i create a debug version of an excel addin lets call it myaddin.xll. when i open an instance of excel and add myaddin.xll to it i get the expected result. but when i hit debug from within
visual studio environment the myaddin.xll tries to open and gives a "this program cannot be in dos mode" error.
for other excel addin i have developed i do not have this problem. this problem is suddenly occuring for this particular addin. "dos mode..." error usually happens when something is missing. clearly the addin does not have any missing component because it opens in excel. but the some component gets missing when i try to open from within visual studio. my question is how to i figure out what is causing the error and fix it.
when i hit debug excel opens up and then gives a pop up "you file myaddin.dll is in a different format than specified by the file extension...." when i hit ok to that pop up i get garbage characters in the spreadsheet.
You need to Configure Visual Studio to : 1) run Excel 2) load your .xll and 3) add your dll dependencies path (right click projet-"Configuration Properties" -> "Debug") :
-Don't forget to switch the extension ("Configuration Properties" -> "General) of the dll to .xll.
-Don't miss the Govert (loading a excel addin xll from visual studio debug) comment regarding x64bit versus 32 bits.
Related
I'm checking NetOffice and trying to run a simple example from below:
https://github.com/NetOfficeFw/Samples/tree/master/Excel/02%20NetOffice%20Excel%20COMAddin%20Sample/01%20Simple
how can run this example in visual studio? ideally I think it should be opening a blank Excel which contains addin, but when debugging, it just an error "In order to debug this project , add an executable project to this solution...."
so what executable project I need to add?
thanks,
To debug this example, you must do two steps:
The add-in must be registered in the registry to load it when starting Excel.
This step is done automatically, when you built the add-in (this is part of the NetOffice "magic" with the COMAddin attribute).
You can do the registration of the add-in manually too by using regasm.exe.
Excel must be started so that the add-in is loaded and the debugger can be used.
I prefer to set this up in the project properties. Go in the project properties on the tab Debug, go on Start external program and select the path of the excel.exe on your computer.
You could also start Excel and attach the project debugging to the Excel process.
If you have done the two steps, then start debugging by clicking F5. Now Excel starts. If you set a breakpoint, then it should be reached either at the Excel starting process or when you open a workbook in Excel.
I want to create customized ribbon on my excel sheet. I saw some of the tutorial (e.g, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn3Qkp4Jw34) where they used Open XML package editor power tool for visual studio 2010 and worked on some xml configuration file to add ribbon. Hence I downloaded the tool and installed it. But when I drag and drop the excel file to the VS-2010, the file instead of opening in the VS editor it is opening in its new excel window. I tried to do same thing for a word file but still it is opening in new word window instead of opening in VS editor. Anybody could you please help me regarding this. I was using Visual Studio 2012 but then I came to know that Open XML package editor power tool for visual studio 2010 won't work for VS-2012 hence Installed VS-2010 but still getting same problem.
Thank you
Anup, Have you tried going to File->Open from Visual Studio?
If that opens it from an Office client application as well, then the Visual Studio Package Editor is not the default option for opening documents of that file extension.
If the document is a part of a solution (you can just create a new blank solution and add it in) you can right click on the file from Solution Explorer and choose "Open With", from there you can choose to open that file as a "Package File", and you can also select this as the default way to "open" files of that extension in Visual Studio.
I work for Microsoft and have just updated this plugin to work with VS2012 and 2013. Drag and drop should work in all the VS versions (I just tested it) but perhaps it's worth trying downloading the updated extension from the Gallery and seeing if it works for you in the newer VS version.
I have encountered a strange error. I use Windows 7 x64. Visual Studio 2010 (VS10) and Visual Studio 2008 (VS08) are both installed. Now i want to make sure that when i doubleclick open a .vcproj file it is being opened by VS8 and not VS10. Now this seems like a trivial problem, but:
"righclick -> open with -> choose default program -> select devenv.exe of VS08 -> always open with" doesnt work. In fact after browsing for devenv.exe of VS08 it does not show up in the list/menue where it is supposed to be displayed.
This is very strange and annoying, maybe someone already encountered this error and know a solution.
I GOT IT! For the Express versions at least. I strongly suspect these instructions can be modified to apply to the full version. The names will change of course.
I spent a lot more time on this than I will ever save by being able to click through to the correct IDE, but darn it, I just hate to give up.
Here's the deal. Strangely, the associations seem to be keyed to the program file names. (Say, what?? That sure is the way it looks to me.) Both VC++ Express 2008 and 2010 are named VCExpress.exe. We'll give the 2008 version an alias. We'll also use a doppelganger to pull off something of a ruse.
