Click here to Skip to main content
15,867,453 members
Articles / Programming Languages / C#
Tip/Trick

C# Portable Exe File

Rate me:
Please Sign up or sign in to vote.
4.73/5 (23 votes)
26 May 2012CPOL1 min read 143.5K   49   33
Making an exe file from C# project that runs from any Windows, without must of Net Framework instaled.

Introduction 

One of the disadvantages of C# is that when you want to run it, the computer must have .NET Framework installed on it. After this article, you will be able to make it runnable from any Windows without the must of .NET. 

How to do it?

  1. Make a C# project.
  2. In Solution Explorer, inside your project, there is a line "Reference". Click the plus near it. Now you can see all the dependencies of your project. Delete all references that aren't used (delete, and try to run/build. If it is possible to do it, that it is unused. If there is an error, return it by adding it (right mouse click, "Add Reference")).
  3. For each reference, go to Properties, and in the property "Copy Local" choose "True". For each Image, Icon... make like to the referenced.
  4. Rebuild you project. Now in your Build/Release folder (inside bin) you will see many dll files. Those files have the information of every resource.
  5. Copy all the files in the folder (from step number 4) into a new folder.
  6. Go to the folder: "<windows folder>\Microsoft.Net\Framework\<latest version>" and copy the file "mscorlib.dll" to the new folder from step 5.  If you don't find this file, you can always make a search in the Hard Drive which contains Windows folder.
  7. Now your app is portable (with the whole folder content).
  • All the referenced should be in the same folder as the .exe file.
  • If something is missing, there may be problems with the program.

Review

This solution is not the best. The whole program is heavy. But it is a solution! When you search the Internet, you will find such solutions like Portable Net, publish... But this one is quick, easy and does the right result.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Israel Israel
This member has not yet provided a Biography. Assume it's interesting and varied, and probably something to do with programming.

Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionC# Portable Exe File won't work Pin
Behdadsoft2-Mar-22 12:51
Behdadsoft2-Mar-22 12:51 
GeneralMy vote of 1 Pin
flash-mmb20-May-17 2:57
flash-mmb20-May-17 2:57 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Eng Mohamed Bassuny5-Aug-16 11:57
professionalEng Mohamed Bassuny5-Aug-16 11:57 
QuestionSimple! Pin
thisisthemurph7-Jul-15 21:31
thisisthemurph7-Jul-15 21:31 
QuestionNot work on server 2008 machine Pin
Beniwal0129-May-14 23:18
Beniwal0129-May-14 23:18 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Thanks787215-May-13 21:15
professionalThanks787215-May-13 21:15 
QuestionNot sure if I got the point Pin
jfriedman2-Jan-13 18:23
jfriedman2-Jan-13 18:23 
Questiondoesn't work Pin
arby7720-Aug-12 13:37
arby7720-Aug-12 13:37 
AnswerRe: doesn't work Pin
arthur zamarin20-Aug-12 17:25
arthur zamarin20-Aug-12 17:25 
GeneralRe: doesn't work Pin
arby7721-Aug-12 7:18
arby7721-Aug-12 7:18 
AnswerRe: doesn't work Pin
arthur zamarin21-Aug-12 7:22
arthur zamarin21-Aug-12 7:22 
GeneralRe: doesn't work Pin
Beniwal0129-May-14 23:29
Beniwal0129-May-14 23:29 
Questionpfff Pin
Sergey Lapp9-Jul-12 22:48
Sergey Lapp9-Jul-12 22:48 
AnswerRe: pfff Pin
arthur zamarin9-Jul-12 22:50
arthur zamarin9-Jul-12 22:50 
GeneralRe: pfff Pin
Sergey Lapp10-Jul-12 0:10
Sergey Lapp10-Jul-12 0:10 
AnswerRe: pfff Pin
arthur zamarin10-Jul-12 0:17
arthur zamarin10-Jul-12 0:17 
GeneralRe: pfff Pin
Sergey Lapp10-Jul-12 0:23
Sergey Lapp10-Jul-12 0:23 
Question.NET EULA Pin
Ivan Ičin3-Jun-12 7:05
Ivan Ičin3-Jun-12 7:05 
AnswerRe: .NET EULA Pin
arthur zamarin3-Jun-12 7:26
arthur zamarin3-Jun-12 7:26 
GeneralRe: .NET EULA Pin
Ivan Ičin3-Jun-12 9:12
Ivan Ičin3-Jun-12 9:12 
GeneralMy vote of 2 Pin
johannesnestler29-May-12 23:53
johannesnestler29-May-12 23:53 
GeneralRe: My vote of 2 Pin
arthur zamarin30-May-12 1:51
arthur zamarin30-May-12 1:51 
QuestionQuestion Pin
yogiCsharp29-May-12 20:12
yogiCsharp29-May-12 20:12 
AnswerRe: Question Pin
arthur zamarin30-May-12 1:48
arthur zamarin30-May-12 1:48 
QuestionDepends on CLR version Pin
Nicolas Dorier28-May-12 10:41
professionalNicolas Dorier28-May-12 10:41 

General General    News News    Suggestion Suggestion    Question Question    Bug Bug    Answer Answer    Joke Joke    Praise Praise    Rant Rant    Admin Admin   

Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.