Support batch PDB generation. #3619

sonyps5201314 · 2025-11-20T15:26:13Z

Added support for multi-select batch PDB generation. When multiple assemblies are selected, the user is prompted to choose a target folder, and files are generated as {ShortName}.pdb based on the assembly's short name.

Copilot

Pull Request Overview

This PR adds support for batch PDB generation in ILSpy, allowing users to select multiple assemblies and generate PDB files for all of them at once. When multiple assemblies are selected, users are prompted to choose a target folder, and PDB files are generated with filenames based on each assembly's short name.

Key Changes:

Extended context menu and main menu entries to support multiple assembly selection
Added new GeneratePdbForAssemblies method for batch processing
Added localized resource strings for batch operation feedback

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 4 changed files in this pull request and generated 5 comments.

File	Description
ILSpy/Commands/GeneratePdbContextMenuEntry.cs	Implements batch PDB generation logic with multi-select support for both context menu and main menu entries
ILSpy/Properties/Resources.resx	Adds English resource strings for batch generation status messages
ILSpy/Properties/Resources.zh-Hans.resx	Adds Chinese translations for new resource strings
ILSpy/Properties/Resources.Designer.cs	Auto-generated designer code for accessing new resource strings

Files not reviewed (1)

ILSpy/Properties/Resources.Designer.cs: Language not supported

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ILSpy/Commands/GeneratePdbContextMenuEntry.cs

Copilot · 2025-11-21T06:43:05Z

ILSpy/Commands/GeneratePdbContextMenuEntry.cs

+						if (options.Progress != null)
+						{
+							options.Progress.Report(new DecompilationProgress {
+								Title = "Generating portable PDB...",


The progress title "Generating portable PDB..." is hardcoded and not localized. Consider adding this string to the resource files for proper internationalization, similar to other user-facing messages in this file.

@sonyps5201314 if you want, you can add this. There are other locations where this same string is used, that might need updating as well.

71cfce3 resolved.

Copilot · 2025-11-21T06:43:05Z

ILSpy/Commands/GeneratePdbContextMenuEntry.cs

+					output.WriteLine();
+					output.WriteLine(Resources.GenerationCompleteInSeconds, totalWatch.Elapsed.TotalSeconds.ToString("F1"));
+					output.WriteLine();
+					output.AddButton(null, Resources.OpenExplorer, delegate { Process.Start("explorer", "/select,\"" + targetFolder + "\""); });


Using /select with a folder path (targetFolder) will not work as intended. The /select parameter expects a file path to select in Explorer. To open the folder directly, use:

Process.Start("explorer", "\"" + targetFolder + "\"");

This will open the target folder itself, which is more appropriate for a batch operation where multiple files were generated.

Suggested change

output.AddButton(null, Resources.OpenExplorer, delegate { Process.Start("explorer", "/select,\"" + targetFolder + "\""); });

output.AddButton(null, Resources.OpenExplorer, delegate { Process.Start("explorer", "\"" + targetFolder + "\""); });

@sonyps5201314 Yes, this a legitimate bug: explorer C:\path\to\folder is the syntax for folders.

1f13b80 resolved.
This also incidentally resolves another small 'unmodern' issue in ILSpy: every time 'Open or Select File/Folder' was executed, a new explorer.exe process was launched, and these processes would not automatically exit even after closing the opened windows.

ILSpy/Commands/GeneratePdbContextMenuEntry.cs

siegfriedpammer · 2025-11-21T07:25:24Z

Looks good to me! Thank you very much for contributing this feature!

…re fully overwritten/truncated.

…spawning an `explorer.exe` process that doesn't exit automatically on every call.

ILSpy/Util/ShellHelper.cs

…ing `OpenFolderAndSelectItem`.

…drive than the OS.

sonyps5201314 · 2025-11-21T17:28:50Z

@siegfriedpammer I believe I have addressed all the points you mentioned. The functionality of GeneratePdbForAssembly is now fully covered by GeneratePdbForAssemblies, so GeneratePdbForAssembly can be removed to simplify maintenance.

Additionally, I intentionally did not set an initial directory for OpenFolderDialog because I prefer to use the user's last selected directory. If we default to the target DLL's directory, there is a risk of overwriting an existing official PDB, which could break the software's integrity verification.

siegfriedpammer · 2025-11-24T07:42:28Z

ILSpy/Util/ShellHelper.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+using System;


Needs license header

e027a1a resolved.

siegfriedpammer · 2025-11-24T07:43:56Z

ILSpy/Util/ShellHelper.cs

+								}
+							}
+							if (itemPidl != IntPtr.Zero)
+								CoTaskMemFree(itemPidl);


I think, this needs try-finally too?

siegfriedpammer · 2025-11-24T07:45:44Z

ILSpy/Util/ShellHelper.cs

+			}
+			catch
+			{
+				// ignore


what kind of exceptions are we ignoring here? "catch all" is considered bad pratice.

