What alternatives are available for ClickOnce?

Question

I have used ClickOnce for many years, but I have encountered many limitations. What are the alternatives for web deployment?

So far, the only one I've been able to climb with is ClickThrough , which is part of WiX now in the background. Are there others who have succeeded?

Answer 1

After using WiX, NSIS, and InstallAware, I must humbly admit that they were all redundant for what I really need as a software developer. There are no projects that I could not deploy using the Visual Studio deployment project.

Is it limited? Yes.

It is also very easy to learn and use. Moreover, you can do really neat things, such as automatically creating patches (.msp files) using the methods described here.

I fully understand that you cannot do everything inside the Visual Studio installation project, but it is pretty amazing what you can do. It's free, simple and, frankly, for general use - a better option than spending endless hours exploring the stunning XML WiX (no matter how impressive) or the verbose InstallAware scripts.

Using VS Setup, it drags & build'n'deploy. Any other solution I tried had obstacles ... they cannot automatically determine the output of your project ... or need special filters to not include unwanted output from the assembly.

My suggestion is this: if you just want to deploy your project, then study:

1. How to create your own installer class, and
2. How to create your own required packages

These skills are fairly easy to learn and satisfy the needs of most developers.

Answer 2

Squirrel : It looks like ClickOnce, but it works.

Squirrel is both a set of tools and a library for full control of both installing and updating the Windows desktop, written either in C # or in any other language (that is, Squirrel can manage its own C ++ applications).

Squirrel uses NuGet packages to create installation and update packages, which means that you probably already know what you need to create the installer.

Answer 3

What limitations do you have when using ClickOnce? When I do not use ClickOnce, I use NSIS (although you can use most other installation languages ​​/ systems) to make runnable install the application.

That is, when you start the download, it launches the application, and there are no configuration issues. There is a menu option or frequent use detector that allows for permanent installation.

Two difficult issues are:

• Settings files
• Local registry settings

For configuration files, I use a remote web service to store states, etc.

If you need local registry settings (file associations, etc.), you need to make the correct installation, but this can be done silently when the user first works with the application.

Answer 4

ClickOnce constantly fails to update the application and requires reinstallation; it is buggy and unstable. This is my experience, persistent click issues once. Clients constantly call me to fix this, all I can do is remove and reinstall it. I seriously thought about making my own simple decision instead of a single click.

Answer 5

Check it out https://simpldeploy.com It looks like a squirrel, but integrated into VS like ClickOnce. And it has dialogs (optional) like ClickOnce.