Troubleshooting with VSI
I first started working with Visual Studio SDK when I was helping my client develop a VS extensible product with requirements such as the following.
- A web browser feel to the Design editor
- Find feature on the design editor
- Language package
- Subtyping of C# project type
- Design/XML views - MultiView document
and more such.
As there was little help in terms of support/documentation, we did a lot of research, prototyping and spent lot of time doing trial and error to come up with a feature. The support in forums to the questions I put were also not very enlightening. Many problem areas were due to mixing managed and unmanaged projects, bringing a web feel/experience to a visual studio environment, designing tool windows that talk to web services etc.
Dr.Ex has published an excellent article for troubleshooting common problems when working with Visual Studio Integration. These were exactly the kind of general problems that we faced. So if you work with VSI or plan to work in future, don’t miss to read this article.