#3619 (comment) answered.

siegfriedpammer · 2025-11-24T07:45:57Z

ILSpy/Util/ShellHelper.cs

+			}
+			catch
+			{
+				// ignore


what kind of exceptions are we ignoring here? "catch all" is considered bad practice.

Unlike C, which typically uses return values to signal errors, C# is a language that relies heavily on exceptions. Since almost any method call has the potential to throw, adding a try-catch block is certainly an effective measure to prevent the application from crashing.

These potential exceptions include Process.Start failures, DllImport("shell32.dll") errors (such as failing to load the DLL or finding the specific entry point), and even managed exceptions thrown from within P/Invoke during extreme scenarios (e.g., when hooked by tools like EasyHook).

Given that the consequence of a failure in ShellHelper's public API is merely that a folder fails to open—which is a minor impact—I believe adding a general exception handler is acceptable here. (Actually, I didn't add these catch blocks myself; I simply retained them because I agree they are necessary.)

siegfriedpammer · 2025-11-24T07:48:01Z

ILSpy/Util/ShellHelper.cs

+using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
+using System.Linq;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
+


Suggested change

#pragma warning disable CA1060 // Move pinvokes to native methods class

I didn't actually get this warning when I compiled, but I still added it as you suggested.
b631b55 resolved.

siegfriedpammer · 2025-11-24T07:52:33Z

ILSpy/TreeNodes/AssemblyTreeNode.cs

 		{
 			if (context.SelectedTreeNodes == null)
 				return;
+			var paths = new List<string>();


maybe it would make sense to use a HashSet here? Note that this would need a StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase on Windows :)

I don't think a change is strictly necessary here. If multiple instances of the same file appear in the Assembly List, it implies that the insertion logic (AssemblyList.OpenAssembly) isn't handling things correctly. The restriction should be enforced at that layer, rather than becoming a burden for internal calls.

Given that AssemblyList defines:
readonly Dictionary<string, LoadedAssembly> byFilename = new Dictionary<string, LoadedAssembly>(StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
we can infer that ILSpy doesn't suffer from this issue. However, I did notice a few days ago that dnSpyEx indeed has a problem with duplicate file entries.

That being said, your point is valid. Since relying on external restrictions increases the cognitive load on the caller (requiring the user to pay special attention), I went ahead and handled it inside OpenFolderAndSelectItems.
752e6ed resolved.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 10 out of 11 changed files in this pull request and generated 17 comments.

Files not reviewed (1)

ILSpy/Properties/Resources.Designer.cs: Language not supported

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Copilot · 2025-11-24T08:53:46Z

ILSpy/Commands/GeneratePdbContextMenuEntry.cs

+		internal static void GeneratePdbForAssemblies(IEnumerable<LoadedAssembly> assemblies, LanguageService languageService, DockWorkspace dockWorkspace)
+		{
+			var assemblyArray = assemblies?.Where(a => a != null).ToArray() ?? [];
+			if (assemblyArray == null || assemblyArray.Length == 0)


The redundant null check can be simplified. Line 123 already filters out null values with assemblies?.Where(a => a != null).ToArray() ?? [], so the subsequent check if (assemblyArray == null || assemblyArray.Length == 0) will never have a null assemblyArray.

Suggested change

if (assemblyArray == null || assemblyArray.Length == 0)

if (assemblyArray.Length == 0)

Copilot · 2025-11-24T08:53:47Z

ILSpy/Commands/GeneratePdbContextMenuEntry.cs

+				string msg = string.Format(Resources.CannotCreatePDBFile, ":" + Environment.NewLine +
+					string.Join(Environment.NewLine, unsupported.Select(u => Path.GetFileName(u.FileName)))
+					+ Environment.NewLine);


The error message formatting is incorrect. The first parameter to string.Format should be just the assembly filename, not a formatted string with additional content. This will result in a malformed error message like "Cannot create PDB file for :
Assembly1.dll
Assembly2.dll
because the PE debug directory type 'CodeView' is missing."

