Before starting my application (on Form Load) I want to check and ensure that the .NET framework (3.5 or higher) are installed on the machine - if not I want to prompt the user to download and install it (simple MessageBox with a INTERNET LINK to the Microsoft WebPage would be the best idea no?)
So, this actually entails two questions...
a) How do I DETERMINE IF .NET FrameWork 3.5 or higher are installed? (I don't trust or want to just look for the C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET folder, seems error-prone no?)
Seeing as this is so very crucial there must be a nice way in C# to determine what version of .NET the user has running on his machine? I just have no clue how..
b) HOW do I paste an INTERNET LINK (hyperlink?) in a MessageBox? So that if the user does NOT have the .NET framework (1.1 or 2.0) installed I can have them simply click on the link to go download it?
Any help/hints would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Din
a) You would have to bootstrap the program with a non .NET language (C++, VB6, etc) instead of Form_Load (other posters are correct - if the framework isn't installed, the .NET program won't run). An example is here:
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/mcpp/DotNetTester.aspx
b) You can't put a hyperlink in a MessageBox, so you would have to create your own popup dialog (a form). EDIT: That form / dialog would have to be in the bootstrap program.
You can not do this from your application. The application will fail to start.
One option you can do is make a ClickOnce installation that will verify that .NET is installed.
You can't do it in .NET because that would require .NET in the first place. However, you can create a native application that will perform the check than launch your .NET application. This post explains how to detect the .NET framework version.
Your code will not run without the framework so you will not be able to show the dialog box.
This check should be done on install.
So you want to make a .NET application that checks if .NET is installed on the machine?
If .NET Framework is not installed, how do you suppose that program manages to start up in the first place?
This question makes no sense.
The author wants to be able to detect if the .NET Framework 3.5 installed but offer a link to .NET Framework 1.1 and/or .NET Framework 2.0. Besides the fact you could easily just build a setup project that does exactly this just like Paint.net does ( although they do have a bootstrapper ) you would want to make sure the correct version of the .NET Framework is installed.
If the only thing that is installed is .NET Framework 1.1 and you didn't install the .NET Framework 4.0/3.5 for your user you would have a serious problem.
If your pushing .NET Framework 4.0 then your not helping your fellow programmers.
Related
I created a setup project that has as required software .NET 4.5. Right now if I don't have installed .net 4.5 the installation will start with installing .net framework first. I would like to avoid this behavior and to receive directly an error message saying that I don't have installed .net version on my computer. Is that possible?
Thank you in advance.
Regards,
Vlad
It sounds like you have enabled the .NET 4.5 prerequisite. Prerequisites are designed to check the machine and conditionally install a redistributable before the main installation begins.
The flip side of this is a Launch Condition, at least in a basic MSI project. Use a System Search to detect whether .NET 4.5 is present (feel free to edit the .NET 4.5 prerequisite to get an idea what to look for, or just research it yourself), and add a Launch Condition with the message you want to show.
It's actually a really good idea to set up the Launch Condition even if you are including the prerequisite, just in case someone launches the .msi file without going through setup.exe's prerequisite checks. And for your case, where you don't want to offer the automatic installation, just stop including the prerequisite.
In my current program I'm using some features of .NET 4.0 - specifically the Charting API ( System.Windows.Forms.DataVisualization.Charting). I will ship the application, but I'm not sure the client has the .NET 4.0 installed.
Is it possible to add some hooks/event handlers to disable this feature in my program as it's not vital for it's function?
My idea is that when user clicks on Show Chart button, message will be shown - "Please install NET 4.0+". I would prefer not to ship 2 versions of my program.
In order to use any 4.0 assembly, you have to have at least .net 4.0 installed, have a process hosted in at least a 4.0 CLR.
You could get the installed .NET Versions of the User and then disabled your feature.
I think this would be the easiest way.
EDIT:
See comments, he's right.
Nevertheless if you need to get the versions use this.
I have created a new application on C# 2010. After creating a Setup file I came to know that for installation purposes user must have a dot net framework. Is there any way I can get rid of installing dot net framework on a user computer. Each time I try to install my application on the user computer it redirects to install the dot net framework. Any suggestion?
Well that's a problem; because of the design of .NET applications.
Here's some references for you:
Visual C#
"C# (pronounced "C sharp") is a programming language that is designed for building a variety of applications that run on the .NET Framework." [first sentence]
Intro to C# and .NET
As the comments on the question attempt to imply, the .NET Framework is required in order to execute .NET applications.
You have two choices, really:
Require that users have the .NET Framework installed. This is the most common choice, for reasons that will become clear in a moment. It's not unheard-of to have such requirements. It's similar to requiring that a user have Windows installed in order to run your Windows application.
Distribute the .NET Framework with your application installer. This is possible, but less often used because the .NET Framework is large compared to the average application. However, if you must do this, then the option is at least available. Some quick Googling brought me to this helpful blog post.
