Controlling Add-Ins with the Add-In Manager

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The Add-In Manager is the tool for loading and removing Add-ins in the IDE, as well as for specifying their load behavior. The Add-In Manager lists all currently registered Add-ins. Using the Add-In Manager, you can, for example, immediately load or unload an Add-in, or specify that an Add-in loads at environment startup or when the environment is started through the command line, such as with a build or make operation.

Only registered Add-ins appear in the Available Add-Ins list. For information about how to register Add-ins so that they appear in the Available Add-ins list, see Add-In Registration.

Note   You cannot use the TAB key to navigate to the Startup and Command Line columns, you must instead use ALT + S and ALT + C, respectively, to toggle the selections.

The Add-In Manager Dialog Box

To load an Add-in immediately

  1. Select it from the list.

  2. Select the check box in the Startup column, and then click OK.

    If the Add-in has a user interface, then it will appear, or the Add-in may alternatively appear as a toolbar button or a menu command, depending on how the Add-in was programmed. If the Add-in does not have a UI, it will load invisibly and begin running.

    Tip   If you attempt to load an Add-in that cannot be located, the Add-In Manager offers to unregister it so that it no longer appears in the list.

To specify that an Add-in should load at environment startup

  1. Select the Add-in from the list.

  2. Select the Load at startup box in the Startup column.

    The next time the environment starts, the Add-in will load if it is available.

Add-In registration information is stored as a key in the Windows registry. For more information, see Add-In Registration.

Invoking Add-ins Through the Devenv Command Line

In addition to using the Add-in Manager to start add-ins, you can also call an add-in, if it has a command name associated with it, by using the Devenv command line. To do this, use the /command switch. The syntax for this is:

devenv /command <command>.<name>

where command.name is the command name of your add-in. For more information on using Devenv command line switches, see Devenv Command Line Switches.

See Also

Creating Add-Ins and Wizards | Creating an Add-In | Creating a Wizard | Visual Studio Commands