I've been battling on with this for a while now and have finally decided to try and sort out my problem.

I've written aWinForms Web Service application that involves multiple deployments to various customers. Currently if a new customer buys my software, I have to create a totally new clickonce deployment for that customer. Take an example of "Bobs Fish Shop". I need the client wnform apps web service URL to point to Bobs server ("ServerBob"). In order to do this I need to amend the URL Web Reference of the Web Service but if I try and amend this in the exe.config.deploy file I receive the manifest violation error due to the fact that I've changed the contents of the config file.

Therefore, I currently run Mage.Exe to update the manifest file once i've changed the Web Service URL in the exe.config.deploy file. I then have to open the Exe.application files and amend the "Start Location" url in the Mage "Deployment Options" tab of the Exe.application files so that the install location is "ServerBob" instead of my development machine.

Is there anyway I can automate these values in order to have one generic ClickOnce deployment of my application? It's ridicuolous that I am currently having to create 'hard-coded' bespoke installations for every customer using my software.

I have read suggestions of using an App Setting in the Web.Config file (which is amendable), but surely that's a Catch22 in that, for the installed client to access the Web.Config, it needs the URL in the first place??

I'm sure I'm not implementing ClickOnce correctly, because if I am, then ClickOnce deployment is effectively worthless for a distributable application utilising Web Services.

Any help, suggestions or hard narcotics would be greatly appreciated!!!

Cheers,

Stew