EverQuest Inventory Report (EQIR) has been running smoothly for a while. I’ve added improvements, fixed bugs, and kept it useful. But behind the scenes, the biggest challenge hasn’t been the program itself –it’s been how to distribute it and keep it updated.
ClickOnce: Easy Until It Wasn’t
For years, EQIR used ClickOnce, a Microsoft technology that made distribution simple. With ClickOnce:
• Users could install with a single click from a web link.
• Updates happened automatically the next time the program was run.
• I didn’t have to worry about complicated installer scripts.
It was nearly perfect—until it stopped working. I spent a lot of time trying to fix it, but the problems just wouldn’t go away. That’s when the search for alternatives began.
The Long Search for a Replacement
Replacing ClickOnce turned into projects of their own. Each option looked promising at first, but every one of them ended up costing a lot of time and leading to dead ends.
• Squirrel – I invested a lot of effort here, since it’s a popular choice for auto‑updates. But no matter how much time I spent, I couldn’t get it to work reliably.
• Sparkle – Another framework that seemed like it might fit. Again, I spent a lot of time testing and troubleshooting, but it never came together.
• Inno Setup – A powerful installer tool. I put in a lot of hours trying to make it work for EQIR, but Windows itself became the problem—installers built with Inno were sometimes flagged as trojans, even though they were perfectly safe. That was a deal‑breaker.
Each attempt felt like starting over, and each one ended in frustration.
Back to Basics
After all that, I’ve pivoted to handling updates directly in Visual Basic. It means giving up some of the convenience that ClickOnce provided, but it also means I’m back in control. The new approach won’t be quite as seamless, but the goal is to build an auto‑update system that works reliably without fighting the tools or the operating system.
Looking Ahead
EQIR itself continues to work fine—the improvements and bug fixes are in place. The real challenge has been distribution. While ClickOnce made it easy, the time spent chasing replacements taught me that sometimes the simplest path is to take back control and build what you need yourself.
I hope to be ready for release soon.
