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reading a SSIS package variable from it's C# asp launcher

I have to modify an existing SSIS package, to launch it from a web site. Currently, this package is launched on demand by double clicking it, shows a form to ask for an excel file location and some database credentials that are stored in package variables, and then loads data from the excel file into a DB. Since there are many errors that can occur in the process, there is a package variable that holds an internal state, to inform the user which part of the process failed.
Given that I have to launch the package from a web site, as a first approach I have split the package in two, a master package that gets the information from user, executes the slave package by passing the user parameters through package variables, gets the child package internal state and then it finishes by informing the user the final state of this process. The communication between packages is being done by using variables with the same name and package configuration (main package variables). This is true for all variables except for the internal state one, that exists just in the parent, but is used in the child. Since both share the same context, it works ok.
Now that the child package is isolated, I'm trying to replace the master one with a C# asp site. Currently I'm able to get the user parameters through a webform and execute the package, but I can't figure how to read the child's internal state variable from the web app.
This internal value is an integer from 0 to 12, where 0 means ok and any other means that something went wrong with loading a table, executing a SP or something else.
There is a way to get this package variable value from the web app, when the package finishes? Otherwise, I just realized that this could be wrote in a log file that could be read by the web app, but I was wondering if there is a more wise solution.
Just to let you know, this is how I'm passing variables from the web app to the package. The package is configured to set its variables from primary/main package variables.
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.Web.UI.WebControls;
using Microsoft.SqlServer.Dts.Runtime;
public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page
{
protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
}
protected void Button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Application app = new Application();
Package package = null;
String PackagePath = "";
try
{
string fileName = FileUpload1.PostedFile.FileName.ToString();
fileName = Server.MapPath("App_Data//" + System.IO.Path.GetFileName(fileName));
FileUpload1.PostedFile.SaveAs(fileName);
//Load DTSX
PackagePath = #"C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\DTS\Packages\Null Project\Package.dtsx";
package = app.LoadPackage(PackagePath, null);
//Global package variables (same name)
Hashtable param = new Hashtable();
param["ServidorOrigen"] = "SQL_SERVER";
param["UserOrigen"] = "user";
param["PassOrigen"] = "pass";
param["BaseDatosOrigen"] = "test_database";
param["EstadoConexion"] = 0;
param["EstadoPaquete"] = 0;
param["ExcelRuta"] = fileName.ToString();
Variables vars = null;
foreach (DictionaryEntry entry in param)
{
package.VariableDispenser.LockOneForWrite(entry.Key.ToString(), ref vars);
try
{
vars[entry.Key.ToString()].Value = entry.Value.ToString();
}
catch
{
throw new Exception("variable " + entry.Key.ToString() + " not found in package");
}
finally
{
vars.Unlock();
}
}
//Execute DTSX
Microsoft.SqlServer.Dts.Runtime.DTSExecResult results = package.Execute();
//Collects debugging info
using (StreamWriter _testData = new StreamWriter(Server.MapPath("~/App_Data/log.txt"), true))
{
if (!package.Errors.Count.Equals(0)){
_testData.WriteLine(package.Errors.Count.ToString()); // Write the file.
ErrorEnumerator myEnumerator = package.Errors.GetEnumerator();
int i = 0;
while ((myEnumerator.MoveNext()) && (myEnumerator.Current != null))
_testData.WriteLine("[{0}] {1}", i++, myEnumerator.Current.Description);
}
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
throw ex;
}
}
}

You can store the state in a database table the same way you would with your log file and then just have your web app read that at a given interval.
I'm not sure how you are passing your variables from the web app to the ssis, but you could look into the ssis configuration stuff storing in sql databases.
I have a similar thing I do.
Config stuff saved to database from web app.
Web app calls a sql job.
Job starts ssis package.
Web app queries every minute to see if the job has finished and returns succeeded or failed to user.

