“What is the best way to deploy VSTO add-ins for Outlook?” This is one of the most common question asked by our customers who are developing add-ins using Visual Studio Tools for Office(VSTO) for Outlook and other Office Applications. Simple answer is that it’s all depend on you requirements and environment. We can opt for either ClickOnce Deployment or Windows Installer.
We can refer to Choosing a Deployment Strategy and the following table compares the features of ClickOnce deployment with Windows Installer deployment to make informed decision:
ClickOnce
Windows Installer
Automatic update1
Yes
Post-installation rollback2
No
Update from Web
Does not affect shared components or other applications
Security permissions granted
Grants only permissions necessary for the application (more safe)
Grants Full Trust by default (less safe)
Security permissions required
Internet or Intranet Zone (Full Trust for CD-ROM installation)
Administrator
Application and deployment manifest signing
Installation-time user interface
Single prompt
Multipart Wizard
Installation of assemblies on demand
Installation of shared files
Installation of drivers
Yes (with custom actions)
Installation to Global Assembly Cache
Installation for multiple users
Add application to Start menu
Add application to Startup group
Add application to Favorites menu
Register file types
Install time registry access3
Limited
Binary file patching
Application installation location
ClickOnce application cache
Program Files folder
Notes:
1. With Windows Installer, you must implement programmatic updates in the application code.
2. With ClickOnce, rollback is available in Add or Remove Programs.
3. ClickOnce deployment can access HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM) only with Full Trust permission.
Feel free to put questions related to ClickOnce or Windows Installer deployment for Office Add-ins to me.
Can you provide deployment related to Outlook 2010 managed addin.
thanks, now i know how to deal with such stuff