Applying xml transformation to app.manifest

Question

I just inherited a c# application. It currently has an entry in it's app.manifest to enable UAC

<requestedExecutionLevel  level="requireAdministrator" uiAccess="false" />

Every time I do a debug build it inside visual studio, I get prompted that "This task requires the application to have elevated permissions". (I have an admin account but I don't logon with it when developing.)

Is there a ways to either apply a xml transformation to it (like on web.configs) or making a app.manifest for release mode?

Answer 1

Using the SlowCheetah NuGet package and accompanying Extension you will get the same behavior on all xml files as you have for web.config.

Be sure to install/activate the NuGet package as well as the Visual Studio Extension. Also, there are a number of Slow Cheetah versions in NuGet - I would suggest using the latest that is released by Microsoft - Microsoft.VisualStudio.SlowCheetah.

Read more on this: https://github.com/Microsoft/slow-cheetah

Edit: I had a long struggle actually getting the transform to work for App.Manifest.xml for my sharepoint add-in project. Turns out the files created for you when you use "Add transform" lack some details that if not included will cause the transform to fail (give no result). This is what I concluded:

<!--    Mandatory block in AppManifest transform files: -->

<App xmlns:xdt="http://schemas.microsoft.com/XML-Document-Transform" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/2012/app/manifest"  
     Name="Not transformed"
     ProductID="{12345678-0000-0000-0000-123456789123}"
     Version="0.0.0.0"
     SharePointMinVersion="0.0.0.0"
>
  <Properties>
    <Title>Not transformed</Title>   
    <StartPage>Not transformed</StartPage>
  </Properties>

  <AppPrincipal>
    <RemoteWebApplication ClientId="*" />  
  </AppPrincipal>
</App>
<!--
This block as it is written will cause no transformation whatsoever, but all elements above must be present for any transformation to be applied.
To transform an entire element along with its text content, add the attribute  xdt:Transform="Replace" to the element. This will also replace all 
child elements.
-->

Hope this is of help!