I wrote a Win-32 desktop application in 1999 and have maintained it through the various iterations of Windows ever since. It didn't need a 64-bit address space so I never bothered to migrate it to the 64-bit apis.
Until Win 10 came along, I could type < the first few letters of my app's name> and the app would run.
In Win 10, I have to double click on the app to get it to run. If I try the app's folder and its contents show in the start menu but not the app itself. I look under all apps and the app isn't there. I've added a shortcut to the start menu but even that hint isn't enough for Windows to find the app. I tried creating a bat file that would fire off the app and placed the bat file in Programs Folder but that failed.
I never wrote an installer for the app. The app lives in its own folder which I create by dragging it from a CD or network drive as I have migrated between all the Windows iterations since Win-98.
Is there now some xml file I must create that says "This is an app. Please Microsoft, include it in the start menu?" I had thought *.exe would suffice but apparently not. Perhaps *.exe code must now reside in Programs Folder, no exceptions allowed?
If it makes any difference, the application is written in C and compiled in Visual Developer 2008. It reads kid's handwritten responses to arithmetic questions.
More info I've dug up...
I noticed that Python shows up in Windows search but PHP doesn't. IIRC, I installed python with an installer whereas php was unzipped into its current location.
That establishes that a program need not reside in C:\Program Folder to show up in Start-search.
Then I discover that Python has a shortcut in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs but PHP doesn't. "That's it!" I think. Nope. Start-search now shows the folder I placed there but not the shortcut to the program. So residence in the start menu folder doesn't do it.
I am obnoxed.
..even more info...
I recompiled the entire project and now search finds the executable which suggests start-search is broken. Moreover, start-search only displays the app if I completely type its name. In Win 7, just the first few letters suffice as is the case with most executables in win10.
The app still doesn't appear in the all apps section but then again, neither do the autodesk apps I have installed. OTOH, the autodesk apps appear by typing just a few letters.
At this point, it appears win10 start-search is broken.
Most .exe files don't appears in Windows Search under Win10 unless they are installed in program files folder... I try to find a way to circumvent this limitation cause lot of my files are portable applications on another drive.
In meantime here's a Workaround: Make a folder "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\DummyApps" and copy the shortcut of the app you want to be listed in "Search Results" in the DummyApps folder.
I've made a shorcut of "DummyApps" on my desktop to drop shortcut of programs I want to access by the search.
Regards
When you say
I've added a shortcut to the start menu but even that hint isn't enough for Windows to find the app
do you mean that you added a shortcut here: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs ?
If so, did you restart your pc (or at least explorer.exe)?
Adding a shortcut to the location above and restarting explorer.exe worked for me and it even added the app to the recently added apps section. Hopefully that helps.
step 1:win10 +x, open cmd adminstration mode
step 2:input 'start powershell' in cmd
step 3:input 'Get-AppXPackage -Name Microsoft.Windows.Cortana | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}' in powershell
Related
I recently created my first Windows package for a small app I made using Kivy. I have a few questions with regard to running the app.
First, is there a way to get the app to run without a record log popping up in another window? It is just ugly and doesn't seem like something I want in my final "product".
Second, how can I run the app from my desktop? Right now I have a shortcut placed on my desktop, but if I wanted to send my app to a friend, how could I send it to them where they can simply have an icon on their desktop to click on?
Thanks!
The entire process is done in 2 steps.
Step 1: Make the windows executable files (not Python files)
You'll need to use PyInstaller to create EXE for Windows. Here's the link
https://kivy.org/doc/stable/guide/packaging-windows.html
You will notice a new folder created where all the files are kept along with the application executable file.
Step 2: Pack these into a Single Installer File (EXE you are looking for)
You can use a third part software like InstallForge to create a single package installer for these files.
This EXE file can be share with anyone and they can install the program just like any other windows software
Using Visual Studio 2017 on Windows 10, I have a WPF application with an installer created using the Visual Studio Installer extension. When I install it on another PC, the application starts but then exits within the same second. Nothing in logs.
If I add a manifest to force admin mode, its starts correct.
If I copy the files to another folder (outside program files) it starts correct.
