The Host Application's <Name> tag contains the name of the application. This is the name displayed in the title bar of the application or returned by DTE.Name. So, for example, for Visual Studio, the tag would contain "Microsoft Visual Studio," and for the Macros IDE, the tag would contain "Microsoft Visual Studio Macros."

There can be more than one Host Application value per .Addin file. Each value must be bracketed by the <Name> tag within the <HostApplication> tag. In addition to the <Name> tag, each <HostApplication> tag must also include the version number of that application bracketed by <Version> tags. For example:

   <HostApplication>
      <!-- First Host App name (required). -->
      <Name>Microsoft Visual Studio</Name>
      <Version>9.0</Version>
   </HostApplication>
   <HostApplication>
      <!-- An additional supported program/version. -->
      <Name>Microsoft Visual Studio Macros</Name>
      <Version>9.0</Version>
   </HostApplication>

Alternatively, you can specify an asterisk (*) to represent the value for <Version> for any version of Visual Studio. See the section, Example .Addin XML File, later in this topic for the hierarchical location of these tags.

The <FriendlyName> tag, located under the <Addin> tag, specifies the string that will display in the Available Add-ins column for the add-in in the Add-in Manager. Following is an example of its usage:

   <FriendlyName>My New Super Addin</FriendlyName>

See the section, Example .Addin XML File, later in this topic for the hierarchical location of this tag.

The <Description> tag, located under the <Addin> tag, specifies the string that will display in the Description box for the add-in in the Add-in Manager. Following is an example of its usage:

   <Description>This add-in will change your life!</Description>

See the section, Example .Addin XML File, later in this topic for the hierarchical location of this tag.

If you select the option to generate settings for the Help About dialog box when you create your add-in, this tag is added to the .Addin file. This tag specifies the text that will display for your add-in in the Visual Studio Help About dialog box. Following is an example of its usage:

   <AboutBoxDetails>For add-in support, call 1-800-xxx-
     xxxx.</AboutBoxDetails>

See the section, Example .Addin XML File, later in this topic for the hierarchical location of this tag.

If you select the option to generate settings for the Help About dialog box when you create your add-in, this tag is added to the .Addin file. This tag contains binary data that specifies the icon that will display for your add-in in the Visual Studio Help About dialog box. Following is an example of its usage:

<AboutIconData>0000010006 . . . FFFF0000</AboutIconData>

See the section, Example .Addin XML File, later in this topic for the hierarchical location of this tag.

The <Assembly> tag, located under the <Addin> tag, specifies the location of the add-in binary files. This tag can be set to a local path, a network path ("file"), a registered assembly name ("assembly"), or a valid URL ("url"). See the section, Example .Addin XML File, later in this topic for the hierarchical location of this tag.

• Following is an example of a URL add-in location. In this case, the src parameter is set to url to indicate the Web-based location of the add-in's DLL:

  <Assembly src="url">http://somewebsite.com/MyAddin4.dll</Assembly>
  

• Following is an example of a local path location. In this case, the src parameter is set to file to indicate the local location of the add-in's DLL:

  <Assembly src="file">C:\Documents and Settings\jdoe\Application Data\Microsoft\Visual Studio\8.0\AddIns\MyAddin4.dll</Assembly>
  

• Following is an example of a local path. In this case, the src parameter is set to assembly to indicate the Web-based location of the add-in's DLL:

  <Assembly src="assembly">BookshelfDefineAddin</Assembly>
  

The <FullClassName> tag specifies the full name of the class used to connect to the add-in, including the namespace containing the class. Following is an example usage:

    <FullClassName>MyAddin4.Connect</FullClassName>

See the section, Example .Addin XML File, later in this topic for the hierarchical location of this tag.

The <LoadBehavior> tag defines whether an add-in is loaded automatically at IDE startup or whether it is started manually. The <LoadBehavior> tag is under the <Addin> tag. Following is an example usage:

    <LoadBehavior>1</LoadBehavior>

While usage of the <LoadBehavior> tag is optional, it is recommended that you use it to explicitly define when an add-in loads.

See the section, Example .Addin XML File, later in this topic for the hierarchical location of this tag.

The <CommandPreload> tag specifies whether or not the add-in must be preloaded. Preloading loads the add-in the first time that Visual Studio starts after placing the .Addin file on disk. Following is an example usage:

    <CommandPreload>1</CommandPreload>

This tag allows you to specify that an add-in must be loaded after Visual Studio starts. It gives your add-in a chance to create necessary user interface elements, such as command bar buttons, or perform other first-time-only initialization tasks, such as creating default add-in settings. The add-in is then immediately unloaded until a user executes one of the commands the add-in created, which then loads the add-in as needed in all successive instances of the IDE.

You can check the OnConnection method you implement to see if the type of connection, specified with the second argument to OnConnection, is ext_cm_UISetup. If it is, you can perform whatever command placements you want by using the AddNamedCommand or AddControl methods.

See the section, Example .Addin XML File, later in this topic for the hierarchical location of this tag.

The optional <CommandLineSafe> tag indicates whether the add-in was designed to avoid displaying a UI when started by the devenv command line, such as when performing command-line builds or similar operations. (This is done by choosing the My Add-in will never put up a modal UI option in the Add-in Wizard.) Also, it specifies the Visual Studio modes with which the add-in is compatible, such as command line only or IDE only. Following is an example usage:

    <CommandLineSafe>0</CommandLineSafe>

See the section, Example .Addin XML File, later in this topic for the hierarchical location of this tag.

The optional <ToolsOptionsPage> tag specifies a tools/options page for users to configure the add-in. Child nodes specify the category and subcategory the page appears in, and the assembly name and full class name of the options page. The following example shows the hierarchy of this element:

  <ToolsOptionsPage>
    <Category Name="Text Editor">
      <SubCategory Name="General">
        <Assembly>"MyFilePath\MyAddInOptionPage.dll"</Assembly>
        <FullClassName>"MyNamespace.MyAddInOptionPage"</FullClassName>
      </SubCategory>
    </Category>
  </ToolsOptionsPage>