How to move a ClickOnce deployment package
c#, clickonce, manifest
Solution
I found a solution:
Firstly, using MageUI, I changed the "Start Location" under "Deployment Options". On saving, it prompted me to sign with a key, which I created there and then. I then ran the `setup.exe` file, and it worked without fail.
After checking which files had changed, I realised it was only the one file: the application manifest file (`myAppName.application`). The only things that changed in the file were the deployment provider and the signature (which is what I changed in MageUI).
Once I realised this was how to do it, I used the command line version of MageUI called `Mage.exe`, which comes with the SDK.
Below is the batch file I created to do all of this on the command line:
REM Set the enviroment call "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC\vcvarsall.bat"
REM Update the deployment provider URL mage -Update %1.application -pu %2
REM Sign the manifest with our key mage -Sign %1.application -CertFile C:\AppKey.pfx -Password myPw
I can now use this to run against all of my published applications in a quick and easy way. I hope this helps.
Problem
I have a collection of ClickOnce packages in a publish folder on a network drive and need to move them all to another server (our DR machine). After copy/pasting the whole directory and running the setups on the new machine I get an error message stating that it cannot find the old path: Activation of ...MyClickOnceApp.application resulted in exception. Following failure messages were detected: + Downloading file://oldMachine/c$/MyClickOnceApp.application did not succeed. + Could not find a part of the path '\\oldMachine\c$\MyClickOnceApp.application'. Once I change the installation URL to point at my new machine, I get another error: Manifest XML signature is not valid. + The digital signature of the object did not verify. I've tried using MageUI.exe, to modify the deployment URL, but it asks for a certificate, which I don't have. What am I doing wrong and how do I successfully move published ClickOnce packages?