How do I resolve "Please make sure that the file is accessible and that it is a valid assembly or COM component"?

I am building a project with OpenCV in C#. It requires a dll file called cvextern.dll. but, when adding this file as a reference, this message appears :-

a reference "cvextern.dll" can't be added, Please make sure that the file is accessible and that it is a valid assembly or COM component.

I get tired from searching, I spent the past 2 days in searching for a solution for that problem

the file is a native DLL which means you can't add it to a .NET project via Add Reference... you can use it via DllImport (see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.runtime.interopservices.dllimportattribute.aspx)

In my case I had to register the .dll.

To do so, open cmd.exe (the console) with admin rights and type:

regsvr32 "foo.dll"

Make sure the required dlls are exported (or copied manually) to the bin folder when building your application.

I had the same program, I hope this could help.

I your using Windows 7, open Command Prompt-> run as Administrator. register your <...>.dll.

Why run as Administrator, you can register your <...>.dll using the run at the Windows Start, but still your dll only run as user even your account is administrator.

Now you can add your <...>.dll at the Project->Add Reference->Browse

Thanks

Look here for the answer by TheMattster. I implemented it and it worked like a charm. In a nutshell, his solution suggests to add the COM dll as a resource to the project (so now it compiles into the project's dll), and upon the first run write it to a file (i.e. the dll file I wanted there in the first place).

The following is taken from his answer.

Step 1) Add the DLL as a resource (below as "Resources.DllFile"). To do this open project properties, select the resources tab, select "add existing file" and add the DLL as a resource.

Step 2) Add the name of the DLL as a string resource (below as "Resources.DllName").

Step 3) Add this code to your main form-load:

if (!File.Exists(Properties.Resources.DllName))
{
    var outStream = new StreamWriter(Properties.Resources.DllName, false);
    var binStream = new BinaryWriter(outStream.BaseStream);
    binStream.Write(Properties.Resources.DllFile);
    binStream.Close();
}

My problem was that not only I had to use the COM dll in my project, I also had to deploy it with my app using ClickOnce, and without being able to add reference to it in my project the above solution is practically the only one that worked.

'It' requires a dll file called cvextern.dll . 'It' can be either your own cs file or some other third party dll which you are using in your project.

To call native dlls to your own cs file, copy the dll into your project's root\lib directory and add it as an existing item. (Add -Existing item) and use Dllimport with correct location.

For third party , copy the native library to the folder where the third party library resides and add it as an existing item.

After building make sure that the required dlls are appearing in Build folder. In some cases it may not appear or get replaced in Build folder. Delete the Build folder manually and build again.

In my case I also have unmanaged dll's (C++) in workspace and if you specify:

<files>
    <file src="bin\*.dll" target="lib" />
</files>

nuget would try to load every dll as an assembly, even the C++ libraries! To avoid this behaviour explicitly define your C# assemblies with references tag:

<references>
    <reference file="Managed1.dll" />
    <reference file="Managed2.dll" />
</references>

Remark: parent of references is metadata -> according to documentation https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/reference/nuspec#general-form-and-schema

Documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/reference/nuspec