I am just wondering if there is a somewhat simple way to use a Windows Forms Application program outside of Visual Studios. If so could someone elaborate on it?
When you have compiled the files simply navigate to the
Debug/Release folder
and run the executable. Any dependencies can be configured to be output to that folder in
Project properties (Build Tab, Output path)
You can also set references to Copy local in the Property Window within Visual Studio, which ensures references are copied to Debug/Release folder depending on which configuration you have Visual studio in.
Or build an installer as Brian describes.
Yes. The steps to do this can be found here.
In a nutshell:
Add a new install project to your solution.
Add targets from all of the projects you want to be installed.
Configure pre-requisites and choose the location from where missing components must be installed (if applicable).
Configure your installer settings - company name, version...
Build the project and you are good-to-go.
Run the installer (setup.exe) or right-click the setup project in the solution explorer and select "Install", then run it from the install folder like any other app. (thank you, retailcoder)
It can be as simple or complex as you would like it to be.
Related
I have a console application built in visual studio 2010.
When I actually build the project I am getting .exe file under \bin\Debug\MyProj.exe.
When I Paste and run this .exe from other location it is expecting other files too.
Any thoughts how can I make this as Stand alone exe file.
There should be other DLL's in the Debug library. You need those to run your exe.
If there are no DLL's there, make sure you set the 'Copy local' property of the required references to True, and build again.
If you want to make a standalone program, you should create a new Setup project in your solution. Include the Primary Output from your application project, and the setup should include the required DLL's automatically. Once you build the setup project, you can install your application as a standalone software.
You usually distribute application with bunch of DLLs, that's nothing bad.
But if you really want to make it a single exe, you can look here - same question is answered Embed .net dll in c# .exe . (Valid if your DLLs are also .Net assemblies)
Edit: If you need to easily distribute app to not-very-computer-friendly users, consider also trying ClickOnce. It's roughly something like Java Web start - only disadvantage is that you can't get "Windows Logo" certificate from Microsoft for projects distributed that way.
I don't have Visual Studio 2010 to experiment with, but in Visual Studio 2019 this worked:
Project Properties->Configuration Properties->Advanced->Use of MFC->Use MFC in a Static Library
This is my first time trying to use a dll file in visual studio (2012) so I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I am trying to get sqlite into my project following this tutorial
I right click on the project in the Solution Explorer and click Add References
I then click on the browse tab and find where I have the dll file,click ok then ok in visual studio and I get an error saying Reference to *dll path* could not be added. Please make sure the file is accessible and that is it a valid assembly or COM component.
did I miss a step here or something?
The file is located in my dropbox folder (where my whole project is) and the project is a windows store application is that matters
Not a direct answer but instead of referencing the dll directly, you should install the Visual Studio extension for SQLite. The extension includes the dlls for all platforms (x86, x64, ARM). It also makes sure that the right dll is used for the platform that you are building for.
After you install the extension, it will appear in the references dialog under Windows -> Extensions. Also, when you use the extension, you must change all your project build configurations to be x86 or x64 (on the desktop) or Arm (for Arm devices). It will fail to build if you use AnyCPU.
I am an experienced developer who is completely new to C# and windows development.
I would like to contribute to Rocksmith custom song creator with a simple feature, but I don't even know how to build and run the project in Visual Studio 2012. I cloned the git repository, double clicked on devtools/devtools.csproj then Debug -> Start Debugging but I get an error about not being able to start a class directly.
You can browse the source code of the project at: https://code.google.com/p/rocksmith-custom-song-creator/source/browse/
From what I can tell, you have selected a sub-project in your solution to be the starting-project.
See, if there is project that defines a Window (WinForms or WPF), right-click this project and select it as starting project.
From MSDN
You can specify which project or projects within a multi-project solution Visual Studio will build and debug first.
To set a single startup project
In Solution Explorer, select the desired startup project within your solution.
On the Project menu, choose Set as StartUp Project.
The .csproj is just a project, you need to put that into a Solution (or open the solution included, if any)
Do you have a .sln file? Probably that's the one you must open.
So I made a C# program, and its great and all (its a Windows Form Application). The issue with it, is I don't know how to use it outside of the debug mode form. How do I publish it? My target goal is to create a two folders, put a shortcut to the application in one, along with the other folder which will contain the application and all outside programs (some of the buttons link to batch files). Then I'd want to be able to put it in a RAR compressed file, and upload it online for others to download it.
How do I publish it so that happens? How do I take it out of debug mode?
Go into your project folder, then navigate to /bin/Release. If there's an EXE file with the title of your project in there, copy it somewhere (along with any DLLs that you may have linked) and there's your program. If it's not there, first try Build -> Compile Solution in Visual Studio. If it's still not there, navigate instead to /bin/Debug and do the same thing. Then, copy all your batch files into another folder, put them into the same folder, and RAR it.
P.S. Try not to use RAR, few people can extract them. Use ZIP or SEA (self-extracting archive) if at all possible.
First off, you need to build your application in Release mode, in Visual Studio simply change the drop down near the top of the window to "Release." This will create a bin/Release directory where your sources are located. The folder will contain an EXE for your application and DLLs you need to include. It could (and probably will) include some debugging *.PDB files that you do not want to include -- as those include debugging information.
Copy the contents of that directory somewhere and RAR it up.
Building in x86 Mode
(You should only do this if you have a specific reason to)
If your application uses 3rd party DLLs that are not 64-bit compatible, you may need to do a release build in x86 mode. To do that, click the "Any CPU" drop down and click "New Configuration" (or something like that) and follow the steps to add x86. Then build with the x86 -- Release setting. That will output x86 binaries to a bin/x86/Release folder where your sources are located.
The Preferred Soltuion
Most users are going to prefer some form of automatic installer instead of a simple RAR or ZIP. Visual Studio (Standard/Pro) can create self installing MSIs that do all the work for you. A basic overview is here. You can add shortcuts/etc using the wizards Visual Studio provides.
If you need an even more robust installer you could check out solutions such as InnoSetup or NSIS
To build your application in Release mode instead of Debug, go to the Build menu and select Configuration Manager.
Change the Active soluction configuration to Release. Now, when you build your solution, it will put the executable in the /bin/Release folder.
If you need to automatically perform certain actions once the solution is built, like packaging into a RAR or ZIP archive and copying the distributable to another folder, then check out post-build actions.
After Visual Studio 2010 , Microsoft remove Make setup utility facility from the visual studio and,we have to downlorad that plugin seperatly from
Get InstallShield Limited Edition for Visual Studio
You Have to fill the application
After intalation, goto
Visual Studio-->New Project-->Other Project type-->Setup and Development
You will see follwing screen
Now you can goto InstallShield setup utility and change the things as you requirement.
add all file in debug folder of your project in follwing interface and build solution,
Final setup will locate in your setup folder-->Express\CD_ROM\DiskImages\DISK1**
hope this will help you
When creating a set-up project in Visual Studio 2008, I am trying to create an MSI. I have a standalone installation project - that is, I don’t have a main project to install, I just want to ship some random files.
Configuration properties / build shows that it should create debug/myproj.msi. However, if I do a build of either the solution or the project, I only get an exe.
Do I need to compile this in a certain way to force it to create an MSI?
To build an installer package you must right click on the project and select "Build". Or modify the solution settings to include a build of the installer.
By default installers are NOT built on every build, this is for performance reasons.