Publish Page, Project Designer

The Publish page of the Project Designer is used to configure properties for ClickOnce deployment.

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

Note

Some of the ClickOnce properties described here can also be set in the PublishWizard, available from the Build menu or by clicking the PublishWizard button on this page.

  • Publishing Folder Location
    Specifies the location where the application is published. Can be a drive path (C:\deploy\myapplication), a file share (\\server\myapplication), an FTP server (ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/myapplication), or a Web site (https://www.microsoft.com/myapplication). Note that text must be present in the Publishing Location box in order for the browse (...) button to work.

    By default, the publishing location is https://localhost/<projectname>/ if you have IIS installed, or the publish\ directory if you do not have IIS installed. If your computer is running Windows Vista, the default is always the publish\ directory, regardless of whether you have IIS installed.

  • Installation Folder URL
    Optional. Specifies a Web site to which users go to install the application. This is necessary only when it differs from the Publishing Location, for example, when the application is published to a staging server.

  • Install Mode and Settings
    Determines whether the application is run directly from the Publishing Location (when The application is available online only is selected) or is installed and added to the Start menu and the Add or Remove Programs item in Control Panel (when The application is available offline as well is selected).

    For WPF Web Browser Applications, the The application is available offline as well option is disabled, because such applications are available only online.

  • Application Files
    Opens the Application Files Dialog Box, which is used to specify how and where individual files are installed.

  • Prerequisites
    Opens the Prerequisites Dialog Box, which is used to specify prerequisite components, such as the .NET Framework, to be installed together with the application.

  • Updates
    Opens the Application Updates Dialog Box, which is used to specify update behavior for the application. Not available when The application is available online only is selected.

  • Options
    Opens the Publish Options Dialog Box, which is used to specify additional advanced publishing options.

  • Publish Version
    Sets the publish version number for the application; when the version number is changed, the application is published as an update. Each part of the publish version (Major, Minor, Build, Revision) can have a maximum value of 65355 (MaxValue), the maximum allowed by Version.

    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.

  • Automatically increment revision with each publish
    Optional. When this option is selected (the default), the Revision part of the publish version number is incremented by one every time that the application is published. This causes the application to be published as an update.

  • Publish Wizard
    Opens the Publish Wizard. Completing the Publish Wizard has the same effect as running the Publish command on the Build menu.

  • Publish Now
    Publishes the application using the current settings. Equivalent to the Finish button in the PublishWizard.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Publish a ClickOnce Application using the Publish Wizard

How to: Specify Where Visual Studio Copies the Files

How to: Specify the Location Where End Users Will Install From

How to: Specify a Link for Technical Support

How to: Specify the ClickOnce Offline or Online Install Mode

How to: Enable AutoStart for CD Installations

How to: Set the ClickOnce Publish Version

How to: Automatically Increment the ClickOnce Publish Version

How to: Specify Which Files Are Published by ClickOnce

How to: Install Prerequisites with a ClickOnce Application

How to: Manage Updates for a ClickOnce Application

How to: Change the Publish Language for a ClickOnce Application

How to: Specify a Start Menu Name for a ClickOnce Application

How to: Specify a Publish Page for a ClickOnce Application

Concepts

Publishing ClickOnce Applications

ClickOnce Security and Deployment