How to: Generate XML Documentation for a Project

How to: Generate XML Documentation ...

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This page is specific to

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:

Visual Studio

How to: Generate XML Documentation for a Project

The Generate XML documentation file property determines whether an XML file will be generated during compilation. You set this property on the Compile page (for Visual Basic) or Build page (for Visual C#) of the Project Designer. When this option is selected, XML documentation is automatically emitted into an XML file, which will have the same name as your project and the .xml extension.

For more information about XML documentation in Visual Basic projects, see How to: Create XML Documentation in Visual Basic. For Visual C#, see XML Documentation Comments (C# Programming Guide).

Tip:
In most cases, you do not have to generate XML documentation every time that you compile your project; you may want to wait until the application is completed. For large projects, turning this option off may help speed up compilation.

To generate an XML documentation file for a Visual Basic project

With a project selected in Solution Explorer, on the Project menu, click Properties.
Click the Compile tab.
On the Compile page, select Generate XML documentation file. By default, the file is created under the specified output path, for example, "bin\Debug\Projectname.XML".

To generate an XML documentation file for a Visual C# project

With a project selected in Solution Explorer, on the Project menu, click Properties.
Click the Build tab.
On the Build page, select XML documentation file. By default, the file is created under the specified output path, for example, "bin\Debug\Projectname.XML".

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Creating XML documentation in VB generates build error

CarlosMiguelRodrigues | Edit | Show History

Hi.

When I use the "Generate XML documentation file" option in my Visual Basic 2008 project, it works fine for a while but, after some builds, it starts generating the following error:

Unable to copy file "obj\Debug\DigestoDC.xml" to "bin\Debug\DigestoDC.xml". Access to the path 'obj\Debug\DigestoDC.xml' is denied.

The only way I can build my project, then, is by un-checking the said option, which, besides the obvious inconvinience, is aggravated by the fact that I'm working on a development team and using sourcesafe - meaning that, there are times when the project file is not available for checkout, and that the project properties cannot be changed.

So, how can I keep XML documentation going, without the error?

Thanks,
Rodrigues

To generate an XML documentation file for a Visual Basic project

To generate an XML documentation file for a Visual C# project

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