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Publish Wizard

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Use the Publish Wizard to specify the location to which an application will be published.

Note

The Publish Wizard is not available for WPF Web Browser Applications.

To access this wizard, select a project node in Solution Explorer, and then, on the Project menu, click Properties. When the Project Designer appears, click the Publish tab. On the Publish page, click Publish Wizard.

The Publish Wizard consists of several pages, which can differ depending on the type of publish location you specify. Each of the following sections describes a page of the wizard.

Where do you want to publish the application?

  • Specify the location to publish this application
    You can publish the application to a Web site, FTP server, or file path. This path is the same as the publish location that you specify in the Project Designer. See Publish Page, Project Designer. Type the location as a disk path, file share, FTP site, or Web site URL, or click the Browse button to browse for the location.

    • Disk path: Specify a local disk path from which you can copy the application to a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. The path can be a relative or absolute path in standard Windows format, for example: C:\Deploy\MyApplication or \MyApplication.

    • File share: Specify a file share by using a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path from which the application will be deployed, for example: \\ServerName\MyApplication\.

    • FTP server: Specify the path of a Web site from which the application can be downloaded by using FTP, for example: ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/MyApplication.

    • Web site: Specify the URL of a Web site from which the application can be downloaded by using HTTP, for example: https://www.microsoft.com/MyApplication. If you specify a Web site, you will skip the next page and go directly to Will the application be available offline?

    When you install more than one version of an application by using ClickOnce, the installation moves earlier versions of the application into a folder named Archive, in the publish location that you specify. Archiving earlier versions in this manner keeps the installation directory clear of folders from the earlier version.

How will users install the application?

  • From a Web site
    Specify the URL of the FTP server from which the application will be deployed. If you specified an FTP share on the previous page, this option is the default.

  • From a UNC path or file share
    The file share that you specified is displayed in Specify the UNC path. If you specified a UNC path or file share on the previous page, this option is the default.

  • From a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM
    If you specified a disk path in the previous page, this option is the default. Selecting this option generates an autorun.inf file at the root level of the installation CD-ROM or DVD-ROM; the autorun file automatically starts the installation when a user inserts the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM into a computer.

Will the application be available offline?

Note

This page applies only to applications deployed from a Web site or file share.

  • Yes, this application is available online or offline
    A shortcut will be added to the Start menu so that a user can access installation offline. Also, the user can uninstall the application by using Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. This is the default option.

  • No, this application is only available online
    No shortcut will be added to the Start menu. The application will be run directly from the publish location.

Where will the application check for updates?

Note

This page applies only to applications deployed from a disk path. If the deployment location is a Web site or file share, the application will check for updates from the location you specified in the Application Updates Dialog Box.

  • The application will check for updates from the following location
    Select this option and specify the URL of a server that will host updates for the application. The default location should be the same as that specified in the Application Updates dialog box.

  • The application will not check for updates
    Select this option if the application will not check for updates. By default, this option is selected.

See Also

Concepts

ClickOnce Deployment Overview

Reference

Publish Page, Project Designer

Other Resources

Publishing ClickOnce Applications

ClickOnce Deployment