installing ASP.NET app - what directory?

[=?Utf-8?B?RGF2aWQgVGhpZWxlbg==?=]

Hi;

We are writing an installer for our ASP.NET app and are hitting an argument
over where the default directory for the app should be.

Should it be (assuming standard folder layout):

1) c:\inetpub\wwwroot\WindwardPortal

2) c:\Program Files\WindwardPortal

Also, we have several files (the readme & the license) that we need to
install - but they should not be available to people hitting our app on IIS.
Where should we install these too?

Can we create a directory App_Documents that is not accessable just as
App_Code is not (assuming the App_* is the magic do not enter part)? Or
somewhere else? If we install the app to c:\inetpub\wwwroot\WindwardPortal I
hate to also create c:\Program Files\WindwardPortal just for 3 files.

--
thanks - dave
david_at_windward_dot_net
http://www.windwardreports.com

Cubicle Wars - http://www.windwardreports.com/film.htm

[Laurent Bugnion]

Hi,

David Thielen wrote:

Hi;

We are writing an installer for our ASP.NET app and are hitting an argument
over where the default directory for the app should be.

Should it be (assuming standard folder layout):

1) c:\inetpub\wwwroot\WindwardPortal

2) c:\Program Files\WindwardPortal

I would leave that choice to the user. Personally, I don't like to have
my folders into wwroot. Since you can create a virtual folder in IIS
pointing pretty much anywhere you like, it's not an issue.

Also, we have several files (the readme & the license) that we need to
install - but they should not be available to people hitting our app on IIS.
Where should we install these too?

I would put the files one folder above the web application.

Proposed structure:

+ c:\program files\WindwardPortal --readme, license
+ WebApp --web application

Then have the virtual folder point to c:\program
files\WindwardPortal\WebApp.

Can we create a directory App_Documents that is not accessable just as
App_Code is not (assuming the App_* is the magic do not enter part)? Or
somewhere else? If we install the app to c:\inetpub\wwwroot\WindwardPortal I
hate to also create c:\Program Files\WindwardPortal just for 3 files.

You could play with the permissions to do that, but I wouldn't. Files
which shouldn't be visible on the web at all should be placed outside of
the web application root.

HTH,
Laurent
--
Laurent Bugnion, GalaSoft
Software engineering: http://www.galasoft-LB.ch
PhotoAlbum: http://www.galasoft-LB.ch/pictures
Support children in Calcutta: http://www.calcutta-espoir.ch

[Steven Cheng[MSFT]]

Hello Dave,

I agree with Laurent. You can still install your application as a normal
program and put all the files under Program Files folder such as "Program
Files/YourApp"

And you can create a subdirectory to store the content of your ASP.ENT web
application. Thus, when installing your ASP.NET application into IIS, you
can directly create a virtual directory link to the sub directory of your
application's program files directory. This is also what the SQL Server
2005 uses, it put sub directory in its instance directory and one of the
sub directory contains the content of the reportingservice's report server
application staffs. You can also use this structure.

Sincerely,

Steven Cheng

Microsoft MSDN Online Support Lead
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