No setup project with Outlook 2007 Add-In project

[John]

Hi

In vs 2008 when I create an Outlook 2003 Add-In project it automatically
creates an associated setup project too. But when I create an Outlook 2007
Add-In project it does not automatically creates an associated setup project
too. What is going on?

Thanks

Regards

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

Create one manually then.

 

[John]

Hi

I added the project out put but that did not work. I tried to manually add
the MyAddin.dll to OL2007's addins on target machine but it says "...is not
a valid add-in."

Thanks

Regards

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

Is this on a machine where Outlook 2007 is installed? That would be
required. In addition you can't just add an Outlook addin, it has to be
registered correctly. If it's not correctly registered in either HKCU or
HKLM with the correct values in the correct location the addin would never
load in Outlook.

 

[Lasyapriya P]

hi

i got the same problem. i have created an outlook 2007 addin project.
added a setup project and a setSecurity project to the solution.
and then added the outputs of setSecurity and MyAddIn projects to
setup project. Created the registries manually and imported into setup
project`s registry.
i have created the registry entries in a file as follows.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins
\MyOutlookAddIn]

"Description"="MyOutlookAddIn -- an addin created with VSTO
technology"
"Manifest"="[TARGETDIR]MyOutlookAddIn.dll.manifest"
"FriendlyName"="MyOutlookAddIn"
"LoadBehavior"=dword:00000003
"CommandLineSafe"=dword:00000001

In add-in project properties->Signing (Tab)->'Click Once' is checked.
And I have created a test certificate.
Still, the add-in is not loading. The load behavior is setting to 2
after opening outlook.
I tried to change it to 3 and open outlook but i am getting the same
error.



Thanks

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

Since this is for a VSTO project it really should be posted in the VSTO
forum. However, to debug load problems for managed code, including VSTO, see
this article:
http://blogs.msdn.com/vsod/archive/2008/04/22/Troubleshooting-com-add-in-load-failures.aspx.
The Fusion logs more often than not pinpoint where the problem is.

You also should be using the Framework configuration utility to make sure
that your security settings are propagated to the target machine correctly,
no VSTO addin will load and run without full trust. You also need to make
sure you are deploying the required dependencies for your addin including
the VSTO runtime, Framework, PIA's, etc.




hi

i got the same problem. i have created an outlook 2007 addin project.
added a setup project and a setSecurity project to the solution.
and then added the outputs of setSecurity and MyAddIn projects to
setup project. Created the registries manually and imported into setup
project`s registry.
i have created the registry entries in a file as follows.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins
\MyOutlookAddIn]

"Description"="MyOutlookAddIn -- an addin created with VSTO
technology"
"Manifest"="[TARGETDIR]MyOutlookAddIn.dll.manifest"
"FriendlyName"="MyOutlookAddIn"
"LoadBehavior"=dword:00000003
"CommandLineSafe"=dword:00000001

In add-in project properties->Signing (Tab)->'Click Once' is checked.
And I have created a test certificate.
Still, the add-in is not loading. The load behavior is setting to 2
after opening outlook.
I tried to change it to 3 and open outlook but i am getting the same
error.



Thanks

 

[Lasyapriya P]

Thanks for the reply Ken.

I have created an empty addin with a msgbox in ThisAddIn_StartUp
method and generated a build from the setup project.
I tried to install this build in my development system itself. It is
not working in the development system itself.
But, the addin is working fine in debug mode (when i ran it from
visual studio using F5).
My development system has VS2008 in Windows Vista, Outlook 2007 and
PIAs installed.

I will generate the fusion log and go through it now.
I think, there are no dependencies to the project that are missing, as
I am trying to install it in the development system itself.


Regards

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

In that case my money is on faulty trust setup.

If it runs in debug mode and not in run mode on the same dev machine it's
almost always a trust issue.

You can easily check that by manually creating a full trust for your
assemblies using the Framework Assistant and seeing if things run then.

The other thing to look at is if the assemblies are strong named. They have
to be unless you grant the installation folder full trust, and that's a bad
idea unless it's just for testing things.




Thanks for the reply Ken.

