how to deploy an application automatically

Question

In the office here we have a startup script that runs on the server which will update via copy/paste the software in house if there's a newer version on the server or not. This was simple, easy and fast to implement.

There is now a problem, many of our users are off-site and they use laptops/tables which don't connect to the domain to run the startup scripts - which means that these have to be manually deployed. This was fine for the one user that I've had for a good while. Now that I've got 10 - it's a no go. I've got to figure out a better solution.

Without developing something homegrown, are there any solutions out there that make auto-deploying/updating easier?

Note: This is a winforms app.

Answer 1

Is ClickOnce an option?

There's a lot to read at the link I am pointing you to, but it's really pretty simple. You would have to publish the app to a live web server, though. Something that can be accessed from off the domain. That could pose some security concerns. It's one avenue to explore, though.