I've written an Add-In for Visual Studio 2005, but I can't deploy it.

1. I have copied the .AddIn file and the .DLL for the AddIn to the \My Documents\Visual Studio 2005\Addins folder.
2. I have added a Setup project to my solution (following the directions athttp://blogs.msdn.com/jim_glass/archive/2005/08/18/453218.aspx).

In both cases, when I start up Studio after installing the AddIn I get the following error.

"The AddIn 'ReviewIt' failed to load or caused an exception.
Error Message: Unspecified Error
Error Number: 80004005"

I'm at a loss as to how to proceed. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

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VB6/VB.NET Developer

See:

HOWTO: Troubleshooting Visual Studio and Office add-ins
http://www.mztools.com/resources_vsnet_addins.aspx

INFO: Default .AddIn file locations for Visual Studio add-ins
(same link)

HOWTO: Create a setup for a Visual Studio 2005 / 2008 add-in using Inno Setup
(same link)

If your add-in is recognized by the Add-In Manager, following the first article you should determine if the problem happens due to a registration problem, or due to actual code inside your Connect class. Start by removing most code of your Connect class (commenting it) and putting just MessageBoxes. If a minimal add-in with almost no code still fails to load, then chances are that there is a registration problem. A file / registry monitor tool should allow you to trace what is happening when VS tries to load the add-in.

Post again when you find the answer to help others.

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MZ-Tools: Productivity add-ins for Visual Studio: http://www.mztools.com

Please provide a reproducible sample project and the detailed steps to reproduce this issue.

Thanks.

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Return to the source, learn the way!

See:

HOWTO: Troubleshooting Visual Studio and Office add-ins
http://www.mztools.com/resources_vsnet_addins.aspx

INFO: Default .AddIn file locations for Visual Studio add-ins
(same link)

HOWTO: Create a setup for a Visual Studio 2005 / 2008 add-in using Inno Setup
(same link)

If your add-in is recognized by the Add-In Manager, following the first article you should determine if the problem happens due to a registration problem, or due to actual code inside your Connect class. Start by removing most code of your Connect class (commenting it) and putting just MessageBoxes. If a minimal add-in with almost no code still fails to load, then chances are that there is a registration problem. A file / registry monitor tool should allow you to trace what is happening when VS tries to load the add-in.

Post again when you find the answer to help others.

---

MZ-Tools: Productivity add-ins for Visual Studio: http://www.mztools.com