How to: Include a data file in a ClickOnce application
Applies to: Visual Studio Visual Studio for Mac
Note
This article applies to Visual Studio 2017. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here
Each ClickOnce application you install is assigned a data directory on the destination computer's local disk where the application can manage its own data. Data files can include files of any type: text files, XML files, or even Microsoft Access database (.mdb) files. The following procedures show you how to add a data file of any type into your ClickOnce application.
To include a data file by using Mage.exe
Add the data file to your application directory with the rest of your application's files.
Typically, your application directory will be a directory labeled with the deployment's current version—for example, v1.0.0.0.
Update your application manifest to list the data file.
mage -u v1.0.0.0\Application.manifest -FromDirectory v1.0.0.0
Performing this task re-creates the list of files in your application manifest and also automatically generates the hash signatures.
Open the application manifest in your preferred text or XML editor and find the
file
element for your recently added file.If you added an XML file named
Data.xml
, the file will look similar to the following code example.<file name="Data.xml" hash="23454C18A2DC1D23E5B391FEE299B1F235067C59" hashalg="SHA1" asmv2:size="39500" />
Add the attribute
type
to this element, and supply it with a value ofdata
.<file name="Data.xml" writeableType="applicationData" hash="23454C18A2DC1D23E5B391FEE299B1F235067C59" hashalg="SHA1" asmv2:size="39500" />
Re-sign your application manifest by using your key pair or certificate, and then re-sign your deployment manifest.
You must re-sign your deployment manifest because its hash of the application manifest has changed.
mage -s app manifest -cf cert_file -pwd password
mage -u deployment manifest -appm app manifest
mage -s deployment manifest -cf certfile -pwd password
To include a data file by using MageUI.exe
Add the data file to your application directory with the rest of your application's files.
Typically, your application directory will be a directory labeled with the deployment's current version—for example, v1.0.0.0.
On the File menu, click Open to open your application manifest.
Select the Files tab.
In the text box at the top of the tab, enter the directory that contains your application's files, and then click Populate.
Your data file will appear in the grid.
Set the File Type value of the data file to Data.
Save the application manifest, and then re-sign the file.
MageUI.exe will prompt you to re-sign the file.
Re-sign your deployment manifest
You must re-sign your deployment manifest because its hash of the application manifest has changed.