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TALXIS.DevKit.Build.Dataverse.WorkflowActivity

MSBuild integration for Dynamics 365 custom workflow activity assembly projects. Mirrors the Plugin package pattern: configures Visual Studio project type GUIDs, applies automatic Git-based versioning, merges referenced managed dependencies into the output DLL via ILRepack so the Dataverse sandbox can load all required types from a single assembly, and exposes metadata targets that allow Solution projects to discover and integrate workflow activity assemblies during build.

Installation

<PackageReference Include="TALXIS.DevKit.Build.Dataverse.WorkflowActivity" Version="0.0.0.1" PrivateAssets="All" />

Or use the SDK approach:

<Project Sdk="TALXIS.DevKit.Build.Sdk/0.0.0.1">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <ProjectType>WorkflowActivity</ProjectType>
  </PropertyGroup>
</Project>

How It Works

The package sets ProjectType to WorkflowActivity and configures ProjectTypeGuids for workflow activity recognition in Visual Studio.

Build-time targets

  • _ApplyWorkflowActivityVersionBeforeBuild (runs before BeforeBuild) -- executes GenerateVersionNumber followed by ApplyPluginVersionNumber to set AssemblyVersion, FileVersion, Version, and PackageVersion from Git.
  • AssemblyMergeDependencies (runs after Build) -- uses ILRepack to merge every managed DLL that landed in $(OutDir) into the main workflow activity assembly, so the Dataverse sandbox (which loads a single assembly) can resolve all referenced types without sibling DLLs. By default, sandbox-provided assemblies are skipped: Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk*, Microsoft.Crm.Sdk.Proxy, Newtonsoft.Json, System.*, mscorlib, netstandard (configurable via $(AssemblyMergeExcludes)). Idempotent — always reads the raw compiler output from $(IntermediateOutputPath) so the target can safely re-run within the same Solution build. Merged types keep their original public names (Internalize=false) to preserve Dataverse's reflection-based detection of CodeActivity subclasses. Disable per-project with <AssemblyMergeSkip>true</AssemblyMergeSkip>.

Integration targets

These targets are called by TALXIS.DevKit.Build.Dataverse.Solution when it discovers this project via ProjectReference:

  • GetProjectType -- returns WorkflowActivity so the Solution build knows how to handle this reference.
  • GetWorkflowActivityAssemblyInfo -- returns WorkflowActivityRootPath, WorkflowActivityAssemblyId, TargetFramework, PublishFolderName, and AssemblyName for automatic workflow activity assembly metadata generation in the solution.

MSBuild Properties

Property Default Description
ProjectType WorkflowActivity Marks the project as a workflow activity for reference discovery.
Version (required) Base version; major/minor are used for Git versioning.
GitVersionNumberBranchPrefixes (none) Optional <branch>:<prefix> map for build ordering (e.g. develop:1;feature/*:3). Prefix 2 is reserved for local builds.
LocalBuildVersionNumber 0.0.20000.0 Version used for local / non-CI builds.
WorkflowActivityTargetFramework $(TargetFramework) or net462 Target framework used to locate the compiled workflow activity DLL.
WorkflowActivityPublishFolderName publish Publish folder name under bin\<Configuration>\<TFM>\.
WorkflowActivityAssemblyId (auto-generated) Explicit GUID for the workflow activity assembly metadata; a new GUID is generated if empty.
AssemblyMergeSkip (unset) When true, skips the post-build AssemblyMergeDependencies ILRepack step.
AssemblyMergeExcludes mscorlib;netstandard;Newtonsoft.Json;Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk;Microsoft.Crm.Sdk.Proxy Semicolon-separated assembly filenames (without .dll) to exclude from merging. Prefix patterns Microsoft.Xrm.Sdk.* and System.* are always excluded.

Related Packages

  • Depends on: TALXIS.DevKit.Build.Dataverse.Tasks, Microsoft.PowerApps.MSBuild.Plugin, Microsoft.CrmSdk.CoreAssemblies, ILRepack.Lib.MSBuild.Task
  • Consumed by: TALXIS.DevKit.Build.Dataverse.Solution projects via ProjectReference