Adding files to the global assembly cache

The GAC is checked after the local folder and before probing and checking the codebase information. Firstly we need to create a strong name key file. An example is shown below. Signing the assembly is very easy - you could do it the hard way using an assembly linker but why would you?

NET Solution Explorer. This file has the list of assembly attributes that are included by default when a project is created in Visual Studio. Modify the AssemblyKeyFile assembly attribute in the code as follows:.

You do not have to have any additional code to install a. You can install the. If you use the Gacutil tool, you can use a command that resembles the following:. To drag the file, open two instances of Windows Explorer. In one instance, find the location of the.

Then, drag your. Installing an Assembly into the Global Assembly Cache. Global Assembly Cache. You can also use the Global Assembly Cache tool to verify that the assembly is installed in the global assembly cache. To accomplish this task, you may have Administrator rights to the computer where the shared assembly is installed.

What's more, you must install the. For a Visual C. NET Framework global assembly cache is a code cache. The global assembly cache is automatically installed on each computer that has the. NET Framework common language runtime installed.

Any application that is installed on the computer can access the global assembly cache. The global assembly cache stores assemblies that are designated to be shared by several applications on the computer.

Only install an assembly in the global assembly cache when you need to share the assembly. Unless sharing an assembly is explicitly required, we recommend you keep assembly dependencies private and that you locate the assembly in the application directory. Additionally, you don't have to install an assembly in the global assembly cache to make the assembly available to Microsoft Component Object Model COM interop or to un-managed code.

An assembly is a fundamental part of programming with the. NET Framework. An assembly is a reusable, self-describing building block of a. NET Framework common language runtime application. An assembly contains one or more code components that the common language runtime executes. Lists all assemblies and their corresponding reference counts. If you specify the assemblyName parameter, the tool lists only the assemblies matching that name and their corresponding reference counts.

Specifies a traced reference to an assembly or assemblies to install or uninstall. To install an assembly, specify the assemblyPath , scheme , id ,and description parameters with this option. To uninstall an assembly, specify the assemblyName , scheme , id ,and description parameters. If you are uninstalling an assembly, the tool also removes the assembly from the global assembly cache if it is the last reference to remove and if Windows Installer has no outstanding references to the assembly.

The scheme parameter specifies the type of installation scheme. This value allows you to specify custom information for the id parameter. The data you specify must be enclosed in quotation marks "". The description parameter allows you to specify descriptive text about the application to install. This information is displayed when references are enumerated. Forces a specified assembly to uninstall by removing all references to the assembly.

Note: You cannot use this option to remove an assembly that was installed using Microsoft Windows Installer. If you attempt this operation, the tool displays an error message. Uninstalls one or more assemblies specified in assemblyListFile from the global assembly cache. Uninstalls a specified assembly from the global assembly cache. If the specified assembly has existing reference counts, the tool displays the reference counts and does not remove the assembly from the global assembly cache.

Note: In the. NET Framework version 2.