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C# - Unable to write to app.config after deployment

I am developing a WPF application which runs well in visual studio v.2022 very well. My problem is when I deploy the application to another computer for testing it does not seem to be updating app.config data. When I change the ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.None) to NONE it works well in both debug and release mode in Visual Studio but throws an error when deployed to another computer. The error I am getting is "System configuration.configuration error exception - An error ocurred while loading the the configuration file myApp.dll.config. Access denied "
I gather that the user has no write privileges on the Program Files folder where the app.config is stored. However, when I change the user level to either Roaming or Roaming and local, then nothing happens as the configuration file is not located and if at all the changes are made then they are not persisting. Here is my app.config file
<configuration>
<appSettings>
<add key="Server" value=""/>
<add key="Port" value=""/>
<add key="Database" value=""/>
<add key="User" value=""/>
<add key="Pwd" value=""/>
<add key="Code" value=""/>
<add key="Access" value=""/>
<add key="Status" value=""/>
<add key="EndDate" value=""/>
</appSettings>
</configuration>
Here is my method for updating the the app.config
public static void UpdateSetting(string key, string value)
{
Configuration roaming = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
ExeConfigurationFileMap fileMap = new ExeConfigurationFileMap();
fileMap.ExeConfigFilename = roaming.FilePath;
Configuration configuration = ConfigurationManager.OpenMappedExeConfiguration(fileMap, ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
var appSettings = configuration.AppSettings;
foreach (var keys in appSettings.Settings.AllKeys.Where(x => x.StartsWith(key)))
{
appSettings.Settings[keys].Value = value;
}
configuration.Save(ConfigurationSaveMode.Modified);
ConfigurationManager.RefreshSection("appSettings");
}
and here is an example of how the method is called Settings.UpdateSetting("Code", _Code);
Any help will be much appreciated

Following #Joe's comment it occurred to me that it was not possible to write to config application data at runtime. I opted to create a new section in the config file in the Properties.Settings folder in my solution and assigned the scope to User and not application since the user is able to update the data at runtime. Double click on the settings.Settings file to open in designer view and literally entered the settings names to be stored.
The stored settings can be saved and retrieved using the methods below.Properties.Settings.Default.yourSetting. to get the settings.
And to store/save the settings
Properties.Settings.Default.yourSetting= val;`
Properties.Settings.Default.Save();`
That solved my problem.

Filtering rules not working on removing bots

My memory usage on my website causes a recycle every 10 minutes without fail on my Windows server. Memory normally is 140mb but all of a sudden it jumps up to 600mb or more and the website needs to be recyled. I have the following entries in my web.config file to stop bots from attacking my website. However, I get a syntax error for the filteringRules line although my website runs ok with the updated web.config file. I noticed that some of the bots still appear on my http log and am wondering if my filter is working properly. Does anyone see a problem with this code or is it actually working in spite of the syntax error I get in Visual Studio? Also, can all these bots cause memory spikes?
<requestFiltering>
<filteringRules> !-- this line gives me a syntax error
<filteringRule name="BlockSearchEngines" scanUrl="false"
scanQueryString="false">
<scanHeaders>
<clear />
<add requestHeader="User-Agent" />
</scanHeaders>
<appliesTo>
<clear />
</appliesTo>
<denyStrings>
<clear />
<add string="AhrefsBot" />
<add string="MJ12bot" />
<add string="ExtLinksfBot" />
<add string="Yeti" />
<add string="YandexBot" />
<add string="SemrushBot" />
<add string="DotBot" />
<add string="istellabot" />
<add string="Qwantify" />
<add string="GrapeshotCrawler" />
<add string="archive.org_bot" />
<add string="Applebot" />
<add string="ias_crawler" />
<add string="Uipbot" />
<add string="Cliqzbot" />
<add string="TinEye-bot" />
<add string="YandexImages" />
</denyStrings>
</filteringRule>
</filteringRules>

The syntax of your <filteringRules> entry looks correct (except for the closing tag typo).
The schema for web.config that Visual Studio uses doesn't seem to include filteringRules, for some reason. However, that schema is independent from what IIS knows and does, so it shouldn't matter.
Also, can all these bots cause memory spikes?
Just because a request is coming from a bot won't make it use a lot of memory. Unintentional memory spikes are usually application bugs -- memory leaks and the like. You can look at your app's memory use with a memory profiler. Allocating memory buffers and then storing references to them in a global variable/collection is a common cause. Failing to call Dispose() on all Disposable objects is another potential source of leaks.

