Deploying .NET Framework Applications

A .NET Framework application references the assemblies that the setup of TX Text Control .NET for Windows Forms installed, and no publish step gathers the files of TX Text Control for you. You copy them yourself: the managed assemblies from the Assembly folder of the installation and the native libraries of your platform from Assembly\bin or Assembly\bin64. Below are the files, the folder rule and two ways to get them into your deployment, including ClickOnce.

Where the Files Are

The setup installs TX Text Control into C:\Program Files\Text Control GmbH\TX Text Control 34.0.NET for Windows Forms by default. Below that folder:

Managed Assemblies and Native Libraries lists the files. The requirements documentation of TX Text Control names the native libraries of an older version; take the names from the bin folders of your installation.

Put All Files Into the Application Folder

All files of TX Text Control must be in the application's root folder, at the same level as the executable. If your application is installed as C:\Program Files\My Application\My Application.exe, the managed assemblies and the native libraries go into C:\Program Files\My Application.

1. Copy the managed assemblies from the Assembly folder of the installation.
2. Copy the native libraries of your platform: Assembly\bin for x86, Assembly\bin64 for x64. For AnyCPU, the set depends on the bitness of the target machine; see x86, x64, and AnyCPU.
3. Put everything next to the executable, not into subfolders.
4. Make sure the target machine has the Visual C++ runtime of the same bitness; see Visual C++ Runtime Dependencies.

The license needs no file of its own: the license compiler embedded it into your executable from licenses.licx when you built the application. See Application Licensing.

Add the Native Libraries to the Project

When your installer or deployment takes the files from the build output, add the native libraries to the project, so that each build copies them:

1. Select the project in Solution Explorer, and choose Project > Add Existing Item.
2. Browse to Assembly\bin or Assembly\bin64 of the installation, select all files and add them.
3. Select the added files in Solution Explorer, set Build Action to Content and Copy to Output Directory to Copy always.

The build output now contains the assemblies and the native libraries side by side. After an update to a new major version, replace the added files, because the names of the native libraries contain the version.

Deploy With ClickOnce

With ClickOnce, users install your application from a link on a website, and updates you publish to the server reach them automatically. ClickOnce publishes the files the project contains, so the native libraries must be added as described in the previous section. Then:

1. Open the project's properties.
2. On the Signing page, select Sign the ClickOnce manifests. Visual Studio creates a test certificate when you publish, unless you select a certificate of your own.
3. On the Security page, enable the ClickOnce security settings and select This is a full trust application.
4. On the Publish page, click Application Files, and make sure the Publish Status of all files is Include.
5. Publish the application with the Publish Wizard or Publish Now.

The blog article Deploying TX Text Control .NET Applications Using ClickOnce shows these steps with screenshots of an earlier version of Visual Studio.

Move to .NET

A .NET 8 or higher application gets all files of TX Text Control from the NuGet package, and Visual Studio's publish copies them for the target runtime. Migrating from .NET Framework to .NET describes the move, and Publishing .NET Applications the deployment afterward.

Related Pages

• Redistribution Overview: what ships and what never ships.
• Files Are Missing After Deploying a .NET Framework Application: what to check on the target machine.
• Create a .NET Framework Application: the tutorial for a .NET Framework project.