Software Deployment

I simply use AutoIT script to make the ClickOnce application silent. Worked perfect for me. Here is the script that I used for my application.

ORIGINAL: fuz_kitten
The dev guys at my work have started throwing ClickOnce apps at me Why? The *last* thing you want is a pre-packaged app! All you want from them are the files, in the required folder structure, any registry data, Start menu structure and a feature list, matched to the files.

Your management needs to decide what deployment they want: ClickOnce or Windows Installer. IMHO, CO is dead. It was designed primarily to provide Web-based deployment, where a user clicks an icon, the app gets installed and then run. There's no concept of choosing which features get installed, or where the app gets installed to, as there is in WI.

See here http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/142dbbz4(VS.80).aspx for details.

I completely agree! However the applications in question have been created with VSTO – The Development team have told me that they only way they can install Office add-ins created with VSTO is via ClickOnce.

Choosing Between ClickOnce and Windows Installer is also a good article to read if anyone’s interested.

Charlie

ORIGINAL: fuz_kitten
The Development team have told me that they only way they can install Office add-ins created with VSTO is via ClickOnce.Sweet Holy Mother Of...What utter tosh. What does an add-in comprise? A DLL (sorry, an assembly) or two and some registry guff. What they mean is, it's easier for them to click 'Publish Application' and that they're too lazy to properly define what their app comprises.

Good luck. If you need a wall against which you can rhythmically engage your head, I'm afraid mine's fully booked.

It seems I’m not the only one having this issue: http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=2837356&SiteID=1.

God! Developers really get my back up sometimes, I mean, what the point in having the best application ever if you can’t install it!

You have one thing right, Clickonce is a pile of poo to package. Its not designed to be packaged into MSI format. Its a bit like the MS v Mac thing. ClickOnce is the Mac, and its gone all brown.
It does have advantages, but not in a corporate environment. It installs everything in current user, and has no easy way for deployment, no silent install and you need user interaction. Fantastic, unless you have 10,000 clients to deploy to.

Last one i did I created an msi that copies files to current user, creates a shortcut to initengine.exe (or whatever starts the app). It then connects to the backend across the net and downloads more client files. Ugly, but other than use the URL shortcut (in the article below) the alternatives were nil.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms973805.aspx