[c#] Change connection string & reload app.config at run time

When I change the connection string using this code, it does not reload app.config at runtime. I expected it to reload similarly to how we reload app.config.

config.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings["JVVNL_NEW.Properties.Settings.JVVNL_NEWConnectionString1"].ConnectionString = ConString;
config.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings["CMS_NEW.Properties.Settings.JVVNL_NEWConnectionString1"].ConnectionString = ConString;
config.Save(ConfigurationSaveMode.Modified,true);
ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection(config.ConnectionStrings.SectionInformation.SectionName);

This question is related to c# configuration

The answer is


You can also refresh the configuration in it's entirety:

ConnectionStringSettings importToConnectionString = currentConfiguration.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings[newName];

if (importToConnectionString == null)
{
    importToConnectionString = new ConnectionStringSettings();
    importToConnectionString.ConnectionString = importFromConnectionString.ConnectionString;
    importToConnectionString.ProviderName = importFromConnectionString.ProviderName;
    importToConnectionString.Name = newName;
    currentConfiguration.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings.Add(importToConnectionString);
}
else
{
    importToConnectionString.ConnectionString = importFromConnectionString.ConnectionString;
    importToConnectionString.ProviderName = importFromConnectionString.ProviderName;
}

Properties.Settings.Default.Reload();

//You can apply the logic in "Program.cs"

//Logic for getting new connection string
//****
//

MyDBName="mydb";

//
//****

//Assign new connection string to a variable
string newCnnStr = a="Data Source=.\SQLExpress;Initial Catalog=" + MyDBName + ";Persist Security Info=True;User ID=sa;Password=mypwd";

//And Finally replace the value of setting
Properties.Settings.Default["Nameof_ConnectionString_inSettingFile"] = newCnnStr;

//This method replaces the value at run time and also don't needs app.config for the same setting. It will have the va;ue till the application runs.

//It worked for me.

Yeah, when ASP.NET web.config gets updated, the whole application gets restarted which means the web.config gets reloaded.


IIRC, the ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection requires a string parameter specifying the name of the Section to refresh :

ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection("connectionStrings");

I think that the ASP.NET application should automatically reload when the ConnectionStrings element is modified and the configuration does not need to be manually reloaded.


//here is how to do it in Windows App.Config

public static bool ChangeConnectionString(string Name, string value, string providerName, string AppName)
    {
        bool retVal = false;
        try
        {

            string FILE_NAME = string.Concat(Application.StartupPath, "\\", AppName.Trim(), ".exe.Config"); //the application configuration file name
            XmlTextReader reader = new XmlTextReader(FILE_NAME);
            XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
            doc.Load(reader);
            reader.Close();
            string nodeRoute = string.Concat("connectionStrings/add");

            XmlNode cnnStr = null;
            XmlElement root = doc.DocumentElement;
            XmlNodeList Settings = root.SelectNodes(nodeRoute);

            for (int i = 0; i < Settings.Count; i++)
            {
                cnnStr = Settings[i];
                if (cnnStr.Attributes["name"].Value.Equals(Name))
                    break;
                cnnStr = null;
            }

            cnnStr.Attributes["connectionString"].Value = value;
            cnnStr.Attributes["providerName"].Value = providerName;
            doc.Save(FILE_NAME);
            retVal = true;
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            retVal = false;
            //Handle the Exception as you like
        }
        return retVal;
    }

Yeah, when ASP.NET web.config gets updated, the whole application gets restarted which means the web.config gets reloaded.


Had to do this exact thing. This is the code that worked for me:

var config = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
var connectionStringsSection = (ConnectionStringsSection)config.GetSection("connectionStrings");
connectionStringsSection.ConnectionStrings["Blah"].ConnectionString = "Data Source=blah;Initial Catalog=blah;UID=blah;password=blah";
config.Save();
ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection("connectionStrings");

First you might want to add

using System.Configuration;

To your .cs file. If it not available add it through the Project References as it is not included by default in a new project.

