Problems with running addin from Visual Studio 2017

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Problems with running addin from Visual Studio 2017
I'm unable to debug or run the addin from the IDE 
Developer CommonDesk


Guest


We have an Outlook add-in that was working correctly until the last outlook update which caused problems with an Add-in Region showing outside the main window. This was solved by installing the latest Regions SDK

After this now i'm not able to debug the add-in, i looked on the forums and i see some suggestions about registering the add-in, i followed these steps:

1. Uninstall the add-in and make sure it doesn't show on the Outlook addin list
2. Clean and rebuild the addin from VS
3. Tried to register but i don't see any options to do so on the context menu when i right click on the add-in project (is this where the register option should be?)
4. Looked in C:\Users\my_user\Documents\Add-in Express but the folder is empty, i did not find the expected log files
5. After running from VS i can see the add-in listed on Outlook but it says it was disabled because it caused Outlook to crash, clicking on enable doesn't do anything
6. Checked on Visual Studio help menu and add-in express is listed as "Add-in Express Regions for Microsoft Outlook and VSTO 4.0.2650"

So to summarize
- There is no option to register the addin on the context menu
- No log files are created under C:\Users\my_user\Documents\Add-in Express
- Add-in shows on Outlook addins list but it is disabled and i can't enable it at all

My setup:
Visual Studio 2017 15.8.9
Microsoft Outlook for Office 365 MSO (16.0.11001.20064) 32-bit
Add-in Express Regions for Outlook and VSTO, Professional Version: 4.0.2650

Any ideas on how to proceed?
Posted 10 Nov, 2018 19:14:26 Top
Andrei Smolin


Add-in Express team


Posts: 18793
Joined: 2006-05-11
Hello,

Does attaching to the running process of Outlook work for you?

If your add-in project built using .NET 2.0/3.5, make sure 1) that .NET 3.5 is installed and 2) there's outlook.exe.config containing this XML code:


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
  <startup>
    <supportedRuntime version="v2.0.50727" />
  </startup>
</configuration>


Note that such an outlook.exe.config makes all Outlook add-ins use .NET 3.5.


Andrei Smolin
Add-in Express Team Leader
Posted 12 Nov, 2018 05:12:55 Top
Developer CommonDesk


Guest


Hi, we are building for .net 4.6.1

I do have a section on the app config file like so


<startup>
    <supportedRuntime version="v4.0"/>
</startup>


However this doesn't help much, i'm still not able to debug the add-in, i tried reinstalling the Regions SDK but i still don't see an option to register the add-in from the context menu on VS

The add-in doesn't launch at all which i assume is because it is not registered, is this correct, however since i don't see an option to perform registration i'm not able to do much otherwise, is there an alternative for registration which doesn't go through VS?
Posted 14 Nov, 2018 20:19:24 Top
Andrei Smolin


Add-in Express team


Posts: 18793
Joined: 2006-05-11
Developer CommonDesk writes:
However this doesn't help much, i'm still not able to debug the add-in, i tried reinstalling the Regions SDK but i still don't see an option to register the add-in from the context menu on VS


This option isn't part of the Regions; it is part of Add-in Express for Office and .NET. In VSTO, you register the add-in by building the project; to unregister the add-in click Clear.

Check if your add-in loads if you comment as much code as possible.


Andrei Smolin
Add-in Express Team Leader
Posted 15 Nov, 2018 05:38:35 Top