Outlook Add-in form will not display

[Wayne SS]

Hi,
I built an Outlook (2003) Add-in with VS2005 that transfers contacts from
the client's database into a Contacts folder in outlook. The Add-in works
100% when running directly from Visual Studio. I eventually managed to get
the Setup package to install the Add-in, except that now, when I click on the
menu item that is created, the form is not displayed. If I put a message box
before the code that loads the form, that shows, but the form simply won't
show.
Could this be a security issue?

 

[KeithM]

Hi Wayne

Try this:

Uninstall your AddIn from within devstudio by right clicking on the setup
project.
Search the whole of the hard drive for your addin, e.g OutllookAddIn.dll,
delete all copies.
Look up the GUID used for the AddIn, in C# this is usually found in the
connect.cs class as an attribute.
Search through the registry using regedit for the GUID just noted, you
should find an entry under HKCR\CLSID\xxxxx.
Make a note of the ProgId default string value (e.g. OutlookAddin.connect)
Delete the entire xxxx key where xxx is the GUID mentioned. (only do this
and the following if you are happy making changes to your registry and are
aware of the possible consequences if you do something wrong).
Continue searching through the registry for the GUID value, deleting any
further instances found.
You should find one more under the OutlookAddin.Connect key and then similar
under HKLM.
Re-search the registry for the "OutlookAddIn.connect" string and again
delete where found.
Rebuild your solution in DevStudio.
Install the Addin from devstudio.

It might then work!

Thats the kind of thing I have to do when mine gets its knickers in a twist.

 

[Wayne SS]

Hi Keith,

Thanks for the reply. I tried what you suggested. Did not find the key in
the registry after uninstalling and there are no files with any "connect"
extensions in the project (GUID is in AssemblyInfo.cs). Tried other things in
line with what you spoke about and still no success.

I'll keep trying, there must be something I am missing... ?

 

[Wayne SS]

A small discovery:

I have found that the reason the form is not opening is because it is
referencing an old VB6 Active-X component (used to get the DB connection
string). Unfortunately this component must be used, but it seems that it is
possibly not seen as trusted by the Add-in? As soon as I remove the code that
instantiates the component, the form shows without any problems.

Do you (or anyone else) know how I can somehow tell the Add-in to “acceptâ€
this Active-X component/object?