Create a standalone .exe file

Question

I have a console application built in visual studio 2010.

When I actually build the project I am getting .exe file under \bin\Debug\MyProj.exe.

When I Paste and run this .exe from other location it is expecting other files too.

Any thoughts how can I make this as Stand alone exe file.

Well presumably you have references to other libraries. Why don't you just copy those as well? You can use ilmerge, but it would be better to just copy the libraries IMO. — Jon Skeet
– Jon Skeet, Commented Nov 21, 2013 at 14:50
Visual Studio comes with a simple (but good for many needs) install project. You add the the output of your console project and it should detect any dependencies (including the .NET framework) that need to go with it. — Moo-Juice
– Moo-Juice, Commented Nov 21, 2013 at 14:53
This has already been answered here: stackoverflow.com/questions/2035083/… — randoms
– randoms, Commented Nov 21, 2013 at 14:53
@JonSkeet.Thank you for response. I have the dlls. I want to make it stand alone program. could you tell me how to do that. — Patan
– Patan, Commented Nov 21, 2013 at 14:54
May it is this, what you need: stackoverflow.com/questions/433171/… Cheers — florianbaer
– florianbaer, Commented Nov 21, 2013 at 14:54

Marton · Accepted Answer · 2013-11-21 14:52:36Z

1

There should be other DLL's in the Debug library. You need those to run your exe.
If there are no DLL's there, make sure you set the 'Copy local' property of the required references to True, and build again.
If you want to make a standalone program, you should create a new Setup project in your solution. Include the Primary Output from your application project, and the setup should include the required DLL's automatically. Once you build the setup project, you can install your application as a standalone software.

answered Nov 21, 2013 at 14:52

Marton

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3 Comments

Moo-Juice Over a year ago

Copy Local won't help the OP here, as he's manually copy/pasting to another directory.

Patan Over a year ago

Thank you for response. I have the dlls. I want to make it stand alone program.

Marton Over a year ago

@Patan I've edited my answer, see #3. The cleanest solution to this is to create a setup.

mrid · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-03 09:45:18Z

1

You usually distribute application with bunch of DLLs, that's nothing bad.

But if you really want to make it a single exe, you can look here - same question is answered Embed .net dll in c# .exe . (Valid if your DLLs are also .Net assemblies)

Edit: If you need to easily distribute app to not-very-computer-friendly users, consider also trying ClickOnce. It's roughly something like Java Web start - only disadvantage is that you can't get "Windows Logo" certificate from Microsoft for projects distributed that way.

edited Mar 3, 2018 at 9:45

mrid

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answered Nov 21, 2013 at 14:55

eMko

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Comments

trindflo · Accepted Answer · 2021-07-16 01:57:26Z

0

I don't have Visual Studio 2010 to experiment with, but in Visual Studio 2019 this worked:

Project Properties->Configuration Properties->Advanced->Use of MFC->Use MFC in a Static Library

answered Jul 16, 2021 at 1:57

trindflo

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