I have deployed my first program using vb.net. I wrote a flat text file for startup preferences and populating startup comboboxes and included these txt files in the bin. I don't wish to use a database in this program. Sometimes the program seems to find the startup file(s) and sometimes it can't. The location is different, where it can't find the files, depending on whether I check the "just for me" option or "everyone" option that is on the initial install screen. I have changed the alwayscreate option in the projectoutput to true. But still having problems "unable to find file." If I manually place the files where it says the files are missing, then the program works. I am using the standard version and have no setup wizard so I am using the setup project for deployment. Any help is greatly appreciated.

You can use Application.StartupPath within your program. For example, add a folder called "Startup" and place the text file within it.

Then within your applicaton you can specify the location by:

Application.StartupPath & "\Startup\startupfile.txt"

Replace "startupfile.txt" with the name of your file.

J

Thanks for this. While I had tried that, I thought that data files had to be in the bin and were automatically deployed from there. Apparently during debugging they are accessed there, but in deployment they are accessed from somewhere under the setup dependencies. When you put the data files under application, then this is done automatically. So you must remove the other files from the bin to avoid duplicate files? Anyways things are working out fine. Thank you.

Mike