Using c# 2008 Express Edition

Question

I cant seem to publish my app - the book i have says use File - Add PRoject - New Project - and select the Setup Project - there is no suchthing in my Express Editions. If I go to the Solution Explorer and open Properties and try to publish with that - the file that gets created does not work. Pls help.

Guest User · Answer

Well, as you've already noticed, Express edition does not provide the ability to create installers (a.k.a. setup projects) for executables. Your compiled exe will reside in the Debug or Release subdirectory (depending on the type of build you did) within the project directory. You can copy that .exe file to another system, but that system will also need to have the correct version of the .Net framework runtime installed as well. You can get those runtimes from Microsoft Update for free. There may be other dependencies (e.g. database drivers, 3rd party UI components, etc.) that your .exe has and those assemblies/dll's will have to be copied to the target system as well.

Sam Hobbs · Answer

It is very likely that you can create a Windows Installer (msi) installer but just not using VS Express. There are tools to help you, including many for free. The critical item is a msi "database" and possibly a cab file with the deliverables (the program and such). There is a tool that can be used to work with the msi data in XML format. It has been years since I researched all that. Hopefully you won't need to spend a month learning but the experts will say that it will.

Frogleg · Answer

Check out "advanced installer" they used to have a free version

Richard Brennan · Answer

cheers dude - is this done deliberatly - so u buy the professional thing. I have to manually copy the txt files it uses. Not the best but its a start.

Richard Brennan · Answer

i made a windows app in 2008 editions and want to creat a installable windows app for others to use - it is nothing to do with the web 0 it is not installed over the web or downloaded from the web. I want to give peopel an installer and they install it. Simple - or u would think so. Any ideas.

Guest User · Answer

Is this an executable or a web application?

Richard Brennan · Answer

I have done that and when I run the application it says 'Can not down load the application.... there are missiong files....' I have not asked it to be downloaded - i said run it from a cd. Why can't it just be simple - like a menu that say makes an installation prog.

Vulpes · Answer

After you've built the whole solution, you publish that. It's under the Build menu.