This is my solution to this problem. First I made the ConnectionProperties Class that saves the items I need to change in the original connection string. The _name variable in the ConnectionProperties class is important to be the name of the connectionString The first method takes a connection string and changes the option you want with the new value.

private String changeConnStringItem(string connString,string option, string value)
    {
        String[] conItems = connString.Split(';');
        String result = "";
        foreach (String item in conItems)
        {
            if (item.StartsWith(option))
            {
                result += option + "=" + value + ";";
            }
            else
            {
                result += item + ";";
            }
        }
        return result;
    }

You can change this method to accomodate your own needs. I have both mysql and mssql connections so I needed both of them. Of course you can refine this draft code for yourself.

private void changeConnectionSettings(ConnectionProperties cp)
{
     var cnSection = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
     String connString = cnSection.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings[cp.Name].ConnectionString;
     connString = changeConnStringItem(connString, "provider connection string=\"data source", cp.DataSource);
     connString = changeConnStringItem(connString, "provider connection string=\"server", cp.DataSource);
     connString = changeConnStringItem(connString, "user id", cp.Username);
     connString = changeConnStringItem(connString, "password", cp.Password);
     connString = changeConnStringItem(connString, "initial catalog", cp.InitCatalogue);
     connString = changeConnStringItem(connString, "database", cp.InitCatalogue);
           cnSection.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings[cp.Name].ConnectionString = connString;
     cnSection.Save();
     ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection("connectionStrings");
}

As I didn't want to add trivial information I ommited the Properties region of my code. Please add it if you want this to work.

class ConnectionProperties
{
    private String _name;
    private String _dataSource;
    private String _username;
    private String _password;
    private String _initCatalogue;

    /// <summary>
    /// Basic Connection Properties constructor
    /// </summary>
    public ConnectionProperties()
    {

    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Constructor with the needed settings
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="name">The name identifier of the connection</param>
    /// <param name="dataSource">The url where we connect</param>
    /// <param name="username">Username for connection</param>
    /// <param name="password">Password for connection</param>
    /// <param name="initCat">Initial catalogue</param>
    public ConnectionProperties(String name,String dataSource, String username, String password, String initCat)
    {
        _name = name;
        _dataSource = dataSource;
        _username = username;
        _password = password;
        _initCatalogue = initCat;
    }
// Enter corresponding Properties here for access to private variables
}

You can also refresh the configuration in it's entirety:

ConnectionStringSettings importToConnectionString = currentConfiguration.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings[newName];

if (importToConnectionString == null)
{
    importToConnectionString = new ConnectionStringSettings();
    importToConnectionString.ConnectionString = importFromConnectionString.ConnectionString;
    importToConnectionString.ProviderName = importFromConnectionString.ProviderName;
    importToConnectionString.Name = newName;
    currentConfiguration.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings.Add(importToConnectionString);
}
else
{
    importToConnectionString.ConnectionString = importFromConnectionString.ConnectionString;
    importToConnectionString.ProviderName = importFromConnectionString.ProviderName;
}

Properties.Settings.Default.Reload();

Here's the method I use:

public void AddOrUpdateAppConnectionStrings(string key, string value)
{
    try
    {
        var configFile = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
        var settings = configFile.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings;
        if (settings[key] == null)
        {
            settings.Add(new ConnectionStringSettings(key,value));
        }
        else
        {
            settings[key].ConnectionString = value;
        }
        configFile.Save(ConfigurationSaveMode.Modified);
        ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection(configFile.ConnectionStrings.SectionInformation.Name);
        Properties.Settings.Default.Reload();
    }
    catch (ConfigurationErrorsException)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Error writing app settings");
    }
}

IIRC, the ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection requires a string parameter specifying the name of the Section to refresh :

ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection("connectionStrings");

I think that the ASP.NET application should automatically reload when the ConnectionStrings element is modified and the configuration does not need to be manually reloaded.


You can also refresh the configuration in it's entirety:

ConnectionStringSettings importToConnectionString = currentConfiguration.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings[newName];

if (importToConnectionString == null)
{
    importToConnectionString = new ConnectionStringSettings();
    importToConnectionString.ConnectionString = importFromConnectionString.ConnectionString;
    importToConnectionString.ProviderName = importFromConnectionString.ProviderName;
    importToConnectionString.Name = newName;
    currentConfiguration.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings.Add(importToConnectionString);
}
else
{
    importToConnectionString.ConnectionString = importFromConnectionString.ConnectionString;
    importToConnectionString.ProviderName = importFromConnectionString.ProviderName;
}

Properties.Settings.Default.Reload();

IIRC, the ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection requires a string parameter specifying the name of the Section to refresh :

ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection("connectionStrings");

I think that the ASP.NET application should automatically reload when the ConnectionStrings element is modified and the configuration does not need to be manually reloaded.


First you might want to add

using System.Configuration;

To your .cs file. If it not available add it through the Project References as it is not included by default in a new project.

