users having a problem installing my program

[razz]

I recently created a program using VB 2008 Express Edition. I published my program and users found that they required .Net Framework 3.5 in order to install it. Some had major problems installing .Net 3.5 for some reason.
It has been pointed out to me that many people have .Net Framework 2.0 installed on their computers and that it would therefore be a good idea if my program worked with 2.0 so that no other .Net installation would be necessary.
I therefore re-published my program using a prerequisite of .Net Framework 2.0. I thought this should have worked but a user just reported that a message alerted him to the fact that he still needed to install .Net Framework 3.5.

I am lost as to what I need to do to make it painless for users to install and use my program. There seem to be just too many problems.

My question is: If I wish for all users to be able to install my program with only having .Net Framework 2.0 installed on their computer, would I be able to accomplish this using VB 2008, or is it necessary for me to re-write my program using an earlier version of VB Studio?

 

[jmcilhinney]

If your application targets .NET 3.5, which VB Express 2008 does by default, then users will need .NET 3.5 to run it. You can't just change the prerequisites.

Go to the Compile tab of the project properties and click the Advanced button. There you can tell your project to target version 2.0 of the .NET Framework. You'll need to recompile and republish. I'd also recheck my prerequisites first too. You may find that you have to remove some references manually, although I don't think so. Most importantly, if you've used any features not supported by .NET 2.0, like LINQ, then you'll have to re-implement those sections.

 

[razz]

Go to the Compile tab of the project properties and click the Advanced button. There you can tell your project to target version 2.0 of the .NET Framework. You'll need to recompile and republish.

I did what you said and the attached image shows the errors that were logged in the error log. Please advise how to correct this problem. Despite these errors, I clicked Build and it said the build succeeded (not sure if this means all is ok). I haven't re-published yet. Your help is greatly appreciated.

It should be noted that all I used from the toolbox in my program was Buttons, Label and LinkLabel. Earlier I used ColorDialog and PictureBox, but I deleted those because I changed my program. I assume that those 3 toolbox options should work fine with .Net Framework 2.0, is that not correct?
I should add that under Prerequisites I have the following (is this correct?):

 

[JuggaloBrotha]

It looks like you're app is still referencing the Linq stuff which is in the 3.5 Framework, in the Project Properties there's a References tab, simply uncheck the System.Linq and System.Xml.Linq and it should clear things up.

 

[razz]

It looks like you're app is still referencing the Linq stuff which is in the 3.5 Framework, in the Project Properties there's a References tab, simply uncheck the System.Linq and System.Xml.Linq and it should clear things up.

Thank you JuggaloBrotha, that partly cleared things up. Please refer to the screen shots below to further advise - thanks! p.s. Can I remove all that is listed in Unused Preferences? - Also - If I only used Buttons, Label & LinkLabel, do I need Microsoft Visual Basic Power Packs 1.2 and Windows Installer 3.1 as part of Prerequisites?

 

[razz]

Update: I removed System.Data.DataSetExtensions from the References list and now I just have one error on error list as shown in screen shoot.

 

[JuggaloBrotha]

And it's telling you that you're referencing System.Xml.Linq which doesn't exist in .Net 2.0 so therefor wouldn't you do what I previously said and uncheck that namespace in the references tab?

 

[razz]

uncheck that namespace in the references tab?

I am sorry but I don't know what you mean. I can't find the box to uncheck. I can't find where it lists "System.Xml.Linq". Please explain.

 

[razz]

Do I just click "Remove" on the Unused References window to remove all unused references, is that what I am supposed to do?

 

[Paszt]

As for your remaining error in post #6: "Namespace or type specified in the project-level Imports 'System.Xml.Linq' doesn't contain any public members or cannot be found ..."
You need to remove the project-level Imports for 'System.Xml.Linq' (go figure). To do this go to the References tab in the project properties (as you have shown in post #8), look at the bottom under 'Imported Namespaces'; deselect System.Xml.Linq.

To answer your last query regarding removing the unused references; the dialog says 'Clicking "Remove" will remove all checked references'. If you don't plan on using those references, then yes, click the Remove button. That will clean your project.

 

[razz]

Thank you very much Paszt for your help.