CreatePkgDef Utility

Takes a .dll file for a Visual Studio extension as a parameter and creates a .pkgdef file to accompany the .dll. The .pkgdef file contains all the information that would otherwise be written to the system registry when the extension is installed.

Note

Most of the project templates that are included in the Visual Studio 2012 SDK automatically create .pkgdef files as part of the build process. This document is intended for those who want to create packages manually, or convert existing packages to use .pkgdef deployment.

CreatePkgDef /out=FileName [/codebase] [/assembly] AssemblyPath

Arguments

  • /out=FileName
    Required. Sets the name of the .pkgdef output file toFileName.

  • /codebase
    Optional. Forces registration with the CodeBase utility.

  • /assembly
    Forces registration with the Assembly utility.

  • AssemblyPath
    The path of the .dll file from which you want to generate the .pkgdef.

Remarks

Extension deployment by using .pkgdef files replaces the registry requirements of earlier versions of Visual Studio.

The .pkgdef files must be installed in one of the following locations: %localappdata%\Microsoft\Visual Studio\11.0\Extensions\ or %vsinstalldir%\Common7\IDE\Extensions\. If the installation folder is %localappdata%\Microsoft\Visual Studio\11.0\Extensions\, the extension will be recognized by Visual Studio, but will be disabled by default. The user can enable the extension by using Extension Manager. For more information, see How to: Disable and Re-enable Visual Studio Tools and Extensions. If the installation folder is %vsinstalldir%\Common7\IDE\Extensions\, the extension is enabled by default.

Note

Extension Manager cannot be used to access an extension unless it is installed as part of a VSIX package. For more information, see Visual Studio Extension Deployment.

See Also

Reference

CreateExpInstance Utility

Concepts

Product Release Essentials

Other Resources

Releasing a Visual Studio Integration Product