I am trying to add a WPF control to the toolbox in VS 2010. I tried setting the ToolboxAutopopulate.This works only within the project. But i want the control to appear every time i open the VS irrespective of the project.
I tried making an entry into the RegEdit after deleting the tdb fils. It somehow doesn't appear in the toolbox still. Can somehow help me?? I don't know what i am missing. If someone wants to know more details i can provide.
The steps i followed were:
Close all running Visual Studio 2008 instances.
Delete *.tbd file located in your \Local\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0 folder (for example: C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0 in Vista or 7).
Add a new key to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0\ToolboxControlsInstaller
or on x64 OS
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0\ToolboxControlsInstaller
The key is named like "QLeftPanel, Version=3.5.30729.1, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=cd45d629e1d8d371", where you replace the WpfCustCtrl and PK token value with your own.
In the key created in step 3, add the following values:
(Default) = "My WPF Controls" This is the toolbox tab name, String
CodeBase = "C:\Users\Aneesh\Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Projects\QSharedLibrary\QSharedLibrary\bin\Debug\QSharedLibrary.dll" This is the path to your control assembly.
WPFControls = "1" This is important!
Try installing your control's design.dll and visualstudio.design.dll into GAC. then, take a backup of your existing tbd and delete the existing. Now, launch the Visual Studio, it will create the new tbd files. Now, It should load.
Related
I am currently trying to expand our installation program with an option for the user to specify the name of the program group where shortcuts are created under the start menu. (I am aware that this is a somewhat outdated concept)
I am using InstallShield 2015.
I created a localizable property named [PROGRAMGROUP_NAME]. This has automatically created an {ID_STRING46} which I've set to the desired default value. So far so good.
I managed to create a custom dialog with an edit control, which is linked to the above property.
Now comes the tricky part: Under Shortcuts, under "Programs Menu" I first want to add a folder with the program group name, under which to place several shortcuts.
If I enter [PROGRAMGROUP_NAME] that is literally what the name becomes. If I use {ID_STRING46}, it uses the default value, and not what I've entered in the dialog.
Incidentally, when I tried to rename ID_STRING46 to something more meaningful, other things started going wrong so I've left that as is.
What is going wrong here? How do I get the value of the property to be used for the folder name?
EDIT
I am trying to use a custom action now, but I have trouble defining it. My Dialog that sets the property is after CostFinalize, so I assume I have to use SetDirectory - but I have trouble defining it. I get an error stating "could not access network location "
EDIT
I've managed to progress a step. I have manually added a directory with key DIRECTORY_PROGRAM_GROUP (important that it's all caps to make it public) to the directory table. Then, I use a custom action to set that directory to the desired value [ProgramMenuFolder][PROGRAM_GROUP_NAME] after I've run my dialog, and I've modified the shortcut to be created in that folder.
Seems to work great, however, now the program group is no longer removed when uninstalling...
Shortcuts are installed to folders, and the name of the folders below ProgramMenuFolder become the program group as you describe it. So you will need to either build up the Directory table (either directly---note that the DefaultDir column is localizable, and there may already be a string you can update---or through the Files and Folders view) to do what you want, or use custom actions (set property, if before costing; set directory, if after costing) to adjust the location to which your shortcut is installed.
As for the problems renaming ID_STRING46, odds are you didn't update a reference after you changed the name of the string. The simplest way to track down where these are may be to examine differences in the built installer (perhaps using InstallShield's MSI Diff) and then update the relevant references using the direct editor if you can't find them in the normal views.
I have an Installscript MSI project created in InstallShield. I want to be able to append the install directory to the Add/Remove Programs (Programs and Features) entry when my application is installed. This application can be installed on the workstation multiple times to different folder locations, so I want some way to visually separate them in Add/Remove Programs.
Right now, the Add/Remove Programs entry for my product looks like this:
My Application Name
I want it to look like this:
My Application Name - My Application Install Folder (replaced by [INSTALLDIR])
How do I do that?
