New .csproj does not resolve AssemblyFoldersEx "Extensions" references

[jnm2]

DevExpress's library path appears at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v4.0.30319\AssemblyFoldersEx\DevExpress Components 16.2, value (Default).

For new csproj, the dlls in that folder never appear in the Add Reference dialog no matter what framework version I target. For legacy csproj, the dlls all show up under the Extensions category. Is this a bug?

Also, references to the dlls are unable to be resolved without HintPath or <AssemblySearchPaths>$(AssemblySearchPaths);{GAC}</AssemblySearchPaths>. If I understand correctly, they should be resolved because of the AssemblyFoldersEx key.

[livarcocc]

@davkean I was told that you might be able to help me figure out what is going on here.

I think the second paragraph may be a project system issue.

And the third paragraph I don't know if we made an explicit decision or not to support this. Would you know?

[davkean]

We'll need a bug against us (http://github.com/dotnet/project-system) for the Reference dialog - I can't remember it it respects build, or we need to pass it the right context.

SDK has opt'd out of AssemblyFoldersEx.

This line says that its only remove {GAC} but it's removing more than that:

   <AssemblySearchPaths Condition=" '$(AssemblySearchPaths)' == '' ">{CandidateAssemblyFiles};{HintPathFromItem};{TargetFrameworkDirectory};{RawFileName}</AssemblySearchPaths>

MSBuild's version

    <AssemblySearchPaths Condition=" '$(AssemblySearchPaths)' == ''">
      {CandidateAssemblyFiles};
      $(ReferencePath);
      {HintPathFromItem};
      {TargetFrameworkDirectory};
      $(AssemblyFoldersConfigFileSearchPath)
      {Registry:$(FrameworkRegistryBase),$(TargetFrameworkVersion),$(AssemblyFoldersSuffix)$(AssemblyFoldersExConditions)};
      {AssemblyFolders};
      {GAC};
      {RawFileName};
      $(OutDir)
    </AssemblySearchPaths>

It's removed GAC, OutDir, AssemblyFoldersConfigFileSearchPath and AssemblyFoldersEx searching.

[sassy224]

Hi there,
Has this issue been resolved yet? I'm encountering a bug where the new netcore3 app csproject doesn't find assemblies which were specified in AssemblyFoldersEx in registry.
The same settings

<ItemGroup>
    <Reference Include="aaa.bbb.4.5.2" />
</ItemGroup>

works fine in any .NET Framework projects

[davkean]

We'll use dotnet/project-system#5245 to track the Reference Dialog itself.

[cremor]

This also has the effect that Office interop assemblies (e.g. Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word) are not available in SDK-style projects unless you add the AssemblyFoldersEx searching ({Registry:$(FrameworkRegistryBase),$(TargetFrameworkVersion),$(AssemblyFoldersSuffix)$(AssemblyFoldersExConditions)}) back to <AssemblySearchPaths>.

[matherm-aboehm]

Adding back these missing items in <AssemblySearchPaths> does work when building with MSBuild\Current\Bin\amd64\MSBuild.exe (default Developer Command Prompt) on 64-bit systems, even when referenced assemblies has only registry entries in the 32-bit registry part (HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v4.0.30319\AssemblyFoldersEx).

But if you use dotnet build from default 64-bit %ProgramFiles% location, it doesn't find the assembly references for a SDK-style project with TargetFramework net48.
Here is the output from binlog for dotnet build:

Primärverweis "Microsoft.Expression.Interactions, Version=4.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35, processorArchitecture=MSIL".
    Für SearchPath "{TargetFrameworkDirectory}".
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Facades\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Facades\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Facades\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
    Für SearchPath "{Registry:Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework,v4.8,AssemblyFoldersEx}".
        Berücksichtigte Speicherorte von AssemblyFoldersEx.
    Für SearchPath "{GAC}".
        {GAC}\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        {GAC}\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        {GAC}\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
    Für SearchPath "{RawFileName}".
        Die Behandlung von Microsoft.Expression.Interactions, Version = 4.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35, processorArchitecture=MSIL als Dateiname wurde berücksichtigt, der Name war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
    Für SearchPath "bin\Debug-NoPDfViewer\net48\".
        bin\Debug-NoPDfViewer\net48\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        bin\Debug-NoPDfViewer\net48\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        bin\Debug-NoPDfViewer\net48\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.

