Read files with Build Action = Content

Question

I have some files in my project that have Build Action set to Content.

How can I obtain a stream to read these content files?

PS: Setting the Build Action to Resource and then reading the file via Application.GetResourceStream() is not an option.

Answer 1

Items with Build Action of Content are included in the package (.xap) file and are accessible via a Uri. You still use Application.GetResourceStream() to get at a stream

var si = Application.GetResourceStream(new Uri("FileName.ext", UriKind.Relative));
using (var sr = new StreamReader(si.Stream))
{
    //blah
}

This is fairly well documented in the MSDN help. Application.GetResourceStream

Answer 2

You can see a full sample in the MSDN Code Gallery I posted recently, showing how to access files deployed along with the application by using the Application.GetResourceStream() method.