configuration - .NET Config Files configSource outside the application directory folder

Question

I have two applications one a console application and the other an ASP.NET app. They both need to know the same appSettings and connectionStrings. So ideally I would like to use the configSource property of app.config/web.config files to point that to a central location. For example

<connectionStrings configSource="D:connectionStrings.config"/>
<appSettings configSource="D:appSettings.config"/>

That however fails with an error:

The configSource attribute is invalid.: The configSource 'D:appSettings.config' is invalid. It must refer to a file in the same directory or in a subdirectory as the configuration file.

Is there anyway to still use the configuration managers appSettings/connectionStrings and get the values from an external location?
I'm happy with having to add code to do it, but I don't want to have to replace the entire configuration manager system.

Answer 1

Another solution is simply to add the configuration file in all your projects as a link instead of actually copying the file to your projects. Then set the "Build Action" of the file to "Content" and "Copy to Output Directory" to "Copy if newer" and when you compile the project you will have the file in the output directory.

To add the file as a link in the "Add Existing Item" dialog box, there is an Add button with a dropdown. Choose "Add as link" from the dropdown on the Add button to complete the process.