I have created a VB.Net application that I plan to distribute using the .exe file in the Release folder. Upon sending this to a user, I was informed that it would not run on their system. The exe runs fine on my system no matter the location of the file so it's not a folder dependency. I don't have easy access to another computer, so is there an easy way to test my file as if visual basic were not installed on my system?
Edit: By "does not run" I mean nothing occurs when the exe is clicked
I have a VCL application built in C++Builder 10.0 Seattle. It uses Axis Media Control on the Form to display video, therefore it loads the AxisMediaControl.dll file when it runs.
In the past, I have had this deployed on a 32bit target machine, where the application lived in the C:\Program Files\AppName directory, and the AxisMediaControl.dll was installed to this same location. Everything worked as expected.
This application is a 32 bit application, so when deploying to a 64 bit target machine, it is installed in the C:\Program File (x86)\AppName directory. Once again, the AxisMediaControl.dll file is deployed in the application directory.
The app fails to launch with the error "The specified module could not be found". Using Process Monitor, I found the program is looking for the Axis DLL in the older Program Files directory instead of the x86 dir. What would cause the application to look for the DLL in that location?
Running the same binary on my dev machine, the application loads the DLL from my SysWOW64 directory. If the DLL is placed there on the target machine, it still fails to look in that location. It is ONLY looking in the older Program Files application path, which I cannot understand.
I'm hoping someone can shed some light.
Is it possible to create a VB.Net application which users can just run without installing it first.
If not, is it possible in another .Net language.
If not, how IS it possible :)
PS: The application only has to run under Windows (>= XP).
If they have the .NET Framework installed (the version of it that you developed it), they only need the .exe. You can find the .exe file in the bin directory of your projects folder in your Visual Studio workspace.
If they do not have the framework installed, you'll need to produce an installation for them. It's extremely easy with Visual Studio by just creating a setup project in the same solution as your code.
As long as the user has the .net runtime installed, and your exe has any needed resources in the same folder (dll's, images, ect) theres no problem with that.
If you mean without installing the .net framework though, that won't be possible.
just build the program, and go into the (assuming the project name is app1) app1/app1/bin/debug/ dir. there should be a file there called app1.exe. this file is the compiled .exe from you project. any other computer will be able to run this without doing any installation (provided they have the .NET framework installed (it comes standard on any computer with an os > WinXP))
EDIT: If you were building with debug configuration, it would be app1/app1/bin/debug/, but if you were building with release configuration (which would probably be a better idea if you are distributing) the path would be app1/app1/bin/release/
If you mean running it without the .NET Framework, it used to be possible, but apparently the company's website is no longer in English so I have no idea what's happened to it.
EDIT: If you were building with debug configuration, it would be
app1/app1/bin/debug/, but if you were building with release
configuration (which would probably be a better idea if you are
distributing) the path would be app1/app1/bin/release/
I am developer and have no administration rights to live(production) network.
I had to find away to deploy an app without installation... and my app is self updating this cause other problems too....
The production network Computer check/monitors the file versions etc, so updating in the program files can not be done, where a MSI has been used for deployment.
Using this above I am able to copy and Run the App from the User Profile (where the user has full rights).
lets understand how program runs-
an .exe needs some function which are not inside the .exe, such as , for example substring() function. these predefined function resides in some .dll libraries.
when .exe is executed by user, .exe first finds the .dll and then the function inside that particular .dll.
.exe first looks within the current folder for that .dll
if not found then it searches that in PATHs. (PATH is Environment variable which value is a list of folders such as System32 etc.)
an .exe usually needs only 3 things - .exe itself, .dll which predefined function it is using, and some ActiveX controls(.ocx). apart from these 3, .exe only uses resources (such as icons etc).
lets focus on these 3(.exe, .dll, .ocx)
first you need to check what .dlls your .exe is using. you can easiely do this by using a dependency walker.
then make sure all these .dlls (that dependency walker is showing,or in other words- all these dlls whose functions your .exe needs) are either in current folder(in which your .exe resides) or in the PATHs.
if this step is done then your .exe has high chances to run whithout "installing".
the only problem is that some .dll and all of .ocx, needs to be registered first(means they have to have some kind of registry entry). they are not ready to use just by copying and pasting in current folder or PATHs.
but you can register these .dlls and .ocx's by using regsvr32 (with command line).
after that your .exe should not face any problem to run successfully.
hope you got the main concept.
i understand that some files get published to this folder in my application. i want all the files to be in the same folder. how do i do this?
meaning that i want the setup.exe and everything to be in one folder after i have published the application. i dont want to have an application files folder at all
You are getting hung up on what the IDE looks like when you create a Setup project. There is no "application files" folder, the Setup project creates a setup.exe file when it is built. That's the only file that you need to distribute to your client.
The "application files" node on the screen is simply a container in which you can put files while you create your Setup project. Those files will be available in the application's install directory after your client runs the setup.exe installer on her machine.
Actually run the setup.exe on your machine to see what it will look like on your client's machine.
So I created a cab file in Visual Studio and it all was fine and dandy. i am using HP thin client with WinCE 4.0
One thing though, there is a folder called Program Files on My Device and there is a folder called Program Files on Hard Disk.
Now, My Device memory resets itself each time the machine is rebooted.
Unfortunately, VS 2008 won't let me change the path for where the cab installs the program.
Any ideas on how to change the path?
I have figured it out: any time you wish to install an application in a different path, use Custom folder, not Programs or Program Files.
Looks like InstallDir can not be modified w/o hacks. I used Custom folder while in the Cab project and specified the path I wish to install this app; it worked.