Apparently the "program files" is restricted or something? Am I missing something in my setup/installer project? Any other ideas more than welcome!
EDIT:
I've tried to create the installer using WIX and then it runs fine. Seems to be some settings in the VS Installer extension.
You can modify the ACLs on the folder in question to allow write access by regular users (not great) or you could write the settings file somewhere else where write permission for users is standard.
There are many ways: Resolve lacking permissions.
There is another, similar answer here.
Adding a couple further links:
WiX and deployment links, various topics.
I'm using Visual Studio 2010 to build a program in C that can operate on a PostgreSQL database.
Everything is fine in VS, no compile errors, everything looks good.
When I click to debug and run, the code compiles, but then I get a pop up that says:
The program can't start because libpq.dll is missing from your computer
I've installed PostgreSQL and added the folder containing all the necessary files to my include and linker paths, but to no avail.
I cannot figure out why I am still getting this message?
Any suggestions?
The answer's surprisingly simple.
The issue you're seeing comes from the compiled application not being able to find the PostgreSQL libraries. The libpq.lib is used to compile the application, and it links to the DLL at run-time. You can either add it to your system wide path, or bundle the DLL with your application. (I'd add it on the development machine, and bundle the redistributable for a installer package.)
To include it in your path try:
Right click on "My Computer" and select Properties
Then Click on "Advanced System Settings".
Click the "Environment Variables" button at the bottom of the dialog box.
It will pop up a dialog with a group box labeled "System Variables". Find the one in the list box that has a Variable name of "Path".
Now, add the path of the PostgreSQL library folder to the path with a ";" separator.
Now logout or reboot. It's imperative that you at least log out of Windows and log back in for the Visual Studio debugger to pickup the additional executable module paths (that Path variable). Ideally, rebooting sends the new system path to all applications in the system at boot time.
If the Path variable has "C:\Windows\system32;C:\Windows;C:\Windows\System32\Wbem" in it, you would add ";C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\libraries" to make it look like "C:\Windows\system32;C:\Windows;C:\Windows\System32\Wbem;C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\libraries".
Be aware that your path will be really long in most cases. Just add it to the end.
Good luck!
I have Win10 64 bit and this worked for me.
Get portable version of HeidiSQL and copy libpg.dll from the archive to the HeidiSQL installation folder on your computer.
Works like a charm.
I have a simple Windows Form application(WPF) with entity framework. After compiled, only a few files generated:
EntityFramework.dll
EntityFramework.xml
MyApp.exe
MyApp.application
MyApp.exe.config
...
Then I just copy following files to a network shared folder:
EntityFramework.dll
MyApp.exe
MyApp.exe.config
Then I can double click on MyApp.exe from developer computer the launch the app, but can not launch from another end user computer.
How to resolve this problem?
When you double click, app is not launching means certainly it is crashing so type the command eventvwr in run or cmd it'll open the Event viewer in that go to Windows Logs and Click on Application, you can see different levels of logs in that just find the last error log view the details it might help you
Have a look in the event log on the target computer and look at the error that is actually being reported.
It could be a missing installation of the correct version of the DotNet framework as suggested in the comments above, or it could also be that the execution policy of the target computer is preventing the user from running from a network drive (As a developer you probably have admin rights on your local pc allowing you to do this).
Whatever the actual cause you are always better to use some form of installer, rather than this form of putting files on the network (commonly known as xcopy deployment).
Probably the best solution is to use Visual studio to generate you a click once installer and publish it to your network drive. This will then copy the application locally on the users pc and run it from there.
I have built a desktop version of my extjs app using Sencha desktop packager trial. It has created an output folder with a lot of dll files and an .exe file. The executable runs ok when i open it from within this folder but once i move the .exe outside it no longer runs. So it seems it is dependent on the other files generated along with it.
Am i doing something wrong here or is it supposed to be like this? Is it possible to get a single executable that will run on client machine?
Secondly after installation, is it possible to do automatic updates (or at least prompt for an update) based on version number?
Thanks,
You should use something like InnoSetup in order to automate the installation of the whole App directory on a foreign computer.