Create solution file(.sln) and project files(.csproj) dynamically

I am creating code generation tool (auto code generation based on table structure) as a Windows forms application in Visual Studio 2012 using .NET Framework 4.0. It's generating the portable object, controller, WCF services and business logic code files.
All code files bundle in the appropriate project and all project bundle in one solution. The solution and projects need to create dynamically through program.
I have tried to create the solution and project using Visual Studio Add-in project. It is working fine in Add-In project (separate solution). The OnConnection method call automatically in Add-in project. Now I want to implements this in my code generation tool. While debugging in Add-In project the application variable shown like COM object.
I am tried to pass the value for OnConnection method from code generation tool, it throws an error (I passed this object for application variable). I really don't know how to call this method from my code generation tool. Anyone help this?
Code
private DTE2 _applicationObject;
private AddIn _addInInstance;
public void OnConnection(object application, ext_ConnectMode connectMode, object addInInst, ref Array custom)
{
_applicationObject = (DTE2)application;
_addInInstance = (AddIn)addInInst;
createProjectsFromTemplates(_applicationObject);
}
public void createProjectsFromTemplates(DTE2 dte)
{
try
{
Solution2 soln = (Solution2)dte.Solution;
string csTemplatePath;
string csPrjPath = "SamplePath\\TestCreateProject";
csTemplatePath = soln.GetProjectTemplate("WpfApplication.zip", "CSharp");
System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show("C# template path: " + csTemplatePath);
soln.AddFromTemplate(csTemplatePath, csPrjPath, "NewWCFCSharpAutoGeneratorProject", false);
Project prj;
ProjectItem prjItem;
String itemPath;
// Point to the first project (the Visual Basic project).
prj = soln.Projects.Item(1);
prjItem = prj.ProjectItems.AddFromFileCopy("SampelCSharp.cs");
}
catch (System.Exception ex)
{
System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show("ERROR: " + ex.Message);
}
}

You can instantiate a VS from the host application and generate the files. Hope that will work. The below code works well for me.
Use the following namespaces to get work the below given code.
Namespaces:
using System;
using Extensibility;
using EnvDTE;
using EnvDTE80;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.CommandBars;
using System.Resources;
using System.Reflection;
Code:
EnvDTE80.DTE2 dte2;
dte2 = (EnvDTE80.DTE2)System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal.GetActiveObject("VisualStudio.DTE.11.0");
Connect objConnect = new Connect();
Array objArray = null;
objConnect.OnConnection(dte2, ext_ConnectMode.ext_cm_UISetup, null, ref objArray);

I got this reference it is really useful.
http://rcos.rpi.edu/projects/unmake/commit/programmatically-launch-devenv-generate-a-solution-and-save-it/

You can use this. This is for .cs project files and framewwork above .NET 2.0 versions. VB project sources are not compatible.
protected void Build(string project)
{
Engine engine = new Engine();
BuildPropertyGroup properties = new BuildPropertyGroup();
properties.SetProperty(#"Configuration", #"Debug");
// Point to the path that contains the .NET Framework 2.0 CLR and tools
engine.BinPath = #"c:\windows\microsoft.net\framework\v3.5";
// Instantiate a new FileLogger to generate build log
FileLogger logger = new FileLogger();
// Set the logfile parameter to indicate the log destination
string str = #"logfile=D:\temp";
str += project.Substring(project.LastIndexOf("\\"), project.LastIndexOf(".") - project.LastIndexOf("\\")) + ".log";
logger.Parameters = str;
// Register the logger with the engine
engine.RegisterLogger(logger);
// Build a project file
bool success = engine.BuildProjectFile(project, new string[] { "build" }, properties);
//Unregister all loggers to close the log file
engine.UnregisterAllLoggers();
using (BinaryWriter writer = new BinaryWriter(File.Open(#"D:\temp\Prj.log", FileMode.Append)))
{
if (success)
{
writer.Write("\nBuild Success :" + project.Substring(project.LastIndexOf("\\")));
}
else
{
writer.Write("\nBuild Fail :" + project.Substring(project.LastIndexOf("\\")));
}
}
}

Probing Load Exception While Installing Windows Service On .NET

I have a windows service that is written in .NET, and i used probing feature in order to load dll's to this windows service. However, when i open command prompt and try to install windows service using installutil.exe, i got an error such as: "System.Reflection.ReflectionTypeLoadException: Unable to load one or more of the requested types. Retrieve the LoaderExceptions property for more information.
Aborting installation for",
On the other hand, when i move dll's in the same folder with windows service and repeat the installation procedure, windows service is installed successfully.
Do you have any ideas or suggestions about this problem?, is there a probing problem in windows service installation of .NET?

