CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#.netvisual-studio-2010windows-installer
Tod
Tod

Reputation: 8242

How do I configure VS installer to put files in LocalApplicationData

Everything in Visual Studio seems to lead one to putting data files with the application.The app.config goes there, when I create an .XML data file, there is a Copy to Output property that will automatically copy that file to the exe folder. Howerver, it seems that under Vista and Win7 UAC doesn't want the application to be able to write data to any file in the application directory. So I'm changing my evil ways so that I use the LocalApplicationData folder for files I want to read and write. (I just read the app.config so I'm leaving it alone)

I'm using a VS2010 Visual Studio Installer project to create the installer for this app and I can't seem to find a way to target the folder for my .xml file to the LocalApplicationData folder. I can click on the file and see a Folder property but the dialog only has options for Application Folder, User's Desktop and User's Program Menu. Is there some way to do this in the installer or do I have to write code that checks for the file and copies it over from the .exe folder when it doesn't exist? I figure I'm late to this particular party and there must be a canonical way of handling this.

Also, I'm wondering about debugging, is there something similar to the copy if newer functionality in the build process that will now copy this .xml file automatically over to the LocalApplicationData folder whenever I update it?

Upvotes: 2

Views: 1604

Answers (1)

Ciprian
Ciprian

Reputation: 3565

The Setup project doesn't expose LocalApplicationData in the Special Folders list. You can use it anyway by doing this:

Add a Custom Folder and set the DefaultLocation property to [LocalAppDataFolder]

Upvotes: 6

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