.NET Framework Tools

This page is specific to

Microsoft Visual Studio 2003/.NET Framework 1.1

Other versions are also available for the following:

The Microsoft .NET Framework SDK tools are designed to make it easier for you to create, deploy, and manage applications and components that target the .NET Framework. This section contains detailed information about the tools.

You can run all the tools from the command line with the exception of the Assembly Cache Viewer (Shfusion.dll) and the Microsoft CLR Debugger (DbgCLR.exe). You must access Shfusion.dll from Microsoft Windows Explorer. DbgCLR.exe is located in the Microsoft.NET\FrameworkSDK\GuiDebug folder.

Note If you are using the .NET Framework version 1.1, you can run the tools from the command line, but you must set the correct Path, Include, and Lib environment variables in each command prompt session. To set the environment variables, open a command prompt session and run the SDKVars.bat file located in the systemroot\Microsoft.NET\SDK\v1.1\Bin directory.

Configuration and Deployment Tools

Debugging Tools

Security Tools

General Tools

Configuration and Deployment Tools

Tool	Description
ASP.NET IIS Registration Tool (Aspnet_regiis.exe)	Allows an administrator or installation program to update the scriptmaps for an ASP.NET application to point to the ASP.NET ISAPI version associated with the tool. You can also use the tool to perform other ASP.NET configuration operations.
Assembly Cache Viewer (Shfusion.dll)	Allows you to view and manipulate the contents of the global assembly cache using Windows Explorer.
Assembly Linker (Al.exe)	Generates a file with an assembly manifest from one or more files that are either resource files or Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL) files.
Assembly Registration Tool (Regasm.exe)	Reads the metadata within an assembly and adds the necessary entries to the registry, which allows COM clients to create .NET Framework classes transparently.
Assembly Binding Log Viewer (Fuslogvw.exe)	Displays details for failed assembly binds. This information helps you diagnose why the .NET Framework cannot locate an assembly at run time.
Global Assembly Cache Tool (Gacutil.exe)	Allows you to view and manipulate the contents of the global assembly cache and download cache. While Shfusion.dll provides similar functionality, you can use Gacutil.exe from build scripts, makefile files, and batch files.
Installer Tool (Installutil.exe)	Allows you to install and uninstall server resources by executing the installer components of a specified assembly.
Isolated Storage Tool (Storeadm.exe)	Lists or removes all existing stores for the currently logged-on user.
Native Image Generator (Ngen.exe)	Creates a native image from a managed assembly and installs it in the native image cache on the local computer.
.NET Framework Configuration Tool (Mscorcfg.msc)	Provides a graphical interface for managing .NET Framework security policy and applications that use remoting services. This tool also allows you to manage and configure assemblies in the global assembly cache.
.NET Services Installation Tool (Regsvcs.exe)	Adds managed classes to Windows 2000 Component Services by loading and registering the assembly and generating, registering, and installing the type library into an existing COM+ 1.0 application.
Soapsuds Tool (Soapsuds.exe)	Helps you compile client applications that communicate with XML Web services using a technique called remoting.
Type Library Exporter (Tlbexp.exe)	Generates a type library from a common language runtime assembly.
Type Library Importer (Tlbimp.exe)	Converts the type definitions found within a COM type library into equivalent definitions in managed metadata format.
Web Services Description Language Tool (Wsdl.exe)	Generates code for XML Web services and XML Web services clients from Web Services Description Language (WSDL) contract files, XML Schema Definition (XSD) schema files, and .discomap discovery documents.
Web Services Discovery Tool (Disco.exe)	Discovers the URLs of XML Web services located on a Web server, and saves documents related to each XML Web service on a local disk.
XML Schema Definition Tool (Xsd.exe)	Generates XML schemas that follow the XSD language proposed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). This tool generates common language runtime classes and DataSet classes from an XSD schema file.

Debugging Tools

Tool	Description
Microsoft CLR Debugger (DbgCLR.exe)	Provides debugging services with a graphical interface to help application developers find and fix bugs in programs that target the runtime.
Runtime Debugger (Cordbg.exe)	Provides command-line debugging services using the common language runtime Debug API. Used to find and fix bugs in programs that target the runtime.

Security Tools

Tool	Description
Certificate Creation Tool (Makecert.exe)	Generates X.509 certificates for testing purposes only.
Certificate Manager Tool (Certmgr.exe)	Manages certificates, certificate trust lists (CTLs), and certificate revocation lists (CRLs).
Certificate Verification Tool (Chktrust.exe)	Verifies the validity of a file signed with an X.509 certificate.
Code Access Security Policy Tool (Caspol.exe)	Allows you to examine and modify machine, user, and enterprise-level code access security policies.
File Signing Tool (Signcode.exe)	Signs a portable executable (PE) file with an Authenticode digital signature.
Permissions View Tool (Permview.exe)	Displays the minimal, optional, and refused permission sets requested by an assembly. You can also use this tool to view all declarative security used by an assembly.
PEVerify Tool (PEverify.exe)	Performs MSIL type safety verification checks and metadata validation checks on a specified assembly.
Policy Migration Tool (Migpol.exe)	Migrates security policy between two compatible versions of the .NET Framework.
Secutil Tool (Secutil.exe)	Extracts strong name public key information or Authenticode publisher certificates from an assembly, in a format that can be incorporated into code.
Set Registry Tool (Setreg.exe)	Allows you to change the registry settings for the Software Publishing State keys, which control the behavior of the certificate verification process.
Software Publisher Certificate Test Tool (Cert2spc.exe)	Creates, for test purposes only, a Software Publisher's Certificate (SPC) from one or more X.509 certificates.
Strong Name Tool (Sn.exe)	Helps create assemblies with strong names. Sn.exe provides options for key management, signature generation, and signature verification.

General Tools

Tool	Description
Common Language Runtime Minidump Tool (Mscordmp.exe)	Creates a file containing information that is useful for analyzing system issues in the runtime. The Microsoft Dr. Watson tool (Drwatson.exe) invokes this program automatically.
License Compiler (Lc.exe)	Reads text files that contain licensing information and produces a .licenses file that can be embedded in a common language runtime executable.
Management Strongly Typed Class Generator (Mgmtclassgen.exe)	Allows you to quickly generate an early-bound class in C#, Visual Basic, or JScript for a specified Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) class.
MSIL Assembler (Ilasm.exe)	Generates a PE file from Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL). You can run the resulting executable, which contains MSIL code and the required metadata, to determine whether the MSIL code performs as expected.
MSIL Disassembler (Ildasm.exe)	Takes a PE file that contains MSIL code and creates a text file suitable as input to the MSIL Assembler (Ilasm.exe).
Resource File Generator Tool (Resgen.exe)	Converts text files and .resx (XML-based resource format) files to .NET common language runtime binary .resources files that can be embedded in a runtime binary executable or compiled into satellite assemblies.
Windows Forms ActiveX Control Importer (Aximp.exe)	Converts type definitions in a COM type library for an ActiveX control into a Windows Forms control.
Windows Forms Class Viewer (Wincv.exe)	Finds managed classes matching a specified search pattern, and displays information about those classes using the Reflection API.
Windows Forms Resource Editor (Winres.exe)	Allows you to quickly and easily localize Windows Forms forms.