I face the same problem in my project, in my windows service project i have the following app.config section:
<runtime>
<assemblyBinding xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1">
<probing privatePath="SDK" />
</assemblyBinding>
</runtime>
if i executed the service as a console all is well, but when i try to install it the installutil failed and i got the same exception, so my solution is made the service installed itself by a command line: like so:
cmd: hotspotcenter -i <service_name="service name">
// service_name i made it optional
the Installer class helper:
internal static class BasicServiceInstaller
{
public static void Install(string serviceName)
{
CreateInstaller(serviceName).Install(new Hashtable());
}
public static void Uninstall(string serviceName)
{
CreateInstaller(serviceName).Uninstall(null);
}
private static Installer CreateInstaller(string serviceName)
{
var installer = new TransactedInstaller();
installer.Installers.Add(new ServiceInstaller
{
ServiceName = serviceName,
DisplayName = serviceName,
StartType = ServiceStartMode.Manual
});
installer.Installers.Add(new ServiceProcessInstaller
{
Account = ServiceAccount.LocalSystem
});
var installContext = new InstallContext(
serviceName + ".install.log", null);
installContext.Parameters["assemblypath"] =
Assembly.GetEntryAssembly().Location;
installer.Context = installContext;
return installer;
}
}
in the main entry of the service project:
if (Environment.UserInteractive)
{
bool install = false;
bool uninstall = false;
string serviceName = "YourDefaultServiceName";
var p = new OptionSet()
.Add<bool>("i|install", "Install Windows Service", i => install = i)
.Add<bool>("i|install=", "Install Windows Service", i => install = i)
.Add<bool>("u|uninstall", "Uninstall Window Service", u => uninstall = u)
.Add<string>("sn|service_name=", "Service Name", n => serviceName = n);
p.Parse(args);
if (install)
{
BasicServiceInstaller.Install(serviceName);
return;
}
else if (uninstall)
{
BasicServiceInstaller.Uninstall(serviceName);
return;
}
// if no install or uninstall commands so start the service as a console.
var host = new YourService();
host.Start(args);
Console.ReadKey();
}
else
{
ServiceBase.Run(new HotspotCenterService());
}

Without exact information, I would suggest following:
check the exception details to see what exactly went wrong
use Fusion Log Viewer, to see which assemblies failed binding
check whether your probing configuration matches your deployment
Probing is configured as described here.

Using Microsoft.Build.Evaluation to publish a database project (.sqlproj)

I need to be able to publish an SSDT project programmatically. I am looking at using Microsoft.Build to do so but can not find any documentation. It seems pretty simple to create the .dacpac, but how would I either publish to an existing database or at the very least to a .sql file. The idea is to have it do what it does when I right click on the project and select publish. It should compare with a selected database and generate an upgrade script.
This is what I have so far to create the .dacpac:
partial class DBDeploy
{
Project project;
internal void publishChanges()
{
Console.WriteLine("Building project " + ProjectPath);
Stopwatch sw = new Stopwatch();
sw.Start();
project = ProjectCollection.GlobalProjectCollection.LoadProject(ProjectPath);
project.Build();
//at this point the .dacpac is built and put in the debug folder for the project
sw.Stop();
Console.WriteLine("Project build Complete. Total time: {0}", sw.Elapsed.ToString());
}
}
Essentially I am trying to do what this MSBuild Example shows but in code.
Sorry that this is all I have. The doecumentation on the Build classes is very poor. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

I had to do something similar to this because VSDBCMD which we previously used does not deploy to SQL Server 2012 and we needed to support it. What I found was the Microsoft.SqlServer.Dac assembly which seems to come as part of the SQL Server data tools (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/data/tools.aspx)
When you run this on the client machine you will need the full version of the .NET 4 framework and the SQL CLR types and SQL T-SQL ScriptDOM pack found here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29065
Code below is from a mockup I made for testing the new deployment method and deploys a given .dacpac file
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using Microsoft.SqlServer.Dac;
using System.IO;
namespace ConsoleApplication3
{
class Program
{
private static TextWriter output = new StreamWriter("output.txt", false);
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Console.Write("Connection String:");
//Class responsible for the deployment. (Connection string supplied by console input for now)
DacServices dbServices = new DacServices(Console.ReadLine());
//Wire up events for Deploy messages and for task progress (For less verbose output, don't subscribe to Message Event (handy for debugging perhaps?)
dbServices.Message += new EventHandler<DacMessageEventArgs>(dbServices_Message);
dbServices.ProgressChanged += new EventHandler<DacProgressEventArgs>(dbServices_ProgressChanged);
//This Snapshot should be created by our build process using MSDeploy
Console.WriteLine("Snapshot Path:");
DacPackage dbPackage = DacPackage.Load(Console.ReadLine());
DacDeployOptions dbDeployOptions = new DacDeployOptions();
//Cut out a lot of options here for configuring deployment, but are all part of DacDeployOptions
dbDeployOptions.SqlCommandVariableValues.Add("debug", "false");
dbServices.Deploy(dbPackage, "trunk", true, dbDeployOptions);
output.Close();
}
static void dbServices_Message(object sender, DacMessageEventArgs e)
{
output.WriteLine("DAC Message: {0}", e.Message);
}
static void dbServices_ProgressChanged(object sender, DacProgressEventArgs e)
{
output.WriteLine(e.Status + ": " + e.Message);
}
}
}
This seems to work on all versions of SQL Server from 2005 and up. There is a similar set of objects available in Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Dac, however I believe this is in the previous version of DACFx and is not included in the latest version. So use the latest version if you can.

