The usual cause of a missing Object Mapper is that Visual Studio has a pointer to a “bad” Object Mapper Add-in.

Check for “bad” Add-in

ð    Launch Visual Studio

ð    Select Tools ? Add-in Manager … from the menu.

Add-in Manager probably shows that the IdeaBlade Object Mapper is present as in the following:

Visual Studio “remembers” the last time it tried to use this Add-in and it can’t load what it remembers.

Copying a new version of the Object Mapper Add-in on top of the old copy won’t work. Visual Studio won’t try to load it again until we make it forget about this Add-in.

The trick is to

·         Rename the IdeaBlade.DevTools.Orm.AddIn file temporarily,

·         convince Visual Studio that it is gone,

·         restore the Add-in file name, and

·         cause Visual Studio to discover it anew.

The AddIns Directory

Visual Studio looks for an XML file in its “AddIns” directory.

That directory varies depending upon your edition of Visual Studio and how you installed it.

The preferred location is:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\MSEnvShared\AddIns

Alternatively, the directory may be in the user’s directory space at

%HOMEPATH%\My Documents\Visual Studio 8\AddIns

Jiggle the Object Mapper AddIn file

We can proceed now that we know where Visual Studio keeps its Add-in information.

ð    Exit Visual Studio.

ð    Navigate to the Visual Studio “AddIns” directory

ð    Rename IdeaBlade.DevTools.Orm.AddIn to IdeaBlade.DevTools.Orm.AddInXX

ð    Confirm for Windows that it is OK to change the file extension.

ð    Launch Visual Studio.

ð    Select Tools ? Add-in Manager … from the menu.

ð    Verify that “IdeaBlade Object Mapper” is no longer listed.

ð    Exit Visual Studio.

ð    Restore IdeaBlade.DevTools.Orm.AddInX back to IdeaBlade.DevTools.Orm.AddIn

That should do it. Now we verify that the Object Mapper is installed.

ð    Launch Visual Studio again.

ð    Look for “IdeaBlade Object Mapper” at the top of the Tools menu.

Still can’t make it appear?

You’ve tried the Object Mapper Installer, you’ve jiggled the AddIn file, and it still won’t appear in the Tools menu.

You can see the Object Mapper in the Add-in Manager; it just won’t appear in the Tools menu.

Perhaps you customized your installation of Visual Studio. Excluding VB or C# will cause this behavior.

Try the following:

ð    Open the Visual Studio Tools menu.

ð    Select "Customize…".

ð    Select “AddIns” on the Commands tab.  You should see IdeaBlade Object Mapper in the Commands window.

ð    Select and drag the “IdeaBlade Object Mapper” onto the Tools Menu just above "Connect to Device.

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