Directory.Build Configuration

Overview

The Krypton Toolkit uses MSBuild's Directory.Build.props and Directory.Build.targets files to centralize build configuration and ensure consistent settings across all projects. These files are automatically imported by MSBuild for all projects in the directory tree.

File Hierarchy

Root Level

• Directory.Build.props - Global versioning and configuration

Component Level

• Source/Krypton Components/Directory.Build.props - Component-specific properties
• Source/Krypton Components/Directory.Build.targets - Component-specific targets

Inheritance Chain

Directory.Build.props (root)
    ↓ imported by
Source/Krypton Components/Directory.Build.props
    ↓ imported by
Each Krypton.*.csproj

Root Directory.Build.props

Location: Directory.Build.props

Purpose: Global version calculation and conditional compilation symbols

Version Calculation

The toolkit uses date-based semantic versioning:

Format: Major.YY.MM.DayOfYear[-suffix]

Components:

• Major: 110 (fixed)
• Minor: Current year (2 digits, e.g., 26 for 2026)
• Build: Current month (2 digits, e.g., 01 for January)
• Revision: Day of year (1-366)
• Suffix: Configuration-dependent (e.g., -alpha, -beta)

Example: 110.26.1.1 = Version 110, released in 2026, January, on the 1st day of the year

Configuration-Based Versioning

Canary Configuration

<When Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Canary'">
    <PropertyGroup>
        <Minor>$([System.DateTime]::Now.ToString(yy))</Minor>
        <Build>$([System.DateTime]::Now.ToString(MM))</Build>
        <Revision>$([System.DateTime]::Now.get_DayOfYear().ToString())</Revision>
        
        <LibraryVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)</LibraryVersion>
        <PackageVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)-beta</PackageVersion>
    </PropertyGroup>
</When>

Properties:

• LibraryVersion: Assembly version
• PackageVersion: NuGet package version with -beta suffix

Nightly Configuration

<When Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Nightly'">
    <PropertyGroup>
        <Minor>$([System.DateTime]::Now.ToString(yy))</Minor>
        <Build>$([System.DateTime]::Now.ToString(MM))</Build>
        <Revision>$([System.DateTime]::Now.get_DayOfYear().ToString())</Revision>
        
        <LibraryVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)</LibraryVersion>
        <PackageVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)-alpha</PackageVersion>
    </PropertyGroup>
</When>

Properties:

• PackageVersion: Has -alpha suffix for nightly builds

Installer Configuration

<When Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Installer'">
    <PropertyGroup>
        <Minor>$([System.DateTime]::Now.ToString(yy))</Minor>
        <Build>$([System.DateTime]::Now.ToString(MM))</Build>
        <Revision>$([System.DateTime]::Now.get_DayOfYear().ToString())</Revision>
        
        <LibraryVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)</LibraryVersion>
        <PackageVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)</PackageVersion>
    </PropertyGroup>
</When>

Special Notes:

• WiX installers require build numbers ≤ 256
• Uses month number for Build component

Release/Stable Configuration (Default)

<Otherwise>
    <PropertyGroup>
        <Minor>$([System.DateTime]::Now.ToString(yy))</Minor>
        <Build>$([System.DateTime]::Now.ToString(MM))</Build>
        <Revision>$([System.DateTime]::Now.get_DayOfYear().ToString())</Revision>
        
        <LibraryVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)</LibraryVersion>
        <PackageVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)</PackageVersion>
    </PropertyGroup>
</Otherwise>

.NET 10 Resource Handling

For .NET 10 compatibility:

<PropertyGroup Condition="'$(TargetFramework)' == 'net10.0-windows'">
    <GenerateResourceUsePreserializedResources>true</GenerateResourceUsePreserializedResources>
</PropertyGroup>

Purpose: Uses pre-serialized resources for better performance and compatibility

Conditional Compilation Symbols

Defines configuration-specific compilation symbols:

<PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Nightly'">
    <DefineConstants>$(DefineConstants);NIGHTLY</DefineConstants>
</PropertyGroup>

<PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Canary'">
    <DefineConstants>$(DefineConstants);CANARY</DefineConstants>
</PropertyGroup>

<PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Alpha'">
    <DefineConstants>$(DefineConstants);ALPHA</DefineConstants>
</PropertyGroup>

<PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Release'">
    <DefineConstants>$(DefineConstants);RELEASE</DefineConstants>
</PropertyGroup>

<PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'LTS'">
    <DefineConstants>$(DefineConstants);LTS</DefineConstants>
</PropertyGroup>

Usage in Code:

#if NIGHTLY
    // Nightly-specific code
#endif

#if CANARY
    // Canary-specific code
#endif

#if DEBUG
    // Debug-specific code
#endif

Component Directory.Build.props

Location: Source/Krypton Components/Directory.Build.props

Purpose: Component-specific build settings, assembly info, and NuGet package metadata

Import Chain

<Import Project="$([MSBuild]::GetPathOfFileAbove('Directory.Build.props', '$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)../../'))" />

Imports the root Directory.Build.props first, ensuring version properties are available.

Language Version

<PropertyGroup>
    <LangVersion>preview</LangVersion>
</PropertyGroup>

Purpose: Enables latest C# language features (preview)

Assembly Information

<PropertyGroup>
    <GenerateAssemblyInfo>true</GenerateAssemblyInfo>
    <NeutralLanguage>en</NeutralLanguage>
    <Authors>Phil Wright (A.K.A ComponentFactory), Peter Wagner (A.K.A Wagnerp), Simon Coghlan (A.K.A Smurf-IV), Giduac, Ahmed Abdelhameed, Lesandro and tobitege</Authors>
    <Copyright>© Component Factory Pty Ltd, 2006 - 2016. Then modifications by Peter Wagner (aka Wagnerp), Simon Coghlan (aka Smurf-IV), Giduac, Ahmed Abdelhameed, Lesandro and tobitege et al. 2017 - 2025. All rights reserved.</Copyright>
</PropertyGroup>

Generated Files: Auto-generates AssemblyInfo.cs with these attributes

Version Assignment

<PropertyGroup>
    <Version>$(LibraryVersion)</Version>
</PropertyGroup>

Uses LibraryVersion from root Directory.Build.props.

Package Output Directory

<PropertyGroup>
    <PackageOutputPath>$(MSBuildThisFileDirectory)..\..\Bin\Packages\$(Configuration)\</PackageOutputPath>
</PropertyGroup>

Result: Packages go to Bin/Packages/<Configuration>/

• Bin/Packages/Release/
• Bin/Packages/Canary/
• Bin/Packages/Nightly/

Configuration-Specific Package Metadata

Canary Configuration (Package Metadata)

<When Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Canary'">
    <ItemGroup>
        <None Include="../../../Assets/PNG/NuGet Package Icons/Krypton Canary.png" 
              Link="Icon.png" Pack="true" PackagePath="" />
        <None Include="..\..\..\Documents\License\License.md">
            <Pack>True</Pack>
            <PackagePath>\</PackagePath>
        </None>
        <None Include="..\..\..\README.md">
            <Pack>True</Pack>
            <PackagePath>\</PackagePath>
        </None>
    </ItemGroup>
    
    <PropertyGroup>
        <PackageProjectUrl>https://github.com/Krypton-Suite/Standard-Toolkit</PackageProjectUrl>
        <PackageIcon>Krypton Canary.png</PackageIcon>
        <Authors>Peter William Wagner &amp; Simon Coghlan &amp; Giduac &amp; Ahmed Abdelhameed &amp; Lesandro &amp; tobitege &amp; Thomas Bolon</Authors>
        <PackageLicenseExpression>BSD-3-Clause</PackageLicenseExpression>
        <PackageRequireLicenseAcceptance>True</PackageRequireLicenseAcceptance>
        <PackageTags>Krypton ComponentFactory WinForms Themes Controls DataGrid Ribbon Workspace Tabs .NET Toolkit</PackageTags>
        <PackageReleaseNotes>Get updates here: https://github.com/Krypton-Suite/Standard-Toolkit</PackageReleaseNotes>
        <RepositoryURL>https://github.com/Krypton-Suite/Standard-Toolkit</RepositoryURL>
        <PublishRepositoryUrl>true</PublishRepositoryUrl>
        <EmbedUntrackedSources>true</EmbedUntrackedSources>
    </PropertyGroup>
</When>

Features:

• Custom Canary icon
• Includes License.md and README.md
• Source link enabled

Nightly Configuration (Package Metadata)

Similar to Canary, but uses Krypton Nightly.png icon.