We need a way tell msbuild how and where to publish. Open your project in Visual Studio and begin to Publish it. Enter all needed info in the dialog, including your DB connection info and any custom SQLCMD variable values. Save Profile As... to a file, e.g. Northwind.publish.xml. (You may then Cancel.) Now we can use this and the project file to build and publish:
// Create a logger.
FileLogger logger = new FileLogger();
logger.Parameters = #"logfile=Northwind.msbuild.log";
// Set up properties.
var projects = ProjectCollection.GlobalProjectCollection;
projects.SetGlobalProperty("Configuration", "Debug");
projects.SetGlobalProperty("SqlPublishProfilePath", #"Northwind.publish.xml");
// Load and build project.
var dbProject = ProjectCollection.GlobalProjectCollection.LoadProject(#"Northwind.sqlproj");
dbProject.Build(new[]{"Build", "Publish"}, new[]{logger});
This can take awhile and may appear to get stuck. Be patient. :)

You should use SqlPackage.exe to publish your dacpac.
SqlPackage.exe
/Action:Publish
/SourceFile:C:/file.dacpac
/TargetConnectionString:[Connection string]
Also instead of passing too many parameters you could save your settings into DAC Publish Profile (this can be done from visual studio)

I wanted to build and publish a database based on a sqlproj file and log helpful information to console. Here's what I arrived at:
using Microsoft.Build.Framework;
using Microsoft.Build.Execution;
public void UpdateSchema() {
var props = new Dictionary<string, string> {
{ "UpdateDatabase", "True" },
{ "PublishScriptFileName", "schema-update.sql" },
{ "SqlPublishProfilePath", "path/to/publish.xml") }
};
var projPath = "path/to/database.sqlproj";
var result = BuildManager.DefaultBuildManager.Build(
new BuildParameters { Loggers = new[] { new ConsoleLogger() } },
new BuildRequestData(new ProjectInstance(projPath, props, null), new[] { "Publish" }));
if (result.OverallResult == BuildResultCode.Success) {
Console.WriteLine("Schema update succeeded!");
}
else {
Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Red;
Console.WriteLine("Schema update failed!");
Console.ResetColor();
}
}
private class ConsoleLogger : ILogger
{
public void Initialize(IEventSource eventSource) {
eventSource.ErrorRaised += (sender, e) => {
Console.ForegroundColor = ConsoleColor.Red;
Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
Console.ResetColor();
};
eventSource.MessageRaised += (sender, e) => {
if (e.Importance != MessageImportance.Low)
Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
};
}
public void Shutdown() { }
public LoggerVerbosity Verbosity { get; set; }
public string Parameters { get; set; }
}
This is for .NET 4 and above. Be sure and include assembly references to Microsoft.Build and Microsoft.Build.Framework.

How to deploy a visual studio custom tool?

