Getting your ClickOnce Install Right The First Time

Trying to get your ClickOnce application to deploy with the proper files and settings can often take a lot of time.  Here are some tips to help you get your install right the first time (or two).  Visual Studio 2010 does most of the work for you...but only about 80%.

Include References in Output
Make sure all non-Microsoft, also known as 3rd party references, are included in the output.  Click on the .dll in your \References folder and set the Copy Local property to True.

Include Support Files
If you have support files, docs, etc. you can include those too.  Just set the Copy to Output Directory property to Copy Always.

Setup File Publish Status
Go into the Properties page for your project and click on the Publish tab.  Click on the Application Files.  For all the files you want to have delivered set the publish status to Include if not already set as "Include Auto".  You might have to click on "Show all files" to see some items you might need.

Prerequisites
Usually Visual Studio 2010 does a good job of picking your prerequisites.  I usually keep the "Download prerequisites from vendor's web site" selected.

Updates
I like my applications to automatically check for updates.  Click on the Updates button and place a checkmark in the "The application should check for updates" and select the option to do it "Before the application starts".  The "specify a minimum" is also handy, if you need to force a minimum version if you have network installs.

Options
This is where you can customize a few things about the install.  The Publisher Name, Product Name, etc..  The Product Name ends up being the name of the shortcut and the name of the application in the "add/remove" programs.  If you need a desktop shortcut, go to the Manifests page and place a checkmark in the "create desktop shortcut".  You can even set file extension associations if you need to.