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Debug ClickOnce applications that use System.Deployment.Application

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In Visual Studio, ClickOnce deployment allows you to configure how an application is updated. However, if you need to use and customize advanced ClickOnce deployment features, you'll need to access the deployment object model provided by System.Deployment.Application. You can use the System.Deployment.Application APIs for advanced tasks such as:

  • Creating an "Update Now" option in your application

  • Conditional, on-demand downloads of various application components

  • Updates integrated directly into the application

  • Guaranteeing that the client application is always up-to-date

    Because the System.Deployment.Application APIs work only when an application is deployed with ClickOnce technology, the only way to debug them is to deploy the application using ClickOnce, attach to it, then debug it. It can be difficult to attach the debugger early enough, because this code often runs when the application starts up and executes before you can attach the debugger. A solution is to place breaks (or stops, for Visual Basic projects) before your update check code or on-demand code.

    The recommended debugging technique is as follows:

Note

The ApplicationDeployment class and APIs in the System.Deployment.Application namespace are not supported in .NET Core and .NET 5 and later versions. In .NET 7, a new method of accessing application deployment properties is supported. For more information, see Access ClickOnce deployment properties in .NET. .NET 7 does not support the equivalent of ApplicationDeployment methods.

  1. Before you start, make sure the symbol (.pdb) files and source files are archived.

  2. Deploy version 1 of the application.

  3. Create a new blank solution. From the File menu, click New, then Project. In the New Project dialog box, open the Other Project Types node, then select the Visual Studio Solutions folder. In the Templates pane, select Blank Solution.

  4. Add the archived source location to the properties for this new solution. In Solution Explorer, right-click the solution node, then click Properties. In the Property Pages dialog box, select Debug Source Files, then add the directory of the archived source code. Otherwise, the debugger will find the out-of-date source files, since the source file paths are recorded in the .pdb file. If the debugger uses out-of-date source files, you see a message telling you that the source doesn't match.

  5. Make sure the debugger can find the .pdb files. If you've deployed them with your application, the debugger finds them automatically. It always looks next to the assembly in question first. Otherwise, you'll need to add the archive path to the Symbol file (.pdb) locations (to access this option, from the Tools menu, click Options, then open the Debugging node, and click Symbols).

  6. Debug what happens between the CheckForUpdate and Download/Update method calls.

    For example, the update code might be as follows:

        Private Sub Button1_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
        If My.Application.Deployment.IsNetworkDeployed Then

            If (My.Application.Deployment.CheckForUpdate()) Then

                My.Application.Deployment.Update()
                Application.Restart()

            End If

        End If
    End Sub

  7. Deploy version 2.

  8. Attempt to attach the debugger to the version 1 application while it downloads an update for version 2. Alternatively, you can use the System.Diagnostics.Debugger.Break method or simply Stop in Visual Basic. Of course, you should not leave these method calls in production code.

    For example, assume you are developing a Windows Forms application, and you have an event handler for this method with the update logic in it. To debug this, simply attach before the button is pressed, then set a breakpoint (make sure that you open the appropriate archived file and set the breakpoint there).

    Use the IsNetworkDeployed property to invoke the System.Deployment.Application APIs only when the application is deployed; the APIs shouldn't be invoked during debugging in Visual Studio.

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