How to extract connection string from another application's app.config / web.config file in C#

Question

I am writing a command line utility which will sit in a web applications's bin folder, and needs to read the connection string of that web application, in order to perform some maintenance tasks on that database.

I have read plenty of examples of how to use ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration to read settings from the current application's config file. But this doesn't appear to apply in my case, as I need to read another application's config file.

One way to go is to use XDocument.Load which will read the xml file and allow me to manipulate it using LinqToXml. If I have to learn this method I will do, but it will take a little tinkering time to get right.

Is there a way I can take advantage of some part of ConfigurationManager to do this?

Both System.Configuration and System.Xml.Linq are large, and I'm starting from zero - so any hints on how to accomplish this with minimum fuss would be appreciated.

Think that could help : stackoverflow.com/questions/505566/… — Raphaël Althaus
– Raphaël Althaus, Commented Jun 5, 2014 at 11:06
Thanks @RaphaëlAlthaus that question is exactly what I needed. My question is almost a duplicate except for my additional 'get connection string' requirement, which is no doubt covered in other questions. — Greg Woods
– Greg Woods, Commented Jun 5, 2014 at 11:32

Greg Woods · Accepted Answer · 2014-06-05 11:48:50Z

3

Normally, the ConfigurationManager allows you to specify the path for a file.

See the following code:

private const string configFile = @"C:\Directory\SubDirectory\file.config";

public static string GetConnectionString()        
{ 
    ExeConfigurationFileMap configFileMap = new ExeConfigurationFileMap() { ExeConfigFilename = configFile }; 

    Configuration config = ConfigurationManager.OpenMappedExeConfiguration(configFileMap, ConfigurationUserLevel.None);

    return config.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings["MYConnectionString"].ConnectionString;
}

Note: Untested and written out of my head.

edited Jun 5, 2014 at 11:48

Greg Woods

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answered Jun 5, 2014 at 11:06

Complexity

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5 Comments

Greg Woods Over a year ago

This, and the comment by @RaphaëlAlthaus set me on the right path - although the connection string bit doesn't work for me. The last line gives an "inaccessible due to its protection level" error.

Complexity Over a year ago

And you're sure the name of the connectionstring does exists in the file you specified ?

Greg Woods Over a year ago

config.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings["MyConnectionString"].ConnectionString worked, though not sure why.

Complexity Over a year ago

Glad to see that it helped you out. Please consider marking the answer as accepted is this answer was your solution.

Greg Woods Over a year ago

msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/vstudio/… shows the ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings syntax is correct

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:05:08Z

0

Here is the solution and explanation : Relocating app.config file to a custom path The problem is that using AppDomain is a bit more difficult than learning Linq2Xml. My suggestion is to just work onthe file as an xml. Beside Linq2Xml, there are additional methods to process an xml file : XmlDocument and XPath. If you only need a few elements from the config file, I suggest using XPath, otherwise Linq2Xml is the way to go.

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:05

CommunityBot

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answered Jun 5, 2014 at 11:09

Alex Barac

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Comments

Dhaval Patel · Accepted Answer · 2014-06-05 11:10:51Z

0

By default, there is only 1 ".config" file for a running application. It is the ".config" file associated with the EXE that started the program.You should probably copy the config values from Another app/web .config to running application.

answered Jun 5, 2014 at 11:10

Dhaval Patel

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 10:26:22Z

0

Please refer to this link. You will find out how to use XDocument to load the file, Linq-to-XML or XPath to find your strings.

edited May 23, 2017 at 10:26

CommunityBot

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answered Jun 5, 2014 at 11:15

martin

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2 Comments

Greg Woods Over a year ago

exactly what I wanted to avoid!

martin Over a year ago

I know, but sometimes we have to use solutions that we're not thrilled about. However, your case appears to be simple, so two lines of code shouldn't present a massive time investment. As Alex Barac already suggested, this is the way to go if you don't want an overkill. I personally would not go through the relocation process because I didn't see the need for it based on your question (the cmdline app resides inside Bin folder)

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