Reference shell32.dll in a programmatically compiled program?

Question

I need shell32 in my program to create a shortcut.

This is my code:

var compiler = new CSharpCodeProvider();
var Params = new System.CodeDom.Compiler.CompilerParameters
{
      GenerateExecutable = true,
      OutputAssembly = outputName,
      ReferencedAssemblies = {
                    "System.dll",
                    "System.Core.dll",
                    "System.Windows.Forms.dll",
                    "System.Drawing.dll",
                    @"C:\Windows\System32\Shell32.dll"
 }
};

Doing this, I get an error:

Metadata file C:\Windows\System32\Shell32.dll could not be opened. An attempt was made to load a program with incorrect format.

Found nothing while searching.. I wasn't even sure what to search for :/

How would I go about doing this?

Not sure if it matters, but Shell32.dll should be shell32.dll (Lowercase) Also might want to look at: stackoverflow.com/a/2024978/1218281 — Cyral
– Cyral, Commented Apr 20, 2014 at 13:01

Wormbo · Accepted Answer · 2014-04-20 13:09:37Z

2

Shell32.dll (Windows file systems don't care about case, so "s" or "S" shouldn't matter) is not a .NET assembly and thus can't be treated as such.

If you want to call functions exported from non-.NET libraries, you should use the DllImportAttribute.

answered Apr 20, 2014 at 13:09

Wormbo

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1 Comment

Andreas Over a year ago

This is what I need to do: codeproject.com/Articles/146757/… However, I can't add references like it is shown there. I need to do it programatically. I don't understand how I'd go about using DllImport.

mrAtari · Accepted Answer · 2015-08-20 20:18:42Z

1

I had the same problem and just solved it.

Add the following to your referenced Assemblies list:

    ReferencedAssemblies.Add("Interop.Shell32.dll");

edited Aug 20, 2015 at 20:18

answered Aug 20, 2015 at 2:12

mrAtari

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