Machine-independent NinjaTrader.Custom.csproj

[carnitron]

So I have my NT8 dev environment on several machines now, and unfortunately, I have had to put the project on different drives, depending on the machine.

This means the drive letters that NT8 puts into the .csproj "fight" with one another, when I check my NinjaTrader.Custom.csproj into and out of my central repository in GitHub. For instance, this Reference:

<Reference Include="System.ValueTuple">
<HintPath>C:\Documents\NinjaTrader 8\bin\Custom\packages\...\System.ValueTuple.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>

actually needs to be this (note the E: drive) on another machine:

<Reference Include="System.ValueTuple">
<HintPath>E:\Documents\NinjaTrader 8\bin\Custom\packages\...\System.ValueTuple.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>

I have worked around this with an environment variable "MyProjectDir" that I set on each machine to point to the base "C:\Documents" or "E:\Documents" directory.

This results in a reference like so:

<Reference Include="System.ValueTuple">
<HintPath>$(MyProjectDir)\NinjaTrader 8\bin\Custom\packages\...\System.ValueTuple.dll</HintPath>
</Reference>

This compiles fine in Visual Studio 2022, ofc, b/c it is very common technique for handling this problem.

But I cannot make this work with the NT8 Config.xml file

If I replace:

<string>*MyDocuments*\NinjaTrader 8\bin\Custom\packages\...\System.ValueTuple.dll</string>

with any of the following

<string>*MyProjectDir*\NinjaTrader 8\bin\Custom\packages...
<string>%MyProjectDir%\NinjaTrader 8\bin\Custom\\packages...
<string>$(MyProjectDir)\NinjaTrader 8\bin\Custom\\packages​...

the project file that NT8 generates on load is messed up and loses the full path entirely.

How do I solve this problem in the NT8 ecosystem?


(Note that I cannot use *MyDocuments*, b/c I need to use NT8 and OneDrive on the same machine, so I have had to take the extraordinary measures I have documented at the bottom of the page here:
https://forum.ninjatrader.com/forum/...-session/page2)

[NinjaTrader_ChelseaB]

Hello carnitron,

This would be outside of what is supported by NinjaTrader.
We only support the environment folder within Documents.

This thread will remain open for any community members that would like to provide advice and experience.


I would suggest that you work the .gitignore file so this ignores all system files and only includes your custom scripts and templates.

[carnitron]

Ok, I'll probably just live with it for now. It's an annoyance, but not a real productivity drain or a blocker.

I'm not sure how much work and difficulty might come from trying to run with a solution and project that are NOT checked in while some portion of their files ARE checked in.

(Not trying to be difficult here, it's just that in my 30+ years of development experience, I've never been in a situation where people don't check in the project and solution files. There are too many bits of important project definition and configuration data to not have everyone be in sync there. So what you are suggesting here is highly unusual, in a broader development sense.)