Deploying from VS 2010 using XCopy

I think this is a simple question, but I can't seem to find a clean solution.

I am working on a parallel program on my local (dual core) developer machine. I develop for a while, then I want to run it on a multi-core server somewhere else. I have a settings file that is different (paths, etc.) between the two instances, but otherwise it is a straight deployment.

What I would like to do is have a "publish" option where I can just deploy it to server when I am ready. I don't want it to overwrite the settings file on the server, but I do want it to update any other files. I publish a ASP.NET web site this way and it works great. However, when I publish a console app, it wants to actually create an installer, which I don't want. I really just want an XCOPY publish over FTP, but one that won't ove开发者_开发问答rwrite changed files on the server.

I've tried subversion, and some FTP syncing things, but those all require an extra step. Is there an easy way to do this?

Not 100% sure what you're after, but WinSCP (free) has a directory synchronisation feature, which monitors a local directory for changes, and FTPs updated files to your server.

You can't do the type of publishing you want with a console app in Visual Studio 2010. It will always try to build a click once deployment which isn't your goal. I think this thing was possible to do in previous versions of Visual Studio 2010.

I have a similar situation and I just resign myself to copying in windows explorer for local servers. With your destination being an FTP site you will need to find some sort of automated or batch FTP utility unfortunately.

You could launch the ftp batch from the "Run the post-build event" feature in the Build Events tab on the console app's property page. That would save you some extra clicks.