Do I have to sign my ClickOnce manifest?

visual-studio clickonce signing
Bronzato picture Bronzato · Sep 16, 2012 · Viewed 9.7k times · Source

I have a VS2012 solution (WinForm vb.net) which I deploy thanks to ClickOnce. I do some tests today for deploying this application. I'm able to publish and deploy this application without signing the ClickOnce manifest nor signing the assembly. On the Signing tab of my project I uncheck 'Sign the ClickOnce manifests' and 'Sign the assembly'. I don't have any errors (about assembly not signed) when installing this application.

I copy the published folder on a USB key and install it on another computer without problem. I'm also able to update my application and install these updates automatically (thanks to ClickOnce).

I read a lot about ClickOnce and signing and it seems I don't have to sign for WinForm application.

Does someone can confirm this? I wonder if I copy my ClickOnce folder on a share on the network company if I can always install it without problems?

Tomorrow I will have the opportunity to try to install on the company's network (not today).

Thanks for your help.

Answer

Greg Jackman picture Greg Jackman · Sep 16, 2012

Signing ClickOnce manifests is optional since .Net 3.5. See here for confirmation from Microsoft: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/zfz60ccf.aspx

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