How to get t4 files to build in visual studio?

When I build my c# solution the .tt files will not create the .cs file outputs. But if I right click the .tt files one at a time in solution explorer and select "Run Custom Tool" the .cs is generated, so the build tool setting is correct. What do I do to get the overall solution build to force the custom tool to run on the .tt files?

Paul, you can also generate code at build time with TextTransform.exe or Elton Stoneman's MSBuild task. Just keep in mind that behavior of the built-in directives, like assembly and include is different when T4 runs in Visual Studio vs. the command-line host.

P a u l

Answering my own question, they are supposed to be generated at design time as per this discussion:

https://web.archive.org/web/20081227142303/http://www.olegsych.com/2008/02/t4-template-directive/

In Visual Studio 2013, I was able to get the .tt files to regenerate their targets by just adding these lines to the .csproj file:

<PropertyGroup>
  <!-- Get the Visual Studio version – defaults to 10: -->
  <VisualStudioVersion Condition="'$(VisualStudioVersion)' == ''">10.0</VisualStudioVersion>
  <!-- Keep the next element all on one line: -->
  <VSToolsPath Condition="'$(VSToolsPath)' == ''">$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v$(VisualStudioVersion)</VSToolsPath>
</PropertyGroup>
<!-- To enable build tasks on your development computer, install Modeling SDK for Visual Studio. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40754 -->
<Import Project="$(VSToolsPath)\TextTemplating\Microsoft.TextTemplating.targets" />
<!-- Run the Transform task at the start of every build -->
<PropertyGroup>
  <TransformOnBuild>true</TransformOnBuild>
</PropertyGroup>
<!-- Overwrite files that are read-only, for example because they are not checked out -->
<PropertyGroup>
  <OverwriteReadOnlyOutputFiles>true</OverwriteReadOnlyOutputFiles>
</PropertyGroup>
<!-- Transform every template every time -->
<PropertyGroup>
  <TransformOutOfDateOnly>false</TransformOutOfDateOnly>
</PropertyGroup>

However, for this to work, you'll need to have installed the Modeling SDK for Visual Studio. I found all of this information, along with a more complete description of the options available, on this page: Code Generation in a Build Process.

In Visual Studio 2017 (probably next versions too), you should add this in Pre-build event:

"$(DevEnvDir)TextTransform.exe" -out "$(ProjectDir)YourTemplate.cs" "$(ProjectDir)YourTemplate.tt"

p.s. The only solution that worked for me.

p.s.s. Change path to your template if it's located not in root project directory.

来源：https://stackoverflow.com/questions/405560/how-to-get-t4-files-to-build-in-visual-studio

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