I have created an empty addin with a msgbox in ThisAddIn_StartUp
method and generated a build from the setup project.
I tried to install this build in my development system itself. It is
not working in the development system itself.
But, the addin is working fine in debug mode (when i ran it from
visual studio using F5).
My development system has VS2008 in Windows Vista, Outlook 2007 and
PIAs installed.

I will generate the fusion log and go through it now.
I think, there are no dependencies to the project that are missing, as
I am trying to install it in the development system itself.


Regards

 

[Lasyapriya P]

I have granted Full Trust to the add-in dll using CASPOL security
policy and added CustomActions to the setup project.
I also strong named the assembly by signing it.

I have copied the setSecurity project from an Outlook 2003 project
which I have developed in VS2005.
Is there any new version of CASPOL (setSecurity) project for Outlook
2007 add-ins [ or VSTO 3.0]? If yes, where can I get that?

Regards

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

I use the caspol custom actions described in the VSTO deployment articles,
I'm not sure about new versions or whatever, but the actions work on Outlook
2003 and Outlook 2007 here on all my setups. That's from this article:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb332051.aspx.

You can also check the deployment information and such at
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/vsto/threads/, and the VSTO
team hangs out there, so they'd be the ones to ask.

 

[Lasyapriya P]

I use the caspol custom actions described in the VSTO deployment articles,
I'm not sure about new versions or whatever, but the actions work on Outlook
2003 and Outlook 2007 here on all my setups. That's from this article:http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb332051.aspx.

You can also check the deployment information and such athttp://social.msdn.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/vsto/threads/, and the VSTO
team hangs out there, so they'd be the ones to ask.

I have granted Full Trust to the add-in dll using CASPOL security
policy and added CustomActions to the setup project.
I also strong named the assembly by signing it.

I have copied the setSecurity project from an Outlook 2003 project
which I have developed in VS2005.
Is there any new version of CASPOL (setSecurity) project for Outlook
2007 add-ins [ or VSTO 3.0]? If yes, where can I get that?

Regards- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thank you.

I have gone through the links you suggested and created another
project following that methods. Now, the add-in is loading. But , it
is taking much time to load (almost 3-5 minutes).
Here are the detailed steps I have followed to created the project.
1. Created a Outlook 2007 add-in project and added setup project to
the solution.
2. Added the output, manifest file and vsto file of add-in project to
setup.
3. Added registry entries to the setup project.
4. Signed the assembly with temporary certificate in 'ClickOnce'.
5. Built the solution.

Do I need to take care of any other constraints?
Why the add-in is loading slowly?
Do I need to use any security policy like adding the add-in to
inclusion list?

Regards

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

I don't know what you mean about using a security policy. You need to set
the full trust for your assemblies, that's it. If the addin is loading with
no errors then you took care of whatever you needed to take care of.

As far as startup time, part of that is with every managed code addin. It
has to be just in time compiled if it's not already cached as compiled, and
if it's the first bit of managed code the Framework has to be started up.
The rest may be due to whatever it is you're doing on startup. If that takes
time then it will be a while before the application and addin are ready.




<snip>
Thank you.

I have gone through the links you suggested and created another
project following that methods. Now, the add-in is loading. But , it
is taking much time to load (almost 3-5 minutes).
Here are the detailed steps I have followed to created the project.
1. Created a Outlook 2007 add-in project and added setup project to
the solution.
2. Added the output, manifest file and vsto file of add-in project to
setup.
3. Added registry entries to the setup project.
4. Signed the assembly with temporary certificate in 'ClickOnce'.
5. Built the solution.

Do I need to take care of any other constraints?
Why the add-in is loading slowly?
Do I need to use any security policy like adding the add-in to
inclusion list?

Regards

 

[Lasyapriya P]

I don't know what you mean about using a security policy. You need to set
the full trust for your assemblies, that's it. If the addin is loading with
no errors then you took care of whatever you needed to take care of.

As far as startup time, part of that is with every managed code addin. It
has to be just in time compiled if it's not already cached as compiled, and
if it's the first bit of managed code the Framework has to be started up.
The rest may be due to whatever it is you're doing on startup. If that takes
time then it will be a while before the application and addin are ready.

