Setup File For VSTO Excel Add-In C# (Visual Studio Professional 2017)

Question

I have created VSTO Add-In for Excel , for running this application I am depending on Debug folder.

Here my problem is this Debug folder is having multiple files along with Microsoft Excel Template file this will create little confusion to choose right file to run for new users.

Is there any possibility to create a setup file for VSTO Excel Add-In application in Visual Studio Professional 2017.

Or else is there any possibility to keep all files (except Microsoft Excel Template File) in one location and Microsoft Excel Template File is in one location (like on desktop).

FYI: I know via shortcut for Microsoft Excel Template File we can do this, but I don't want to do this manually.

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

First, you shouldn't give debug builds to your users. Build with the Release settings instead. The default visual studio layout has a drop down that says Debug in the menu bar. Use the dropdown to select Release.

If you use the Publish feature of the Project in Visual Studio, it creates a ClickOnce setup.exe that will install the addin for you. rclick on your Project in Solution Explorer and select Properties. Then go to the Publish tab, fill out the form and click Publish at the bottom.

If you want to include an extra data file with in the installation you can follow these instructions to add it.

Basically you have to add the file to the directory you Published to and add an xml tag to the manifest file that includes the name of the file, hash and size.