Consider changing this to properly format the list of unsupported assemblies, for example:

string msg = Resources.CannotCreatePDBFile + Environment.NewLine + string.Join(Environment.NewLine, unsupported.Select(u => " - " + Path.GetFileName(u.FileName))); MessageBox.Show(msg);

Suggested change

string msg = string.Format(Resources.CannotCreatePDBFile, ":" + Environment.NewLine +

string.Join(Environment.NewLine, unsupported.Select(u => Path.GetFileName(u.FileName)))

+ Environment.NewLine);

string msg = Resources.CannotCreatePDBFile + Environment.NewLine +

string.Join(Environment.NewLine, unsupported.Select(u => " - " + Path.GetFileName(u.FileName)));

Copilot · 2025-11-24T08:53:47Z

ILSpy/Util/ShellHelper.cs

+				IntPtr folderPidl = IntPtr.Zero;
+				uint attrs;
+				int hr = SHParseDisplayName(folderPath, IntPtr.Zero, out folderPidl, 0, out attrs);
+				if (hr == 0 && folderPidl != IntPtr.Zero)
+				{
+					SHOpenFolderAndSelectItems(folderPidl, 0, null, 0);
+					CoTaskMemFree(folderPidl);
+				}
+				else
+				{
+					// fallback
+					Process.Start(new ProcessStartInfo { FileName = folderPath, UseShellExecute = true });
+				}


Replace this call with a call to managed code if possible.

Suggested change

IntPtr folderPidl = IntPtr.Zero;

uint attrs;

int hr = SHParseDisplayName(folderPath, IntPtr.Zero, out folderPidl, 0, out attrs);

if (hr == 0 && folderPidl != IntPtr.Zero)

{

SHOpenFolderAndSelectItems(folderPidl, 0, null, 0);

CoTaskMemFree(folderPidl);

}

else

{

// fallback

Process.Start(new ProcessStartInfo { FileName = folderPath, UseShellExecute = true });

}

Process.Start(new ProcessStartInfo { FileName = folderPath, UseShellExecute = true });

Copilot · 2025-11-24T08:53:47Z

ILSpy/Util/ShellHelper.cs

+				IntPtr folderPidl = IntPtr.Zero;
+				uint attrs;
+				int hr = SHParseDisplayName(folderPath, IntPtr.Zero, out folderPidl, 0, out attrs);
+				if (hr == 0 && folderPidl != IntPtr.Zero)
+				{
+					SHOpenFolderAndSelectItems(folderPidl, 0, null, 0);
+					CoTaskMemFree(folderPidl);
+				}
+				else
+				{
+					// fallback
+					Process.Start(new ProcessStartInfo { FileName = folderPath, UseShellExecute = true });
+				}


Replace this call with a call to managed code if possible.

Suggested change

IntPtr folderPidl = IntPtr.Zero;

uint attrs;

int hr = SHParseDisplayName(folderPath, IntPtr.Zero, out folderPidl, 0, out attrs);

if (hr == 0 && folderPidl != IntPtr.Zero)

{

SHOpenFolderAndSelectItems(folderPidl, 0, null, 0);

CoTaskMemFree(folderPidl);

}

else

{

// fallback

Process.Start(new ProcessStartInfo { FileName = folderPath, UseShellExecute = true });

}

// Use managed code to open the folder in Explorer

Process.Start(new ProcessStartInfo { FileName = folderPath, UseShellExecute = true });

Copilot · 2025-11-24T08:53:47Z

ILSpy/Util/ShellHelper.cs

+				if (hr == 0 && folderPidl != IntPtr.Zero)
+				{
+					SHOpenFolderAndSelectItems(folderPidl, 0, null, 0);
+					CoTaskMemFree(folderPidl);


Replace this call with a call to managed code if possible.

Copilot · 2025-11-24T08:53:49Z

ILSpy/Util/ShellHelper.cs

+	static class ShellHelper
+	{
+		[DllImport("shell32.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Unicode)]
+		static extern int SHParseDisplayName([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pszName, IntPtr pbc, out IntPtr ppidl, uint sfgaoIn, out uint psfgaoOut);


Minimise the use of unmanaged code.

Copilot · 2025-11-24T08:53:49Z

ILSpy/Util/ShellHelper.cs

+		static extern int SHParseDisplayName([MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPWStr)] string pszName, IntPtr pbc, out IntPtr ppidl, uint sfgaoIn, out uint psfgaoOut);
+
+		[DllImport("shell32.dll")]
+		static extern int SHOpenFolderAndSelectItems(IntPtr pidlFolder, uint cidl, [MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.LPArray)] IntPtr[] apidl, uint dwFlags);


Minimise the use of unmanaged code.

