Why Coded Silicon uses ClickOnce deployment

The advantages of ClickOnce deployment are:

• User rights: No administrative rights are required for installation (assuming the framework is already installed).
• Automatic updates: If a new version of the product is available on-line, the user will be prompted to upgrade during application launch.
• Concurrent versions: Multiple users on the same workstation can run different versions of an application. Each user must upgrade independently. This assures that a user is not confused by an unexpected change in application behavior.
• Rollback: Users have the option to roll back to an earlier version. If the new version causes undesirable behavior, the user can choose to roll back to a preferred version. Rollback is available in Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs.
• Safe installation: These products do not affect other applications.

The disadvantages of ClickOnce deployment are:

• Some browsers may not work. This only affects installs and not upgrades.
• The user cannot easily find the folder were the application was installed to.
• The user cannot create new shortcuts to the application. However, the user may copy the Application Reference under the "All Programs" / "Coded Silicon" menu to any other location like the desktop or task-bar..
• The application cannot be deployed to other users on a workstation; each user has to initiate a deployment independently.

ClickOnce and .NET Framework Resources