Multiple web config files in ASP.NET

Well, yes there are multiple posts on the same subject. One of the solutions for my problem is multiple web.config files but I am not sure if it works.
The problem:
I have a asp.net project. I have two clients (having their own storage and database) on which i need the application to be deployed. Storage and database are just two examples but there are many other settings unique to the client which can be managed in app settings. Whatever changes i do the project code, i need to deploy for both the clients.
Currently my web config looks like this:
<!-- GHR Settings -->
<connectionStrings>
<add name="DefaultConnection" connectionString="conn-string" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
</connectionStrings>
<appSettings>
<add key="StorageConnectionString" value="DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;AccountName=<acntName>;AccountKey=<acntKey>" />
<add key="StorageURL" value="<storageurl>" />
<add key="ProfileURL" value="<ProfileURL>" />
<add key="GenericURL" value="<GenericURL>" />
<add key="IDocURL" value="<IDocURL>" />
<add key="LogosURL" value="<LogosURL>" />
<add key="DocsURL" value="<DocsURL>" />
<add key="DefaultPassword" value="pass123" />
</appSettings>
<!-- TP Settings -->
<!--
<connectionStrings>
<add name="DefaultConnection" connectionString="conn-string" providerName="System.Data.SqlClient" />
</connectionStrings>
<appSettings>
<add key="StorageConnectionString" value="DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;AccountName=<acntName>;AccountKey=<acntKey>" />
<add key="StorageURL" value="<storageurl>" />
<add key="ProfileURL" value="<ProfileURL>" />
<add key="GenericURL" value="<GenericURL>" />
<add key="IDocURL" value="<IDocURL>" />
<add key="LogosURL" value="<LogosURL>" />
<add key="DocsURL" value="<DocsURL>" />
<add key="DefaultPassword" value="pass123" />
</appSettings>
<add key="DefaultPassword" value="pass123" />
</appSettings> -->
As you can see, I have duplicated the settings and comment one client's settings, deploy on the server. Then I do it for other client.
This works alright, but too much maintenance during the publishing and prone to errors.
Please suggest what is the correct way of doing this.
Thanks.

What I have done in my case is create a separate config file for the DB connectionstring and reference that file inside your web.config. By this way you can have the same web.config for both your clients and would only need to send the connectionstring.config file only once!
Inside your web.config
<connectionStrings configSource="ConfigFiles\ConnectionStrings.config" />
And inside that file put the connectionstring
Same thing can be done for section

