Publish ClickOnce app to local machine and then upload?

I'm publishing my app with ClickOnce to a web server, with the install from a web page option. But I usually have to try it like 5 times before it works because I'm using a not very good server, and it is a lot of files that are being uploaded. Also maybe since there is no bandwidth limit on the server that's the way they say "hey, easy with the开发者_如何学C bandwidth". Whatever.

But now I've been trying to publish for like 2 days already and I always get an error, always something with the server. So is it possible to publish to my own PC as if it were a server and then upload my files manually, without having to manually create a manifest and stuff like that?

Yes. Set the publishing file location to a local directory, like C:\MyApp. Then set the installation URL to the URL the users will use to access it on the webserver. Publish it.

It will publish the files to the local folder.

Copy or FTP the new versioned folder up to the server first. This is under "Application Files", and will be something like yourappname_1_2_3_4 where 1.2.3.4 is the version number (for example).

Next, copy setup.exe, publish.htm (if you're using it), and yourappname.application to the root of your deployment folders on the server, overwriting the ones that are already there.

The version the user runs is determined by that deployment manifest (.application file) in the root of the deployment folder, so the versioned folder will not be accessed until you put the new deployment manifest in place. That's why you want to do the versioned folder first. Obviously if you put in the new deployment manifest and the folder it wants to use is not there, you'll have a problem.