[RESOLVED] Embedding DLL in Project

[hydrakiller4000]

Hello, everyone! I'm using Visual Studio 2010, and I'm using the DotNetZip library to compress and extract .zip files in my application. For my purposes, the only reference that DotNetZip needs to function properly is a single .dll file called Ionic.Zip.dll. In my project, I have a folder called References. This folder contains the Ionic.Zip.dll file.

The problem is that whenever I compile my application, the Ionic.Zip.dll file is copied to the output directory. If I disable this option and do not copy the .dll to the output directory, my program will not run properly because it cannot access the file types and methods that the .dll file gives me access to. I want to embed the .dll file into my program so that I can distribute a single EXE file, put it on any computer with the .NET Framework 4 installed, and run the program with no problems whatsoever.

I have been searching the web for quite a while now, trying different solutions but not finding anything that works for me. Can anyone please help? Thanks in advance for any help!

[jmcilhinney]

Seriously, I don't know why you can't just distribute both the EXE and the DLL in a ZIP file. Many, many programs are distributed that and users are accustomed to it. If you're really determined to go down that path though, look at ILMerge, which can be downloaded from Microsoft.

[hydrakiller4000]

Seriously, I don't know why you can't just distribute both the EXE and the DLL in a ZIP file. Many, many programs are distributed that and users are accustomed to it. If you're really determined to go down that path though, look at ILMerge, which can be downloaded from Microsoft.

Thanks for the reply! I can distribute both the EXE and the DLL in a ZIP file, but I always like to try my best to keep my applications standalone because users can relocate the program wherever they'd like without having to worry about it not working. Also, they don't have to create a shortcut to the program.

I have tried ILMerge before, but I'll give it another go. Thanks again!

[hydrakiller4000]

After trying ILMerge again, I believe I have successfully combined the .exe and the .dll files, but unfortunately my .exe crashes on launch. Here are the steps in the Command Prompt I used to merge assemblies:

1)

cd "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\ILMerge"

2)

ilmerge /target:winexe /out:"C\Users\MyName\Desktop\Application1.exe" "C\Users\MyName\Desktop\Application1\bin\Debug\Application1.exe" "C\Users\MyName\Desktop\Application1\bin\Debug\Ionic.Zip.dll"

It merges the two assemblies and then puts the resulting .exe file right onto my desktop. When I double-click on the file to run it, it instantly crashes, and Windows says that "Application1 has stopped working."

Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

[Evil_Giraffe]

I believe ILMerge is no longer updated by Microsoft. If this is the case (and I'm not 100% sure that it is) then it is possible that .NET 4 assemblies get mangled by ILMerge?

[hydrakiller4000]

I believe ILMerge is no longer updated by Microsoft. If this is the case (and I'm not 100% sure that it is) then it is possible that .NET 4 assemblies get mangled by ILMerge?

Hmm, yes that actually is true. My problem was that my application is not compatible with ILMerge since it is using the .NET Framework 4. However, I read up about .NET 4 issues on the official Microsoft Research website, and ILMerge is actually compatible with .NET 4; all I had to do to get this compatibility was add another option to the ilmerge command in the Command Prompt:

/targetplatform:v4,”C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319”

The ”C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319” refers to the path of my .NET Framework 4 directory.

Source: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/...t/ILMerge.aspx

I now have a single .EXE file that works on any computer with Windows and the .NET Framework 4.0 installed! Thank you guys very much for all of your help!