Release/Stable Configuration

<Otherwise>
    <ItemGroup>
        <None Include="../../../Assets/PNG/NuGet Package Icons/Krypton Stable.png" 
              Link="Icon.png" Pack="true" PackagePath="" />
        <None Include="..\..\..\Documents\License\License.md">
            <Pack>True</Pack>
            <PackagePath>\</PackagePath>
        </None>
        <None Include="..\..\..\README.md">
            <Pack>True</Pack>
            <PackagePath>\</PackagePath>
        </None>
    </ItemGroup>
    
    <PropertyGroup>
        <TFMs Condition="'$(TFMs)' == ''">lite</TFMs>
    </PropertyGroup>
    
    <PropertyGroup>
        <PackageProjectUrl>https://github.com/Krypton-Suite/Standard-Toolkit</PackageProjectUrl>
        <PackageIcon>Krypton Stable.png</PackageIcon>
        <Authors>Peter William Wagner &amp; Simon Coghlan &amp; Giduac &amp; Ahmed Abdelhameed &amp; Lesandro &amp; tobitege &amp; Thomas Bolon</Authors>
        <PackageLicenseExpression>BSD-3-Clause</PackageLicenseExpression>
        <PackageReadmeFile>README.md</PackageReadmeFile>
        <PackageRequireLicenseAcceptance>True</PackageRequireLicenseAcceptance>
        <PackageTags>Krypton ComponentFactory WinForms Themes Controls DataGrid Ribbon Workspace Tabs .NET Toolkit</PackageTags>
        <PackageReleaseNotes>Get updates here: https://github.com/Krypton-Suite/Standard-Toolkit</PackageReleaseNotes>
        <RepositoryURL>https://github.com/Krypton-Suite/Standard-Toolkit</RepositoryURL>
        <PublishRepositoryUrl>true</PublishRepositoryUrl>
        <EmbedUntrackedSources>true</EmbedUntrackedSources>
    </PropertyGroup>
</Otherwise>

Special Feature: Defaults TFMs to lite if not specified

Component Directory.Build.targets

Location: Source/Krypton Components/Directory.Build.targets

Purpose: Advanced versioning, assembly metadata, and package ID customization

Version Properties by Configuration

Canary

<When Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Canary'">
    <PropertyGroup>
        <LibraryVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)</LibraryVersion>
        <PackageVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)-beta</PackageVersion>
        <AssemblyVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)</AssemblyVersion>
        <FileVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)</FileVersion>
        
        <LangVersion>preview</LangVersion>
        <AnalysLevel>preview</AnalysLevel>
        
        <IncludeSymbols>True</IncludeSymbols>
        <SymbolPackageFormat>snupkg</SymbolPackageFormat>
    </PropertyGroup>
</When>

Features:

• Separate symbol packages (.snupkg)
• Preview language and analyzer versions

Nightly

Similar to Canary with -alpha suffix and symbol packages.

Release/Stable

<Otherwise>
    <PropertyGroup>
        <LibraryVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)</LibraryVersion>
        <PackageVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)</PackageVersion>
        <AssemblyVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)</AssemblyVersion>
        <FileVersion>100.$(Minor).$(Build).$(Revision)</FileVersion>
        
        <LangVersion>preview</LangVersion>
        <AnalysLevel>preview</AnalysLevel>
    </PropertyGroup>
</Otherwise>

