Upgrade settings from old version with different name

Question

We use app.config to store user settings, but changed the name of the exe... for reasons. I need to be able to upgrade the settings from version 1.4 called name1.exe to version 1.5 now called name2.exe.

I've tried several methods, the first was to add code in Program.cs Main() where it would use System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(System.Configuration.ConfigurationUserLevel.PerUserRoamingAndLocal).FilePath to find the path where the new settings file should go, and search the base path of that setting to find the 1.4 version under the old name, then copy the 1.4 folder into the correct part of the path where the Properties.Settings.Default.Upgrade() would work like normal.

I've also tried replacing the new app.config file with the old one and calling Properties.Settings.Default.Reload(); and doing the same but just restarting the application.

Each of those methods worked, even in release mode outside the ide. But we also use SmartAssembly to merge some other dlls into our exe's assembly. Smart assembly must do some unknown magic, because it doesn't work after being SmartAssembled.

If I manually copy the old settings to the new location (replacing the app.config) then try to run my app doens't even start, it must crash right away. Again, only after using SmartAssembly to merge our dlls. I've narrowed the crashing down to this part in the xml...

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
    <configSections>
        <sectionGroup name="userSettings">
            <section name="DllNameA.Properties.Settings" type="System.Configuration.ClientSettingsSection, System, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" allowExeDefinition="MachineToLocalUser" requirePermission="false" />
            <section name="DllNameB.Properties.Settings" type="System.Configuration.ClientSettingsSection, System, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" allowExeDefinition="MachineToLocalUser" requirePermission="false" />
            <section name="ExeName.Properties.Settings" type="System.Configuration.ClientSettingsSection, System, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" allowExeDefinition="MachineToLocalUser" requirePermission="false" />
        </sectionGroup>
    </configSections>

That last part of the xml "section name=ExeName.Properties.Settings..." was not there in the old settings file. I'm not sure why it's added now, but it works if I manually add it to the old settings file when copying it over.

Is there a way to make this work?

Answer 1

This probably isn't the right way to do this, but I did just edit the xml to add the missing section and it is working.