.NET Framework Version Dependency Bootstrapper

Question

About 30 minutes of troubleshooting and it turns out the person who's trying to use my application doesn't have the newest version of the .NET Framework. Is there a way or some KB article which describes a best practice for informing users who are not updated or do not have the framework, etc.

Thanks!

Answer 1

If you want to create setup boot strapper for application pre-reqs try these:

• VS.NET 2005 (2008 is about the same)
• Visual Studio 2010 (not sure how different it is)
• WiX Burn

If you want to just check pre-reqs, inform the user and fail try this link:

• http://stackoverflow.com/questions/682805/how-can-i-detect-net-3-5-in-wix

Answer 2

If you're deploying with ClickOnce, the PreRequisites button in the Publish tab allows you to specify the framework version required on the machine in order to install. It'll say something like:

'.NET x.x framework required to install this application'

Not sure how much help this will be because it's set by default meaning you likely aren't using ClickOnce - even still, if you're using xcopy deployment then you might consider clickonce, it's pretty easy and allows people to manage the program like they do all other installed programs in windows.