How do I add prerequisites to a ClickOnce application?

Question

I want to add prerequisites to my Click Once application. Here is the problem. The program is in a server and clients install the application from the specific URL. I want to auto install the prerequisites (for example, Crystal Report Viewer) when the user first downloads and installs it, how could I do that?

I'm using C# Windows Forms and .NET Framework 4.0

Answer 1

You need to create a prerequisite first. The prerequisites that are shown in Visual Studio are in the following location

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v8.0A\Bootstrapper\Packages

You can create a Product Manifest through this tutorial

Put it along with other bootstrapper packages.

Once this is done, you can select that prerequisite in your prerequisites window in publish settings and give the location from where you want the user to download it.

Here is a complete tutorial for creating Localized Bootstrapper Package.

There is a tool called Bootstrap Manifest Generator. This Code Project article is a complete tutorial for using this tool. I think this tool is not available from Microsoft directly any more.