[2008] best publishing/setup option.

Hey guys,
I was wondering what would be the best way to deploy my product?

I really like the setup deployment, but i heard that its hard to issue automatic updates? And even if the user downloads a updated version, it does a clean install which is bad since it wil replace the old db, with new db .. (a mdf file).

Clickonce is great I hear because of the updating capability. But how does it look on the user end? Is it just like a "setup" that luanches ? and does it install in program files? with shortcuts in desktop and startmenu?


I'd like the capability of a "setup" type, with automatic updates that does not delete my old db..

Why don't you make a real basic winforms app (doesn't need to be anything more than a blank form) and create a clickonce deployment package for it.

Then you can experience the process yourself and see if it will meet your needs. There are drawbacks to using ClickOnce but also benefits when it comes to the ease of automatic updating, etc...

Your comment about an MDB file being replaced is not accurate because you can create a standard MSI based installer to NOT overwrite certain files if they exist, so you could have your installer not overwrite the MDB file if its already there.