Did you follow all the steps in the VSTO deployment walkthrough at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb332051.aspx? You pretty much have to follow that step by step to get a VSTO deployment to work.

What you have to do is set the security on the project assemblies, VSTO requires FullTrust to run. If you have that set in the CASPOL, all the requirements and pre-requisites installed (Framework, VSTO runtime, possibly the VSTO language pack, required PIA's, any other dependencies, possibly KB 908002, etc.), strong naming and so on then things should work.

When you start Outlook if you look at the COM Add-Ins dialog (Tools, Options, Other tab, Advanced Options button, COM Add-Ins button) is the addin listed? Is it checked? When you select it are any errors indicated? What about looking in Help, About Microsoft Office Outlook, Disabled Items button? Is the addin disabled?

What do you see if you look in the Framework 2.0 configuration utility? Do you see FullTrust granted to your addin assemblies?

If all that is done correctly the only other thing that would disable your addin would be unhandled errors. Any addin must handle all errors or risk getting disabled by Outlook.


Ken Slovak

Hi Ken,

Thanks again for the help. The Add-in is in the list of COM add-ins, but when I click on it, it says "Not. loaded. A runtme error occurred during the loadin g of the COM add-in."



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That error indicates usually either that you didn't follow the steps in the deployment walkthrough and set the security correctly or at all, or that a dependency or requirement or pre-requisite is missing.

Again I ask, did you follow that deployment walkthrough exactly, step by step? There are no shortcuts with deploying a VSTO addin, if you don't do what's required and do it correctly the addin will never run when deployed although it may run on the development machine.


Ken Slovak

Hi Ken,

I didn't follow the article at first. I read through various other documents, but the one you gave me is MUCH more detailed and helpful. I'm going through it right now and redoing it. Wish me luck!

Thanks!

Arsi

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Hi Ken,

After reading the documentation and following step by step I created a setup file for the add-in. When installing it, I get an error which says Cannot Set Security Policy. The specified solution code group name is not valid.

I used the SetSecurity Custom Action project in the setup project provided in that article. Am I supposed to modify the code in that project? Or do I just set the properties from the Custom Actions Menu from within Visual Studio?

Thanks,

Arsi

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You just put the name of your addin in the custom actions where it originally has "OutlookAddin" and company name where it has "MyCompanyName". All the custom actions go on one line, so the first one is just one long line.

You don't modify any of the code in SetSecurity, you just add its primary output to the setup project and add the custom actions to setup using the primary output from SetSecurity.

You also add a blank Commit custom action.

Just like in the walkthroughs :)


Ken Slovak

Its not working :(....

This is what I have for the CustomActionData Propery for the Primary output from SetSecurity (Install):
/assemblyName="OutlookPopMenu.dll"/targetDir="[TARGETDIR]\" /solutionCodeGroupName="FP.OutlookPopMenu.beca563f-2391-4053-9afe-9daa269dac2d" /solutionCodeGroupDescription="Code group for OutlookPopMenu" /assemblyCodeGroupName="OutlookPopMenu" /assemblyCodeGroupDescription="Code group for OutlookPopMenu" /allUsers=[ALLUSERS]

Thanks for your help.

Arsi

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Okay! I think I got it! I changed the solutionCodeGroupName to include the GUID of the add-in and I found I had not put in a space after assemblyName="OutlookPopMenu.dll"

Wish me luck! Now I have to write a logon script and test it!

Thanks ALOT!!!!

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I am having problems installing a word 2003 addin created using visual studio 2005 in VB. I followed the steps outlined in Deploying Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Office System SE Solutions Using Windows Installer (Part 1 and 2). Everything works on my development workstation. When I run setup.exe on my deployment workstation, I get the following errors:

Exception occurred while initializing the installation:
System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not load file or assembly 'file:///C:\windows\system32\Legislative' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified..

Could not find file 'C:\Program Files\Default Company Name\MemberBackFillSetup\SetSecurity.InstallState' .

Could not find file 'C:\Program Files\Default Company Name\MemberBackFillSetup\UpdateManifest.InstallSta te'.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

Carmen.

Is this actually a VSTO 2005 SE addin or a shared addin?

Is that Leglislative a dependcy for your project? If so are you deploying it?

Is it something from a 3rd party that needs licensing of some kind?

Does it have dependencies that need deploying?

I have no idea what those other 2 errors refer to.

I'm no expert at all on deploying Word VSTO addins or even how they're structured as opposed to Outlook addins, which I do know. It might be more fruitful to ask on the MSDN VSTO forum, where VSTO team members answer questions, or on a Wrox forum for Word development.


Ken Slovak