Copilot · 2025-11-24T08:53:49Z

ILSpy/Util/ShellHelper.cs

+		[DllImport("shell32.dll")]
+		static extern IntPtr ILFindLastID(IntPtr pidl);


Minimise the use of unmanaged code.

Suggested change

[DllImport("shell32.dll")]

static extern IntPtr ILFindLastID(IntPtr pidl);

Copilot · 2025-11-24T08:53:50Z

ILSpy/Util/ShellHelper.cs

+		static extern IntPtr ILFindLastID(IntPtr pidl);
+
+		[DllImport("ole32.dll")]
+		static extern void CoTaskMemFree(IntPtr pv);


Minimise the use of unmanaged code.

Copilot · 2025-11-24T08:53:50Z

ILSpy/Commands/GeneratePdbContextMenuEntry.cs

+			// Ask for target folder
+			var dlg = new OpenFolderDialog();
+			dlg.Title = Resources.SelectPDBOutputFolder;
+			if (dlg.ShowDialog() != true || string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(dlg.FolderName))


The expression 'A != true' can be simplified to '!A'.

Suggested change

if (dlg.ShowDialog() != true || string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(dlg.FolderName))

if (!dlg.ShowDialog() || string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(dlg.FolderName))

…lectItems`.

…oke.

sonyps5201314 · 2025-11-25T09:05:13Z

@siegfriedpammer Thank you for taking the time to review the code again. I have addressed all your questions and made the necessary changes. Is there anything else that needs modification?

…re fully overwritten/truncated.

…ch processing.

Support batch PDB generation.

3ee07e4

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sonyps5201314 added 4 commits November 21, 2025 15:37

Use FileMode.Create for output PDB files to ensure existing files a…

ef52899

…re fully overwritten/truncated.

Localize the string Generating portable PDB....

71cfce3

Refine GeneratePdbForAssemblies implementation.

c5c3505

Replace direct calls to explorer.exe with the Shell API to prevent …

1f13b80

…spawning an `explorer.exe` process that doesn't exit automatically on every call.

siegfriedpammer reviewed Nov 21, 2025

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sonyps5201314 added 5 commits November 21, 2025 22:38

Batch calls to ShellHelper.OpenFolderAndSelectItems instead of loop…

cae0022

…ing `OpenFolderAndSelectItem`.

Localize the string Open Explorer.

cfc5d2f

Fix OpenCmdHere malfunction when ILSpy is running from a different …

e807f1a

…drive than the OS.

Refine GeneratePdbForAssemblies implementation.

5625db2

Replace WinForms FolderBrowserDialog with WPF OpenFolderDialog.

a973b2e

siegfriedpammer reviewed Nov 24, 2025

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christophwille requested a review from Copilot November 24, 2025 08:45

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sonyps5201314 added 3 commits November 25, 2025 15:36

Add license header

e027a1a

Exclude duplicate entries entered by the user within `OpenFolderAndSe…

752e6ed

…lectItems`.

Explicitly declare that ShellHelper.cs is a module that allows Pinv…

b631b55

…oke.

sonyps5201314 added 2 commits November 25, 2025 23:11

Use FileMode.Create for output PDB files to ensure existing files a…

da6d257

…re fully overwritten/truncated.

Show original filenames when generating PDBs to improve UX during bat…

4e5727f

…ch processing.

sonyps5201314 force-pushed the batch_PDB_gen branch from 6010c85 to 4e5727f Compare November 25, 2025 16:32

Fix CA1806/Improve exception handling

217c72d

siegfriedpammer merged commit 193a463 into icsharpcode:master Nov 25, 2025
5 checks passed

	output.AddButton(null, Resources.OpenExplorer, delegate { Process.Start("explorer", "/select,\"" + targetFolder + "\""); });
	output.AddButton(null, Resources.OpenExplorer, delegate { Process.Start("explorer", "\"" + targetFolder + "\""); });



	#pragma warning disable CA1060 // Move pinvokes to native methods class

	if (assemblyArray == null \|\| assemblyArray.Length == 0)
	if (assemblyArray.Length == 0)

		[DllImport("shell32.dll")]
		static extern IntPtr ILFindLastID(IntPtr pidl);

	if (dlg.ShowDialog() != true \|\| string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(dlg.FolderName))
	if (!dlg.ShowDialog() \|\| string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(dlg.FolderName))

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Support batch PDB generation. #3619

Support batch PDB generation. #3619

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Pull Request Overview

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siegfriedpammer commented Nov 21, 2025

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siegfriedpammer Nov 24, 2025 •

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