I don't get the visual Copy Web Site feature in Visual Studio .NET 2005

August 04, 2005 @ 1:12 pm

I don’t get the Copy Web dialog in Visual Studio 2005. This feature sounds like it’d be useful if you could get it pointed at your deployment directory, but no – it points at your project directory. Here’s what the Copy Web Site container looks like inside of VS.NET 2005.

So this feature basically lets you display the project directory and another directory – file system, FTP, FrontPage Extensions – remotely. I use FTP so it looks like a remote FTP client.

If you look at the image, I’m displaying the BIN directory of my Web application. Notice that the the BIN directory does not include the pre-compiled assemblies of the application. On the right is the actual deployed application which includes the APP_*.DLL files which are created when the application is precompiled and deployed.

So unless I’m missing something here, I can’t actually use the Copy To Web Site feature to copy a complete Web Site to the server. I can use it for everything but the pre-compiled assemblies. But then what's the point - the thing that I'll be copying to a Web Site the most are updated assemblies especially if I completely pre-compile my Web without the Updateable option.

So for that, this feature is basically useless. The right way this dialog should work (or at least optionally) you should be able to point it at your local deployment/precompile directory and then provide this sort of interface.

I keep saying it over and over again – the ASP.NET team is doing us all a huge disfavor by creating all these ALMOST COOL features and leaving out the last missing piece to make it actually useful. Nowhere is this more evident than with the pre-compilation and page model issues.

Why oh why can't you compile a site with -FixedNames and still get a the compound assemblies (one per directory) instead of one assembly per ASPX page/codebehind? How hard could it be to provide that feature, which a lot of people are asking for? Or better yet compiling the whole App into a single Assembly?

The whole precompilation mess is enough to drive one crazy and it suffers from the same shortsightedness – one step short of getting it right.

Or Cache replacements that don’t support Session State – DUH! Or the Localization editors that can only keep the current local resources upated when you make a change. Or Script Callbacks tied to a single interface method… I could go on <g>… It's frustrating as hell to see many of these issues get written off too either as by design - or we'll leave it for the next version.

It’s like the ASP.NET team turned off the lights and went home early a half a year ago… (this was going on prior to lockdown after beta 2 was released)

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re: I don't get the visual Copy Web Site feature in Visual Studio .NET 2005
by Bruusi August 23, 2005 @ 5:15 am

Hi Rick,

When I saw the Copy Website feature I first though to myself: "Yes, finally an easy way of deploying my ASP.NET application from the IDE!!". I actually had the same thought when I saw Publish Website under the build menu. With the Publish Website deleting all files in the destination folder (including any configuration files and sub directories) my initial excitement quickly evaporated. Being under the Build menu I kind of understand the sense of performing a fresh build, but it still means deploying the ASP.NET website from scratch every time you update something.

I feel like I’m missing something out as a matter of fact. :(

B

re: I don't get the visual Copy Web Site feature in Visual Studio .NET 2005
by Sharbel November 15, 2005 @ 12:55 pm

Yep.. the Copy Web Site feature is totally pointless. Even the Publish Website function doesnt really cut it IMHO. Publish Website, from what I gather, is what you should be using to copy your project to your production server, but man is it ever flakey. I am finding that it doesn't always copy all the files that it should which really screws things up. Moreover, I am having to rebuild the website before I publish, even though there aren't any changes to compile. Just really flakey stuff.

re: I don't get the visual Copy Web Site feature in Visual Studio .NET 2005
by TVrooman December 28, 2005 @ 9:38 am

I agree they should have added the option of repointing the source. I have found a way around this shortcoming though.

I use Web Deployment beta tool to create a Deploy project, then build it. Now create a new file-based Web project, pointing at the base web folder of that built site. (Release in my case) Now you can set up and use the Copy Website tool of the new file-based web project to Synchronize with your deploy site.

It is a bandaid workaround, and requires the creation of another web project, but it works. You could create another solution just for deploying, containing the file-based website that points to your Release folder.

Hope this helps!
Terry

re: I don't get the visual Copy Web Site feature in Visual Studio .NET 2005
by Giuseppe June 10, 2006 @ 1:40 am

Also I cannot see which files are different in the subfolders without going to the folder itself.
It's necessary to display a partially faded arrow for those folders that contains files not syncronized.

Cheers
Giuseppe
http://www.toruiwaya.com

re: I don't get the visual Copy Web Site feature in Visual Studio .NET 2005
by Mark June 10, 2006 @ 1:50 am

You can select the entire folder on the left hand side and click on the copy button (the right arrow) in the middle of the screen.
Web Site Copy will copy only the files not yet syncronized in the folder.

http://www.senzaspam.com

re: I don't get the visual Copy Web Site feature in Visual Studio .NET 2005
by Matt August 08, 2006 @ 4:30 am

I'm working on my first ASP.Net 2 project and the guy I'm working with has told me the Copy website function is for two or more people to copy to. Like a really poor man's version of Source Safe. I'm going to try this for the first time in an hour or so, we'll see!

I also agree that the Publish website is pants! If you do everything how MS would like it, the smallest change takes ages to put live.

They seem to have taken out loads of the things I like about VS2003 and put in bad replacements or nothing at all.
Grrrrrrrr

Matt

re: I don't get the visual Copy Web Site feature in Visual Studio .NET 2005
by Chris August 08, 2006 @ 1:51 pm

I have noticed if you use the copy feature, the DLL is created on the server. Similarly, if you just copy up the folders to the server (old fashion deployment), the first time the site is accessed, the assemblies are built, which requires longer to load the initial access to the site.

re: I don't get the visual Copy Web Site feature in Visual Studio .NET 2005
by Curt August 17, 2006 @ 8:24 am

And...if you've deleted files using the tool they won't automatically copy when you try to move the who web out...grrrrr... you have to drill into each folder and copy the files and say "yup, i want to overwrite the files you think are there but which actually are not there..."

re: I don't get the visual Copy Web Site feature in Visual Studio .NET 2005
by Julio August 21, 2006 @ 4:27 pm

I ran into the same issues.

Try the following:

Close Visual Studio and delete the cache files from the following location:
C:\Documents and Settings\<<Your USERID>>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\WebsiteCache

re: I don't get the visual Copy Web Site feature in Visual Studio .NET 2005
by Electric Bliss August 22, 2007 @ 6:26 pm

Here it is 8/2007 and the .net IDE still SUCKS. Why is M$ going backwards? How long have they had to get even the simple stuff figured out. Like copying files from one computer to another?

If I clear out all the files/directories from my target directory (on the server) then use the Copy Web Site "feature" to copy my local directory up there. It doesn't copy the subdirectories too! WTF??

You are absolutely correct in saying that they get "one step short of getting it right." I've constantly had to write macros or apps to overcome this garbage. Has M$ hired a bunch of amateurs recently?

HEY M$, STOP MAKING NEW FEATURES AND START FIXING THE SOFTWARE THAT WE PAID FOR!

We'll have to wait for the 2010 version to come out before these bugs and features get fixed. But, by that time, they'll have re-engineered the wheel again and we'll have a whole new set of bugs and almost cool features to deal with.

re: I don't get the visual Copy Web Site feature in Visual Studio .NET 2005
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