Deployed Outlook addin not loaded - outlook

I cannot get my Outlook addin to work in release mode for OL2007 (debug works great). I created a ClickOnce installer, signed it with a custom certificate and built the installer.
Then after installation when I start Outlook 2007, it does not load and gives no notification at all. I look into the addin section where I find my addin among "inactive addins". I look to the COM addins and find it unchecked (checking it doesn't help) with the notification "Not loaded" (NOTHING ELSE).
Things I tried already:
try/catch block around my startup routine plus message output: nothing is shown
new custom signing certificate: useless
APPDATA\MS\Outlook\extend.dat deleted: to no avail
regedit setting "LoadBehaviour" 3: It is always like that, I don't have to change it
VSTO_SUPPRESSDISPLAYALERTS = 0: to no avail, nothing is shown
VSTO_LOGALERTS = 1: same here, nothing is logged
Fusion Logging: nothing is posted into the output directory
I get NO info at all what causes my addin not to load. It is driving me crazy. Can anyone point me to a solution or at least something I can still try to solve this problem?

The problem obviously occurred due to a difference between GUID and setup product key. Changing the setup product key to match the GUID enabled the addin to complain about errors again, so I could continue with debugging.
Very weird that in this case no error whatsoever was thrown.

Related

Not Showing Outlook Addin

I have created outlook addin for Outlook 2013 64 bit.
In that Addin, i have created Form region with custom controls.
Then with the reference of http://blogs.msdn.com/b/emeamsgdev/archive/2013/11/21/outlook-deploying-an-outlook-2013-add-in-using-installshield-le.aspx i created setup file for Addin.
Now i installed it in my computer and everything works fine.
However when i try to install it on client computer, it doesn't show addin in outlook.
and i am not able to find any reason.?
I have also created registry for my addins
If it simply doesn't load, without errors, it only means one thing, outlook is unaware of your addin, cause even when addins are not working, outlook gives you an error or turns the LoadBehaviour regkey to '2'.
On your client, you should check that the registry values are set properly.
**HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\Outlook_PROJECT_ADDIN
If your addin doesn't work, check to see if those values exist, and if they do, what happens when outlook loads ? does LoadBehavior turns to '2' instead of 3 ?
If so, and it works perfectly on your pc, it probably means you have issues with the Manifest regkey, make sure the manifest points to a valid local location followed by a |vstolocal
so its syntax should be something like:
file:///C:/Outlook_Proj.vsto|vstolocal
Also make sure you have .Net Framework v4.0 installed on your target PC.
If you're trying to install it to a network drive, make sure you remove the '|vstolocal| thingy, and add the network drive to the trusted zone in Internet Explorer Settings.
Hope the following steps will help you solve this problem if you are still facing it.
Run the deployed setup with administration rights.
If it is not shown under Add-ins, open the setup folder and double click on the .vsto file then select install.
If you can see the addin among the others, and is not functioning it means it is disabled. To enable the add-in(since you are using outlook 2013), go to File -> Slow and Disabled Add-ins, and you shold see your add-in on the pop-upped window. Enable it.
Create the VSTO_SUPRESSDISPLAYALERTS = 0 enviorment variable to get any VSTO alerts. Take a look in the Windows event viewer and off course be sure of being installed the pre requisistes like Office Primary assembles and VSTO for office. Another think, check if your adding was not crashed once and move to inactive add-in list. Search registry for Resiliency key.

Webmatrix crashes when site is opened or created

When I open WebMatrix it works without problem and shows the start page.
When I click 'My sites' and choose my site or choose My site by click 'Open'=> My site or create new site (and choose the site type: Empty, App Gallery or Template Gallery) WebMatrix crashes. Note: It crashes when it needs to show the site pages.
I tried to re-install WebMatrix but that didn't help. I also tried to change the Workspace(by clicking 'Options' on the start page).
When it crashes, I get the message 'Windows is looking for a solution to the problem.' (My computer isn't in English so that might not exactly be the words) and then I am asked if I want to close/debug the program. I click 'Debug' and choose Visual Studio. I don't know how to debug a program, but I tried and it says to me that:
System.NullReferenceException was unhandled
Message: An unhandled exception of type 'System.NullReferenceException' occurred in Microsoft.WebMatrix.Core.dll
Additional information: Object reference not set to an instance of an object [-translated].
I have searched on the internet and here and I didn't find any solution to my problem.
Actual Answer
This bug is in the market for a time now. I have seen similar issue on another forum too, where the user was facing the same issue and same thing he tried but all in vain.
I think you need to wait for the next Update for your System, or try removing each and every component that WebMatrix installed, that means all the .NET Frameworks (4th version), Sql Dependencies Sql Server Ce, and all other files that were shipped along with WebMatrix to your computer. Remove them, and start the installing process once again freshly.
If nothing does the job, please uninstall WebMatrix 3 and install WebMatrix 2: Click here for link. I know it is awkward to go back a version, but you'll have to. Secondly you can mention this bug on their support/suggestion page. They would fix it.
http://webmatrix.uservoice.com/
I hope that would help you. And you'd be back in developing the apps :-)
Just for information
Secondly, do you understand what is meant by debug? Debugging is a method or process to remove the bugs from a software or an application etc. When you chose Visual Studio, it provided you or not provided you with the WebMatrix source code, I am not sure I never tried it. And you tried out debugging it. The exception is gave you, was a message saying that the parameter you're passing onto the next stage is a null. Which means it doesn't even exist and thus the value or the method cannot be executed and it breaks.