This isn't possible. C# is built on the .NET framework, so any C# app requires that a version of .NET be available. At http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework#History, you can see what .NET framework versions are available in various versions of Windows. The short story is that XP doesn't include anything, Vista includes 3.0, and Windows 7 includes 3.5. If you build for one of these versions, then on those OSes, your users won't need to install anything extra. Using the Client Profile instead of the full .NET can also help reduce or eliminate installs your users will need to do.
Unfortunately No. Its not possible.
To explain it simple terms.
Suppose if you have written only 1 Line of code where you would have simply declared an int variable, who will tell OS that it should create a space in memory?
That framework does exactly that creates basic environment to run your app in a System.
OOPs says about Real-world modeling and Relationships, so let me give you one from it.
Think yourself to be the C# app and Mother Nature/Environment(Greenry) to be .Net Environment.(.Net is called an Environment)
Can you survive without mother nature? From first second that you are in this world, you breathe. Who provides you that oxygen. MOTHER NATURE
While creating installation bundle you can add dot net frame work exe file as prerequisites, then while installing your application it can check whether the system having .net framework or not. if it is not installed it your application can install the frame work.
When you are using managed languages to writing applications you agreed to use their vm, c# codes compiles to IL which needs dot net framework for executing.
.net framework by default exists on windows 7,8,8.1 and 10 and I don't think that this is a challenge.
but if you insist on it so there is a way by using Mono, just remove features that does not support in mono from your project.
first install mono and cygwin, then copy your exe and mono.dll file to a folder, be sure that your file name is not long because in some cases bundling faild,now you can start bundling using mkbundle command.
after bundling finished you have a exe file that can run without .net framework
hope this help you
I have the same issue and want the app to setup using the existing dot net framework version (4.6), because the app setup requires 4.7.2 version that the PC doesn't meet the requirements
I built an application for version 4 of the framework. When I try to run it it says:
In order to run the application, you have to install the following version of the .NET-framework first: v4.0 [...]
That already isn't too bad but it would be great to display a custom message, maybe even with a link to the latest version of the framework.
Is that possible?
There is no straight-forward way of customizing this message. In fact, the message about the unsupported version of the framework is coming from mscoree.dll (i.e. the version of mscoree.dll present on the system).
What you can do is write your own launcher in C++, that will first check whether the required framework version is installed, possibly display a custom message and then host the CLR inside the launcher.
If your application uses a Windows installer package (Wix) then consider listing the framework as a prerequisite, which will let the installer do the check for you and also offer the user the chance to download the framework.
It might not be the best installation mechanism, but if you create a ClickOnce installer you can set the required .NET framework for your application and it will download and install it if it's not present on the target machine.
Yes it is possible, but what platform should the message use?
You would need a bootstrapper, a wrapper that checks and then starts your App.
You could bootstrap with a .NET 2 application if you can assume that Fx2 is installed. But in the future you might see PC's that have Fx4 but not Fx2.
So you will need an unmanaged wrapper to cover the widest range of possibilities.
How can I check what objects, tools, variables, anything... are used from .NET 2.0 in a C# application.
How can I get a C# application run without .NET 2.0 ?
UPDATE:
sorry, I didn't clarify enought. Here's my situation: I have developed a pretty simple application in C#: embeded browser which displayes static webpages with an option of searching inside of these html pages. I'm using simple textbox, buttons components for this.
The application will be distribuited for people wich have very old PCs, even with windows 95. I would like the app to be runable on it, or at least on win 98, without telling the people to install .NET 2.0, as the users don;t really have PC usage skills :) .
I'm using a dataGridView as well.
You can have a look at this : http://www.remotesoft.com/linker/
"The mini-deployment tool puts
together the minimum set of CLR
runtime files and dependent assemblies
that can be simply copied to a single
folder on a target machine, and your
application runs as if the whole
framework is installed. Since the
installation is isolated into a single
folder, there will be no conflicts
with future .NET installation. When
linking is used for the dependent
assemblies, it will further reduce the
file size."
You may need to clarify a bit more.. do you want the app to run without .Net at all? Or you want it to run in .Net 3.5 without .net 2.0 bits?
If its the latter, then simply don't reference assemblies that are compiled in .net 2.0 (check the properties on the reference you have added). If its the former, then its really not feasable. Yes its possible, but it means deploying parts of the framework with your app, but then, you'd be deploying all the bits, including the 2.0 bits.
Your're question really needs more information though, it doesn't make much sense currently. Sorry. =)
To make sure it runs without .NET 2.0, compile it with the .NET 1.1 compiler.
But this seems like not a good idea. I'd recommend revisiting your requirements.
Win98 wasn't shipped with .NET. Using .NET v1.1 won't get you much more platform penetration than .NET 2.0, if any.
IT looks like windows 98 supports the .net framework. See this answer for details:
OS Compatibility for various .NET Framework versions
You cannot run a .NET application (i.e., that uses the CLR) if you haven't installed the corresponding .NET Framework binaries (i.e., that contains the CLR) directly or indirectly.
Period.