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Is is possible to tidy up the files shown in a Visual Studio project

Peter Hull 20 Reputation points
2026-04-27T09:32:40.14+00:00

Hi, I have a C# project in Visual Studio 2026 which relies on DLLs generated by a separate C++ project in the same solution. I want these DLLs to be copied to the output directory. Initially I had a post-build action but this did not work well with packaging / publishing - they were all ignored. I believe the 'best practice' is to add them to the project file as Content elements. This seems to work OK but now they are all listed at the top level in the Solution Explorer view. This is messy as there are quite a lot of them - my DLL and all its transitive dependencies. Ideally I'd put them in a Folder but I don't want them to be in a folder when they get copied to the package.

At the moment I've got this in the .csproj file

<ItemGroup>
  <Content Include="$(SolutionDir)$(Platform)\$(Configuration)\Addon.dll">
    <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
  </Content>
  <Content Include="$(SolutionDir)\Chp\vcpkg_installed\$(Platform)-windows\bin\*.dll">
    <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
  </Content>
  <Content Include="$(SolutionDir)\Chp\vcpkg_installed\$(Platform)-windows\debug\bin\*.dll">
    <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
  </Content>
</ItemGroup>

Any ideas?

Thanks

Peter

Developer technologies | Visual Studio | Other
Developer technologies | Visual Studio | Other

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Answer accepted by question author

  1. Q&A Assist
    2026-04-27T09:32:54.1+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    Use content files, but hide or logically group them instead of letting them clutter the top level.

    Key points from the current setup:

    • Using <Content Include=...> with <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory> is the correct pattern to ensure the DLLs are copied to the build output and included in publish/package output.
    • Visual Studio shows each Content item directly under the project node by default, which is what causes the clutter.

    To tidy the view without changing where the files are copied at build time, use a logical folder in the project (a Solution Explorer folder), not a real filesystem folder:

    1. In Solution Explorer, right‑click the project → Add → New Folder (for example, name it NativeBinaries).
    2. Edit the .csproj so that the Content items are assigned to that folder via Link metadata, while still copying to the root of the output directory:
    <ItemGroup>
  <Content Include="$(SolutionDir)$(Platform)\$(Configuration)\Addon.dll">
    <Link>NativeBinaries\Addon.dll</Link>
    <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
  </Content>

  <Content Include="$(SolutionDir)Chp\vcpkg_installed\$(Platform)-windows\bin\*.dll">
    <Link>NativeBinaries\%(Filename)%(Extension)</Link>
    <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
  </Content>

  <Content Include="$(SolutionDir)Chp\vcpkg_installed\$(Platform)-windows\debug\bin\*.dll">
    <Link>NativeBinaries\%(Filename)%(Extension)</Link>
    <CopyToOutputDirectory>PreserveNewest</CopyToOutputDirectory>
  </Content>
</ItemGroup>
    • Include points to the real location of the DLLs on disk.
    • Link controls how they appear in Solution Explorer (under the NativeBinaries folder), without moving them on disk.
    • CopyToOutputDirectory still copies them to the project’s output folder (e.g., bin\Debug\net8.0), not into a subfolder.

    This keeps the project view tidy while preserving the flat layout in the build/publish output.

    If the DLLs are produced by C++ projects in the same solution, also ensure those projects’ Output Directory is set appropriately in their Property Pages so that the paths used in Include are stable. For C++ projects, this is under Configuration Properties → General → Output Directory.

    References:

1 additional answer

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  1. Senthil kumar 110 Reputation points
    2026-04-27T11:52:04.6833333+00:00
    • From solution explorer right click goto add reference then add your desired dll. it will work.

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