Cannot locate resource 'window1.xaml'

I have a WPF app that I built from scratch using Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2. It compiles and runs fine in the folder where I created it originally.

I got it to a point where I was ready to commit it to posterity, at which point I checked the solution into our source control repository (Subversion). When I check out a clean copy, I can build, but I get the following exception when I try to run:

System.IO.Exception "Cannot locate resource 'window1.xaml'."

When I checked it in, I followed the procedure that I've followed in the past when checking in WPF apps:

1) Create the empty repository

2) Check out the empty repository into a new folder

3) Copy the solution folder into the checkout folder

4) Delete the bin and obj folders and the .suo file

5) Add and commit the remaining files and folders

6) Open the .sln file in Visual Studio. Re-set the correct project as the startup project, then F5 to build and run.

At that point I get the exception.

I repeated this without the source-control steps, i.e. I just did steps 3, 4 and 6 into a separate folder, and got the same result. So something's getting lost in step 4.

Is this a bug, or do I need to revise my procedures for VS 2008

Thanks,

Allan

Likewise, when I created a bare-bones WPF project, the problem didn't reproduce.

Your hint was what I needed to find the problem. At some point I had changed the project's namespace, but this change didn't get made in App.xaml.

In Window1.xaml I had:

<Window x:Class="NewNamespace.Window1" ... />

In Window1.xaml.cs I had:

namespace NewNamespace

public partial class Window1 : Window

In App.xaml.cs I had:

namespace NewNamespace

public partial class App : Application

But in App.xaml, I had:

<Application x:Class="OldNamespace.App"

...

StartupUri="Window1.xaml">

Changing OldNamespace.App to NewNamespace.App fixed the problem. Of course, it would have been nice if the compiler had caught this. Maybe in the future...

Thanks.

OK, it looks like I spoke too soon. I made some further changes to the app, did a fresh clean checkout, and tried again, and the old problem came back.

After playing around with this a little, I've made the following discovery: if I get a clean copy, build once, then run, it fails (same error as at the beginning.) If I get a clean copy, build once, open App.xaml and make a trivial change like add a space, rebuild, then run, the error goes away.

It's hard for me to imagine how this could not be a bug in Visual Studio. Of course the fact that we don't see the problem in a trivial project makes it a little harder to debug...

If you would like to try it on my project, contact me directly and I'll send you a zip file.

-Allan

It just occurred to me, I might be more likely to get your attention again if I reply directly to your post. Please see my most recent comment.

Thanks,

Allan

Here it is:

http://cid-04b8feb751da2337.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/DailyDataExplorer/

Mike,

Did you ever get a chance to try out my project

Thanks,

Allan

For what it's worth, this seems to happen to me all the time when downloading sample apps and trying to build them. I saw a suggestion in another post that always works for me. Edit App.xaml, add a space and remove it, save it, and rebuild. Magic happens. The app can build again and the initial Xaml file can be found again.

I don't have any idea why this works. Since it seems fairly easy to reproduce with a simple app, I would imagine you might be able to diagnose it with DILE and get some insight into why its happening.

David

I have had this issue quite a bit. For me, all it took was in VS, I went to the "Build -> Clean Solution" then recompiled and ran and everything was fine. Fixed it every single time I had this problem.

Hope the fix is that easy for you.