Precompilation of ASP.NET Web Application Project

Question

I want to precompile (for deployment) an ASP.NET Web Application with Visual Studio 2008. I want to do this as it is described at http://dotnetperls.com/precompiled-aspnet, but my Publish dialog is different.

My publish dialog has the following appearance:

• Target Location
  • Replace matching files with local copies
  • Delete all existing files prior to publish
• Copy
  • Only files needed to run this application
  • All project files
  • All files in the source project folder
  • Include files from the App_Data folder

Answer 1

That's because you're trying to publish a Web Application-Project, not a Website. In Visual Studio, there is a difference between these two. If possible, you can convert the project to a website. That way you get the dialog you want.

More on the differences between these two can be found at: http://damieng.com/blog/2008/02/07/web-site-vs-web-application