WPF Xamlparse error only on other machines

Question

Hi,

I recently deployed a Blend WPF application through a clickonce deployment using VS C# express 2010. Now the program works on my development machine but on any other machine the software won't run and a xamlparse error is thrown without any further information as to what has gone wrong.

How do I debug these sorts of errors when they don't show up on my local machine?

Answer 1

Well, the good starting point will be to handle the DispatcherUnhandledException event of your application class and to log the exception. Then, install a virtual machine (VirtualBox, VMware, Virtual PC) and make a clean install of the target OS, so you can ensure testing on a 'clean OS', hence you will be able to reproduce the exception (don't forget to install .NET runtime if needed).

P.S. You should also remember, that if the exception is thrown inside the Window's constructor, whatever the exception really is, it will be wrapped up with the XamlParseException, so don't forget to log the InnerException too.