What is the publish location of the files, and the installation url? The installation URL needs to be what your users will use to install the application.

In the case of putting the deployment on a network share, this will point to the folder above the \application files\ folder you are referring to. In the folder above, it will have a setup.exe, a .application file, and a publish.htm file if you asked for one. These are the files used by the user to install the application. The .application file and setup.exe know to use the folder under the \application files\ folder to pick up the right version.

You must deploy subsesquent versions with higher version numbers, or the users will not get an update. You should NOT be pointing them to the application file under the \application files\ folder, but to the one in the folder above that.

RobinDotNet

Yes. In fact, I think it works smoother if hosted from a website.

You can create it on pretty much any web server, even Apache (doesn't have to be Windows Server). A couple of things to note:

1) If you want to deploy to a Windows Server using http, you have to install the Front Page Extensions on it. If you use FTP, you don't.

2) You need these MIME types defined on the web server:

.application --> application/x-ms-application
.manifest --> application/x-ms-application
.deploy --> application/octet stream

If you are deploying .Net 3.5 as a prerequisite, you need these as well:

.msp --> application/microsoftpatch
.msu --> application/microsoftupdate

If you have vsto apps, you need this one:

.vsto --> application/x-ms-vsto

RobinDotNet

What is the publish location of the files, and the installation url? The installation URL needs to be what your users will use to install the application.

In the case of putting the deployment on a network share, this will point to the folder above the \application files\ folder you are referring to. In the folder above, it will have a setup.exe, a .application file, and a publish.htm file if you asked for one. These are the files used by the user to install the application. The .application file and setup.exe know to use the folder under the \application files\ folder to pick up the right version.

You must deploy subsesquent versions with higher version numbers, or the users will not get an update. You should NOT be pointing them to the application file under the \application files\ folder, but to the one in the folder above that.

RobinDotNet

What is the publish location of the files, and the installation url? The installation URL needs to be what your users will use to install the application.

In the case of putting the deployment on a network share, this will point to the folder above the \application files\ folder you are referring to. In the folder above, it will have a setup.exe, a .application file, and a publish.htm file if you asked for one. These are the files used by the user to install the application. The .application file and setup.exe know to use the folder under the \application files\ folder to pick up the right version.

You must deploy subsesquent versions with higher version numbers, or the users will not get an update. You should NOT be pointing them to the application file under the \application files\ folder, but to the one in the folder above that.

RobinDotNet

---

Click here to visit my ClickOnce blog!

To put it bluntly, if you have your users install and run the application by clicking on the ApplicationFiles\WPFApp_1_0_0_0\WPFApp.application file, you will be s.o.l. if you ever want to push an update.

What is your Publishing Folder Location in Visual Studio, and the Installation Folder URL?

Are you using VS2005 or VS2008? Is your application online-only or online/offline?

Go into Options under the Publish tab, and find where you can specify the deployment web page, put in "publish.htm", then check the box that says "automatically generate deployment web page after every publish", and the one that says "open deployment web page after publish". This will force VS to push a publish.htm page that can be used to install your application.

Now go find where it put it. If you are using VS2005, it is probably in C:\SharedApp\, along with the setup.exe and WPFApp.Application file.

You can not publish a clickonce application without getting the setup.exe file and the yourappname.application file.

RobinDotNet

Hi Clay,

> To install the app, users simplymap a drive to my shared directory, navigateto C:\SharedApps\Application Files\WPFApp_1_0_0_0, and run the WPFApp.application file.

Why not navigate to C:\SharedApps and run the WPFApp.application file there?

The WPFApp.application which resides parallel with the Application Files folder is the copy of the latest version of deployment manifest.

That's to say,if the latest version is 1.0.0.0, the C:\SharedApps\WPFApp.application is the copy of the
C:\SharedApps\Application Files\WPFApp_1_0_0_0\WPFApp.application;
if the latest version is 1.0.0.1, it's the copy of the
C:\SharedApps\Application Files\WPFApp_1_0_0_1\WPFApp.application.

So if the user runs the C:\SharedApps\WPFApp.application, he/she will always get the latest version of the application.

Sincerely,
Linda Liu

Hi Clay,

> To install the app, users simplymap a drive to my shared directory, navigateto C:\SharedApps\Application Files\WPFApp_1_0_0_0, and run the WPFApp.application file.

Why not navigate to C:\SharedApps and run the WPFApp.application file there?

The WPFApp.application which resides parallel with the Application Files folder is the copy of the latest version of deployment manifest.

That's to say,if the latest version is 1.0.0.0, the C:\SharedApps\WPFApp.application is the copy of the
C:\SharedApps\Application Files\WPFApp_1_0_0_0\WPFApp.application;
if the latest version is 1.0.0.1, it's the copy of the
C:\SharedApps\Application Files\WPFApp_1_0_0_1\WPFApp.application.

So if the user runs the C:\SharedApps\WPFApp.application, he/she will always get the latest version of the application.

Sincerely,
Linda Liu

---

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. end us any feedback you have about the help from MSFT at fbmsdn@microsoft.com.

To put it bluntly, if you have your users install and run the application by clicking on the ApplicationFiles\WPFApp_1_0_0_0\WPFApp.application file, you will be s.o.l. if you ever want to push an update.

