Addin Command Bar does not appear in Outlook?

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Addin Command Bar does not appear in Outlook?
Product is installed, but will not appear in Outlook Com Addins 
Ali Chamas




Posts: 4
 Joined: 2007-04-10
Hi,

I am finding a problem with installing / uninstalling an Outlook addin that adds a command bar to Outlook. Things were working well, but after installing the product once, Outlook threw an error saying that the addin had a fatal error, and that it had been removed. When you uninstall and then re-install, the product will appear in your add/remove programs list, but not in Outlook or it's Com Addins list.

It's almost like outlook has had a problem with the addin and then the addin cannot register? Another way to replicate it I found was to stop the uninstall half way through, then relaunch Outlook - the addin would be gone from Outlook but still installed as a program on the pc.

The only way to fix it was to manually register the product from within VS while it was already installed as a product. The only thing I can think has changed in the code from working to not working is the temporary setting of the command bar which is now true (was false, but had to change to true since uninstalls were leaving non-functional command bars behind).

My stats are:
Windows XP SP2
Office 2002 SP3
Visual Studio 2005
Add-in Express 2007.NET v3.2.1865
The Add-in is installed for all users, and has the temporary setting to true.

Any help would be greatly appreciatted thanks!
Ali.
Posted 10 Apr, 2007 22:48:06 Top
Ali Chamas




Posts: 4
 Joined: 2007-04-10
Actually, the problem is fixed when you "Register ADX Product" in VS.

Does anybody know what that is actually doing? Is it using regsvr32.exe? I can't seem to register the DLL (example myadmin.dll) manually using regsvr32, it returns an error 0x80000002.

Can anybody explain what the "Register ADX Product" actually does under the hood?

Thanks guys.
Posted 11 Apr, 2007 01:00:57 Top
Sergey Grischenko


Add-in Express team


Posts: 7233
 Joined: 2004-07-05
Hi Ali.

I think the issue is in custom actions of the setup project. Please look at our examples and read the documentation to learn how you can creste the setup project manually in Visual Studio.
BTW, the regsvr32 tool doesn't work with .NET assemblies. It only works with unmanaged dlls like adxloader.dll.

P.S. Note that we take up your forum requests in the order we receive them.
Besides, it may take us some time to investigate your issue. Please be sure we will let you know as soon as the best possible solution is found.
Posted 11 Apr, 2007 08:09:40 Top
Ali Chamas




Posts: 4
 Joined: 2007-04-10
Thanks Sergey, and I have found out more about the problem, plus a solution. :D

If outlook throws an error saying that it encountered a "serious error" the last time the add-in was opened, it will ask you whether you want to dissable the add-in.

The default is Yes, and most users in a corporate deployement will click that option. I don't know what the actual error was, but it is not a re-occuring problem, and only occured during a remote deployment rollout using Altiris Patch Link.

Once re-installing the product, Outlook would not show the addin at all. This can be fixed by opening the About window in Outlook (help menu) and click the "Disabled Items" button. The add-in appears in the list, and you re-enable it, and must re-start Outlook. This is why it would not show when re-installing, which was very frustrating.

Anyway, don't know what the actual "serious error" was (great error handling by Outlook!) but the important thing is the add-in still works, and can be re-enabled by the helpdesk.

cheers!
Posted 11 Apr, 2007 21:12:01 Top
Sergey Grischenko


Add-in Express team


Posts: 7233
 Joined: 2004-07-05
Hi Ali.

This is a very general error. I find difficulty to identify it.
Posted 12 Apr, 2007 09:43:36 Top
Ali Chamas




Posts: 4
 Joined: 2007-04-10
I agree Sergey, and i do not think it is a major problem worth investigating. It's just one of those mysterious corporate deployment "glitches".

The real mystery was why was outlook not showing the add-in after the error, and that turned out to be easy to fix.

Cheers.
Posted 13 Apr, 2007 02:06:30 Top