Can I automate ClickOnce deployment?

Question

I am working on a project consisting of a server and a client application deployed through ClickOnce. The client is installed for the first time when the user clicks the http: //...file.application link , and the user interaction during installation is minimal (only the standard ClickOnce install / not install dialog box).

One of our customers wants to be able to automate the installation of the client on users' machines. Is there a way to install a ClickOnce application without any user interaction to automate the deployment process?

Is there software to support this type of deployment?

My problem arises because I don’t know how ClickOnce deployment works under the hood (I don’t even know if ClickOnce installer can be launched from the command line ...) and how clickonce the application is not packaged at all as a Windows installer, I don’t sure of nothing.

Any information on this is appreciated.

Answer 1

There are many third-party automated deployment solutions. You can also create your own scripts, but you need a way to call them. If your client machines are configured to search for network-based startup scripts, then this would be an ideal method. As a rule, automatic deployment works with a standard deployment package, that is, it contains the setup.exe file and the required files, so this is probably the best way to package your application.

ClickOnce is specifically designed for manual deployment by the end user and only confuses things when the goal is automatic deployment. Obviously, you can keep your ClickOnce deployment in place if someone wants to install your application manually, but it will be easier if you distribute it separately for automatic deployment.

Answer 2

You can create a standard MSI installer and deploy it using Group Policy, but then upgrading is a bit more complicated. As a hybrid, you can be an MSI installer (deployed using Group Policy), which simply installs a shortcut to the correct clickonce address on the desktop.

Answer 3

You can automate it. A trick is a way to create and sign manifestos.

After the application manifest has been created and the deployed files have been renamed, you have a set of files and folders that you can simply copy to the source code.

Answer 4

Check out this article: http://bloggingabout.net/blogs/dennis/archive/2007/11/05/manual-check-for-updates-with-clickonce.aspx

It describes how you can do it yourself, including an example.