The thing that didn't work in my situation was the initial deployment. 99% of my users are remote. Like panhandle Texas remote (oh, did I say that out loud?!!?). Just providing the setup program wasn't working. ClickOnce reduces installation overhead by like 200%, so it has been worth the pain. However, I really like AppLife for the update process, looked very nice.

ClickOnce is good.

MSI with AppLife is better.



I've asked Brian Haas from AppLife to blog on the differences between these two approaches. There are pros and cons for each. He will obviously be biased, but I think he will also provide a fair shake to the ClickOnce methodology.



Great summary, Greg. I've forgotten some of the stuff involved in getting a ClickOnce deployment going. Keith, it may look daunting, but once it is in place and working, it really is nice and simple after that. I am still deploying my app via ClickOnce...I do not even think about it anymore. I increment the version and publish. That's it.

Trying this now wish me luck I do appreciate your time in posting this.

Also look forward to learning more about AppLife.

Keith Chisarik

Hey Keith,



Good luck! and for whatever it is worth, I also use AppLife Update for smart client applications and it is just great! Brian is a very accessible guy and always willing to help you in any way he can with the product, so even if you have not buy it yet, drop him an email with your concerns and I am sure he will get back to you in no time, here is his email brianh@kineticjump.com

Edhy Rijo

Just wanted to add to this thread that this turned out great, I was able to have separate ClickOnce web installs for production, user testing, and internal developer testing that installed and updated independantly even on the same machine.

Thanks Greg and all that contributed to the discussion.

Keith Chisarik

Excellent! Glad I was of help!

Brian Haas has posted an article about ClickOnce. It's a good read.



Thanks, Brian!!