Configure the installation of a Windows Forms application by using ClickOnce technology.

• Install a Windows Forms application on a client computer by using ClickOnce deployment.
• Install a Windows Forms application from a server by using ClickOnce deployment.
• Configure the required permissions of an application by using ClickOnce deployment.

Summary

The following three paragraphs are an excerpt from the first resource that describes the basic concepts of Click Once Deployment::

ClickOnce” is a new application deployment technology that makes deploying a Windows Forms based application as easy as deploying a web application. With “ClickOnce” running a Windows Forms application is as simple as clicking a link in a web page. For administrators, deploying or updating an application is simply a matter of updating files on a server; no need to individually touch every client.

“ClickOnce” applications can be deployed via web servers, file servers or CDs. A “ClickOnce” application can choose to be installed, meaning it gets start menu & add/remove program entries, or an app can simply be run & cached. “ClickOnce” has several ways it can be configured to automatically check for application updates. Alternatively, applications can use the ClickOnce APIs (System.Deployment), to control when updates should happen.

Visual Studio has rich support for publishing applications via “ClickOnce”. At anytime, you can simply choose to publish your existing Windows Forms application project to a network server. Visual Studio will automatically generate the xml manifest files that drive “ClickOnce” and publish the app to the specified server.

Click Once Security is dependent on Internet Explorer Settings and the deployment policy, which is an Xml file generated by Visual Studio based on the Project’s Security Property Page. The Xml element used is the TrustInfo Element.

Other Resources & Links:

Click Once
http://www.windowsforms.net/WhidbeyFeatures/default.aspx?PageID=2&ItemID=19&Cat=Runtime&tabindex=5

Deploy and Update Your Smart Client Projects Using a Central Server
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/04/05/ClickOnce/

ClickOnce Deployment
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/t71a733d.aspx