Solution: Installing Win SDK after VS2008 breaks XAML Intellisense

Question

Several VS 2008 and Windows SDK users have reported that Intellisense stops working for XAML projects  after installing the Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5.   The Windows SDK Team and the Visual Studio 2008 team has been able to repro the issue and the cause has been identified.  A Visual Studio registry value is being incorrectly reset after the Windows SDK is installed, causing this failure. 

 

 How to determine if  you are experiencing this issue

1.       Please review the article, Windows registry information for advanced users before using regedit.

2.       Using regedit, look at the key:  

·         On X86 machines: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{73B7DC00-F498-4ABD-AB79-D07AFD52F395}\InProcServer32

·         On X64 machines: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{73B7DC00-F498-4ABD-AB79-D07AFD52F395}\InProcServer32

3.       If (Default) is empty you are experiencing this issue

 

We suggest two workarounds: repair Visual Studio 2008 or register TextMgrP.dll manually. 

Repair Visual Studio 2008:

1.       From the Start button, open the  Control Panel

2.       Click on Program and Settings (Add/Remove Programs on non-Vista machines)

3.       Click to select Visual Studio 2008 and click Change (at the top of the window)

4.       When the change dialog box launches, select Repair 

 

 Register TextMgrP.dll manually

On an X86 machine:

1.       Open a Windows CMD window as an Administrator (On Vista: Start, All Programs, Accessories, right-click on command prompt and  choose to Run as Administrator)

2.  Type: regsvr32 "%CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared\MSEnv\TextMgrP.dll"

 

On an X64 machine:

1.       Open a Windows CMD window as an Administrator (On Vista: Start, All Programs, Accessories, right-click on command prompt and  choose to Run as Administrator)

2.  Type: regsvr32 "%CommonProgramFiles(X86)%\Microsoft Shared\MSEnv\TextMgrP.dll"

 

Restart Visual Studio and Intellisense should be working correctly again.

 

      K a r i n   M e i e r

Windows SDK | Samples & Community PM

http://blogs.msdn.com/KarinM

                                                        

Answer 1

I'm sorry but I tried the method above and it doesn't work. I suffered a lot without the intellisense for the XAML files. Any other suggestion?

Thanks.

Answer 2

I can understand how you feel.  Intellisense is such a great tool.  Can you tell me more, please?

 

1.       Which of the above workaround methods did you try?  Did you try to Repair Visual Studio or did you Register TextMgrP.dll manually?

2.       Did you use Regedit to look at this key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{73B7DC00-F498-4ABD-AB79-D07AFD52F395}\InProcServer32 to see what the (Default) value was?

3.       What is your machine platform architecture? (X86, X64 or IA64)

4.       Is Visual Studio 2008 your only version of Visual Studio you have on the computer?

5.       Which did you install first, VS or the Windows SDK?

 

--Karin

 

||Karin Meier||Windows SDK PM||Build Environment.Samples.Community|| http://blogs.msdn.com/KarinM||

 

 

Answer 3

Hi,

 

Which editor are you using?

I noticed that you don't have Intellisense if you open the xaml file with Visual Studio's Xml Editor (for instance if you have complex xaml that the designer cannot render or if it takes forever to load) .

I have juste logged an issue on connect

https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=333690

 

Tony.

Answer 4

 

Thanks for your help, Karin and A.Guerot. I think I have the same problem with you, A.Guerot. I have no intellisense if XAML is opened by the XML editor. However, I noticed in machines without the "Windows SDK for Windows Server 2008 and .Net Framework 3.5" installed the intellisense of the XML editor and XAML Designer both work.

 

My SDK is installed after the Visual Studio 2008. I uninstalled Visual Studio and SDK and re-installed them in the order of SDK first and then Visual Studio. It still didn't work. Perhaps we have to wait for the Visual Studio Team to have a look into this issue.

 

 

Answer 5

I've tried the second solution "Register TextMgrP.dll manually" (on X86, SDK v6.1) -- it works!

Thanks Karin!

Answer 6

Great news, Maxim!  I’m so glad this workaround fixed your problem.  Thanks for letting me know.

 

--Karin

      K a r i n   M e i e r

Windows SDK | Samples & Community PM

http://blogs.msdn.com/KarinM

 

Answer 7

I changed the Default value in the registry manually and it fixed the problem. For some reason, running regsvr32 as outlined above (with the correct path and all, I double-checked) gave me an error message about not finding a module.