I have my own custom tool for Visual Studio 2008 SP1. It consists of 5 assemblies: 3 assemblies with code that are used heavily in my other projects, 1 assembly-wrapper above VS2008 SDK and an assembly with the tool.
If I'd debug my tool from visual studio, using "Run external program" option with command line "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe" and arguments "/ranu /rootsuffix Exp" all works perfectly.
After that I'm trying to deploy it to my working VS copy, not to experimental hive, doing: gacutil /i Asm1.dll for all my assemblies and doing RegAsm Asm1.dll only for assembly with custom tool. Neither of utils prints any error, all work as planned, even registry keys appear. But my tool doesn't work (error occurred "Cannot find custom tool 'TransportGeneratorTool' on this system") even after PC restart. What did I do wrong?
Wrapper looks like that:
[ComVisible(true)]
public abstract class CustomToolBase : IVsSingleFileGenerator, IObjectWithSite
{
#region IVsSingleFileGenerator Members
int IVsSingleFileGenerator.DefaultExtension(out string pbstrDefaultExtension)
{
pbstrDefaultExtension = ".cs";
return 0;
}
int IVsSingleFileGenerator.Generate(string wszInputFilePath, string bstrInputFileContents, string wszDefaultNamespace, IntPtr[] rgbOutputFileContents, out uint pcbOutput, IVsGeneratorProgress pGenerateProgress)
{
GenerationEventArgs gea = new GenerationEventArgs(
bstrInputFileContents,
wszInputFilePath,
wszDefaultNamespace,
new ServiceProvider(Site as Microsoft.VisualStudio.OLE.Interop.IServiceProvider)
.GetService(typeof(ProjectItem)) as ProjectItem,
new GenerationProgressFacade(pGenerateProgress)
);
if (OnGenerateCode != null)
{
OnGenerateCode(this, gea);
}
byte[] bytes = gea.GetOutputCodeBytes();
int outputLength = bytes.Length;
rgbOutputFileContents[0] = Marshal.AllocCoTaskMem(outputLength);
Marshal.Copy(bytes, 0, rgbOutputFileContents[0], outputLength);
pcbOutput = (uint)outputLength;
return VSConstants.S_OK;
}
#endregion
#region IObjectWithSite Members
void IObjectWithSite.GetSite(ref Guid riid, out IntPtr ppvSite)
{
IntPtr pUnk = Marshal.GetIUnknownForObject(Site);
IntPtr intPointer = IntPtr.Zero;
Marshal.QueryInterface(pUnk, ref riid, out intPointer);
ppvSite = intPointer;
}
void IObjectWithSite.SetSite(object pUnkSite)
{
Site = pUnkSite;
}
#endregion
#region Public Members
public object Site { get; private set; }
public event EventHandler<GenerationEventArgs> OnGenerateCode;
[ComRegisterFunction]
public static void Register(Type type)
{
using (var parent = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(#"Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0", true))
foreach (CustomToolRegistrationAttribute ourData in type.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(CustomToolRegistrationAttribute), false))
ourData.Register(x => parent.CreateSubKey(x), (x, name, value) => x.SetValue(name, value));
}
[ComUnregisterFunction]
public static void Unregister(Type type)
{
using (var parent = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(#"Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0", true))
foreach (CustomToolRegistrationAttribute ourData in type.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(CustomToolRegistrationAttribute), false))
ourData.Unregister(x => parent.DeleteSubKey(x, false));
}
#endregion
}
My tool code:
[ComVisible(true)]
[Guid("55A6C192-D29F-4e22-84DA-DBAF314ED5C3")]
[CustomToolRegistration(ToolName, typeof(TransportGeneratorTool))]
[ProvideObject(typeof(TransportGeneratorTool))]
public class TransportGeneratorTool : CustomToolBase
{
private const string ToolName = "TransportGeneratorTool";
public TransportGeneratorTool()
{
OnGenerateCode += GenerateCode;
}
private static void GenerateCode(object s, GenerationEventArgs e)
{
try
{
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof (Parser.System));
using (var reader = new StringReader(e.InputText))
using (var writer = new StringWriter(e.OutputCode))
{
Generator.System = (Parser.System) serializer.Deserialize(reader);
Generator.System.Namespace = e.Namespace;
Generator.GenerateSource(writer);
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
e.Progress.GenerateError(ex.ToString());
}
}
}
Resulting registry keys:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0\Generators]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0\Generators\{FAE04EC1-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0\Generators\{FAE04EC1-301F-11D3-BF4B-00C04F79EFBC}\TransportGeneratorTool]
#="TransportGeneratorTool"
"CLSID"="{55a6c192-d29f-4e22-84da-dbaf314ed5c3}"
"GeneratesDesignTimeSource"=dword:00000001
"GeneratesSharedDesignTimeSource"=dword:00000001
Here is the code of my custom attribute (it is in wrapper assembly):
[AttributeUsage(AttributeTargets.Class, AllowMultiple = true, Inherited = true)]
public class CustomToolRegistrationAttribute : RegistrationAttribute
{
public CustomToolRegistrationAttribute(string name, Type customToolType)
{
Name = name;
CustomToolType = customToolType;
}
/// <summary>
/// The type that implements the custom tool. This starts
/// as MyCustomTool by default in the template.
/// </summary>
public Type CustomToolType { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
#region RegistrationAttribute abstract member implementations
public override void Register(RegistrationContext context)
{
Register(x => context.CreateKey(x), (x, key, value) => x.SetValue(key, value));
}
public void Register<T>(Func<string, T> keyCreator, Action<T, string, object> valueCreator)
{
var keyName = CreateKeyName(Name);
var key = keyCreator(keyName);
valueCreator(key, string.Empty, Name);
valueCreator(key, "CLSID", CustomToolType.GUID.ToString("B"));
valueCreator(key, "GeneratesDesignTimeSource", 1);
valueCreator(key, "GeneratesSharedDesignTimeSource", 1);
var disposable = key as IDisposable;
if (disposable != null)
disposable.Dispose();
}
private static string CreateKeyName(string name)
{
return string.Format(#"Generators\{0}\{1}", vsContextGuids.vsContextGuidVCSProject, name);
}
public override void Unregister(RegistrationContext context)
{
Unregister(context.RemoveKey);
}
public void Unregister(Action<string> keyRemover)
{
keyRemover(CreateKeyName(Name));
}
#endregion
}

