msbuild fails due to invalid PCF component. Works in local test harness

[jwen25]

When running "msbuild /t:build /restore" to package my PCF component, I recieve an error stating that the PCF project that I referenced using "pac solution add-reference" is not a valid component:

c:\pcfProj\.nuget\packages\microsoft.powerapps.msbuild.solution\1.5.5\build\Microsoft.PowerApps.MSBuild.Solution.targets(104,5): error : Project Reference with output path 'c:\pcfProj\Timeline\CRMTimelineMaster\CRMTimeline\out\controls\', is not a valid PowerApps Component Type [C:pcfProj\Solutions\Timeline\Timeline.cdsproj]

c:\pcfProj\.nuget\packages\microsoft.powerapps.msbuild.solution\1.5.5\build\Microsoft.PowerApps.MSBuild.Solution.targets(104,5): error : Cds component type not supported [C:\pcfProj\Solutions\Timeline\Timeline.cdsproj]

My project directory has the following structure:

pcfProj\
├───BasicTimeline\
├───node_modules\
├───obj\
├───out\controls\BasicTimeline
│ ├───dist\
│ ├───bundle.js
│ └───ControlManifest.xml
└───BasicTimeline.pcfproj, package-lock.json, package.json, & tsconfig.json

I've tried changing the "outdir" value in pcfconfig.json to "./out/controls/BasicTimeline" rather than just "./out/controls", but this didn't work.

Moreover, the code used to implement the PCF component works correctly in a local test harness using "npm start".

Has anyone experienced this issue before and could offer troubleshooting suggestions?

[rajyraman]

@jwen25 - When you run "pac solution add-reference" you are actually adding a reference to your pcfproj file inside the cdsproj file on the solution folder. I have my folder setup like below

├── QR Code.pcfproj
├── QRCode
│   ├── ControlManifest.Input.xml
│   ├── QRCode.tsx
│   ├── generated
│   │   └── ManifestTypes.d.ts
│   └── index.ts
├── README.md
├── Solution
│   └── PCFQRCode
│       ├── Other
│       ├── PCFQRCode.cdsproj
│       ├── bin
│       └── obj
├── out
│   └── controls
│       └── QRCode
├── package-lock.json
├── package.json
├── pcfconfig.json
└── tsconfig.json

So, I run "pac solution add-reference -p ../../" from the Solution/PCFQRCode folder. Once I do this I can also verify by opening the cdsproj file and confirm that the reference is there.

Just check what the reference is in your cdsproj file. I had no issues in running msbuild, so I could not reproduce this issue. 

[jwen25]

Thanks @rajyraman. I was playing around with the "BasicTimeline.pcfproj" project file yesterday and found that changing the Microsoft.PowerApps.MSBuild.Pcf package reference version from "0.*" to "1.*" caused msbuild to run successfully and package my component into a zip file.

Originally, my pcfproj file had the following structure:

<ItemGroup>
<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.PowerApps.MSBuild.Pcf" Version="0.*"/>
</ItemGroup>

After I changed the version attribute to "1.*", msbuild ran successfully.

Thanks again for your help!