CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#
athosbr99
athosbr99

Reputation: 483

How to make a software portable with C#?

I'm coding a simple application that I need to be portable (the user can just run it by clicking on the .exe without having to run a installer).

All the other questions on this subject that I found on StackOverflow wants to make .NET Framework "bundable" with the software, but I don't need that.

A workaround that I found is going to /bin/Debug on the project folder and use the .exe there, but that seems "wrong". Is there another way to make a software written in C# portable?

Thanks!

EDIT: Okay, I'm really dumb and I asked all the wrong questions. However, your answers pointed me to the right direction. I wanted to know how to generate the .exe to send to my friends. What I had to do is change this to "Release" and press F6. I added this so if someone with the same "doubts" that I had can find the answer easly. Thanks!

Upvotes: 2

Views: 4730

Answers (5)

Ben Voigt
Ben Voigt

Reputation: 283604

Going to bin/Debug and using the DLL there is wrong.

Instead, build and copy the one from bin/Release.

If there's anything else inside the folder, though (except *.pdb), then beware. Your application might need those additional files. For example, the app.config.

Upvotes: 5

JNYRanger
JNYRanger

Reputation: 7097

All .NET applications are "portable" as long as the machine you are running it on has the version of .NET you are targeting (or a compatible version). The key here is to make sure that your application does not depend on things that an installer would take care of for you to make your application work. Examples include: registered DLLs (like Interop assemblies), registry keys, or components that must be found in certain locations (such as having something stored in user's AppData folder).

Upvotes: 2

Night
Night

Reputation: 749

To expand on Zerkms's comment:

Every software is portable by default. Installers are a way of telling to program to search for resources in a certain place, meaning that if the place isn't there, eg: C:\Windows then the program won't be able to run.

So as long as you have the application have the resources already within the exe or a root folder search (so where the program is, rather then where it should be) then you'll be fine.

Upvotes: 1

chris_techno25
chris_techno25

Reputation: 2477

If you're using default controls, it should be fine as long as your software's running framework version is installed on the computer. If you're using 3rd party controls, you can emded the dll's into the .exe upon compiling. Do note that the more dll's you embed, the bigger the .exe file will be.

Upvotes: 0

AaronDancer
AaronDancer

Reputation: 649

As long as the machine you want to run it on has .NET framework, you can make any .NET application portable. If the app you're making has no dependencies other than .NET then it's fully portable already. Even if it does have dependencies just include those with the executable.

Upvotes: 1

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