MSG_FILE_NOMANIFEST

%s

This file is not a side-by-side manifest.

Please select the .manifest file that describes the assembly.

The indicated file is not a Windows side-by-side manifest file. It cannot be added to the InstallMate project as a side-by-side assembly.

Parameters

%s

Full path to the file in question.

Background

Windows side-by-side manifests use XML-based .manifest files to describe their identity, optional dependencies, and optional member files.

In the present case, you were trying to add an assembly using a file that does not look like a side-by-side manifest file. This indicates one or more of the following problems:

• The file is not a valid XML file. XML files must start with a <?xml ... ?> directive and are typically encoded as UTF-8 Unicode text files.
• The file did not contain an <assembly> tag as its root tag (i.e., as its top-level tag).
• The file did not contain an <assemblyIdentity> subtag.
• The file contained XML syntax errors such as missing "quotes" around attribute values, unterminated tags, or unescaped special characters such as '<', '>' and '&'.
• The file contained byte codes that are not valid for the indicated text encoding (UTF-8 or otherwise).

Note that XML tag names are case-sensitive; an <Assembly> tag is not the same as an <assembly> tag.

Solution

Select a valid Windows side-by-side manifest file. If the file in question is supposed to be the manifest file, then you may have to correct its XML syntax. Consult the Microsoft documentation for the required side-by-side manifest syntax.