How to mass-edit *proj files in VS using PowerShell

mass-editing-csproj-files-in-vs.md

How to mass-edit *proj files in VS

• In powershell, we first rename all csproj files to csprojxxx; so VS does not try to open them as projects instead treat them as text files:

  ls -r *.csproj | rename-item -force -newname { [io.path]::ChangeExtension($_.name, "csprojxxx") }

• In File Explorer, navigate to project directory and search for *.csprojxxx, then drag all the items onto a new VS instace.

• In VS, use regex to capture a whole line by a keyword, for example (^.*Microsoft\.Common\.props.*\n) will select the entire line:

  (note two white spaces before the text)

    <Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props" Condition="Exists('$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props')" />

  then the replace text:

  (note two white spaces before the text)

    <Import Project="$(SolutionDir)\My.Common.props" />\n$1

  this will form:

  (note two white spaces before each line)

    <Import Project="$(SolutionDir)\My.Common.props" />
    <Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props" Condition="Exists('$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props')" />

• Finally rename all csprojxxx back to csproj

  ls -r *.csprojxxx | rename-item -force -newname { [io.path]::ChangeExtension($_.name, "csproj") }