Wednesday, December 17, 2008

PreCompile or Publish websites in Visual Developer 2008 Express Edition

One of the most wanted feature missing in Visual Developer 2008 Express Edition is precompiling/publish feature which is available in Visual Studio Professional Edition.

I don't want to deploy the website with code behind and class source files. So, I googled on this and found interesting sources online.

Have consolidated and below are the steps to precompile/publish your websites in Visual Developer 2008 Express Edition

  1. Launch Visual Web Developer Express Edition.
  2. Select Tools > External Tools to access the External Tools dialog.
  3. Type Pre-&Compile (non-updatable) in the Title text box. The ampersand in the title means that the character immediately after will be defined as a hotkey for the menu item.
  4. Click the browse button next to the Command text box and browse to aspnet_compiler.exe in the Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727 directory.
  5. Click Open to select the aspnet_compiler.exe application.
  6. Type -p " in the Arguments text box.
  7. Click the right-facing arrow button on the right edge of the Arguments text box and select Project Directory, as shown in below screenshot
    1

You configure the arguments for aspnet_compiler.exe by using the menu to the right of the Arguments text box.

  1. Enter a closing quote at the end of the arguments you've entered so far. At this point, the Arguments text box should contain the following text: 
    -p "$(ProjectDir)"
  2. Press the spacebar to add a space at the end of the arguments you've entered so far, and then type -v / ".
  3. Click the right-facing arrow button at the right edge of the Arguments text box again and select Project Directory.
  4. Type \..\Compiled" after the existing arguments. At this point, the Arguments text box should contain the following text:

    -p "$(ProjectDir)" -v / "$(ProjectDir)\..\Compiled"

  5. Check the Close on Exit check box.
  6. Click OK to add the new external tool to the list.

You now have a new menu option in Visual Web Developer Express Edition (see below screenshot) that enables you to precompile your web application as a non-updatable application.

2

That's it!!! Now compile/publish your websites in Visual Developer 2008 Express Edition and start rocking!!!
Posted by Swami at 5:15 AM
Labels: ,

35 comments:

  1. QuinOctober 1, 2009 at 1:35 AM

    Very nice.

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SwamiOctober 1, 2009 at 1:38 AM

    You are welcome Quinton :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownNovember 22, 2009 at 7:44 AM

    thank you very much for your nice article ! i used it on Visual Web Develpoer 2010 Express Edition.

    it's working fine !

    ReplyDelete
  4. VincentDecember 5, 2009 at 11:18 PM

    Can work for VWD 2010 ? seems like the 2010 doesnt have external tools under tools menu.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steven KaneMay 28, 2012 at 7:27 PM

      For anybody who's faced with this problem:
      Tools -> Settings -> Expert Settings

      This will show the External Tools under Tools menu.

      Delete
  5. VincentDecember 5, 2009 at 11:47 PM

    reza, can i ask which compiler you select? the Microsoft.net 4.0 or the sample one which is 2.0 ? Now it's able to generate the compiled folder, but when i launch from browser, it prompt me something like "The page you are requesting cannot be served because of the extension configuration. If the page is a script, add a handler. If the file should be downloaded, add a MIME map." .. wondering what problem.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownDecember 16, 2009 at 8:37 PM

    The PreCompile option appears on the Tools menu but when I select it a Command Window pops up for a second and disappears.

    Does this mean the application has been compiled?

    Which folder is it compiled into?

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownJanuary 19, 2010 at 7:28 AM

    Thanks Swami, this is really handy :)

    Avron - the application is compiled into a folder called "Compiled", one level up from the project directory.

    For example, if your project directory is C:\WebSites\TestWebSite, you'll find the compiled files in C:\WebSites\Compiled.

    Hope that helps!

    ReplyDelete
  8. muneerFebruary 27, 2010 at 7:29 AM

    Hi,muneer here,application is compiled into folder called "Compiled".when iam running my files,its displaying as "This is a marker file generated by the precompilation tool, and should not be deleted!".and my all aspx files are of 1kb.and my besite also contains masterpage.

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownMarch 15, 2010 at 11:59 AM

    Hi, I'm complete novice in .NET. I've followed the instructions I think! I end up with an empty folder called "Compiled", what have I missed? And once the folder contains the files, how do I upload them to the web space? Sorry, I'm used to Dreamweaver on a Mac!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. KaLiSuRfMarch 16, 2010 at 12:49 PM

    Great!
    Really thanks a lot. It was more than usefull

    ReplyDelete
  11. Edu LorenzoMarch 26, 2010 at 2:19 PM

    here is the page where you will find the options for the compiler

    http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms229863.aspx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Edu LorenzoMarch 26, 2010 at 10:52 PM

    also, please make sure (if your app is data-driven and the database is in the app_data folder) to disconnect from the database before running the precompile as it will give you an "being used by another process" error and will not continue.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Stevey JApril 8, 2010 at 6:25 AM

    this looks good, but gives me two errors. The first is /Basket.ascx(1) error ASPPARSE: Could not load type 'ezone.Basket'.

    the second is/basket.aspx(1): error ASPPARSE: 'ezone.basket' is not allowed here becuase it does not extend 'System.Web.UI.Page'.

