Is there a way to automatically include content files into asp.net project file?

I'm frequently adding a lot of content files (mostly images and js) to my ASP.NET project. I'm using VS publish system, and on publish, new files are not published until I include them in the project. I would like to auto include all files in specified directory. Is there a way to specify which directories should be auto-included in csproj file or anywhere else?

Old thread, I know, but I found a way to do this that I keep forgetting, and on my search to find it one last time, I stumbled upon this question. The best way I've found to this is is to use the BeforeBuild target in the .csproj file.

<Target Name="BeforeBuild">
    <ItemGroup>
        <Content Include="**\*.less" />
    </ItemGroup>
</Target>

VS 2010 won't touch this section, and it ensures that your files are included as content every time the project is built.

You simply can extend your website .csproj file. Just add your content root folder with a recursive wildcard:

...
<ItemGroup>
    <!-- your normal project content -->
    <Content Include="Default.aspx" />

    <!-- your static content you like to publish -->
    <Content Include="Images\**\*.*" />
</ItemGroup>
...

Doing so makes this folder and all content below visible inside your solution browser.

If you try to hide the folder inside the solution browser by specifying

<Content Include="Images\**.*.*">
    <Visible>false</Visible>
</Content>

it will not be published.

Update

As you already discovered the wildcard will be replaced as soon as you touch the folder inside your solution because VS projects are not designed to contain arbitrary content.

So you will have to make sure the folder and its contents are never modified from within VS - adding or removing files can only be done on the file system ... which is what you wanted as i understood your question.

It would be easier if the folder could be hidden in VS but i couldn't find a way to hide it AND publish.

Another unsuccessful approach was to include the folder by a CreateItem Task. This resulted in the contents of folder being published to \bin\app.publish\... and could not be convinced to publish it together with the content items inside the .csproj so i did not present it in my answer.

For those having issues using Chris' answer, this is the solution for Visual Studio 2012 and newer:

<Target Name="ContentsBeforeBuild" AfterTargets="BeforeBuild">
  <ItemGroup>
    <Content Include="images\**" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Target>

As Chris mentioned in his answer - Visual Studio will not touch this <Target> section, even if you manually fiddle around (adding/removing files) with the target directory.

Please note that you should include a subdirectory where the files are located (in the case above, it's images). Visual Studio/MSBuild will place those files in the same directory within the project structure. If you don't use a subdirectory, the files will be placed at the root of the project structure.

For a quick explanation of the wildcards:

• ** means everything recursively (files, subdirectories, and files within those)
• *.ext will include all files with extension ext within the top-level directory, but not subdirectories
  • For example, *.ext could be *.png, *.js, etc. Any file extension will work
• **\*.ext will include all files with extension ext from the top-level directory and all subdirectories.
• See the answer from How do I use Nant/Ant naming patterns? for a more complete explanation with examples.

For completion, please note that there is a difference between using <Target> and not using it.

With the <Target> approach, Visual Studio will not show the files within the Solution Explorer.

<Target Name="ContentsBeforeBuild" AfterTargets="BeforeBuild">
  <ItemGroup>
    <Content Include="images\**" />
  </ItemGroup>
</Target>

The non-<Target> approach will instruct Visual Studio to show the files within the Solution Explorer. The drawback with this one is that any manipulation of the automatic directories will cause Visual Studio to override the wildcard entry. It should also be noted that the approach below will only update the Solution Explorer upon opening the Solution/Project in VS. Even the Solution Explorer's "refresh" toolbar button won't do it.

<ItemGroup>
  <Content Include="images\**" />
</ItemGroup>