Alright,
I have a program that I'm working on and i have noticed that whenever I run the Publish in the Programs Properties, that it makes a .exe . Now whenever I run the .exe , I noticed that it puts it under Start - All Programs but I don't see it anywhere in the C:\Program Files\ . Why is that Also, I have a .mdf in the application. Will it create the .mdf upon install for me or do i have to encode that into the program
Software Publish Question
zybernau
Hrishikesh
arkiboys
You're using ClickOnce. It is easy to use and is nice for keeping users on the most recent version of your program but there are some annoying restrictions on what you can do with it and with how it does things. One thing it does that you have noticed is the it does not install to Program Files. Instead, it installs to a 'sandbox' folder for the currently logged in user: C:\Documents and Settings\[user name]\Local Settings\Apps\2.0\[a coded sequence]\[another coded sequence]\[another even longer coded sequence]\ This is done to allow the application to operate with security restrictions but is rather confusing to you if you expect a standard Windows install.
Another little quirk is that if you use system wide special folders in your application, such as the Documents and Settings\All Users folder, this will get redirected to the 'sandbox' as well. You'll have to use the System Environment object to obtain the actual folders.
asisurfer
How can I change this I want to do an install that allows me to choose where to install it.
Secondly, I have a database (.mdf) that I created inside VB.NET. Will it automatically create this database per user Or do I have to make a app that will create the db
Thirdly, I eventually want to put a "Key Code" on the install so that not just anyone can install it. how would I go about that
R_Vogel
ClickOnce is designed to be very light weight and non-intrusive to the machine. That's why it installs per user (don't need to be an admin to install).
If you want to be more specific about where you install to then you're going to have to use MSI or an MSI like technology. Given your other requests, MSI definately sounds like the install Vehicle you're looking for.
To create one in Visual Studio, create a new deployment project (assuming you're not using the express SKU).
Chuff
Jeremy Jarrell
Thomas S. Andersen
You'll need to create a Setup and Deployment project. You can use the Setup Wizard to get you started.
I'm not sure on the database question since I've always used a pre-existing SQL Server in my .NET applications. I'd guess you would have to create and install it locally.
On the Key Code, I don't think there is a way to do this directly built into the Setup and Deployment project. You can call external programs or scripts during the install and this could do this kind of user interaction.