While trying to debug a custom pipeline component using the Pipeline.exe utility, I keep getting the following error message:
Pipeline file name is already specified
Error 80131600
First of all, to use the Pipeline utility to debug custom components, you have to edit the properties of your pipeline component project:
- Select your pipeline component project
- Right-click and select the option Properties.
- Select the tag Debug
- In Start Action, select the option Start external program and select the Pipeline.exe utility
- Common path: C:\Program Files\Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006\SDK\Utilities\PipelineToolsPipeline.exe
- In Start Options, you have to set the Command line arguments option:
- “<path to your pipeline.btp>” –d “<path to your message>” –c
- In Start Action, select the option Start external program and select the Pipeline.exe utility
📝 One-Minute Brief
Debugging custom pipeline components is significantly faster using the Pipeline.exe utility rather than deploying to the full BizTalk runtime. However, a common command-line syntax error—”Pipeline file name is already specified”—often stalls developers. This guide explains how to correctly format the command, ensuring that paths with spaces are properly quoted and that parameters are passed in the specific order required by the utility to avoid parsing conflicts.
Cause
- The path I was specifying to my.btp file wasn’t in quotes, and spaces in the path were causing the problem
- This also applies to the path of my message.
Solution
- Put the path with quotes, my sample:
- “C:\Development\MyProject\MyPipelines\MyReceivePipeline.btp” -d “C:\Development\MyProjec\Samples\MY_Message.txt” -c
Once you master the syntax of Pipeline.exe, your custom component development cycle will drop from minutes to seconds. Don’t let a “file name already specified” error stop you—just check your quotes and argument order.