NullReferenceException when trying to write in app.config

I use app.config to store some info. My file looks like this:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<configuration>
<appSettings>
<add key="używajDomyślnie" value="false" />
<add key="sInicjały" value="ŁM" />
<add key="nPrzedstawiciel" value="Łukasz Motyczka" />
<add key="nPozycja" value="Przedstawiciel Naukowo-Handlowy" />
<add key="nTelefon" value="+48 784 567 670" />
<add key="nEmail" value="motyczka.lukasz#bmgrp.pl" />
<add key="dataoferty" value="" />
<add key="ostatniNrOferty" value="" />
</appSettings>
<connectionStrings>
<add name="Oferty_BMGRP.Properties.Settings.BazaDanychConnectionString" connectionString="Data Source=|DataDirectory|\BazaDanych.sdf" providerName="Microsoft.SqlServerCe.Client.3.5" />
</connectionStrings>
<system.windows.forms jitDebugging = "true"/>
</configuration>
The snippet that throws a NullexceptionError is:
if(checkBox1.CheckState == CheckState.Checked)
{
Configuration config = ConfigurationManager.OpenExeConfiguration(ConfigurationUserLevel.None);
AppSettingsSection app = config.AppSettings;
//app.Settings.Clear();
//app.Settings.Add("używajDomyślnie", "true");
//app.Settings.Add("sInicjały", sInicjaly.ToString());
//app.Settings.Add("nPrzedstawiciel", nPrzedstawiciel.ToString());
//app.Settings.Add("nPozycja", nPozycja.ToString());
//app.Settings.Add("nTelefon", nTelefon.ToString());
//app.Settings.Add("nEmail", nEmail.ToString());
config.AppSettings.Settings["używajDomyślnie"].Value = "true"; //<- THIS LINE GIVES ME AN ERROR
config.AppSettings.Settings["sInicjały"].Value = sInicjaly.ToString();
config.AppSettings.Settings["nPrzedstawiciel"].Value = nPrzedstawiciel.ToString();
config.AppSettings.Settings["nPozycja"].Value = nPozycja.ToString();
config.AppSettings.Settings["nTelefon"].Value = nTelefon.ToString();
config.AppSettings.Settings["nEmail"].Value = nEmail.ToString();
config.Save(ConfigurationSaveMode.Modified);
form1.checkBox1.CheckState = CheckState.Checked;
}
When I debug it or build release in VS it works fine. Also it works on my laptop. But on every other machine I have null exception error. Also it worked until I tried to make a setup project (which works but meesed up this one). Whatmore the jit Debugging does not work, I still have a .net error (continue or exit).
Also I did notice that on my computer and some other laptop I was using, when error occurs it shows:
System.NullReferenceException: Odwołanie do obiektu nie zostało ustawione na wystąpienie obiektu.
w Oferty_BMGRP.Form3.button1_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) w C:\Users\user\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects\BMGRP\Oferty BMGRP\OfertyBMGRP\Form3.cs:wiersz 282
Sorry for polish, but what I want to point is that on both machines it shows path to same folder, which exists only on one of them.
Please help :)
EDIT!
I just found out that if I build the release. Run application and make th above code run, it creates MyApplication.exe.config file, and then app works fine on every computer. How can I make it to work as setup project, where .exe.config is not created, only app.config?

You're trying to set the Value property of a null object. Settings["blah"] is returning null before you even have a chance to set the value.
Try this instead:
config.AppSettings.Add("key", "value");
Or maybe will a null check:
if(config.AppSettings.Settings["key"] == null)
{
config.AppSettings.Add("key", "value");
}

MyApplication.exe.config is app.config, and you shouldn't mess with that paradigm. It's how .net applications are intended to work.
If you want to do your configuration differently than that, than you can either do your own file IO or find another external configuration library.

Get connectionstring from web.config

I use System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["key1"] in settings.designer.cs file. It's working fine in the development but after I moved all the .dll files into production it is not working.
In web.config file I added app settings in development and production both. What is the problem?
Code from settings.designer.cs file
get
{
return WebConfigurationManager.AppSettings["ConnectionString"];
//return (AppSettings["ConnectionString"]);
//return ((string)(this["ConnectionString"]));
}
I tried all three return statements. 3rd return is working fine in both dev & prod but it is not rendering from web.config.
Code in web.config
<add key="ConnectionString" value="connection string values are given here">

Don't use WebConfigurationManager.
Use System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["key"] instead to read key-value pair kept in Web.config, e.g.:
<configuration>
<appSetttings>
<add key="key1" value="value1" />
</appSetttings>
</configuration>
and System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["name"].ConnectionString to read connection string, e.g.:
<configuration>
<connectionStrings>
<add name="name" connectionString="value1" />
</connectionStrings>
</configuration>

You have to add configuration setting (connectionstring) to last execution program config file.