How can I deploy my C# project?

Question

How can I deploy a C# Visual Studio 2005 project so that I can run the application in another system? My project has a few dependencies and files that have to be integrated while deploying the project.

What is the best way to handle this?

Answer 1

You need to know what dependencies you have.

• you need to have .Net framework installed
• you have to explicitly install all dependencies that you used from the GAC on your target machine (some 3rd party components)
• and then you just need to copy files from your \bin\Release folder
• install all services, etc. if you have any

In the simplest cases only copying files should be enough.

Answer 2

Have you looked into ClickOnce deployment?
It's far from perfect, but for projects without a huge amount of overhead, it's generally good enough.