Precaptured .NET

Precaptured .NET

Because the capture process can be time consuming and requires several steps, we have made available pre-captured versions of the .NET Framework.
This simple guide is targeted towards software developers and IT Admins who want to deploy a .NET application without installing the .NET Framework.

What you can do with the pre-captured versions of the .NET Framework:

·	You can build a cmd.exe application which is capable of running .NET applications from the host PC even though .NET may not be installed

You can add your application files into the pre-captured .NET project and build a single EXE file which runs without installation of .NET

This guide should only be used for .NET applications that do not require installation of COM components or 3rd party components requiring registry entries.

·	If you need to include Crystal Reports in your package, you should perform a full capture.

·	If you need to include COM components in your package, you should perform a full capture.

·	If you need to include customized registry settings, you should perform a full capture.

Pre-captured .NET Application deployment Guide

Express Setup (build virtual cmd.exe)

1. Download and Install Thinstall Virtualization Suite on any PC
(signup at http://www.thinstall.com/products/virtualization_suite_dl.php)

2. Download .NET 1.1, 2.0, or 3.0 pre-captured Thinstall projects
You only need to download the version of the .NET Framework required to run your application
http://thinstall.com/examples/dnet11_captured.zip
http://thinstall.com/examples/dnet20_captured.zip
http://thinstall.com/examples/dnet30_captured.zip

3. Unzip your pre-captured Thinstall project from step 2

4. Click the build.bat file

5. In the bin directory, you will find "cmd.exe" you can now launch your .NET application using this cmd.exe like this:
cmd.exe /c myapplication.exe

You are done! Your application can now run on computers that don't have .NET

Professional Setup (build single EXE virtual app)

If you prefer to generate a single exe that runs without cmd.exe, follow these additional steps.
First, let's assume you unzipped from Step #2 to c:\project, though this location doesn't matter.

6. Copy your .net application, dll files, and data files to c:\project\%ProgramFilesDir%\myapp

7. Edit c:\project\package.ini, change the line which says

From:
Source=%SystemSystem%\cmd.exe

To:
Source=%ProgramFilesDir%\myapp\myapp.exe

(where myapp.exe is your application's executable)

8. Run c:\project\build.bat

Also see: How to reduce your package size for .NET