How do I use properties to reference files in Monotouch csproj file?

Question

In Visual Studio, I can create a file reference to a file like this:

<Content Include="..\Foo\$(Configuration)\Bar.txt" />

the property will be resolved at runtime to map to the current configuration (i.e. debug, or release).

When I load the project in Monodevelop, the property is not resolved. Is this a bug in MonoDevelop, or is there a different syntax to using the properties in a file reference.

The properties do work correct in the <PropertyGroup/> tags elsewhere in the file.

Answer 1

MonoDevelop does not have full MSBuild support. It can load and save the MSBuild project features that VS does, but the builds take place with MD's internal build engine, which has limited support for evaluating expression in conditions and properties, and no support for custom MSBuild targets.

Full MSBuild support is planned by using Mono's xbuild build engine - MD does have experimental xbuild support already, but it doesn't work for most project types, including MonoTouch.