How can I invoke the post-build script without a build!

Question

Hi there, does anyone know how I can have the post build action execute without doing a build?
There are loads of xcopy commands and it would be nice to use them on their own... but you cannot put them into a separate cmd file because of all the VS macros.

thanks Kris

Answer 1

What you could do is put them into a separate, empty project that is not included in the final solution (however built at the same time). Then you can just right click the project and select build and the action will execute

Answer 2

Right-click on your project in the Solution Explorer window and select "Tool Build Order", uncheck everything except the Post-Build Event Tool, then build the project.

Don't forget to re-enable everything after you're done, or you'll be wondering why nothing's compiling.. :)