v4 HarvestDirectory and preprocessor variable

[Steve0212a]

I have been unable to get HarvestDirectory working with a preprocessor variable. I have used wix v3 a lot, but this is my first attempt at v4.

Here is my wixproj (mostly copied from the docs)

<Project Sdk="WixToolset.Sdk/4.0.0-rc.2">
  <PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)|$(Platform)'=='Debug|x64'">
    <CompilerAdditionalOptions>-d SourceFolder=<my path></CompilerAdditionalOptions>
  </PropertyGroup>
  <ItemGroup>
    <HarvestDirectory Include="<path to folder with files>">
      <ComponentGroupName>HarvestedComponents</ComponentGroupName>
      <DirectoryRefId>INSTALLFOLDER</DirectoryRefId>
      <PreprocessorVariable>SourceFolder</PreprocessorVariable>
      <SuppressRootDirectory>true</SuppressRootDirectory>
      <HarvestDirectoryVerboseOutput>true</HarvestDirectoryVerboseOutput>
    </HarvestDirectory>
  </ItemGroup>
  <ItemGroup>
    <PackageReference Include="WixToolset.Heat" Version="4.0.0-rc.2" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Project>

However, I am getting this error:
wix.exe : error WIX0288: The variable 'SourceFolder' with value '<my path>' was previously declared with value '<my path>'.

In Visual studio in the properties of the wixproj, I have set the Additional build parameters to have the -d... shown above in the wixproj.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

[barnson]

Use the MSBuild /bl switch to get a binlog and use the log viewer to look for wix.exe invocations.

[Steve0212a]

So, I am getting different results from MSBuild that I am from Visual Studio, though neither work. In Visual Studio, I am getting the error in my original post.

I ran MSBuild and it seems to be ignoring my CompilerAdditionalOptions in the wixproj. Text log attached. Is there something else I need to add to the msbuild command line to pass that variable to WIX?

log.txt

[robmen]

To set preprocessor variables use the DefineConstants Property instead. Like:

   <DefineConstants>SourceFolder=<my path></DefineConstants>

[Steve0212a]

Updating the wixproj with that solved it in Visual Studio - thanks.

MSBuild still fails with this error on all the heat generated entries:
error WIX0150: Undefined preprocessor variable '$(SourceFolder)'

[robmen]

I'd guess that from MSBuild, you're not building the Debug and x64 configuration.

[Steve0212a]

I honestly don't use MSBuild that much - usually Visual Studio or dotnet publish. I just tried this command line and got the same error:

msbuild -r /p:Configuration=DEBUG /p:PlatformTarget=x64 Msi.wixproj

Now that VS is working, I am good, but since v4 is in testing, I was not sure if this was a bug or just my unfamiliarity with MSBUILD...

[robmen]

It looks like the name of the platform variable is Platform not PlatformTarget. You'll want to look at the second line of your .wixproj. IMHO, there is a lot of value in understanding MSBuild. VS and dotnet publish are built on top of it.

[Steve0212a]

Ah - got it. that makes sense.

Thanks for the help!