Assembly Info

<PropertyGroup>
    <GenerateAssemblyInfo>true</GenerateAssemblyInfo>
    <NeutralLanguage>en</NeutralLanguage>
    <Authors>Peter Wagner (A.K.A Wagnerp) and Simon Coghlan (A.K.A Smurf-IV), Giduac, Ahmed Abdelhameed, Lesandro, tobitege, Phil Wright (A.K.A ComponentFactory)</Authors>
    <Copyright>© Krypton Suite (Peter Wagner (aka Wagnerp), Simon Coghlan (aka Smurf-IV), Giduac, Ahmed Abdelhameed, Lesandro and tobitege) 2017 - 2025. Component Factory Pty Ltd (Phil Wright), 2006 - 2016. All rights reserved.</Copyright>
</PropertyGroup>

Package ID Customization

Canary (Package ID)

<When Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Canary'">
    <PropertyGroup>
        <PackageId Condition="'$(TFMs)' == 'all'">$(PackageId).Canary</PackageId>
        <Description Condition="'$(TFMs)' == 'all'">
            An update to Component factory's krypton toolkit to support .NET Framework 4.7.2 - 4.8.1 and .NET 8 - 11. 
            $(Description) This package supports all .NET Framework versions starting .NET Framework 4.6.2 - 4.8.1 and .NET 8 - 11. 
            Also, all libraries are included targeting each specific framework version for performance purposes. 
            To view all of the standard toolkit package latest version information, please visit: 
            https://github.com/Krypton-Suite/Krypton-Toolkit-Suite-Version-Dashboard/blob/main/Documents/Modules/Standard/Krypton-Toolkit-Suite-Standard-Modules.md 
            To find out what's new, please visit: https://github.com/Krypton-Suite/Standard-Toolkit/blob/canary/Documents/Help/Changelog.md 
            This package is for those who want to try out the latest features before deployment.
        </Description>
    </PropertyGroup>
</When>

Result: Package named Krypton.Toolkit.Canary with detailed description

Nightly (Package ID)

Similar with .Nightly suffix and alpha-specific description.

Release (Lite)

<PropertyGroup>
    <PackageId Condition="'$(TFMs)' == 'lite'">$(PackageId).Lite</PackageId>
    <Description Condition="'$(TFMs)' == 'lite'">
        An update to Component factory's krypton toolkit to support .NET Framework 4.8 - 4.8.1 and .NET 8 - 11. 
        $(Description) This package supports all .NET Framework versions starting .NET Framework 4.8 - 4.8.1, .NET 6 - 8. 
        Also, all libraries are included targeting each specific framework version for performance purposes.
    </Description>
</PropertyGroup>

Release (All)

<PropertyGroup>
    <PackageId Condition="'$(TFMs)' == 'all'">$(PackageId)</PackageId>
    <Description Condition="'$(TFMs)' == 'all'">
        An update to Component factory's krypton toolkit to support .NET Framework 4.7.2 - 4.8.1 and .NET 8 - 11. 
        $(Description) This package supports all .NET Framework versions starting .NET Framework 4.6.2 - 4.8.1 and .NET 8 - 11.
    </Description>
</PropertyGroup>

Properties Reference

Global Properties

Property	Source	Purpose
LibraryVersion	Root Directory.Build.props	Assembly version
PackageVersion	Root Directory.Build.props	NuGet package version
Configuration	MSBuild	Build configuration
TFMs	MSBuild/props	Target frameworks mode (lite/all)

Component Properties

Property	Source	Purpose
LangVersion	Component Directory.Build.props	C# language version
PackageOutputPath	Component Directory.Build.props	NuGet output directory
Version	Component Directory.Build.props	Project version
AssemblyVersion	Component Directory.Build.targets	Assembly version
FileVersion	Component Directory.Build.targets	File version

Customization

Override Version Locally

In a project file (.csproj):

<PropertyGroup>
    <Version>1.2.3.4</Version>
</PropertyGroup>

Override Package Output

<PropertyGroup>
    <PackageOutputPath>C:\CustomPath\</PackageOutputPath>
</PropertyGroup>

Add Custom Compilation Symbol

<PropertyGroup>
    <DefineConstants>$(DefineConstants);CUSTOM_SYMBOL</DefineConstants>
</PropertyGroup>

Related Documentation

• Version Management - Detailed versioning strategy
• NuGet Packaging - Package creation
• MSBuild Project Files - .proj files
• Build System Overview - System overview