outlook addin goes straight to inactive application addins

My Outlook addin MSI installs the addin (It is listed in Add\Remove programs) but sends it straight to inactive application addins.
How can I fix this?
Check the LoadBehavior key value for your plugin.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\%your add in%\LoadBehavior
If you see the registry hive for you add-in - it's most likely to be installed correctly.
The LoadBehavior value should be 3 before you start Outlook. If it's not, set it to 3.
If it goes to 2 when you start Outlook - it is definitely trying to run it, so it's good news in a way.
You will need to do some diagnostics there - try instantiating your add-in from vbs
set c = CreateObject("EnthusiasticDeveloper.OutlookAddIn")
This should give you no errors.
If it doesn't and the object is instantiated - you need to put diagnostics in your add-in.
It is being called by Outlook and your most likely to get enough control to instantiate log4net.
HTH
It seems the MS Outlook started evaluating the add-ins that directly affect product overall performance and set them as inactive. I found this article that indicates the windows registry entry for DisabledItems (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Resiliency\DisabledItems). It is much likely to your add-in be listed on this folder. Backup the related entry before removing it.
See detailed information on this accessing:
http://www.outlook-apps.com/inactive-outlook-add-ins/
Cheers,
Vieira
This probably happens because the load behavior is not set correctly. This article can help you: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vsto/ff937654.aspx#Create

VB6 application won't run in some computers, in others it runs fine

I have a VB6 application, the installer is compiled using INNO Setup.
The installer runs fine. But in about 10% of computers when the user clicks the Icon to run the installed app, it doesn't start, no error message, only a Beep sound.
This is happening on XP and also Win 7.
I develop in XP and Win 7 and the application works OK, so I haven't been able to reproduce the issue.
The installer registers all ocx and dlls needed (afaik). (Well not completely all, it assumes MS run-time components should be there, but I guess an error message should show up if something is missing)
I was thinking some kind of user permissions, UAC, but even users in the admin group have had the issue.
Could you point me to what possible issues to look for and test in order to patch the app.
Thanks!
[FOLLOW UP]
Thanks to the tips, found out the manifest is causing the problem. I use it to make the controls look better:
http://www.vbaccelerator.com/home/vb/code/libraries/xp_visual_styles/using_xp_visual_styles_in_vb/article.asp
Now I'm trying to discover why. I have another application with the same manifest and that one works ok.
Haven't been able to get feedback on the event viewer yet.
The "beep crash" often points to an error in an application manifest such as an XML syntax error or namspace conflict. Event Logs will often provide a hint about this.
But I've found that people often try to use the Common Controls 6.0 Library without ensuring proper library loading sequence.
Before any Forms are openend you should load shell32 and then comctl32. The easiest way is a couple of no-op calls in Sub Main:
Option Explicit
Private Declare Sub InitCommonControls Lib "comctl32" ()
Private Declare Function IsUserAnAdmin Lib "shell32" () As Long
Private Sub InitCommonControlsVB()
IsUserAnAdmin
InitCommonControls
End Sub
Private Sub Main()
InitCommonControlsVB
Form1.Show
End Sub
Without this your program will usually work fine in Vista or Win7, but will fail on some XP service pack and patch levels. Part of this is due to changes over time in the Fusion subsystem that handles SxS activation and comctl32.dll patches.
Ignore those saying you need to call InitCommonControlsEx(), it isn't necessary unless you are constructing and using Win32 controls directly instead of VB6 and COM controls.
A few things to try to narrow it down:
Check the Windows Event Log for crash events
Check the Windows Event Log (in the Application section) for crash reports from your application. You can quickly get to the log viewer on Windows XP by clicking Start > Run, typing eventvwr and pressing Enter. On Windows 7, you can type "event viewer" in the search box that is in the Start menu. You can filter the events to only show error events from your program.
You might find a few error events on one of the computers where this problem has already occured, because it sounds like the error reporting feature is turned off on these computers (in which case "hard crashes" like access violations are logged in the Event Log instead of displaying an error dialog to the end-user, as long as a debugger isn't installed on the computer).
Make sure "Error Reporting" is turned at the OS level
As mentioned in the previous section, it sounds like the error reporting feature is turned off on these computers. In that case, a crash won't display any kind of message to the end-user at all and the application will just vanish suddenly. In Windows XP, you can check this setting (and turn it on) as follows:
Right-click "My Computer" and select Properties.
Open the Advanced tab and click the Error Reporting button.
Select the Enable Error Reporting option.
Click OK to all the open windows.
Add trace code to your application
You could also add some trace code to your application's start-up code, such as code to display a message box or write a message to the Windows Event Log or to a log file as soon as your application starts (for example, in the Form_Initialize event of your main form, or in a Sub Main routine).
This way you will be able to tell whether your application is crashing before or after the VB6 runtime is loaded: if you try to start the application and it disappears/crashes, and your startup message isn't logged, then you know it's crashing before it even has a chance to get to your application's startup code, which could indicate that a dependency of the VB6 runtime or the VB6 runtime itself is not installed properly.
Note that Windows XP and Windows 7 both ship with the VB6 runtime pre-installed, but it's possible for misbehaving installers to overwrite or remove files that are part of the VB6 runtime.

