Custom Build Step problem

[Malachi]

I have a custom build step in which the Commands are:

mkdir ..\MYPROGRAM\HELP
mkdir ..\MYPROGRAM\DATA
mkdir ..\MYPROGRAM\LOGS
mkdir ..\MYPROGRAM\DEMO

and the Outputs are

..\MYPROGRAM\DEMO
..\MYPROGRAM\DATA
..\MYPROGRAM\HELP
..\MYPROGRAM\LOGS

I assigned this custom build step to 10 of my projects. When I compile these projects in a batch, the custom build step is invoked before the first project output file is produced. Subsequent project compilations invoke the same custome build step and produce the error:

Performing Custom Build Step on \MYPROGRAM\IEXCLDEF.exe
A subdirectory or file ..\MYPROGRAM\DEMO already exists.
A subdirectory or file ..\MYPROGRAM\DATA already exists.
A subdirectory or file ..\MYPROGRAM\HELP already exists.
A subdirectory or file ..\MYPROGRAM\LOGS already exists.

I thought that, by adding the entries in the Output section of the Custom Build tab, the timestamps would be compared and the actions would be conditionally performed. I guess this was wrong. How can I conditionally perform the Custom Build steps I need and avoid this error?

 

[Malachi]

I found this annotation from josh's Weblog

a key to effective use of custom build steps and build events is to use macros wherever possible. rather than hard-coding paths, use macros that point to the appropriate locations. this not only makes it easier to share projects among a team, but helps make the projects more maintainable. also remember that the command lines for these tools is executed as a batch file. anything you can do in a batch file or cmd script you can do in a custom build step or build event, and this gives you quite a bit of power.

I will pursue using a macro. If anyone has a better suggestion it would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance