Publish Options Dialog Box
The Publish Options dialog box specifies an application's deployment options.
To access this dialog box, click 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 the Options button.
If you are using Visual Studio 2008 SP1, see the "Visual Studio SP1 UI" section of this document.
Element |
Description |
|---|---|
Publish language |
Specifies the language and locale in which the application is to be published. |
Publisher name |
Specifies the name of the application's publisher (optional). If this box is empty, the value of the computer's RegisteredOrganization property is used. If that value is null, the project name is used. |
Product name |
Specifies the product name of the application (optional). If the product name is blank, the assembly name is used. |
Support URL |
Specifies a Web site that contains support information for your application. Specifying this URL is optional. If used, this URL appears in the Add or Remove Programs entry for your application in the Windows Control Panel. |
Deployment web page |
Specifies a name for the deployment Web page. The default file name is Publish.htm. |
Automatically generate deployment web page after every publish |
When this check box is selected, the publish process will generate a deployment Web page. This option is available only if a Deployment web page is specified. |
Open deployment web page after publish |
When this check box is selected (the default), the automatically generated deployment Web page opens upon publishing. |
Block application from being activated via a URL |
When this check box is cleared (the default), the application runs automatically after installation. Selecting this check box specifies that the end user can start the application only from the Start menu; this blocks the application from being started by using a URL. For more information, see DisallowUrlActivation. |
Use ".deploy" file extension |
When this check box is selected (the default), the deployment file has the extension .deploy. For more information about why this extension should be used, see the mapFileExtensions attribute description in <deployment> Element (ClickOnce Deployment). |
Allow URL parameters to be passed to application |
By default, this option is cleared. Selecting this check box sets trustURLParameters to true in the deployment manifest; this enables the application to access and process URL parameter information. Your application will also have to call ActivationUri to retrieve the URL used to start the deployment manifest of the application. For information about how to do this, see How to: Retrieve Query String Information in a ClickOnce Application. |
For CD installations, automatically start Setup when CD is inserted |
By default, this option is cleared. 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 in a computer. |
Verify files uploaded to a web server |
When this check box is selected (the default), the publish process downloads each file to verify that each file can be downloaded. You are notified about files that cannot be downloaded. |
Use application manifest for trust information |
When selected, this option enables you to re-sign the application manifest (using a certificate) with your own Publisher name, Product name, and Support URL (that is, your own company name and application name). The publisher, product, and support URL information appears on the Do you want to trust this application? dialog box at installation. By default, this check box is cleared, and the deployment uses the Microsoft certificate information. |
Visual Studio 2008 SP1 UI
Starting in Visual Studio 2008 SP1, the Publish Options dialog box is categorized into four separate sections that are accessed through a new navigation pane.
The following sections describe the new UI configuration.
Description
To access the Description options, click Description in the Publish Options dialog box.
Element |
Description |
|---|---|
Publish language |
Specifies the language and locale in which the application is to be published. |
Publisher name |
Specifies the name of the application's publisher (optional). If this box is empty, the value of the computer's RegisteredOrganization property is used. If that value is null, the project name is used. |
Suite name |
Specifies the name of the folder on the Start menu in which the application will be installed. |
Product name |
Specifies the product name of the application (optional). If the product name is blank, the assembly name is used. |
Support URL |
Specifies a Web site that contains support information for your application. Specifying this URL is optional. If used, this URL appears in the Add or Remove Programs entry for your application in the Windows Control Panel. |
Error URL |
Specifies a Web site that will be displayed in dialog boxes that are encountered during ClickOnce installations. For more information, see <customErrorReporting> Element (ClickOnce Deployment). |
Deployment
To access the Deployment options, click Deployment in the Publish Options dialog box.
Element |
Description |
|---|---|
Deployment web page |
Specifies a name for the deployment Web page. The default file name is Publish.htm. |
Automatically generate deployment web page after every publish |
When this check box is selected (the default), the publish process will generate a deployment Web page. This option is available only if a Deployment web page is specified. |
Open deployment web page after publish |
When this check box is selected (the default), the automatically generated deployment Web page opens upon publishing. |
Use ".deploy" file extension |
When this check box is selected (the default), the deployment file has the extension .deploy. For more information about why this extension should be used, see "Windows Server: Locked-Down Content Types " in Server and Client Configuration Issues in ClickOnce Deployments. |
For CD installations, automatically start Setup when CD is inserted |
By default, this option is cleared. 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 in a computer. |
Verify files uploaded to a web server |
When this check box is selected (the default), the publish process downloads each file to verify that each file can be downloaded. You are notified about files that cannot be downloaded. |
Manifests
To access the Manifests options, click Manifests in the Publish Options dialog box.
Element |
Description |
|---|---|
Block application from being activated via a URL |
When this check box is cleared (the default), the application runs automatically after installation. Selecting this check box specifies that the end user can start the application only from the Start menu; this blocks the application from being started by using a URL. For more information, see DisallowUrlActivation. |
Allow URL parameters to be passed to application |
By default, this option is cleared. Selecting this check box sets trustURLParameters to true in the deployment manifest; this enables the application to access and process URL parameter information. Your application will also have to call ActivationUri to retrieve the URL used to start the deployment manifest of the application. For information about how to do this, see How to: Retrieve Query String Information in a ClickOnce Application. |
Use application manifest for trust information |
When selected, this option enables you to re-sign the application manifest (using a certificate) with your own Publisher name, Product name, and Support URL (that is, your own company name and application name). The publisher, product, and support URL information appears on the Do you want to trust this application? dialog box at installation. By default, this check box is cleared, and the deployment uses the Microsoft certificate information. |
Exclude deployment provider URL |
Specifies whether to exclude the deployment provider URL from the deployment manifest. Starting in Visual Studio 2008 SP1, the deployment provider URL can be excluded from the manifest for scenarios in which application updates should come from a location unknown at the time of the initial publication. After the application is published, updates will be checked from wherever the application is installed from. |
Create desktop shortcut |
Specifies whether to create an icon on the desktop during installation. The shortcut is created for offline applications only. |
File Associations
To access the File Associations options, click File Associations in the Publish Options dialog box.
Element |
Description |
|---|---|
Extension |
Specifies the file name extension to be associated with the application. |
Description |
A description of the file type. |
ProgID |
A name that uniquely identifies the file type. |
Icon |
Specifies the icon to use for files that have this extension. |
See Also
Reference
Publish Page, Project Designer
Change History
Date |
History |
Reason |
|---|---|---|
July 2008 |
Added sections that describe the Visual Studio 2008 SP1 UI. |
SP1 feature change. |