How to deploy a Metro App to the Desktop?

Question

I am trying to deploy my C# app to my Windows 8 Metro desktop. I can see the deployed files in the bin folder but when i try to open them i get the following error:

This application can only run in the context of an AppContainer.

I checked the properties context menu and i searched through both the manifest and the project settings files.

I think the solution is one of the following

• deploy the application with its security context set to AppContainer ?
• run the application in the AppContainer context ?
• deploy the application directly to my metro desktop ?

But I have no clue how to approach this as I can't find the error in the docs.

Solution

Metro-style apps aren't meant to be run as ordinary applications. If you want to run an application you wrote, you can do one of the following:

1. Run it from VS (with or without debugging). This will actually install unpackaged version of your app, so you will see it in the start screen.
2. Create a package to use locally. You can do this in VS by going to Project → Store → Create App Package → Build a package to use only locally. This will create a bunch of files, including a command-line script that will actually install the app. You probably could use this method to distribute the app, but it would work only on developer-enabled computers.
3. Publish your app to the Store. This is the only way you should use to distribute the apps to ordinary users.

Comments

[Ciaran]

Is the AppContainer basically the Metro environment? Also, would you be able to create an AppContainer and have that launch your app?

[Justin R.]

Also note that the Create App Package option will be disabled until you select the project in Solution Explorer.

[ruffin]

Boy, that makes things a little harder to send to beta testers. (Yes, yes, I know, but that's a lot of rigmarole for the first beta.)