Introduction to the Create V10 Installation Methods

We have a number of articles that describe the installation process and pre-requisites of Create 10 Add-in for Microsoft Office.

Create uses Microsoft’s ClickOnce deployment system.

What is a ClickOnce Application?

ClickOnce is a deployment technology that enables you to create self-updating Windows-based applications that can be installed and run with minimal user interaction. ClickOnce deployment overcomes three major issues in deployment:

• Difficulties in updating applications. With Microsoft Windows Installer deployment, whenever an application is updated, the user can install an update, an msp file, and apply it to the installed product; with ClickOnce deployment, you can provide updates automatically. Only those parts of the application that have changed are downloaded, and then the full, updated application is reinstalled from a new side-by-side folder.
• Impact to the user's computer. With Windows Installer deployment, applications often rely on shared components, with the potential for versioning conflicts; with ClickOnce deployment, each application is self-contained and cannot interfere with other applications.
• Security permissions. Windows Installer deployment requires administrative permissions and allows only limited user installation; ClickOnce deployment enables non-administrative users to install and grants only those Code Access Security permissions necessary for the application.
  

In the past, these issues sometimes caused developers to decide to create Web applications instead of Windows-based applications, sacrificing a rich user interface for ease of installation. By using applications deployed using ClickOnce, you can have the best of both technologies.

Click here to learn more about ClickOnce.

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/t71a733d.aspx

Deployment Options

The preferred method of deployment is from our Webserver using a ClickOnce Setup.exe we issue. This is described in Article - Installing Create via Web Server

Alternatively Local Deployment can be used to allow internal packaging of the Create application files as described in Article - Installing Create via Local Deployment

For clients requiring an MSI, one can be supplied on request. For further information see Article - Installing Create via MSI