Thanks for figuring that all out! I had gotten really frustrated by the disappearance of auto-complete. I did install the Windows SDK after C# Express 2008 and I think that is indeed when the problem started.

Answer 8

Djdanlib, I’m glad you got XAML Intellisense working again.  Did you use the reg key editing solution Brett Kilty posted at Solution: Intellisense broken in all WPF Projects after installing SDK/MSDN?  I don't really know why manually running regsvr32 didn't work for you.  Strange.

 

I agree that this issue probably started when you installed the Windows SDK, but the actual issue is with DExplore, the document explorer app that ships with lots of products (including the Windows SDK). 

 

The DExplore team will have this issue fixed in future releases.  I’m sorry you ran into this problem!

 

--Karin

 

||Karin Meier||Windows SDK PM||Build Environment.Samples.Community||http://blogs.msdn.com/KarinM||

 

 

Answer 9

The problem with the manually running regsvr32 is quite simple as I found -- the last quotation mark of the command is wrong for some reason.
It is ” instead of ". 

Answer 10

Thanks for the feedback, Maxim.  I’ve fixed the punctuation from smart quotes to non-formatted quotes.  I appreciate your post!

 

--Karin

 

||Karin Meier||Windows SDK PM||Build Environment.Samples.Community|| http://blogs.msdn.com/KarinM||

 

 

 

Answer 11

I have tried both of the above methods and with no luck my XAML intellisense is still broken. I should note that the Registry reference was not broken to begin with. Another possible problem (guess) is that I also have VS 2005 installed for lagacy applications. I tested 2005 and its XAML intellisense is fine.


Any help?

Answer 12

Ok I talked to a coworker and we figured the issue out. In VS 2005 you did not need to do this but this worked great. I like to look at XAML without the Designer. So I had defaut set to  XML editior which as it turns out has no intellisense. I had to set it to Windows Presentation Foundation Designer as default and disable the Designer part in Options, Text Editior, XAML, MISC, Always open XAML documents in full XAML view.

YAY : ) !

Answer 13

My registry setting was good. But I had to re-register the dll and restart VS 08.

Thanks

Answer 14

I tried repairing VS 2008 several times and also tried to register dll manually. The problem still exists. Any other solution?

 

Answer 15

CoderAnnie, have you confirmed that you are experiencing the issue described in this thread?  (Please review the article, Windows registry information for advanced users before using regedit.)

 

Use Regedit to look at the key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{73B7DC00-F498-4ABD-AB79-D07AFD52F395}\InProcServer32 to confirm that the (Default) value was empty?   If you have a different scenario please provide details.

 

--Karin

 

||Karin Meier||Windows SDK PM||Build Environment.Samples.Community||http://blogs.msdn.com/KarinM||

 

 

Answer 16

 

I have  confirmed that default value is not empty. The value is: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MSEnv\TextMgrP.dll.

 

Also, this issue starting happening after I updaed VS 2008 to SP1.

Answer 17

I am also having this problem on a 64 bit machine (Fresh install running Vista Business, SQL Server 2008, .NET 3.5SP1 and Visual Studio SP1).  I installed .NET 3.5SP1 first, then SQL Server 2008, then visual studio.

This is an error I get in the output window when I try and view XAML:

The Microsoft.VisualStudio.Xaml ({E58C2A8B-BCC4-4559-AD59-D62EB6D58A22}) did not load because of previous errors. For assistance, contact the package vendor. To attempt to load this package again, type 'devenv /resetskippkgs' at the command prompt.

If I try to go to Tools > Options > Text Editor > I can click on General and Tabs.  However if I click on Formatting or Miscellaneous then I get the error: "An error occured loading this property page".

What I have tried as of now:

   1. When I run '%systemroot%\syswow64\regedit' the Default is 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MSEnv\TextMgrP.dll'.  This file exists locally.
   2. I have tried to register (as an administrator with 'regsvr32 "%CommonProgramFiles(X86)%\Microsoft Shared\MSEnv\TextMgrP.dll"' to which I receive the prompt 'DllRegisterServer in C:\Program FIles (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MSEnv\TextMgrP.dll succeeded.'
   3. I have tried repairing Visual Studio.
   4. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling visual studio.

Anything else work for anybody else?

Answer 18

CoderAnnie, have you confirmed that you have the same issue that this workaround was written for?  This problem is caused when installing the Windows SDK for Server 2008 on top of Visual Studio 2008. You can confirm that you have this issue by checking to see if the default value for the registry key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{73B7DC00-F498-4ABD-AB79-D07AFD52F395}\InProcServer32 is empty.  If the key has a value you do not have this issue and the workarounds will not help you. 