This is my solution to this problem. First I made the ConnectionProperties Class that saves the items I need to change in the original connection string. The _name variable in the ConnectionProperties class is important to be the name of the connectionString The first method takes a connection string and changes the option you want with the new value.

private String changeConnStringItem(string connString,string option, string value)
    {
        String[] conItems = connString.Split(';');
        String result = "";
        foreach (String item in conItems)
        {
            if (item.StartsWith(option))
            {
                result += option + "=" + value + ";";
            }
            else
            {
                result += item + ";";
            }
        }
        return result;
    }

You can change this method to accomodate your own needs. I have both mysql and mssql connections so I needed both of them. Of course you can refine this draft code for yourself.

private void changeConnectionSettings(ConnectionProperties cp)
{
     var cnSection = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
     String connString = cnSection.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings[cp.Name].ConnectionString;
     connString = changeConnStringItem(connString, "provider connection string=\"data source", cp.DataSource);
     connString = changeConnStringItem(connString, "provider connection string=\"server", cp.DataSource);
     connString = changeConnStringItem(connString, "user id", cp.Username);
     connString = changeConnStringItem(connString, "password", cp.Password);
     connString = changeConnStringItem(connString, "initial catalog", cp.InitCatalogue);
     connString = changeConnStringItem(connString, "database", cp.InitCatalogue);
           cnSection.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings[cp.Name].ConnectionString = connString;
     cnSection.Save();
     ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection("connectionStrings");
}

As I didn't want to add trivial information I ommited the Properties region of my code. Please add it if you want this to work.

class ConnectionProperties
{
    private String _name;
    private String _dataSource;
    private String _username;
    private String _password;
    private String _initCatalogue;

    /// <summary>
    /// Basic Connection Properties constructor
    /// </summary>
    public ConnectionProperties()
    {

    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Constructor with the needed settings
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="name">The name identifier of the connection</param>
    /// <param name="dataSource">The url where we connect</param>
    /// <param name="username">Username for connection</param>
    /// <param name="password">Password for connection</param>
    /// <param name="initCat">Initial catalogue</param>
    public ConnectionProperties(String name,String dataSource, String username, String password, String initCat)
    {
        _name = name;
        _dataSource = dataSource;
        _username = username;
        _password = password;
        _initCatalogue = initCat;
    }
// Enter corresponding Properties here for access to private variables
}

Here's the method I use:

public void AddOrUpdateAppConnectionStrings(string key, string value)
{
    try
    {
        var configFile = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
        var settings = configFile.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings;
        if (settings[key] == null)
        {
            settings.Add(new ConnectionStringSettings(key,value));
        }
        else
        {
            settings[key].ConnectionString = value;
        }
        configFile.Save(ConfigurationSaveMode.Modified);
        ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection(configFile.ConnectionStrings.SectionInformation.Name);
        Properties.Settings.Default.Reload();
    }
    catch (ConfigurationErrorsException)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Error writing app settings");
    }
}

Had to do this exact thing. This is the code that worked for me:

var config = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
var connectionStringsSection = (ConnectionStringsSection)config.GetSection("connectionStrings");
connectionStringsSection.ConnectionStrings["Blah"].ConnectionString = "Data Source=blah;Initial Catalog=blah;UID=blah;password=blah";
config.Save();
ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection("connectionStrings");

//You can apply the logic in "Program.cs"

//Logic for getting new connection string
//****
//

MyDBName="mydb";

//
//****

//Assign new connection string to a variable
string newCnnStr = a="Data Source=.\SQLExpress;Initial Catalog=" + MyDBName + ";Persist Security Info=True;User ID=sa;Password=mypwd";

//And Finally replace the value of setting
Properties.Settings.Default["Nameof_ConnectionString_inSettingFile"] = newCnnStr;

//This method replaces the value at run time and also don't needs app.config for the same setting. It will have the va;ue till the application runs.

//It worked for me.

You can also refresh the configuration in it's entirety:

ConnectionStringSettings importToConnectionString = currentConfiguration.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings[newName];

if (importToConnectionString == null)
{
    importToConnectionString = new ConnectionStringSettings();
    importToConnectionString.ConnectionString = importFromConnectionString.ConnectionString;
    importToConnectionString.ProviderName = importFromConnectionString.ProviderName;
    importToConnectionString.Name = newName;
    currentConfiguration.ConnectionStrings.ConnectionStrings.Add(importToConnectionString);
}
else
{
    importToConnectionString.ConnectionString = importFromConnectionString.ConnectionString;
    importToConnectionString.ProviderName = importFromConnectionString.ProviderName;
}

Properties.Settings.Default.Reload();