i'm trying to open a pdf file from my winform application, while the pdf file is in the directory of the application. I want to pack this app latter so I can open them dynamically even if the app is installed in another machine. I'm using Process.Start(".\file.extension") but I'm getting the error: The system cannot find the file specified. I heard that I need to send it in System32 folder but when I pack it I have no idea how to send it there. Hope you understood and can come with a solution for this problem. Thanks in advance.
If the pdf file is inside the project itself, You can simply do this:
Your PDF File as seen from the solution explorer > Right Click > Properties
Copy to Output Directory > Copy Always
After this, each time you build your project or when you deploy it, The PDF file will always be included in the project output folder.
Try this...
string commandexec = string.format("{0}\{1}",AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory,filename);
Process.Start(commandexec);
Related
What am I doing? I want to add a help file to a Windows Forms application. I added the pdf to a folder in my project and set the property Copy to Output Directory to Copy Always. This causes the file to be copied to the Debug and Release directories in the bin. This works perfectly on debug mode when I run the application.
What's the problem? This does not work on the production version. I am targeting x64 os only. The pdf is being copied to bin/x64/Release but it crashes when loading.
This is how I load the pdf
string filePath = #"HelpFiles\File.pdf";
Process.Start(Path.Combine(Application.StartupPath, filePath));
Any idea on how I can get the program to load the file on the production version?
Have you tried opening your projects's properties, under Publish tab, open Application Files... and include your "HelpFiles\File.pdf"
Similar to this?
And then try to publish it.
Edit: All files/programs that are being installed by ClickOnce should be included in the Application Files... and Build Action property of the pdf file from None to Content.
Assuming you have a fixed pdf file you could simply just add the file to your project as ressource.
Then you will have access to the file as Byte[]. using
String tmpPdfFilePath = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), String.Format("{0}.pdf", Path.GetTempFileName()));
File.WriteAllBytes(tmpPdfFilePath, Properties.Default.PdfFile);
Process.Start(tmpPdfFilePath);
Only downside, you copy the file to the temp dir every time. You could get around this by using a static filename instead of Path.GetTempFile(). Check if the file exists and copy it to the temp on demand.
Update
If you add the file as ressource to your project in the default ressource file you can get the bytes of the file with
Properties.Resources.FileName
In my C# application i have a help button. When it's pressed I would like for the application to open up a PDF file in the systems default PDF reader, something I can do with a command like Process.Start("pathToPDF").
The problem is that I would like to include the PDF as a resource instead of calling an external file. I do not wish to copy the PDF to the users computer and do not want to host it online or on a NAS.
Right click on your project in the Solution Explorer, then add existing file and choose your pdf (if you cannot find it, make sure you are showing all files and not just .cs files etc.).
Click on the newly added item once in the solution explorer and in the properties window, you set Copy to Output Directory to Copy Always or Copy if newer.
Now you can open the pdf file as expected using Process.Start(filename.pdf);
The only Secure way to show a PDF without providing a file is to include your own Viewer Component (Ex. http://www.o2sol.com/pdfview4net/overview.htm)
Some components allow to load a PDF from Memory (as in a embedded Resource) directly into your Viewer Component, another way would be to create an encrypted binary file to ship with your application and encrypt/load when necessary.
As soon you want to show the PDF in an external viewer ,be aware that the User will have the ability to save the PDF anyway.
Maybe you can explain your reasons to not want to include the file, so we can suggest other solutions to you?
Update:
As noted in your comment, the goal is to have a clean installation.
It would be possible to embed the File as a resource, but then you would
have the problem that if you extract the file temporarily to display it, you can't really control the clean-up of that file, because it's locked by the PDF Reader Application.
So you would end up with the PDF File anyway ;)
What you can do to keep your Application Folder cleaner, is to not install the PDF under that Application Folder but under the "Common Documents" Directory.
For Example: Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.CommonDocuments), "MySoftware", "Help.pdf")
Which normally targets: C:\Users\Public\Documents\MySoftware\Help.pdf
I have an application in C# where I have to select a file and process it. I use Visual Studio's Publish option to generate a Click Once application . But if I want to bundle the file along with the application and set it as default instead of Open File dialog, where should I place the file? The file is an Excel file
first create a folder to hold your custom files in the project,put your excel file inside that folder using add as link in the dialog box.Mark all files as Copy if newer (Copy to output directory property)and just make sure your build action is content.
Thats it..
for more reference
Source 1
Source 2
I'm creating a Windows Form application that is going to be used as a sign in system at my college. I was given a .csv file that includes student id numbers, names, teachers, and current courses. I have the app created and it works when I use it on my computer. However, when I publish the application and install it on a different computer, the streamReader that I use to access the .csv file is not able to use the .csv file because it's nowhere in the published application. I have tried adding the file to the root directory of the project, but I can't find out how to access it from there. I've read a few forums that talk about adding the file as a "resource," but I don't know enough about that to make it work for what I'm doing. Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks!
In visual studio, add the file to your project (Add Existing after right click on the project). You'll need to add a build action as well, to tell the IDE to copy the file to the output directory. To do that, right click on the file you added, go to Properties, and look for BuildAction.
I am using Visual C# 2010 Express. I would like to put .dotx or Word Template files into the Resources folder of my application and when it is installed, output the files to a different directory preferably C://Myfolder/. I couldn't find anything about it here. Are there any ways to solve this?
Why would you want this as a resource? Why not bundle it as part of the installer package which can work out where to put the file when your application is installed?
Click on Resources (in "Properties"), and then on the arrow next to "strings" and choose "files".
Then drag the file in and name it. then use:
Properties.Resources.fileName;
which will be a byte[], and save it using:
File.WriteAllBytes(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.UserProfile) + #"\filename", Properties.Resources.fileName);