 

How to determine if  you are experiencing this issue

1.       Please review the article, Windows registry information for advanced users before using regedit.

2.       Using regedit, look at the key:  

·         On X86 machines: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{73B7DC00-F498-4ABD-AB79-D07AFD52F395}\InProcServer32

·         On X64 machines: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{73B7DC00-F498-4ABD-AB79-D07AFD52F395}\InProcServer32

3.       If (Default) is empty you are experiencing this issue

 

Are you using the XAML Designer or the XAML Editor to view your files.  The XAML editor does not support Intellisense.  You might try setting Windows Presentation Foundatio Designer as your default.  Disable the Designer using the pull down menu Options, Text Editor, XAML, Misc.  Then try to open your XAML document using full XAML view.  Does that help?

 

Are you using Visual Studio 2008 SP1?

 

--Karin

 

||Karin Meier||Windows SDK PM||Build Environment.Samples.Community||http://blogs.msdn.com/KarinM||

 

Answer 19

I have  the same problem as Eric Kaufman.

 

However, I'm using WIndows XP sp3, VS 2008 Pro (a load of updates) and it also occurs with VB 2008 Express (sp1).  I don't have the problem with VC# 2008 express.

 

I too have un-installed, repaired etc.  But still a problem.

 

Any suggestions?

 

 

 

Answer 20

I have VistaHome64, SQL 2008 Developer, VS2008SP1, Expression Studio, Silverlight2 SDK

And...

No Intellisense on XAML in VS2008
No Ajax nor WPF Components (see screen shots)
No Tools->Options->XAML->Formatting properties

I also have lots of screwy stuff going on (it could be since VS SP1 but I haven't confirmed that).

If I had the Ajax controls showing up I could live w/o Intellisense.

Here's a link to some screen shots:  http://picasaweb.google.com/MarownIOM/VS#

BTW:  My registry key is populated and just for kicks I re-registered TextMgrP.DLL from DOS run as Administrator.  The only thing I haven't re-installed is VS2008.  From other posts they have done the same with no better results so I didn't bother.

I'm considering creating a VM to see if I can reproduce this problem.

Answer 21

 

Could someone please help me...I've taken all the suggestions listed in this thread, plus several more found via google...still no joy.  I've uninstalled and reinstalled everything more than twice and spent the better part of 4 days trying to fignure this out.  It's driving me CRAZY!

Answer 22

CoderAnnie, you DO NOT have the issue described in this thread, so this workaround will not help you.  You have another problem, not caused by installing the Windows SDK.  I recommend you look at another thread on this issue, such as this one on the WPF Forum: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vswpfdesigner/thread/053dc5c3-27fe-4ea2-a7f5-5c6cf35000bb. 

 

How to tell if you are experiencing the issue described in THIS THREAD:

  

Use Regedit to look at the key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{73B7DC00-F498-4ABD-AB79-D07AFD52F395}\InProcServer32 to confirm that the (Default) value is empty.  If the value is empty, you have the problem described in this thread and can use the fix recommended at the top of this thread.  If the value IS NOT EMPTY, you  have a different scenario and should start another thread on the Visual Studio forum, such as this one on the WPF Forum: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vswpfdesigner/thread/053dc5c3-27fe-4ea2-a7f5-5c6cf35000bb.  (Please review the article, Windows registry information for advanced users before using regedit.)

 

 --Karin

 

||Karin Meier||Windows SDK PM||Build Environment.Samples.Community||http://blogs.msdn.com/KarinM||

 

 

 

Answer 23

 

Ok, thanks for the update. Like you mentioned, InProcServer32  is set. But I have tried other solutions mentioned in several other threads including the one you mentioned. Still does not seem to work. Thanks anyways.

Answer 24

I’m trying to understand what other issues could be causing your problem and will update this thread when I find them.  Feel free to start up another thread on the WPF designer forum http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vswpfdesigner/threads/. I understand that this is very frustrating for you and will try my best to find an answer from other teams.

 

--Karin

 

||Karin Meier||Windows SDK PM||Build Environment.Samples.Community ||http://blogs.msdn.com/KarinM||

 

 

Answer 25

There is a new hotfix out.

http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/KB958017

See if this helps.

Answer 26

This hotfix is for .NET 3.0 and Server 2003. I have .NET 3.5 and Vista.

