"Open Command Here" for VS 2005 and VS 2008

Scott has inf files which allow you to add the "Open Cmd Here" prompt to your windows explorer context menu. You just have to save the text below as an .inf file, right click and select "install".

http://www.hanselman.com/blog/VisualStudioCommandPromptHereAndSearchUnknownFileExtensions.aspx

One of my colleagues Andrew Weaver (aka Reddog) has updated this .inf file slightly to point to default 2008 file paths :

;

; "CMD Prompt Here" PowerToy

;

; Copyright 1996 Microsoft Corporation

;

; Modified to launch VS.NET 2005 command prompt 5/6/03 MG

; Modified to launch VS.NET 2008 command prompt 22/11/07 AW

[version]

signature="$CHICAGO$"

[VSNet2008CmdHereInstall]

CopyFiles = VSNet2008CmdHere.Files.Inf

AddReg    = VSNet2008CmdHere.Reg

[DefaultInstall]

CopyFiles = VSNet2008CmdHere.Files.Inf

AddReg    = VSNet2008CmdHere.Reg

[DefaultUnInstall]

DelFiles  = VSNet2008CmdHere.Files.Inf

DelReg    = VSNet2008CmdHere.Reg

[SourceDisksNames]

55="VS .NET 2008 CMD Prompt Here","",1

[SourceDisksFiles]

VSNet2008CmdHere.INF=55

[DestinationDirs]

VSNet2008CmdHere.Files.Inf = 17

[VSNet2008CmdHere.Files.Inf]

VSNet2008CmdHere.INF

[VSNet2008CmdHere.Reg]

HKLM,%UDHERE%,DisplayName,,"%VSNet2008CmdHereName%"

HKLM,%UDHERE%,UninstallString,,"rundll32.exe syssetup.dll,SetupInfObjectInstallAction DefaultUninstall 132 %17%\VSNet2008CmdHere.inf"

HKCR,Directory\Shell\VSNet2008CmdHere,,,"%VSNet2008CmdHereAccel%"

HKCR,Directory\Shell\VSNet2008CmdHere\command,,,"%11%\cmd.exe /k cd ""%1"" && ""C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\Tools\vsvars32.bat"""

HKCR,Drive\Shell\VSNet2008CmdHere,,,"%VSNet2008CmdHereAccel%"

HKCR,Drive\Shell\VSNet2008CmdHere\command,,,"%11%\cmd.exe /k cd ""%1"""

[Strings]

VSNet2008CmdHereName="VS.NET 2008 Command Prompt Here PowerToy"

VSNet2008CmdHereAccel="VS.NET &2008 CMD Prompt Here"

UDHERE="Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\VSNet2008CmdHere"

Visual Studio 2008 Freezing Problem fixed!

Finally! My problem with ongoing freezes in HTML source view (not to mention the designer) have been fixed. Rick has written about some of these issues here: http://www.west-wind.com/WebLog/posts/201463.aspx

See http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2008/02/08/vs-2008-web-development-hot-fix-roll-up-available.aspx for the hotfix and download details. Thanks to Scott Guthrie and his team. Bring on the MVC framework & VS2008 SP1!

Issue with VS 2008 and the Web Client Software Factory - FIX

When attempting to add classes (e.g. via Add->New Class) in my VS 2008 projects, I have been getting this error constantly. This lead me to do a workaround by just copying classes from other projects! (NOT an ideal situation!)

==========================================================================
Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.VisualStudio.TemplateWizardInterface,
Version=9.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a' or one of its
dependencies. The located assembly's manifest definition does not match the
assembly reference. (Exception from HRESEULT: 0x80131040)
==========================================================================

Apparently, there is a workaround to this issue. You just have to find your devenv.exe.config file (e.g. mine was in "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe.config"), and change the version number from 9.0.0.0 to 8.0.0.0

<dependentAssembly>
<assemblyIdentity name="Microsoft.VisualStudio.TemplateWizardInterface" publicKeyToken="b03f5f7f11d50a3a" culture="neutral" />
<bindingRedirect oldVersion="0.0.0.0-8.9.9.9" newVersion="8.0.0.0" />
</dependentAssembly>

Where can I get the Visual Studio 2008 Runtime installer?

You can get the Visual Studio 2008 runtime installer from X:\WCU\dotNetFramework\dotNetFx35setup.exe where X: is the virtual drive path of your Visual Studio 2008 Setup. Note that for Vista-based installs you must run it in Admin mode for the setup to work correctly - otherwise the setup will fail.

Changes to System.Data.Linq.ChangeSet and System.Data.Linq.Table from VS 2008 Beta 2 to RTM

Just installed VS 2008 release candidate, and there were some compile issues related to the System.Data.Linq.ChangeSet class. One of the changes that affected me in the upgrade was the move to move "Database mindset" language. I found this move from "ModifiedEntity" to "Updates" unusual because it is terminology brought from the database field. There is also a change to System.Data.Linq.Table where the "Add" method is now "InsertOnSubmit". The "Remove" method is now "DeleteOnSubmit". Seems like a throwback to me!

Another issue is that my LINQ dbml files had conversion issues, showing the error:
"There is no Unicode byte order mark. Cannot switch to Unicode." The fix was just to remove the encoding attibute in the XML document description:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?>

public bool Run(ChangeSet changedObjects)
{
List<trackedobject> tracked = new List<trackedobject>();
foreach (object o in changedObjects.AddedEntities)
tracked.Add(new TrackedObject { Current = o, IsNew = true });
foreach (object o in changedObjects.ModifiedEntities)
tracked.Add(new TrackedObject { Current = o, IsChanged = true });
foreach (object o in changedObjects.RemovedEntities)
tracked.Add(new TrackedObject { Current = o, IsDeleted = true });
return Run(tracked);
}

needs to change to:

        public bool Run(ChangeSet changedObjects)
        {
            List<TrackedObject> tracked = new List<TrackedObject>();
            
            foreach (object o in changedObjects.Inserts)
                tracked.Add(new TrackedObject { Current = o, IsNew = true });
            foreach (object o in changedObjects.Updates)
                tracked.Add(new TrackedObject { Current = o, IsChanged = true });
            foreach (object o in changedObjects.Deletes)
                tracked.Add(new TrackedObject { Current = o, IsDeleted = true });

            return Run(tracked);
        }