Make a windows forms application that updates data in a SQL Server Express db table work on client machiens

Question

I've made and published a Windows Forms application in visual studio express (vb.net) that selects from and updates some tables in SQL Server Express db tables I've created. Everything works on my machine but now I'm trying to make it work in the machines in the office (in the LAN) and am completely lost. I've looked around and am still confused so could someone please point me in the right direction of what exactly I need to do/install on their machines in order for the applications to work on them?

I've already installed the application on their machines, but what do I need to do in order to make sure that they can connect to the db that's on the machine with the server (sql server/management studio) . Also, how do I make sure that they can access it (how to change the connection string/security--in the application or on the server).

Thank you in advance for your help.

Answer 1

Need to install the same version of SQL Express(Example: 2012) you used for development in client machines. By default sql express will be installed as named instance with name ".\sqlexpress" so your connection string need to point to the server as ".\sqlexpress" or "(local)\sqlexpress". You can change the named instance during installation if needed. Also users can add themself as SQL admin to sql express during installation so if they do that then your application should work fine.

This link shows step by step installation of sql express 2012