I don't believe there's a supported way to do this based on the registry entry values and where they come from:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa372105(v=vs.85).aspx
that are used to show that data, and the fact that the MSI ProductName property is fixed text that I think you can't change after the install has started. You could test that of course by simply using some script or a custom action to set the ProductName property to [ProductName] plus [INSTALLDIR].
So you'd have to update that Registry item in the Uninstall registry data yourself. At the very end of the install when the entries are there modify them with custom action code by appending the INSTALLDIR value.
It's not something that people do with MSI setups and I wouldn't recommend it. The value will probably overflow the field length because ProductName is limited to 63 characters.
If the issue is that there may be several uninstall entries and you want to verify that the user is uninstalling the right one, you could probably add some dialog to show the actual version somehow if you save that install location somewhere. The ARPNOREMOVE property will prevent direct uninstall, then you can force a Modify dialog to do Change and then Uninstall with more detail. The general idea is here:
http://devdare.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-to-force-gui-uninstall-using.html
In Visual Studio 2012, it appears that only maybe a third of the 20 or so C# project types support using Shift+Alt+D to open the "Data Sources" window (and none that I've found ever display the mythical "Data" menu bar option).
Is there any sort of guide as to which project types will allow you to work with data sources?
Also, is there any way to "adjust" the features of a project after it's been created?
Update: See my answer below for how to add the Data Sources function to an existing project.
I believe you are looking for this page:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/yft2c9ad.aspx
To quote msdn: "You can add a data source to a project only if it supports creating and working with data sources. For example, you can't open the Data Sources window in a project for a Windows Store app."
Basically, if using a database seems logical in your application, you can probably use one.
To answer your question about the "mythical 'Data' menu bar option", here's how you access it:
You just have to select "View", then "Other Windows", and finally "Data Sources"
And to answer your final question about, "Also, is there any way to 'adjust' the features of a project after it's been created?"
Yes, yes there is. If you mean as a compiled executable, one could simply decompile the project or use an ILcode editor. If you mean as a solution in visual studios, using the solution explorer you can access "My Project" and simply double click that to get a nice little gui for adjusting your project.
EDIT:
For an overload of information about data in visual studios, you can visit: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/wzabh8c4.aspx
For more information about just the data source window, you can visit:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/6ckyxa83.aspx
Aha! There is a way to add data access to a project that lacks it, per: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb907587.aspx. To quote:
To create a class from a database table
If you are working with a Web site project, and the project does not already have an App_Code folder, in Solution Explorer, right-click the project, click Add ASP.NET Folder, and then click App_Code.
In Solution Explorer, right-click the App_Code folder (for a Web site project) or the project (for a Web application project) and then click Add New Item.
Under Installed templates, select Linq to SQL Classes template, type a name for the .dbml file, and then click Add.
-- The Object Relational Designer window is displayed. [Note that this is the window that Shift-Alt-D displays]
In Server Explorer, drag the database tables or other objects (such as views) that you want to use with LINQ to SQL into the Object Relational Designer window.
-- The tables and their columns are represented as a entities in the designer window.
Save the .dbml file.
This creates .designer.cs or .designer.vb file that is located under the .dbml file. The file contains a class that represents the database and a class that represents the table. The parameterless constructor for the database class reads the connection string from the Web.config file.
(Note that, after performing this procedure you may get a message "The type or namespace name 'Linq' does not exist in the namespace 'System.Data'". The solution to this problem is found here.)
I have created database project using VS 2012. Once the schema comparison is done, the update target button should be enabled to sync with target.
But it's not getting enabled. Any help plz.
I'm using VS 2012 with sp 3, SQL Server 2012,
Check the Error List if you have any error, I had a non recognized word in VS (but it did in SQL Server), I commented it out, re-compared and it was enabled successfully.
See if you have a "warning" message stating "Cannot generate deployment plan due to an internal error". If so, the Update and Generate Script buttons will be disabled.
