Question

I understand how to use ClickOnce and deploy an application to a web site for updates. But what if I want to have more control over the install such as the folder and icons and what-not. How can I do that? Also, I don’t want users to download from the deployment site, initial install has to be off a CD.

My current solution would be to take the outputs from the ClickOnce deployment and put those in a brand new installation project. But I’m guessing there is a better way to do it.

Answer 1

If you want a lot of control over your installation, ClickOnce may not be for you.

• More control over folder
  I assume you’re referring to the folder the application is installed in on the client’s machine. If so, ClickOnce apps are always installed under the user’s profile folder. No way around it.

• Control over icons
  I assume you’re referring to the main application icon used in the installation dialog and start menu shortcut. If you’re on VS 2008 SP1 and are targeting the 3.5 framework, setting the icon on the Application tab of your project properties should work.

• Install off of a CD
  ClickOnce supports installing from a CD. You probably want to check the “automatically start…” setting in the publish options of your project (project properties > “publish” tab > “options” button > “deployment” section)

There are other options to create a desktop shortcut or create file association, but that’s about as complicated as it gets.