Port an Existing XAF Application to .NET 5+

• Mar 15, 2022
• 4 minutes to read

Assemblies, demos, and project templates for XAF ASP.NET Core Blazor and WinForms (.NET Core) v21.1 target .NET 5 instead of .NET Standard 2.1 and .NET Core 3.0. Install Visual Studio 16.8 or higher to use .NET 5.

This topic explains how to update your existing XAF solution to .NET 5.

Important

Copy and save the current versions of all csproj files before porting.

Port an XAF WinForms App from .NET Framework to .NET 5

Make sure that your XAF WinForms application can be migrated to .NET 5 and all the required components are installed on your machine. For details, refer to the following topic: .NET 5 Support and Migration.

Follow the steps below to port the application:

1. In the Solution Explorer, unload all projects.

2. Replace the existing code in each csproj file with the following:

   MySolution.Module

   XML

   <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
       <PropertyGroup>
           <TargetFramework>net5.0</TargetFramework>
           <RootNamespace>MySolution.Module</RootNamespace>
           <Deterministic>False</Deterministic>
       </PropertyGroup>
       <ItemGroup>
           <EmbeddedResource Include="**\*.svg" />
           <EmbeddedResource Include="**\*.xafml" />
           <EmbeddedResource Remove="bin\**" />
       </ItemGroup>
       <ItemGroup>
           <PackageReference Include="DevExpress.ExpressApp" Version="21.2.15" />
       </ItemGroup>
   </Project>
   

   MySolution.Module.Win

   XML

   <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
       <PropertyGroup>
           <TargetFramework>net5.0-windows</TargetFramework>
           <Deterministic>False</Deterministic>
       </PropertyGroup>
       <ItemGroup>
           <EmbeddedResource Include="**\*.svg" />
           <EmbeddedResource Include="Model.DesignedDiffs.xafml" />
           <EmbeddedResource Remove="bin\**" />
       </ItemGroup>
       <ItemGroup>
           <ProjectReference Include="..\MySolution.Module\MySolution.Module.csproj" />
       </ItemGroup>
   </Project>
   

   MySolution.Win

   XML

   <Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
       <PropertyGroup>
           <OutputType>WinExe</OutputType>
           <TargetFramework>net5.0-windows</TargetFramework>
           <Deterministic>False</Deterministic>
       </PropertyGroup>
       <ItemGroup>
           <Content Include="Model.xafml">
               <CopyToOutputDirectory>Always</CopyToOutputDirectory>
           </Content>
           <EmbeddedResource Include="**\*.svg" />
           <EmbeddedResource Remove="bin\**" />
       </ItemGroup>
       <ItemGroup>
           <ProjectReference Include="..\MySolution.Module.Win\MySolution.Module.Win.csproj" />
           <ProjectReference Include="..\MySolution.Module\MySolution.Module.csproj" />
       </ItemGroup>
   </Project>
   

3. In the new code, replace the “MySolution” placeholder with your project’s root namespace in the <RootNamespace> element and with the project’s name in the <ProjectReference> element.

4. If you reference other projects or NuGet packages, copy corresponding <ProjectReference> elements from the old version of the csproj files and paste them into the new version.

5. If your projects require other resources (for example, PNG images), include them in <EmbeddedResource> elements.

6. Reload all projects.

7. In the Program.cs (Program.vb) file, comment the following line:

   C#

   static class Program {
       // ...
       static void Main() {
           // ...
           EditModelPermission.AlwaysGranted = System.Diagnostics.Debugger.IsAttached;
       }
   }
   

8. In the App.config file, remove the <system.diagnostics> element and add the code below to <appSettings>:

   XML

   <?xml version="1.0"?>
   <configuration>
   <!-- ... -->
       <appSettings>
       <!-- ... -->
           <add key="eXpressAppFrameworkTraceLevel" value="3"/>
       </appSettings>
   </configuration>
   

   .NET 5 applications use this key instead of switches in the <system.diagnostics> element.

   If you use EasyTest in your application, add the following keys:

   XML

   <?xml version="1.0"?>
   <configuration>
   <!-- ... -->
       <appSettings>
       <!-- ... -->
           <add key="EasyTestTraceLevel" value="4"/> 
           <add key="EasyTestLogFileName" value="TestExecutor.log" />
       </appSettings>
   </configuration>
   

9. Optional. Enable the latest framework settings at the top of the Main method:

   C#

   namespace MySolution.Win {
       static void Main() {
           DevExpress.ExpressApp.FrameworkSettings.DefaultSettingsCompatibilityMode = DevExpress.ExpressApp.FrameworkSettingsCompatibilityMode.Latest;
           // ...
       }
   }
   

10. Rebuild the solution.

11. If you port an EF 6-based application, you also need to move to EF Core because .NET 5+ applications do not support EF 6. This move may require additional changes to your application. For more information, refer to the following article: Port from EF6 to EF Core.

Note

Refer to the following topic for information on how to deploy the ported application: Deploy .NET Applications.

Port an XAF App from .NET Core 3 to .NET 5

To simplify the migration process, the DevExpress Project Converter will attempt to retarget your XAF projects to .NET 5 automatically. Our Project Converter does not update your non-XAF projects, custom dependencies, or code. In this case, you need to complete .NET 5 migration manually.

Follow the steps below only if you need to update your application manually. See the following topic for more information: Core - XAF’s Blazor and WinForms (.NET Core) assemblies target .NET 5.

WinForms

In the SolutionName.Module.Win and SolutionName.Win project files (and related WinForms .NET 5+ modules), set the TargetFramework option to net5.0-windows:

Xml

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net5.0-windows</TargetFramework> 

ASP.NET Core Blazor

In the SolutionName.Module.Blazor project file, set the TargetFramework option to net5.0 and set the Sdk option to Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Razor:

Xml

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Razor">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net5.0</TargetFramework>

In the SolutionName.Blazor.Server project file (and related ASP.NET Core Blazor .NET 5+ modules), set the TargetFramework option to net5.0 and set the Sdk option to Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web:

Xml

<Project Sdk="Microsoft.NET.Sdk.Web">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <TargetFramework>net5.0</TargetFramework>