Close Visual Studio, navigate to the folder containing the Database project and remove all (*.dbmdl) files. Then restart Visual Studio, re-run the compare schema at which point the Update button should be enabled.
Workaround:
In my case. Fixing Error was not priority task. Also i was not able to find any Error in Error List.
Its just you dont have to use your "Visual Studio Database Project" in source or target. Instead of using project, create a temp DataBase using script already with you.
Select this (or these) temp database(s) in source and (or) other in target.
Button must be Enabled.
For me getting difference was far more important than fixing the issue. Hope it helps you. With some more improvisation.
It seems your database project has sqlcmd variables without default values.
See:
http://www.andrewburrow.net/vs2012-schema-compare-buttons-disabled/
Hope this helps.
I couldn't see any errors in Error List, but I could see the errors in the Output tab
the everytime you open the "options" on "schema comparison" you must click on "compare" button again to activate the "update" button. However if it doesn't work at the first time, just close and reopen the Schema comparison file again.
For me, there were no errors visible in the Error List. This was because I had the "Show Issues Generated" drop down was set to "Build Only"; changing it to "Build + IntelliSense" allowed me to see the SQL errors that needed to be fixed to enable the Generate Script and Update buttons.
In SSDT I had the case where the update button was enabled but the generate script was not enabled. This was because my destination schema was my local solution (the *.sqlproj vs project).
It took a few minutes to dawn on me that the destination needed to be a real database to correctly generate the script.
And after all, when you have the available Update Target button and the disabled Generate Script button.
See if your source is a database and your target is your SSDT project.
If so then click "Switch source and target" button.
The Generate Script button will become available.
I.e. a SSDT project must be the source and a database must be the target in the Schema Compare window.
Workaround 2:
In my case, the Update button was greyed out because of there were errors warnings about a view that I created and added to the project earlier.
The problem was that the view was scripted to use full database qualified object naming. E.g. [databasename].[schemaname].[objectname], which works fine in SSMS, but causes a problem when it is checked in a DB Project.
If you use three part naming for referring an object in same DB project results in a error/warning in Visual Studio.
By changing the code to [schemaname].[objectname] in the definicion of the view removed the error warnings and enable the Update option. Happy days!
Credits:
https://visualstudio.uservoice.com/forums/121579-visual-studio-ide/suggestions/3577074-allow-three-part-naming-for-referring-a-db-object
https://visualstudio.uservoice.com/forums/121579-visual-studio-ide/suggestions/17396128-keep-update-and-generate-update-script-buttons
Typically the update button is grayed out when the database objects are available in the separate sql files physically inside the database project but are not included in the database project itself. I simply added those sql scripts into the project and the update button got enabled after comparing the schema.
In my case, the Update button was disabled because there was a scalar function that was modified and that function was used in a computed column definition.
My solution was to:
Manually drop the computed column(s) in the database
ALTER TABLE <your table> DROP COLUMN <your computed column>
Re-run the schema compare
The Update button was enabled, and the update completed successfully
I colleague of mine asked me to see a dll that he needs to use. So I used the Object Browser on Visual Studio 2012. Now he asked me if I can export like a text version of the dll reference (methods signatures and properties).
Is there a way to do it?
I can already see something like
short get_Param(short sNumParam)
Member of LMLib.ISWKey
on the windows dedicated to the description. I just need to put every method in a single file.
You can do it with a trick and have the IDE generate the definitions for you. Write a sliver of code in the text editor, similar to:
var obj = new LMLib.ISWKey();
Right-click ISWKey in the text editor and select "Go To Definition". You'll get a new text file with the definitions, auto-generated from the metadata.
If it is a COM interface, sure sounds like it with a name like that, then you can run Oleview.exe from the Visual Studio Command Prompt. Use File + View Typelib, select the type library of the COM server and you'll get the auto-generated IDL for the server. Prefer this approach if it is in fact a COM server, you'll get more info, including the [helpstring] attributes.
And of course, don't hesitate to ask the owner of the DLL for documentation. You paid good money for the license to use the DLL.