How to debug in VS instead of JIT Debugger?

UPDATE: navigating to the process via menu:DEBUG / Attach Process / iexplore.exe shows "Automatic: Silverlight code". i.e. VS 2010 already attached to the process. Why doesn't it go to debug view?
I have a frustrating debug behaviour going on on my laptop which I'd like to fix. I was following along with the demo called Silverlight TV 46: What's Wrong with my WCF Service?
On my computer, I noticed that putting throw new ArithmeticException() in the RIA service causes the just-in-time debugger to get involved (a bad thing -- I want VS). I can put a break point on the the throw new ArithmeticExpression() line, and VS stops as it normally does. Press F10, and I still get the just-in-time debugger kicking in.
On Yvor's computer (the presenter in the Ch 8 link above), the visual studio debugger kicks in instead of the just-in-time one. What am I doing wrong? Could having Redgate Reflector installed previously have caused this (it is gone now).
ERROR:
Visual Studio Just-In-Time Debugger
Code: 4004
Category: ManagedRuntimeError
Message: System.Reflection.TargetInvocationException: An exception occurred during the operation, making the result invalid.
Check ...
Possible Debuggers:
New instance of MS VS 2010,
New instance of VS 2008.
[checked] Set currently selected debugger as the default.
[unchecked] Manually choose the debugging engines
Action: Hit Yes.
2nd ERROR:
Unable to attach to the crashing process. A debugger is already attached.
I've spent several hours looking for a way to solve this.
Browser is IE9 / Silverlight 4.
Previously, I started starting the silverlight app directly via the VS2010 environment... but then decided to get more deployment compliant (again).
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc838267(VS.95).aspx
Down the bottom they mention repairing from control panel / VS2010. Did that. Waited for ages, made coffee, did something else. Finally complete. Problem sill there. Included this step just-in-case the fix is cumulative (you get superstitious after a while with these things).
I then deleted zap files, switched startup page from html to the aspx one. Wired aspx to the xap (it wasn't pointing to the /debug/ folder). [note: looks like you can remove the debug via Silverlight Project / build / Output path: Replace Bin\Debug\ with Bin. With Silverlight I feel that the relative Uri path should match up to your html / aspx files no matter what -- wheather you are in Debug or Release.
project properties / Web / Specific Page
debugging works again!
Did .html stop debugging? Casual inspection reveals the same javascript stuff firing up Silverlight. On the surface it looks the same. hmmm. I guess it isn't.
... here are a few extra things to look at for those who still have issues (I may as well list them
while they are fresh in my mind).
project / properties / Web / Debuggers: I now only have Silverlight checked. ASP.Net is not checked any more. (Not sure if this influences my result at this stage)
make sure your web project points to the silverlight project in project / properties / Silverlight Applications. This ensures that the silverlight project's binary "xap" is copied to a folder within the Web Site / Web App. Note: hitting the add button reveals a destination folder (should be ClientBin).
Your build configuration will add an additional sub foler e.g. debug.
Make sure your .aspx or .html files have the right path. For me, I just included the .ClientBin/debug/ folder. I don't think this is deploy friendly, so I will search for a better way later.
IE9 settings.
[X] Disable script debugging.
[X] Disable script debugging (Other)
[ ] Display notification about a script error
[ ] Show friendly HTTP error message
Again, unsure if these later setting have an impact.
Lastly, there's something that I forget about sometimes. Be sure to check Debug VS2010 / Exceptions / Common language Runtime. This ups the ability to catch exceptions.
I had a similar problem, but the above did not resolve it. However, starting the application without debugging (Ctrl-F5) and triggering the exception would allow me to select the Visual Studio instance that I started the application from. Amazingly, I got a sensible stack trace and resolve the problem within a few minutes.

Resources