So I have an old Rhapsody addin (RhaspodyAddin.AddIn) that I can't convert to VSIX package file because its 3rd party.
Looking at the online docs: here it suggests that I need to add the addin in the addin manager. But the addin Manager is gone in msvs2017 (I am converting a project from MSVS2012 which does have addin manager).
It says that addins are deprecated since 2013.
So does anyone know what I need to do to use this older .addin style addin or if it is even possible anymore in MSVS2017?
AddIns are no longer supported in Visual Studio, you must ask the vender for a Vspackage based extension (using the .vsix file format)
Related
Using visual studio 2013 I have written an outlook addin for office 2013 and this all works fine, however I now need to make it compatible for office 2010.
I thought I would create another project under the same solution which uses the office 2010 addin which all worked fine until I closed the solution and re-opened it and now it is saying it needs migrating.
If I migrate it, it changes the references to use office15 (instead of office14) so it is now essentially a copy of my original project.
Does anyone know how I can sort it to have the addin work for both office 2010 and 2013?
UPDATE:
Even when I create a new solution in VS2013 for an office 2010 addin, close and re-open the solution it is still asking me to migrate and then it converts to office 2013.
The add-in should work in earlier Office versions if you don't use new features (new properties and methods). But in most cases, you need to replace the interop assembly with the one which corresponds to Outlook. VSTO allows to run add-ins in different versions of Office. See Running Solutions in Different Versions of Microsoft Office
I downloaded an add-in for VS (.vsix) and went to tools>add-in manager... and it doesn't offer a browse for add-ins button. I looked on the extensions one too and didn't see anything that would let me add it.
Simple question, I know, but couldn't find anything on the net that would help me. I come from VBA.
I'm using Windows XP and VS 2010 Professional.
From the answer on this question on Super User:
VSIX is a Visual Studio 2010 extension installer. You must have Visual Studio 2010 in order to install them, but you should be able to install it by double-clicking the .vsix file. Alternatively you should be able to install it from within the VS Extension Manager (Tools->Extension Manager)
The difference between Add-In and Integration Package is still unclear and now with Visual Studio 2010 an extension manager appears along with the add-in manager.
What are the differences between the add-in manager and the extension manager?
Can an add-in be in both manager at the same time?
Add-ins implement an extensibility interface that was first created for Visual Studio.Net for customizing and automating the IDE. These add-ins are supported in Visual Studio 2002/2003/2005/2008/2010.
Extensions are MEF components and do not normally implement the Add-in interface. Visual Studio 2010 is the first version of Visual Studio to support MEF components.
Only Add-ins appear in the Add-in Manager. Only Extensions appear in the Extension Manager.
I don't know if an MEF extension could also be loaded by Visual Studio as an add-in, but there's really not much reason that to happen. An extension can use the add-in DTE interfaces without actually being loaded as an add-in.
I have an open source VSPackage that I would like to release with support for Visual Studio 2005, Visual Studio 2008, and Visual Studio 2010. I'm trying to figure out how to create the installer and how to perform the package registration with each edition of Visual Studio.
The deployment research I've done indicates my best bet for an installer is a VSIX inside an MSI.
The registration research I've done is a lot less clear. VSPackage registration seems to differ for every edition (VS2005 uses regpkg, VS2008 uses pkgdef, VS2010 uses VSIX).
Can anyone share their experiences and/or point me towards any information about the best approach for targeting multiple versions of Visual Studio? I'm looking for the easiest implementation and preferably keeping it in a single installer if reasonably feasible.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Short Answer: If you want a single installer that targets/registers with 2005, 2008, & 2010, the choice is quite simple actually. You should create a MSI-based installer and register to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\(8.0|9.0|10.0).
Explanation: For the MSI/VSIX question...remember that VSIX is new for 2010. A machine with VS 2005/2008 won't know what to do with a VSIX file.
A side note on VSIX....you shouldn't ever put a VSIX file (i.e. the zip container) inside a MSI. If you want a MSI-based extension that also appears in the Extension Manager dialog, you should include a <InstalledByMSI> tag in your extension.vsixmanifest file, and lay down the files already expanded under <VisualStudio2010InstallDir>\Common7\IDE\Extensions\<YourExtensionDirectory>.
As far as registration goes...you have a few things incorrect in your question. For both 2005 and 2008, installers that register packages with Visual Studio should always register under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. (PKgdef in 2008 was only for "Isolated Shell" based applications.) Laying down a pkgdef file is now a supported option in addition to the registry in Visual Studio 2010.
RegPkg is a utility included in the Visual Studio SDK for 2005/2008/2010 that reflects over your package assembly and outputs the appropriate registration information in several different formats. It's meant to be used at development/build time to generate your registration information and shouldn't be used as part of an installer.
CreatePkgDef.exe is a tool in 2010 that is essentially the same as RegPkg.exe, but it only outputs pkgdef files.
When creating a new extension for visual studio, there are two project options: "Visual Studio Integration Package" and "Visual Studio Add-in". What is the difference between the two project types and when would you use one over the other?
Ok, you can find a full detailed comparison here (there are also links to the previous parts in the series).
But basically, add-ins were available as the VS extension type from the very first versions of the VS and built as the COM components. Later on, some limitations were discovered in that approach, so the new extensibility feature was created -- namely VS SDK package.
Probably, if you are building an extension for VS 2008+ you should target the VS SDK package as the newer technology. Another strong point of the VS package is better integration with the Visual Studio.
Whatever you do, add-ins are an
external thing for Visual Studio while
VSPackages are a completely integrated
part of the IDE.
You still might consider building an add-in, if
you need access to high-level extensibility API, as opposed to low-level fundamental API available from a VS package;
you develop in Visual Basic (templates for VS Package are available only in C# / Visual C++);
you want to automate a simple task / common scenario, then add-in will probably require less development effort.
Important point on Visual Studio Add-in vs Package, Add-ins are deprecated in VS 2013 and will not be available in VS "14"
Add-ins Deprecated in Visual Studio 2013
Visual Studio "14" CTP: add-ins are gone
"Official" guidance from How to: Create an Add-In is "Visual Studio add-ins are deprecated in Visual Studio 2013. You should upgrade your add-ins to VSPackage extensions...."
An integration package is something that can be chosen when you start a new project (like how you pick C# or VB).
See http://www.bitwisemag.com/copy/features/dev/visual_studio/vs2005_integration_1.html.
Add-ins work just like they would for MS Office applications. You can add your own custom buttons and menu items. Here is an example: http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/UploadFile/mgold/AddIns11292005015631AM/AddIns.aspx.