Temporary ASP.NET Files Directory Compilation Error After Project Rename

Published on
-
1 min read

After renaming my MVC project from "SurinderBhomra" to "Site.Web" (to come across less self-serving) I get the following error:

Compiler Error Message: CS0246: The type or namespace name 'xxx' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)

CS0246 Compiler Error - Temporary ASP.NET Files

But the misleading part of this compiler error is the source file reference to ASP.NET Temporary Files directory, which led me to believe that my build was been cached when it was actually to do with the fact I missed some areas where the old project name still remained.

I carried out a careful rename throughout my project by updating all the places that mattered, such as:

  • Namespaces
  • Using statements
  • "AssemblyTitle" and "AssemblyProduct" attributes in AssemblyInfo.cs
  • Assembly name and Default Namespace in Project properties (followed by a rebuild)

The key area I missed that caused the above compiler error is overlooking the the namespace section in the /Views/web.config file.

<system.web.webpages.razor>
  <host factorytype="System.Web.Mvc.MvcWebRazorHostFactory, System.Web.Mvc, Version=5.2.3.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35">
  <pages pagebasetype="System.Web.Mvc.WebViewPage">
    <namespaces>
      ...
      ...
      ...
      <add namespace="System.Web">
      ...
      ...
      ...
    </add></namespaces>
  </pages>
</host></system.web.webpages.razor>

When you first create your project in Visual Studio, it automatically adds its original namespace to this file. This also goes for any other web.config you happen to have nested in other areas inside you MVC project.

Before you go...

If you've found this post helpful, you can buy me a coffee. It's certainly not necessary but much appreciated!

Buy Me A Coffee

Leave A Comment

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment. I do get inundated with messages regarding my posts via LinkedIn and leaving a comment below is a better place to have an open discussion. Your comment will not only help others, but also myself.