I have a C# program that uses an external opensource library that I downloaded from the internet, specifically openxml to create excel files. Now I want to run my executable files on computers that do not have this library installed.
I already know that I can have visual studios to make a copy of the library in either the debug or release folder by setting the copy local property to true, and I am doing this.
The problem is that now the executable file can be run on other computers and generate excel files, but the executable file has to be run in the debug or release folder where the library is saved.
When I try to copy the executable file and run it outside of the folder an exception is thrown telling me that the library cannot be found, how do I make it find the library when running the executable outside of the folder?
Thanks,
-Jake
There should be several options that should work.
The problem is that the library is not in the path.
This might help. "http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/vstudio/6taasyc6%28v=vs.100%29.aspx".
You would just need to always have the library in the same location.
You could add the it to the path variable (though this could cause conflicts elsewhere).
You could add the folder to the temporary path, i.e. the console whenever it starts up.
You could add it to the relative path "Visual Studio: how to set path to dll?"
Hopefully that helps
You could do this in a couple of ways:
ILMerge could merge all the dlls together (if DLL is a C# dll) into a single executable so the libraries are always with you
You could add the DLLs are resources to the project, then on start up spit them out to local directory
Set a directory for reference libraries Using reference libraries (dll) stored in a different folder from the main program?
See also:
How can a C++ windows dll be merged into a C# application exe?
Embedding unmanaged dll into a managed C# dll
Embedding DLLs in a compiled executable
Embed C++ Libraries into .Net Libraries
Create a Windows Istaller
If you want to run your software on other machines then why dont you create a MSI ?.
pack your external executable file with the MSI. When you install it both your exe and external exe will be extracted to the same location so you wont be having any problem.
Related
I have created .NET 4.7.2 project and now refactoring and removing unused libraries.
By exe I mean successfully compiled exe file.
Try To Delete Bin Folder From your Project Path
There is a couple possibilities:
First: Compiled Exe didn't use the .dll at all as you said, so no piece of code will produce an exception because there's no call to that library inside it.
Second: Actually, the dll is somewhere in your computer (on an obscure folder, but registered) and the exe is accessing it witouth any problem
I would bet on first possibility
I've never done this before, because I've never needed to until now, but I need to build my windows forms application to a standalone executable. I'm aware of both Build and Publish options within Visual Studio however none do what I need. Build doesn't allow you to move the executable it makes, and Publish makes a setup to install on the computer.
My goal is for the application to open without installation.
In the /bin/Debug/ directory made by the Build option, I have an executable, four dlls required, two .pdb file, and few other standard files (.manifest, .config, etc.). I was hoping to get any requirements built inside the executable.
How do I do this? All my searching has taken me to bunch of tutorials on how to make applications from scratch and how to use the csc.exe console command.
You can merge the separate assemblies to make it one single executable.
There is a tool called ILMerge that is capable of doing that for you. Another method is described in this post, which also works for WPF.
What you want is to embed the .DLLs in the .exe file so you can move it freely and only need the .exe , you just didn't search for the right thing,
here is what you are looking for :
It is possible to merge .NET executables with libraries. There are multiple tools available to get the job done:
ILMerge is a utility that can be used to merge multiple .NET assemblies into a single assembly.
Mono mkbundle, packages an exe and all assemblies with libmono into a single binary package.
IL-Repack is a FLOSS alterantive to ILMerge, with some additional features.
See : Embedding DLLs in a compiled executable
this is indeed a duplicate but i don't have the reputation to mark it as so.
My problem is that DLLs needed by my ClickOnce app are cluttering my project folder and I would like to move them to a bin folder but don't know a simple way to do so and still get the files to distribute.
To explain:
I'm distributing a C# app with ClickOnce. It has the following components:
One C# application
One CLR DLL
Umpteen C++ DLLs
All of these build to a tidy little bin folder.
Now the CLR DLL is referenced from the C# project, so it copies and deploys fine.
But I also want to distribute the C++ DLLs as part of the ClickOnce project, so I've done the thing that people say to do, which is add them to the C# project (drag ... drop), and in Properties, set Build Action to Content and Copy to Output Directory to Copy if Newer.
ClickOnce seems to deploy these files quite nicely.
The problem, though, is that now I have a bunch of binaries dumped into my C# project folder (and appearing in the project root in the IDE), which mixes executable files with source files in a way that is extremely obnoxious.
Can anyone clue me in to a simple way to keep all my DLLs in the output folder where they belong, and also have them distributed by ClickOnce?
Move you C++ DLLs somewhere sensible then when you add them to the project choose to add them as a Link instead of the standard Add which copies the files to the project folder.
To do this follow these steps:
Right click the project file and choose add existing file.
Navigate to the location of the file(s).
Click the down arrow next to the Add button and select Add as Link
I am writing a C# Windows application program and I'm using an add-on for creating chart in it,but when I run this program on another windows which has .net framework but not that package it does not work and give me exception.
I want to know how can I correct this problem even with setup file?
and if the answer is setup file then how should I do that?
thank you
When you distribute your package (whether that's through a proper installer or just a zip file or whatever), you should be including the DLL as well. Precisely how to include the DLL depends on what tool you're using to generate the installer.
If, for some reason, you are restricted to distributing a single .exe file, you can use ILMerge to merge an arbitrary number of .NET DLLs into an executable.
I've created a basic console app in Visual Studio 2008, which references an external assembly.
When I publish and install the project, both the executable and the external assembly are installed in the target folder.
Is it possible to compile the project, and have all referenced assemblies included in the main executable - so there is only one file to distribute?
Thanks for any help,
Franko
You can use ILMerge to merge the assemblies for deployment. This lets you keep them separate during development, but put them all into one .exe file when you ship.
You can use ILMerge from Microsoft for this, or the Cecil tool from the Mono project.
You can create a setup file. so you can redistribute only one file.
But it still going to be installed into a folder with each assembly separated.
You can also consider placing your assemblies into the GAC.
If you find ILMerge is not enough because your app needs files other than .net assemblies, I have found that packaging it as self extracting exe using MakeSFX works nicely. It sounds unlikely but with correct command line flags the self extracting bit is completely transparent and it runs just like any other application.