Navigate to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE". Make a copy of VCExpress.exe, (not a shortcut), and re-name it VCExpress-2008.exe. (It would probably do just to re-name the original and use the new name in step 3.)
Open regedit.exe. Create a new key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\VSExpress-2008.exe
Edit the (default) value in that key, to hold the string "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE\VCExpress.exe" [sic]
Go through the drill with the file-association dialog again. Right-click, open with, choose default program, yada, yada, yada. Browse your way down to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE and click on VSExpress-2008.exe.
VCExpress-2008 now shows up as a program in good standing, with its icon proudly displayed on the front page above the fold. (Don't tell the dialog, but you and I know it really points to VCExpress.exe, not the copy we made.) Click it.
Celebrate.
Ok i finally found a way. You can use the application "default programs editor" to mess with the standard file associations.
While debugging, whenever we step into a method, the file which defines that method will be opened and remains open after debug - this messed up my files in Visual Studio. I want to be able to close those opened-by-debugger files after the debug finished.
Let's say I'm opening 5 files already and start debugging. After the debug, I have 10+ files opened which means there are 5+ "new & strange" files opened by the debugger. I don't want them, and just want to close them quickly
How can I do this?
There used to be a option "Recycle Windows" in former versions of Visual studio, which only added one additional window for all debug windows. But apparently this has been removed.
I have an idea after a while:
You can pin the tab (tab == file) using addon Visual Studio 2010 Productivity Power Tools. Then after the debug just right click tabs area and call "Remove all but pinned".
Certain non-project files that I use Visual studio for (.build, .xml, free-roaming html and css files) are already associated with visual studio and open in it when i double click them.
How can I get them to open in an existing instance of visual studio? Right now If i double-click the same file twice, it will open two instances of visual studio, I'd like it just to basically ignore the second open attempt if there is already an instance of VS open.
Windows 7 vs2010 answer;
Because "Default Programs > Associate a file type or protocol with a program" is so useless, use regedit.
Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\VisualStudio.XXX.10.0\shell\Open\Command and add /edit to the end of the open with line, where XXX is the filetype you wish to affect.
Example .reg file for .cpp;
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\VisualStudio.cpp.10.0\shell\Open\Command]
#="\"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\\Common7\\IDE\\devenv.exe\" /dde /edit"
Ok Richard helped point me in the right direction a bit, but I think I found exactly what I want.
from an explorer window, go to Tools->Folder Options->File Types tab
find the extension you wish to change.
If there is a restore button click it.
Click Advanced
Click New... to create a new action.
I set the following:
Action: Open in VS 2008
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe" /dde
check use dde
DDE Message: Open("%1")
Application: VisualStudio.9.0
DDE Application Not Running: (left blank)
Topic: System
Hit Ok
Set the new action as the default.
Hit Ok, Hit Ok
Now that extension will behave exactly as described in the question. The file will open in an existing VS if visual studio is already open.
I also used this to fix a few extensions that got broken when I reinstalled VS 2005 after 2008.
Win 7/ VS 2012
You can right click a file, go to properties.
Then there is an "Opens With" line and a change button. But I don't see a way to force other command line options. VS2012 seems to use the open instance by default.
Which version of VS?
For 2003, there's VSEdit.
In 2005, well, that's the way it works for me out-of-the-box. A quick Google search found something that may help.
Hope that helps.
Later versions of Visual Studio also seem to have problems opening files via DDE from certain applications (e.g. in SSHCommunications' Secure File Transfer Client; Winzip and explorer seem to work fine). This still happens with the solutions given previously.
When IDE already loaded, the IDE focuses but gives error 'The template specified cannot be found. Please check that the full path is correct'
When IDE not loaded, it intermittently gives error 'The file cannot be opened because it is being used by another process. Please close all applications that might access this file and try again'. Trying again proceeds as 1)
You can get it working in all situations using a combination of all the previous posts!
Install the VSEdit application (as suggested by Richard/Jeff for .Net 2003), regardless of the version (or versions) of msdev that you use: the post by Sara Ford to which they refer recommends VSEdit for command line operation in VS2005 - it also seems to work for later versions.
Alter the DDE (Tools->Folder Options->File Types) as Jeff proposes but to open via VSEdit.exe instead of devenv.exe directly. Specifically:
Action: Open "C:\Program Files\PowerToys for Visual Studio .NET
2003\VSEdit\VSEdit.exe" /c "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio
9.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe /Edit """%1"""" "%1" use dde: (checked) DDE Message: (left blank) Application: VSEdit DDE Application Not
Running: (left blank) Topic: System
N.B. The triple/quad quotation marks are deliberate - they add the first opened file (quoted) to the end of the launch command to prevent msdev complaining about the command line usage of the /Edit mode if launched. Obviously command paths will need changing for different installations.