What is your Publishing Folder Location in Visual Studio, and the Installation Folder URL?

Are you using VS2005 or VS2008? Is your application online-only or online/offline?

Go into Options under the Publish tab, and find where you can specify the deployment web page, put in "publish.htm", then check the box that says "automatically generate deployment web page after every publish", and the one that says "open deployment web page after publish". This will force VS to push a publish.htm page that can be used to install your application.

Now go find where it put it. If you are using VS2005, it is probably in C:\SharedApp\, along with the setup.exe and WPFApp.Application file.

You can not publish a clickonce application without getting the setup.exe file and the yourappname.application file.

RobinDotNet

---

Click here to visit my ClickOnce blog!

Hi Clay,

> there should be a setup.exe file there, and there isn't - no such animal was created.

Right click the project in Solution Explorer and choose Properties in the shortcut menu. In the Project Designer, switch to the Publish tab. Click the Prerequisites button on the right hand. In the Prerequisites dialog, there's an option of "Create setup program to install prerequisites components". If you select the checkbox before this option, the setup.exe will be created when the application is published; otherwise, the setup.exe won't be created when publishing.

> Installation Folder URL? I have no idea

In the Project Designer, switch to the Publish tab. There's an Installation URL textbox under the Publish Location section. If you input a file path, e.g. C:\SharedApps in the Publishing Location, you can input a URL, UNC path or file share in the Installation URL.

Sincerely,
Linda Liu

---

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. end us any feedback you have about the help from MSFT at fbmsdn@microsoft.com.

<<Right click the project in Solution Explorer and choose Properties in the shortcut menu. In the Project Designer, switch to the Publish tab. Click the Prerequisites button on the right hand. In the Prerequisites dialog, there's an option of "Create setup program to install prerequisites components". If you select the checkbox before this option, the setup.exe will be created when the application is published; otherwise, the setup.exe won't be created when publishing.>>

That checkbox ("Create setup program to install prerequisites components") was already selected, yet no setup.exe was produced - at least not where the other files were located. The items in the CheckListBox below that checkbox are: "Windows Installer 3.1" and ".NET Framework 3.5 SP1"

<<In the Project Designer, switch to the Publish tab. There's an Installation URL textbox under the Publish Location section. If you input a file path, e.g. C:\SharedApps in the Publishing Location, you can input a URL, UNC path or file share in the Installation URL.>>

The value there for my project is: "\\BCSHANP41\SharedApps\" (my machine name + my shared directory)
As you mention this can be a UNC path, I guess I'm OK there; I was just thrown off by the URL business - what could I enter here if I wanted to give users an URL/link they could browse to in order to download and install my app? Just anything, or does it have to be an URL I can somehow deduce? IOW, could I enter here: http://www.ThisGreatApp.com and have that be the valid URL for them to use? Or...?

Hi Clay,

> no setup.exe was produced - at least not where the other files were located.

The setup.exe will be created in the publish location you specified.

If you specify the installation location as \\BCSHANP41\SharedApps, the user can install/run the application via this UNC.

> could I enter here: http://www.ThisGreatApp.com and have that be the valid URL for them to use? Or...?

Yes, you can. But the URL you input should exist before you publish the application.

Sincerely,
Linda Liu

---

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. end us any feedback you have about the help from MSFT at fbmsdn@microsoft.com.

Hi Clay,

> no setup.exe was produced - at least not where the other files were located.

The setup.exe will be created in the publish location you specified.

If you specify the installation location as \\BCSHANP41\SharedApps, the user can install/run the application via this UNC.

> could I enter here: http://www.ThisGreatApp.com and have that be the valid URL for them to use? Or...?

Yes, you can. But the URL you input should exist before you publish the application.

Sincerely,
Linda Liu

---

Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help. end us any feedback you have about the help from MSFT at fbmsdn@microsoft.com.

You don't have to push it to a web server and have a URL to it if you prefer to host it from a shared drive.

As I stated above, this is the structure of the ClickOnce deployment folders. It uses the setup.exe and the .application file to install the appropriate version. You can't change this, or it won't work.

Setup.exe is the bootstrapper -- it runs the prerequisites installations (if needed), then calls the .application file to install the ClickOnce application.

And you are right, it will overwrite the previous one. You need a different folder for each application, so you should have

c:\SharedApps\MyFirstApp\
c:\SharedApps\MySecondApp\
and so on

and under each My*App folder, it will have the setup.exe and .application file for the latest version, and the Application Files folder there as well, that contains all of the versions of the deployments.

RobinDotNet

---

Click here to visit my ClickOnce blog!

Yes. In fact, I think it works smoother if hosted from a website.

You can create it on pretty much any web server, even Apache (doesn't have to be Windows Server). A couple of things to note:

1) If you want to deploy to a Windows Server using http, you have to install the Front Page Extensions on it. If you use FTP, you don't.

2) You need these MIME types defined on the web server:

.application --> application/x-ms-application
.manifest --> application/x-ms-application
.deploy --> application/octet stream

If you are deploying .Net 3.5 as a prerequisite, you need these as well:

.msp --> application/microsoftpatch
.msu --> application/microsoftupdate

If you have vsto apps, you need this one:

.vsto --> application/x-ms-vsto

RobinDotNet