I'm getting error messages when I try to run MainBoss with ClickOnce. What's wrong?

As of MainBoss Advanced 3.4 Update 1, there are two builds of MainBoss for ClickOnce:

  1. The Online build is designed for people who always intend to launch MainBoss from the ClickOnce web page. It does not create an entry for MainBoss in the Windows "Start" menu. (You can still start the program without a web connection by using the Windows "Search" box or by creating your own shortcut to the file containing the program.)
  2. The Offline build is designed for people who may frequently work without an active Internet connection. When you first install the software, it creates an entry in the Windows "Start" menu which you can then use to start the program instead of going through a web page. (You should still go through the web page occasionally, because the web interface is designed to update your software automatically whenever a new version is released.)

If you have the Offline build installed, you will have problems if you try to run the Online build and vice versa.

Switching from Offline to Online

If you have already run the Offline build, you cannot run the Online build until you uninstall the Offline one. Use the standard Windows Control Panel to uninstall the Offline build (in the usual way you uninstall any software package). You can then run the Online version; it will install itself and you will use the Online version from then on.

If you try to run the Online version when you have the Offline installed, you will receive an error message that says

Application cannot be started. Contact the application vendor.

The Details button will say something like

System.Deployment.Application.DeploymentException (SubscriptionState)
Cannot make this application an online application because the previous version is installed.
To install this application uninstall the previous version, or mark this application as installed.

Uninstalling the Offline build and installing the Online one should fix this problem.

Switching from Online to Offline

If you have already run the Online build, you cannot run the Offline build until you clear the ClickOnce installed cache.

If you have the mage command (which is part of the Windows SDK), you can clear the ClickOnce cache by run mage from a command prompt window. Specify the -cc (clear cache) option with mage. Once you have run the command, you can use the Offline build.

If you do not have the mage command on your computer, open a command window and run the following command.

rundll32 dfshim CleanOnlineAppCache

Once you have run this command, you can use the Offline build.

If you have the Online build installed and try to run the Offline build without clearing the cache, you get the following message:

You cannot start application MainBoss Advanced from this location
because it is already installed from a different location.

The Details associated with this message essentially say the same thing.

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