TX Text Control .NET Server

Offline Packages

Topic

The Windows setup of TX Text Control .NET Server, trial or full version, installs a local NuGet package source named Text Control Offline Packages. You install packages from it in Visual Studio and with the .NET CLI, and a few points matter when you evaluate the trial version or need the packages on other machines.

What the Setup Installs

When you install TX Text Control with the setup, for example the trial setup TX Text Control.NET Server 34.0 Trial.exe, the setup installs the product and registers the package source Text Control Offline Packages in NuGet. The source is a local folder. Its default location is C:\Program Files (x86)\Text Control GmbH\NuGetPackages.

Text Control's tutorials install packages such as TXTextControl.TextControl.Core.SDK, TXTextControl.TextControl.ASP.SDK, TXTextControl.Web and TXTextControl.Web.DocumentViewer from this source.

Licensed developers can install the packages from the Text Control Private NuGet Feed instead, which works everywhere NuGet works, including build servers. When you evaluate the trial version, the offline source is where you get the packages.

Install Packages in Visual Studio

  1. In Solution Explorer, select your project and choose Manage NuGet Packages... from the Project main menu.
  2. Select Text Control Offline Packages from the Package source drop-down.
  3. Click Browse and install the packages you need, for example TXTextControl.TextControl.Core.SDK.

The Visual Studio NuGet Package Manager with Text Control Offline Packages selected as the package source, listing the TX Text Control packages the setup installed.

The picture shows the packages of version 33.0. The source and the steps are the same in version 34.0.

Packages that are published on nuget.org only, such as TXTextControl.Web.Blazor.DocumentEditor or TXTextControl.Markdown.Core, are installed from the nuget.org source. See Package Overview.

Use the Offline Source With nuget.config

Text Control's tutorial for Visual Studio Code and the .NET CLI adds the offline source to the project with a nuget.config file. In the root directory of your project, create a file named nuget.config with the following content:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
  <packageSources>
    <add key="TextControlLocal" value="C:\Program Files (x86)\Text Control GmbH\NuGetPackages" />
  </packageSources>
</configuration>

The value of TextControlLocal is the path of the default Text Control Offline Packages folder. The setup is available for Windows only, but you can copy the packages to another system. If your packages are in another folder, or in your own NuGet package repository, replace the value with that folder path or repository URL. Then add the packages as usual:

dotnet add package TXTextControl.TextControl.Core.SDK

Trial Version

The trial version is fully featured and valid for 30 days. Its setup provides the packages in the Text Control Offline Packages source, so you can evaluate the product without a license; what the license agreement forbids for the trial version is listed in Evaluating with the Trial Version. Download the trial version from the TX Text Control .NET Server trial download page. With a license, you can install the licensed packages from the private feed.

Packages From the Full Version Setup

The full version setup installs the Text Control Offline Packages source as well. The account owner downloads the setup from the Text Control account, and assigned developers receive an email with a download link.

The engine packages of the full version contain your license file, which must not be given to other users; see How the License Gets into Your Project.

Service packs use the same setup: it detects an existing installation and updates it. After you install a service pack, update the TX Text Control packages in your projects from the Text Control Offline Packages source. See Updating NuGet Packages.

Use the Packages on Other Machines

The setup runs on Windows only, and build servers and Docker builds cannot use a folder on your development machine. For organizations that host packages internally, Text Control describes copying the packages from the offline folder into your own private NuGet repository:

  • Azure Artifacts: push the packages from the offline folder to an Azure Artifacts feed, for example with nuget.exe push, and restore from that feed in Azure Pipelines. See Azure DevOps with TX Text Control .NET Server 34.0: Private NuGet Feed and Azure Artifacts.
  • GitHub Packages: push the packages with dotnet nuget push and add the GitHub Packages source with credentials to nuget.config. See Using a Private NuGet Feed to Build and Restore .NET Apps for Docker Deployment.

For example, the following command pushes the Core package to an Azure Artifacts feed. Replace the -src value with the path of your feed and the -ApiKey value with a personal access token created in Azure DevOps. nuget.exe needs a recent NuGet version and the Azure Artifacts credential provider, which Visual Studio installs:

nuget.exe push "C:\Program Files (x86)\Text Control GmbH\NuGetPackages\TXTextControl.TextControl.Core.SDK.34.0.5.nupkg" -src "https://pkgs.dev.azure.com/yourorg/yourproject/_packaging/TXPackages/nuget/v3/index.json" -ApiKey YOUR_AZURE_DEVOPS_PAT

Keep such a feed private and restricted to your licensed developers and build pipelines. Today, the Text Control Private NuGet Feed provides the licensed packages directly to Visual Studio, the .NET CLI and build servers. See CI/CD Authentication.

Next Steps