Visual Studio 2008 does not add the published application to the to start menu

Question

Visual Studio publish option does not seem to add the application to the start menu.

I just created one Windows form application and published it.(VS 2008)

I do see the published application in the window's Add/Remove programs but I do not see in in the start menu.

In the publish setting I have "the application is available offline as well (launchable from start menu) Checked.

Also where the published EXE file is supposed to go. Because I cannot find it either.

I am using windows XP.

Answer 1

In your Windows Form Application follow the steps :

1. Right Click on the Project and click on Publish
2. Specify the location where you want to publish the application (any directory you want the ClickOnce Installer to be in) and click Next.
3. Select options from the radion buttons to specify How users will install the application (i.e. From a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM) and click Next.
4. Mention if you want the application to check for updates from a specific location and click Next.
5. Finally Publish the application by clicking Finish.

you'll get a Setup (ClickOnce Installer) file created in the specified directory(location specified in step 1)

Now Install it and enjoy your Windows Form Application. You'll get the application added in Start Menu.

Note : This process has been tested in Windows 7 with Visual Studio 2008 and Windows 8 with Visual Studio 2012.

Answer 2

Publishing is not the same thing as installing. After publishing (with the option of "available offline as well"), you should be able to launch the application from the publish location and then see the start menu item created after that. Going forward, you can launch the application from the start menu.