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How to: Obtain a PLK for a VSPackage

  • Articolo

Each VSPackage to be loaded in a deployed application must have a valid package load key (PLK). The PLK is uniquely related to the VSPackage and cannot be used to load any other VSPackage. PLKs are obtained from the Microsoft Visual Studio Industry Partner (VSIP) Portal.

The portal lets you group packages by product name version. This grouping is a convenience for managing your packages, and does not constrain how you combine multiple packages when you create a setup file for a Visual Studio extension.

Nota

Be careful when you enter the information that is required to obtain your PLK. Incorrect information is the primary reason for a package load failure. The strings that you use to create the PLK must match the parameters that you use to create the ProvideLoadKeyAttribute for the class that implements your VSPackage.

If you are creating a new version of an existing package, assign a new GUID to the new version of the package. Use this new GUID and a new version string when you create the new PLK.

To obtain a PLK from the VSIP developer Web site

  1. Go to the Visual Studio Industry Partner Portal.

  2. Sign in by using your Windows Live ID. If you are not yet registered to use the site, you can register on the sign-in page. If you do not have a Windows Live ID, you can obtain one during the registration process.

    After you sign in, the Partner home page is displayed.

  3. Under Quick Tasks, click Request a Package Load Key. The Products page is then displayed.

  4. To select the product for which you need the PLK, follow the instructions on the page. If you have not yet registered the product, you can do so on this page.

    Nota

    The company name that appears next to the product name is the company name that you used when you created your VSIP membership. It must match the CompanyName property of the ProvideLoadKeyAttribute for the class that implements your VSPackage. The product name is the only product information that is used as part of generating the PLK. However, the rest of the product information is used if you decided to submit the product to the online product catalog. The product name must match the ProductName property of the ProvideLoadKeyAttribute for the class that implements your VSPackage.

    After you select a product, the Product Information page is displayed.

  5. Click Request New PLK.

    The Package Load Keys - New Item page is displayed.

  6. Read the instructions on the page, and then fill in the requested fields. Be careful not to add any leading or trailing spaces.

    Field name

    Value

    Required

    Package Guid

    This is the GUID attribute of the class that implements your VSPackage, for example:

    [Guid("EEE474A0-083B-4e9c-B453-F6FCCEDA2577")]
public class MyProductName : Microsoft.VisualStudio.Shell.Package
    NoteNote:

    Type the numeric value in the field, and include braces, as follows.

    		 
    {EEE474A0-083B-4e9c-B453-F6FCCEDA2577}

    Yes

    PLK Version.

    Type a product version, for example, 1.0. You can use any string.

    This is the string you use for the ProductVersion property of the ProvideLoadKeyAttribute for your package.

    Yes

    Minimum Product Edition

    Select a value on the drop-down list. This value controls which editions of Visual Studio can load the package.

    This is the string you use for the MinimumEdition property of the ProvideLoadKeyAttribute for your package.

    Standard indicates that the Standard, Professional, and Team Suite editions can load the package. Professional indicates that only the Professional and Team Suite editions can load the package.

    We recommend that you select the most general option, Standard, and limit the behavior of your package programmatically through your project's setup application instead of relying on this aspect of the PLK.

    Yes

    Visual Studio Version

    Select a value on the drop-down list, for example, Visual Studio 2005.

    This value sets the earliest version under which your package is available.

    Select the earliest version of Visual Studio that supports the features that your package uses.

    Yes

    PLK Comments

    This field is for your use, and does not affect how the PLK is generated.

    No

    Click OK. The Product Information page is displayed again for your project, and a portion of your new PLK is displayed under Package Load Key (PLK).

  7. To copy the PLK value, click the new PLK in the Package Load Key (PLK) list. The Package Load Key page is displayed.

    1. Review the information on this page to verify that you are viewing the PLK for the correct package.

    2. Copy the PLK from the PLK Details table.

For information about how to add the PLK to your package, see How to: Add a PLK to a VSPackage Project (C#).

See Also

Concepts

How to: Add a PLK to a VSPackage Project (C#)

VSPackage Load Keys