How can I get a specific dll file to be added to .update package on TDS project build?

Question

How can I get a specific dll file to be added to .update package on TDS project build ?

Answer 1

On the TDS Project, you need to

1. Right click on the project and click on Properties.

2. In the General Tab, you will see Assemblies.

3. Select Include from the dropdown.

4. Add the name of the assembly you want to add in the update package.

5. Save the changes.

UPDATE

From @Jay S, the DLL also needs to be referenced in some way by the web projects being built in order to be pulled in. Without a reference they don't get pulled into the bin folder and therefore cannot be included/excluded.

Answer 2

TDS Global

I'd like to add to Hishaam's answer and note that this can be done in the TDSGlobbal.config file. The following config is taken from Hedgehog's fork of Habitat. Using the ExcludedAssemblies nodes, you can specify to all TDS projects in your solution to not include any Sitecore, Lucene, etc dlls. Configured correctly, it would include only your project and specific dlls that are required for deployment.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project ToolsVersion="3.5" DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
  <PropertyGroup Condition=" '$(Configuration)' == 'Debug' ">

      <SitecoreWebUrl>https://habitat.dev.local</SitecoreWebUrl>
      <SitecoreDeployFolder>C:\inetpub\habitat.dev.local\Website</SitecoreDeployFolder>
      <RecursiveDeployAction>Ignore</RecursiveDeployAction>
      <InstallSitecoreConnector>True</InstallSitecoreConnector>
      <DisableFileDeployment>False</DisableFileDeployment>
      <SitecoreAccessGuid>96369e76-bbbf-4f54-aff0-c7deb39907c7</SitecoreAccessGuid>
      <LightningDeployMode>True</LightningDeployMode>

  </PropertyGroup>
  <PropertyGroup Condition=" '$(Configuration)' == 'Release' ">

  </PropertyGroup>
    <ItemGroup>
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="MongoDB.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Abstractions.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Analytics.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Apps.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Buckets.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.CES.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Cintel.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Client.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Cloud.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.ContentSearch.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.ContentTesting.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.ControlPanel.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.ExperienceAnalytics.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.ExperienceEditor.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Forms.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.FXM.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.ItemWebApi.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Kernel.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.LaunchPad.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.ListManagement.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Logging.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Marketing.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Mvc.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="sitecore.nexus.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.NVelocity.dll" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Oracle.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.PathAnalyzer.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Security.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.SegmentBuilder.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.SequenceAnalyzer.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Services.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.SessionProvider.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Shell.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Social.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Speak.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Update.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Web.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.WFFM.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Xdb.%2a" />
        <ExcludedAssemblies Include="Sitecore.Zip.%2a" />
    </ItemGroup>
</Project>