How to Perform a Q-Pulse Client Update Using ClickOnce

  Who is this article for?  

  Administrators and IT Team members that manage Q-Pulse

ClickOnce is a deployment technology that enables you to create self-updating Windows-based applications that can be installed and run with minimal user interaction.  This is used for Q-Pulse to ensure all your users applications remain up to date without any inconvenience to the end user.

In this article we will be discussing how to apply a Q-Pulse update via ClickOnce.

This article is split into 4 sections:

1. How to Change the Q-Pulse Files
2. How to Update the File Manifest 
3. How to Update the .application
4. Further Reading

Looking to setup ClickOnce for the first time? Visit How to Install the Q-Pulse Client Using ClickOnce.

1. How to Change the Q-Pulse Files

1. Browse to the ClickOnceManual folder that is shared on your network
2. Delete the ClientFiles folder.
3. Copy the ClientFiles folder from the Q-Pulse installation files and place it into the ClickOnceManual folder.

1. Browse to our publishing directory.
2. Open the ClientFiles folder.
3. Open the Q-Pulse.exe.config file with Notepad.
4. Amend all references to 'SERVERNAME' to the IP address of your Q-Pulse application server.
5. Save the Q-Pulse.exe.config.

2. How to Update the File Manifest

1. Browse to the Tools folder and launch MageUI.exe.
2. Click File, then Open and then select the manifest file contained in the ClientFiles folder.
3. When the file opens, confirm that the correct version of Q-Pulse is displayed.
4. On the navigation pane at the left, select Files.
5. Confirm that the folder structure shown is the correct path to your ClientFiles folder, then click Populate.

6. Once the files have populated, browse the file list for Thumbs.db.  If found, make this file optional as it is a hidden file created by Microsoft Windows and is not needed for the installation.

7. Click File, then Save.
8. Select your Personal Information Exchange (PFX) certificate file and enter the correct password for the file.
9. Click OK.

3. How to Update the .application

• The minimum version of Q-Pulse required for the client to run
• The location of the Q-Pulse File Manifest

To configure the .application:

1. Replace the Q-Pulse.application in your publishing directory with the Q-Pulse.application file from the Q-Pulse installation files.
2. In MageUI, Click File, then Open and then select the Q-Pulse.application file contained in the ClickOnceManual folder.
3. When the file opens, confirm that the correct version of Q-Pulse is displayed.  

This should match the version shown in the Q-Pulse Manifest file.

4. On the navigation pane at the left hand side, click [Deployment Options]
5. Update the Start location field with the shared path to your Q-Pulse.application file.

6. Click Update Options and ensure that the Specify a minimum version for this application checkbox has been selected.

Important Note: The minimum required version must be correctly configured otherwise future updates will fail to deploy.

7. Click Application Reference and then click Select Manifest button.
8. Browse to the ClientFiles folder and select the Q-Pulse.manifest file.