Google translation:

Primary reference "Microsoft.Expression.Interactions, Version=4.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35, processorArchitecture=MSIL".
    For SearchPath "{TargetFrameworkDirectory}".
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd was considered but was not present.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll was considered but was not present.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe was considered but was not present.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Facades\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd was considered but was not present.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Facades\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll was considered but was not present.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Facades\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe was considered but was not present.
    For SearchPath "{Registry:Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework,v4.8,AssemblyFoldersEx}".
        AssemblyFoldersEx locations considered.
    For SearchPath "{GAC}".
        {GAC}\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd was considered but was not present.
        {GAC}\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll was considered but was not present.
        {GAC}\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe was considered but was not present.
    For SearchPath "{RawFileName}".
        Treating Microsoft.Expression.Interactions, Version=4.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35, processorArchitecture=MSIL as filename was considered, but the name was not present.
    For SearchPath "bin\Debug-NoPDfViewer\net48\".
        bin\Debug-NoPDfViewer\net48\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd was considered, but was not present.
        bin\Debug-NoPDfViewer\net48\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll was considered, but was not present.
        bin\Debug-NoPDfViewer\net48\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe was considered, but was not present.

Output from binlog for MSBuild.exe:

Primärverweis "Microsoft.Expression.Interactions, Version=4.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35".
    Der aufgelöste Dateipfad ist "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Expression\Blend\.NETFramework\v4.5\Libraries\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll".
    Ein Verweis wurde im Suchpfad "{Registry:Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework,v4.8,AssemblyFoldersEx}" gefunden.
    Für SearchPath "{TargetFrameworkDirectory}".
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Facades\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Facades\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Facades\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
    Für SearchPath "{AssemblyFoldersFromConfig:C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\MSBuild\Current\Bin\AssemblyFolders.config,v4.8}".
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\Extensions\Microsoft\SqlDb\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\Extensions\Microsoft\SqlDb\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\Extensions\Microsoft\SqlDb\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\PublicAssemblies\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\PublicAssemblies\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\PublicAssemblies\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v4.5\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v4.5\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v4.5\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v4.0\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v4.0\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v4.0\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v2.0\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v2.0\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v2.0\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe wurde berücksichtigt, war jedoch nicht vorhanden.
    Für SearchPath "{Registry:Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework,v4.8,AssemblyFoldersEx}".
        Berücksichtigte Speicherorte von AssemblyFoldersEx.
    Die Satellitendatei "de\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" wurde gefunden.
    Die Satellitendatei "en\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" wurde gefunden.
    Die Satellitendatei "es\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" wurde gefunden.
    Die Satellitendatei "fr\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" wurde gefunden.
    Die Satellitendatei "it\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" wurde gefunden.
    Die Satellitendatei "ja\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" wurde gefunden.
    Die Satellitendatei "ko\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" wurde gefunden.
    Die Satellitendatei "ru\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" wurde gefunden.
    Die Satellitendatei "zh-Hans\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" wurde gefunden.
    Die Satellitendatei "zh-Hant\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" wurde gefunden.

Google translation:

Primary reference "Microsoft.Expression.Interactions, Version=4.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35".
    The resolved file path is "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Expression\Blend\.NETFramework\v4.5\Libraries\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll".
        A reference was found in search path "{Registry:Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework,v4.8,AssemblyFoldersEx}".
    For SearchPath "{TargetFrameworkDirectory}".
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd was considered but was not present.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll was considered but was not present.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe was considered but was not present.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Facades\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd was considered but was not present.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Facades\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll was considered but was not present.
        C:\Users\aboehm\.nuget\packages\microsoft.netframework.referenceassemblies.net48\1.0.2\build\.NETFramework\v4.8\Facades\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe was considered but was not present.
    For SearchPath "{AssemblyFoldersFromConfig:C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\MSBuild\Current\Bin\AssemblyFolders.config,v4.8}".
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\Extensions\Microsoft\SqlDb\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd was considered but was not present.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\Extensions\Microsoft\SqlDb\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll was considered but was not present.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\Extensions\Microsoft\SqlDb\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe was considered but was not present.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\PublicAssemblies\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd was considered but was not present.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\PublicAssemblies\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll was considered but was not present.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\PublicAssemblies\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe was considered but was not present.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v4.5\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd was considered but was not present.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v4.5\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll was considered but was not present.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v4.5\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe was considered but was not present.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v4.0\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd was considered but was not present.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v4.0\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll was considered but was not present.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v4.0\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe was considered but was not present.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v2.0\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.winmd was considered but was not present.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v2.0\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.dll was considered but was not present.
        C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\IDE\ReferenceAssemblies\v2.0\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.exe was considered but was not present.
    For SearchPath "{Registry:Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework,v4.8,AssemblyFoldersEx}".
        AssemblyFoldersEx locations considered. 
    The satellite file "de\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" was found.
    The satellite file "en\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" was found.
    The satellite file "es\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" was found.
    The satellite file "fr\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" was found.
    The satellite file "it\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" was found.
    The satellite file "ja\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" was found.
    The satellite file "ko\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" was found.
    The satellite file "ru\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" was found.
    The satellite file "zh-Hans\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" was found.
    The satellite file "zh-Hant\Microsoft.Expression.Interactions.resources.dll" was found.

[matherm-aboehm]

I tested it again with added registry entries in the 64-bit registry part. But dotnet build is still not finding these assembly references.
So please ignore my comments about bitness of used build tools, it is just not working at all with dotnet build.