Do not minify certain files in ASP .NET MVC 4 BundleConfig

Question

I don't want to minify all the files I use in my ASP .NET MVC 4 solution. So for example I have this in my BundleConfig.cs:

bundles.Add(new StyleBundle("~/CSS/bootstrap").Include(
    "~/Content/Bootstrap/body.css",
    "~/Content/Bootstrap/bootstrap-responsive.css",
    "~/Content/Bootstrap/bootstrap-mvc-validation.css",
    "~/Content/Bootstrap/bootstrap-theme.css",
    "~/Content/Bootstrap/bootstrap.css"
    ));

...

And to minify it, of course I use:

BundleTable.EnableOptimizations = true;

So it works great.

But now, how could I minify all my files except one bundle? I have a problem with a bundle that removes some CSS classes and would like to not minify this one.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If you rename the file `xxxxx.min.css` does it still try minify it? — mxmissile, Jun 13 '14 at 19:45
Thank you for your answer, but I prefer not to do this, when I update Bootstrap I don't want to have to move and rename files. — Léo Davesne, Jun 16 '14 at 17:05

score 24 · Answer 1 · edited Jul 10 '15 at 12:48

24

Use Transforms.Clear() to skip minification but keep the files bundled

//declare bundle
var bundle = new ScriptBundle("~/javascripts/ckEditor")
                .Include("~/Scripts/ckeditor/ckeditor.js")
                .Include("~/Scripts/ckeditor/config.js");

//skip transformation. Result is that files are only bundled, but not minified.
bundle.Transforms.Clear();

bundles.Add(bundle);

You also have to eliminate the .min.js files from the directory to prevent the substitution

edited Jul 10 '15 at 12:48

Iván Sainz

409
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answered Oct 01 '14 at 13:21

David Votrubec

3,968
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1

As noted [in this question](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/14379130/asp-net-mvc-4-script-bundling-causes-errors-upon-deployment), just call `Bundle` instead of `ScriptBundle` – dudeNumber4 Sep 07 '18 at 16:15

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 12 '14 at 20:17

5

I had a similar issue. the solution is to disable and enable minification in the view. for instance

@{
    BundleTable.EnableOptimizations = false;
 }

@Styles.Render("~/layout")
@RenderSection("CSS", false)

@{
    BundleTable.EnableOptimizations = true;
}

answered Sep 12 '14 at 20:17

Lyon

711
8
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4

Thread safety = 0. i.e. Page 1 renders some other bundle one page two is rendering layout. Result is page 1 will also get an unminified bundle. – John Oct 07 '15 at 19:05
Same comment as above: As noted [in this question](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/14379130/asp-net-mvc-4-script-bundling-causes-errors-upon-deployment), just call `Bundle` instead of `ScriptBundle` – dudeNumber4 Sep 07 '18 at 16:16

Léo Davesne · Answer 3 · 2014-06-16T17:41:31.330

I don't know where the problem comes from but I tried to:

Just bundle, not minify. It doesn't work.

bundles.Add(new Bundle("~/CSS/bootstrap").Include(
    "~/Content/Bootstrap/body.css",
    "~/Content/Bootstrap/bootstrap-responsive.css",
    "~/Content/Bootstrap/bootstrap-mvc-validation.css",
    "~/Content/Bootstrap/bootstrap-theme.css",
    "~/Content/Bootstrap/bootstrap.css"
    ));

Override UI errors. It works but it's just a temporary patch.

Finally, I decided to use standard CSS calls (and put some comments to explain why in the code):

<link rel="stylesheet" href="/Content/Bootstrap/body.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/Content/Bootstrap/bootstrap-responsive.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/Content/Bootstrap/bootstrap-mvc-validation.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/Content/Bootstrap/bootstrap-theme.css">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/Content/Bootstrap/bootstrap.css">

If you have a better idea, please let us know! :)

Do not minify certain files in ASP .NET MVC 4 BundleConfig

3 Answers3