Office add-in is loaded slowly

Question

Hi all,

I have developed an Word 2007 add-in with Visual Studio 2008 and VSTO 3.0. It works on most machines, but it is loaded slowly on one machine. This issue also happened even if the machine is connected to internet.

If I unchecked "Check for Publisher's Certificate Revocation" setting, the delay will change from around 30 to 15 seconds. If I didn't sign the add-in, the delay will change from around 15 to 2 seconds. I tried to add app.config with below content and sign the add-in, the delay will still be around 15 seconds.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
  <runtime>
    <generatePublisherEvidence enabled="false"/>
  </runtime>
</configuration>

I also added prefix "file:///" into manifest path, but it seems that app.config does not work. Could anyone help me to figure out the root cause? Thanks.

Answer 1

If I added WINWORD.exe.config file in Office directory, then the delay issue will disappear. Therefore, the root cause should be that app.config did not be loaded correctly. But I have added prefix "file:///" in manifest path like below, why does Office 2010 not load WordAddIn.dll.config on that machine? 

Manifest = file:///C:\Program Files\Acer\Office Addin\WordAddIn.vsto|vstolocal

Answer 2

i think there is a bug related to this regarding 'fast path' and SP1 for office 2010 and vsto. Please remove file:// prefix from manifest path in registry to avoid problem loading your config.

Answer 3

After installed Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime and reboot, this issue disappeared. Then I removed VSTO and reboot again, this issue still disappeared. It's very strange. My add-in is developed by Visual Studio 2008, and I packed VSTO 3.0 for deployment. Should I change to pack VSTO 4.0 instead of 3.0?

Answer 4

After read below articles, I have a question about what manifest path is right? I setup my add-in to support both 2007 and 2010. Should I use "file:///" or "file://" or no prefix? By the way, if I don't add prefix, my add-in may not be loaded on some machines.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/vsod/archive/2011/06/14/vsto-4-0-sp1-will-cause-a-vsto-addin-to-not-find-its-config-file.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/chhopkin/archive/2011/11/08/app-config-files-with-vsto-4-0-sp1.aspx

Answer 5

i would omit whole problem with config file and leave manifest path as is in registry and roll out my own config file for storing data.