 

Answer 27

James Osborne wrote re: Intellisense for XML config files broken in VS 2008?

on 11-05-2008 6:05 PM

If you are still hitting this, I just found a fix.  Using cmd, navigate to the Visual Studio 2008 (9.0) folder in the Program Files folder.  cd to Common7\IDE.  Type, "devenv.exe /setup"

You can open taskmgr to monitor the devenv process.  When it's done, just reopen visual studio and xml should start rendering.  At least it worked for me.  Good luck.

I done this and secceeded.

Answer 28

I found this.

 

James Osborne wrote re: Intellisense for XML config files broken in VS 2008?

on 11-05-2008 6:05 PM

If you are still hitting this, I just found a fix.  Using cmd, navigate to the Visual Studio 2008 (9.0) folder in the Program Files folder.  cd to Common7\IDE.  Type, "devenv.exe /setup"

You can open taskmgr to monitor the devenv process.  When it's done, just reopen visual studio and xml should start rendering.  At least it worked for me.  Good luck.

 

It works.

Answer 29

I have the very same problem, but after trying the manual method described, it still does not work. I looked at another machine at it has an wpf editor in the open with dialog box. Where can I get the wpf editor?

Thanks Bob

Answer 30

Hi Karin,

 

I have tried all the above mentioned method 2-3 times.

But not able to resolve the issue.

Very much disapponted with VS 2008.

 

Thanks,

Krishna

 

Answer 31

By issue got resolved by registering TextMgrP.dll manually

Thanks,
Mahesh

---

Mahesh. MCP

Answer 32

Moose, it sounds like you have a different problem, and it’s one that I had myself.  You can see if you can get the WPF designer back by quitting Visual Studio then running “devenv /resetskippkgs” in case you had package load failures in the past which you may have suppressed. Then check if the WPF designer shows up again in the list of available designers.

 

You need to run that command from the Visual Studio Command Prompt (Run as Administrator on Vista), which you can find in the start menu under Microsoft Visual Studio 2008->Visual Studio Tools.  I assume that you have installed Visual Studio 2008 SP1.  If not, you’ll need to do that first. 

 

If that doesn’t work for you I recommend you search the MSDN Forum for Visual Studio WPF Designer.  If you run the resetskippkgs command and get back an error message, search on that error message in the WPF Designer forum. 

 

--Karin

 

||Karin Meier||Windows SDK PM||Samples.Community|| http://blogs.msdn.com/KarinM ||

 

---

Karin Meier

Answer 33

Vista Ultimate x64 SP1, VS 2008 SP1 and regsvr solution worked. Thanks!

---

Information Systems and Custom Software Development

Answer 34

I experienced this after installing the Windows 7 SDK on Win7 Beta after VS2008.  Manually setting the registry key back to TextMgrP.dll fixed it! Thanks!

Answer 35

Sorry to say, but this solutions was absolutly useless for me. I've described my problem here: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vswpfdesigner/thread/6c7a9c6c-d565-46ae-83ed-d39998c0fd41/

Answer 36

Same problem, same solution. Thanks!!

---

Xml MVP

Answer 37

I tried the above and it did fix the problem for me.

Now I am having a problem in my XAML when I try to create a Command binding.

'CommandValueSerializer' ValueSerializer cannot convert from 'System.String'.

I looked on the forum but have not found anything of value are these two issues related.  I am trying to create a command in my Main XAML window and I have other commands that work fine.

Here are my command bindings

    <Window.CommandBindings>
        <CommandBinding Command="New"
                        Executed="Command_FileNewView"
                        CanExecute="Command_CanFileNewView"/>
        <CommandBinding Command="Open"
                        Executed="Command_FileOpen"
                        CanExecute="Command_CanFileOpen"/>
        <CommandBinding Command="Save" 
                        Executed="Command_SaveView"
                        CanExecute="Command_CanSaveView"/>
        <CommandBinding Command="Exit" 
                        Executed="Command_ExitApplication" 
                        CanExecute="Command_CanExitApplication"/>

    </Window.CommandBindings>

It is only failing on the last one.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
-ja

Answer 38

Hey man.. thanks a lot... your solution worked for me.. I struggled lot due to this thing... at Last it worked thanks....

Answer 39

I opened regedit.exe, navigated to the key, found Default empty and copied the path to TextMgrP.dll to the value and then IntelliSense worked for me again. :)

Thanks a lot for providing a simple solution to a problem so obscure to mortals that it would've sent me through hours of googling and probably reinstallation of VS2008!