    My website is called ezone. I have a web page ShoppingBasket.aspx, which uses the class basket.cs

    On a separate note, I'm using access database files, will I be able to publish this for use? I wan to publish the website on this machine, so that it is accessible from elsewhere.

    Presumably this is compiling with ASP.NET v2.0.50727, is there a way to use v3.0 or 3.5? (Their folders don't have an aspnet_compiler.exe file)

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousMarch 12, 2011 at 10:38 AM

    I know this post is a little old, but if anyone is getting the message "This is a marker file generated by the precompilation tool, and should not be deleted!" when they try to edit an .aspx file after compiling, the simple fix is to add the -u parameter to the external tool.

    so, it should look like

    -p "$(ProjectDir)" -u -v / "$(ProjectDir)\..\Compiled"

    All the code behind files will still be compiled, but you can edit content and design elements through VWD.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dinesh KumarJune 19, 2013 at 11:06 PM

      yes its working fine with the appended option.

      Delete
  15. AnonymousApril 18, 2011 at 2:00 AM

    Hello,
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    ReplyDelete
  16. PatrickJune 21, 2011 at 2:39 AM

    Works perfect in Visual Web Developer 2010 Express. All you have to do to see "External Tools" is changing "Settings" to "Advanced Settings".

    Thanks a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2011 at 4:27 AM

    Hi..is there an option to hold the console window that comes up.. cos i would like to see when warnings are raised .

    ReplyDelete
  18. AnonymousOctober 29, 2011 at 3:13 AM

    This is a must read blog. The technical help presented on this blog is just so amazing. I don’t know where else I would have got all the information I had, but from this article. I count myself lucky for having come across this great work. I’m so impressed with this blog.
    Hire web developer

    ReplyDelete
  19. HELP meDecember 12, 2011 at 11:21 PM

    after compiling....what has to be done to upload this site on web server.HELP anyone PLEASE

    ReplyDelete
  20. UnknownFebruary 23, 2012 at 1:39 AM

    Nice your blog has many valuable info's posted...
    Good work...
    hire web developer

    ReplyDelete
  21. BolivJuly 18, 2012 at 3:50 AM

    nice article...
    thanx a lot

    ReplyDelete
  22. UnknownAugust 17, 2012 at 5:39 AM

    Thanks for the article :-) Still useful after nearly 4 years!!

    Have just compiled on VWD 2010, but it only worked when I selected the aspnet_compiler in the v4.0.30319 directory.

    ReplyDelete
  23. nrng.chetanSeptember 30, 2012 at 7:59 PM

    hi!!i am working on vwd 2010...followed all the steps...a new tool is now available in my tools menu...it does show some kind of a compilation window for a split second but cannot find the 'compiled' folder anywhere...help please!!
    PS-working on a database driven website

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dinesh KumarJune 19, 2013 at 10:29 PM

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. Dinesh KumarJune 19, 2013 at 10:31 PM

      check inside your project directory i.e. C:\Documents and Settings\\My Documents\Visual Studio 2010\WebSites. but this trick is deleting all of the data from aspx files in VWD2010.

      Delete
  24. InnomaxMediaLLPJanuary 28, 2013 at 3:13 AM

    That was a lovely concept. Thanks for sharing the same here.
    Web development Company

    ReplyDelete
  25. Dinesh KumarJune 20, 2013 at 12:34 AM

    worked like a charm on the VWD 2010 with the new option
    -p "$(ProjectDir)" -u -v / "$(ProjectDir)\..\Compiled"

    thanks to all for sharing such a topic.

    ReplyDelete
  26. RockJuly 1, 2013 at 2:45 AM

    Thank you Nanba..

    ReplyDelete
  27. UnknownAugust 11, 2014 at 11:50 PM

    its grate article working fine for me on VWD 2008 .... :)
    Sir, i have 1 question i want to deploy this complied web application on godaddy server how to do this?? if any idea please help me.

    ReplyDelete
  28. UnknownNovember 29, 2014 at 10:17 AM

    Thanks. Very nice tip

    ReplyDelete
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