I've been looking around and other than: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/31kztyey.aspx I have found no information on how to publish a Windows form application I have written.
I have managed to publish and then install my application on my local computer, but not in the way I had intended. I was hoping to be able to zip up the folder containing my published project and upload it somewhere, at which point people can download the zip file and install my application. The publishing wizard doesn't seem to be able to publish in such a way, or if it is, it is fairly unclear.
Can anyone point me in the right direction here? I can also clarify what I would like to do if need.
You can create Setup Project ( File-> New -> Project -> Other Project Type -> Setup and Deployment -> Visual Studio Installer -> Setup Project ). So, in Solution Explorer, you can add existing project. After add your project, you can add your program output in File System window( Right click on Application Folder -> Add -> Project Output ... ), so you select your project from Project ComboBox ). After adding your project output, you can build your setup-project and you will have your setup file in your setup-project.
For more information you can check :
Steps to Create Setup and Deployment
Setup Projects
Try this way: ClickOnce (Too simple, free, many ability like Update )
Edit : Absolutely there are many ways, also you can use third party software (like InstallSheild). and Look at Different Windows Installer and ClickOnce
You can create a setup-project - with this you can simply compile a setup and deploy all the setupfiles/msi and the user can install from this.
Related
I have a C# application. It has multiple forms and multiple classes. I've been looking for ages on how to deploy my application and keep running into issues.
I've tried:
ClickOnce
Right click on my solution -> Publish
This is the data I've entered:
Specify the location to publish this application:
C:\Users\$USER\Desktop
How will users install the application?
Here I just want to be able to get an installation file that will install the app and all the assets. This is purely for testing, but I just want to be able to send a friend the .exe install via email (or some other means) so they can play around with it. I have not gotten any of these options to work thus can't continue.
File -> New Project -> Other Project Types -> Visual Studio Installer -> Setup Project
I right click on Application folder -> add -> Project Output
When doing this, it tells me I need to close my current solution (my application) and if I want to save. It looks like other people are able to get this project output project to show in the solution explorer along with their main application, but I can't seem to do that.
The entire Add Project Output Group is empty, including both dropdowns.
These are the two methods I've seen that seem to be the easiest, but I can't even seem to get them to work :s
I do also have my own website, and eventually I'd like users to install the application from a page on the website. If easier, I could set that up instead of dealing with just getting an install file, but I haven't looked into it as I assumed just getting this install file on my computer would be simpler.
Any help with this would be highly appreciated as I'm lost as of now.
So when I share my work with my a friend to review, what i generally do is send him them the .exe located in bin\Debug\app.publish\<name>.exe folder inside the project folder. Take care to place all the .dll, i.e class libraries that you have written into that folder, zip it, and share! Your friend should be able to extract and run.
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.
If the end user dont have .net 4.0 installed , i dont want them to go to a microsoft page to download manually and install it. I rather want them to just click "ok" and the setup goes to my website and downloads the webinstaller file and start installing automatically.
In my solution i have 2 project, 1 windows project and 1 setup project. I have noticed that if i go to properties on either of the projects and then Prerequisites, there i can choose between these 3 options :
Download prerequisites from the component vendor's website ( default )
Download prerequisites from the same location as my application
Download prerequisites from the following location ( with a textbox )
I should want the last option right? But do i link to a folder in my website and it will look there for the right "name" to install ? Then i have to add the installers to that folder?
And i dont know if i only should do this on the windows project or the setup project or both?
I am using visual studios default installer.
Really confused.
Thanky you.
If it is ok for you to distribute the .NET framework with the program you can use the instructions from the answer to this post:
silent .NET Framework install in setup project
The setup should install the .NET framework without requiring any user input.
I normally choose the second options.
Why? Because VS actually compiles a bootstrapper which gets sent to you Debug/Release folder. So all you need to do is copy that whole folder and burn to cd or usb and ship to your client.
i wanna deploy a C# Windows Application project using Setup and deployment project technique
but i don know what should i use
after i open File > New > Project > Setup and deployment > ....
then what ,, what should i do next
In the past I've used the Visual Studio Setup Project or Innosetup for my programs. I prefer to build .msi's over exe's so Visual Studio Setup Project has been my goto for a while now. It is however, very lacking in capabilities. The interface is not intuitive either in my opinion. Every time I build an installer there is a lot of trial and error install/uninstall to get it right. Other's have pointed out WIX and I've looked into it. It appears to be very flexible and since it is open source, we should be able to count on it for the long term.
Here is a recent article about WIX. What I found interesting is the article claims (see link in article) that Visual Studio Setup Project is being End Of Life'd in VS 2010 + NEXT_VERSION. This is a little disconcerting to me. Since I don't want to begin to rely on the new Install Shield "Lite" in VS, I'm going to put effort into learning WIX. I hope it'll pay off in more flexible builds for my applications as well.
All that said, when creating a VS Setup project, I usually use the wizard to put in the initial plumbing. You'll point it at the files you want in the .msi. Typically for me this means the "outputs" of one or more programs in my solution. Any managed assemblies referenced in the programs will automatically get picked up as dependencies and included. Unfortunately unmanaged assemblies don't and I usually have to add them manually using the "File System Editor" mode in the Setup Project UI. Adding shortcuts is a little hokey as well. You right click under the start menu and desktop section of the "File System Editor" mode and select create shortcut. This is all by memory so hopefully I'm getting this right. You will certainly have to test your installer multiple times before you get it just how you want. I like to test under a VM as well.
Finally, the VS Setup project produces a setup.exe and .msi file. Setup.exe is used for detecting and installing dependencies (such as .Net) before unpacking the actual DLL.
When u do this File > New > Project > Setup and deployment >
then right click Application folder> Add > File...and add your app's .exe file and also you can add shortcuts of your app in desktop and program's menu
I would recommend you to go for some tool for creating msi.
I am using WIX
What you need depends on... what you need.
For a large percentage of applications, all you need the installer to do is let the user choose an install location, copy files to a directory structure at that location, and create a few shortcuts. For that, a Visual Studio Installer -> Setup Project is fine. It can handle this basic functionality, as well as installing prerequisites like the .Net Framework redistributables, providing custom install options, and/or writing simple registry keys. The Setup Wizard creates a Setup Project as well, but runs you through a wizard to set up the basics. This is a good option if you've never created an installer before.
If you want this application to be controlled by a larger, more custom install, choose the CAB Project; it will simply pack the necessary files into an archive that is easily accessible from another setup project.
If you are publishing a class library, use a Merge Module. Merge Modules work within install programs themselves, providing files needed for the main application to work.
If you need serious customization, or you want to interface with existing InstallShield logic, I'd get a third-party installer. I've worked with InstallShield before, and it's pretty full-featured, but by the same token, the installers it creates are applications in their own right and can take days or weeks of logic programming to "tweak" to your satisfaction.
The development phase of my project has been completed and now I want create a setup file.
What shoud I add in Application Folder in File System section ?
Where and how can I add my icon of project, database, recource and essential dll file?
In Visual Studio, you add a setup project application to your solution.
Setup is a project type, so it's like adding another .exe.
Visual Studio has a wizard that takes you through most of the steps.
Well if your question is like "How do I create a setup of my project?" You should try reading some of the tutorials on internet:
Creating Setup and Deployment Projects in VS.NET
Setup and Deployment with Prerequisites Included in VB.Net 2008
Serial Number in Setup and Deployment