Sorry for that. I didn't get an exact word to use there.
Actually, I wanted to ask you that do I need to use other security
granting method (like adding to inclusion lists etc.) as the add-in is
taking much time to load.
The add-in has no code, except a message box in the ThisAddIn_Startup
method. Thats why I asked you the above question.
I have opened the outlook twice and thrice. Its taking same amount of
time in the third time also.
What might be the problem? Please suggest a solution for this.


Thanks

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

I have no idea what the problem is.

If on the second or third load in a short period of time on the same Windows
session things are consistently taking 2 - 3 minutes to load then something
is very wrong. At that point the Framework would be running and the addin
should be in the JIT cache. Under those circumstances I'd expect a managed
code addin to run in under 30 seconds certainly, even on a slow machine.

If all you are doing in startup is to put up a message box then I'd suggest
looking at the Fusion logs and seeing if you see anything there that might
be taking a long time. For example, if you are connecting to a Web service
it might be taking a long time to initialize and connect. That's just one
example, other than that I'd be running the VS profiler to see what was
taking so long.




<snip>
Sorry for that. I didn't get an exact word to use there.
Actually, I wanted to ask you that do I need to use other security
granting method (like adding to inclusion lists etc.) as the add-in is
taking much time to load.
The add-in has no code, except a message box in the ThisAddIn_Startup
method. Thats why I asked you the above question.
I have opened the outlook twice and thrice. Its taking same amount of
time in the third time also.
What might be the problem? Please suggest a solution for this.


Thanks

 

[Lasyapriya P]

I have no idea what the problem is.

If on the second or third load in a short period of time on the same Windows
session things are consistently taking 2 - 3 minutes to load then something
is very wrong. At that point the Framework would be running and the addin
should be in the JIT cache. Under those circumstances I'd expect a managed
code addin to run in under 30 seconds certainly, even on a slow machine.

If all you are doing in startup is to put up a message box then I'd suggest
looking at the Fusion logs and seeing if you see anything there that might
be taking a long time. For example, if you are connecting to a Web service
it might be taking a long time to initialize and connect. That's just one
example, other than that I'd be running the VS profiler to see what was
taking so long.




<snip>
Sorry for that. I didn't get an exact word to use there.
Actually, I wanted to ask you that do I need to use other security
granting method (like adding to inclusion lists etc.) as the add-in is
taking much time to load.
The add-in has no code, except a message box in the ThisAddIn_Startup
method. Thats why I asked you the above question.
I have opened the outlook twice and thrice. Its taking same amount of
time in the third time also.
What might be the problem? Please suggest a solution for this.

Thanks

When I install the build in my(development) system, it is working
fine.
So, there should be something that is missing in the client system for
which it is searching for ( or taking time to load).

I will go through the fusion logs now.
please suggest me a procedure to tackle this issue, if any.


Thanks

 

[Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]]

There is no procedure other than reviewing the logs and the information in
that article I pointed you to.

As I had suggested earlier in the thread it might make sense to post your
questions in the VSTO forum where they're a lot more knowledgeable about
that sort of thing related to VSTO than the groups you chose.




<snip>
When I install the build in my(development) system, it is working
fine.
So, there should be something that is missing in the client system for
which it is searching for ( or taking time to load).

I will go through the fusion logs now.
please suggest me a procedure to tackle this issue, if any.


Thanks

 

[Lasyapriya P]

There is no procedure other than reviewing the logs and the information in
that article I pointed you to.

As I had suggested earlier in the thread it might make sense to post your
questions in the VSTO forum where they're a lot more knowledgeable about
that sort of thing related to VSTO than the groups you chose.




<snip>
When I install the build in my(development) system, it is working
fine.
So, there should be something that is missing in the client system for
which it is searching for ( or taking time to load).

I will go through the fusion logs now.
please suggest me a procedure to tackle this issue, if any.

Thanks

Thanks for the reply Ken.

With your suggestion, I have posted this problem in VSTO forum too.
Unfortunately I didnt get any reply to that post. Thats why I
continued in this.

The problem is solved. I have used 'inclusion list' concept in my
project. It is working fine now.
But, in two systems it is loading slowly. I think there is some the
problem might be with the systems. Isnt it?
I will go through the Fusion logs now and try to elicit out waht the
problem is.
Get back to you if I need any further help.


The links and work-arounds that you have suggested helped me very much
in solving the my problems.
Thank you very much!


Regards