.FullName

#grab the namespace from the project element 
$nsmgr = New-Object System.Xml.XmlNamespaceManager -ArgumentList $xml.NameTable
$nsmgr.AddNamespace('a',$xml.Project.GetAttribute("xmlns"))

#find or create the property
$property = $xml.Project.SelectSingleNode("//a:PropertyGroup//a:PackagesPath", $nsmgr)
if (!$property)
{
    $property = $xml.CreateElement("PackagesPath", $xml.Project.GetAttribute("xmlns"))
    $propertyGroup = $xml.CreateElement("PropertyGroup", $xml.Project.GetAttribute("xmlns"))
    $propertyGroup.AppendChild($property)
    $xml.Project.InsertBefore($propertyGroup, $xml.Project.ItemGroup[0])
}

#find the relative path to the packages folder
$absolutePackagesPath = (get-item $installPath).parent.FullName
push-location (split-path $project.FullName)
$relativePackagesPath = Resolve-Path -Relative $absolutePackagesPath
pop-location

#set the property value
$property.InnerText = $relativePackagesPath

#save the changes.
$xml.Save($project.FullName)

3. Add a targets file to the build folder. (Change "MyPackage" to the name of your package). Using a unique name for the target, like "CopyMyPackage", avoids conflicts with other packages trying to define the "AfterBuild" target. This targets file makes use of the $(PackagesPath) property defined by the above script.

MyPackage.targets

4. Finally, add a "MyPackageReadMe.txt" to the Content folder. This will enable the package to install.

See also: http://alski.net/post/2013/05/23/Using-NuGet-25-to-deliver-unmanaged-dlls.aspx