My solution is to make a setup project. I get the registry settings from the pkgdef file by adding the following to the csproj file of the package:
<Target Name="GeneratePackageRegistryFiles">
<Exec Command=""$(VSSDK90Install)VisualStudioIntegration\Tools\Bin\RegPkg.exe" /root:Software\Microsoft\VisualStudio\9.0 /codebase "$(TargetPath)" /regfile:"$(OutDir)$(TargetName).reg"" />
</Target>
<PropertyGroup>
<BuildDependsOn>$(BuildDependsOn);GeneratePackageRegistryFiles;</BuildDependsOn>
</PropertyGroup>
When building look in the output directory you should find a .reg file which you can import in the setup project.
Obviously you can run the regpkg.exe from the command-line if modifying the project is not an option.

This is what I ended up with last time when I struggled to get my custom tool registered.
I hope this instruction is detailed enough and covers everything so you won't spend much time fighting it. The following MSDN article was used as a starting point. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/library/bb166527(v=vs.80).aspx Unfortunately you cannot use it alone. What you really need to do is:
Make sure the assembly is signed. Why? Because otherwise you won't be able to put it into GAC at step 6 below.
To sign your assembly follow these steps:
1.1. Go to the Properties screen of the project.
1.2. Once there go to the Signing tab.
1.3. Once there check the Sign the assembly checkbox.
Make sure you know the version number of your assembly. You will need this number to specify the ASSEMBLY_VERSION parameter later.
In order to get this number open the AssemblyInfo.cs file in the Properties folder of your project and look for the line starting with: [assembly: AssemblyVersion(
Make sure you know the GUID of the generator class. You will need it to specify the GENERATOR_GUID parameter later.
In order to get this GUID open the file with the generator class and look for the Guid class-attribute that decorates this class, something like: [Guid("17799E85-421B-4684-B59E-650E34ECC718")]
Build the project
Get the public token key of the assembly. In order to do that you will have to run the following command:
sn.exe -T ASSEMBLY_FILE
You will need this information later when for PUBLIC_TOKEN_KEY.
The sn.exe file can be found in C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v8.0A\bin\sn.exe
Pay attention to the version number of the framework (v8.0A) in the filepath above. It needs to be consistent with the version of the framework used to compile the project.
Put the assembly to the GAC using the following command:
gacutil.exe /i ASSEMBLY_FILE /f
Getting registered in GAC requires administrative permissions.
The gacutil.exe file can be found in C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v8.0A\bin\NETFX 4.0 Tools\gacutil.exe
Pay attention to the version number of the framework (v8.0A) in the filepath above. It needs to be consistent with the version of the framework used to compile the project.
Make the following changes to the .REG (see below) file. PLEASE NOTE: that both GENERATOR_GUID and PROJECT_TYPE_GUID need to be supplied WITH curly braces: {XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX}
7.1. Fix version number of Visual Studio is used (for example: 10.0 or 9.0): VS_VERSION
7.2. Fix the GUID of the generator: GENERATOR_GUID
7.3. Fix the namespace of the assembly: NAMESPACE_NAME
7.4. Fix the generator class name: GENERATOR_TYPE_NAME
7.5. In order to register the generator the Visual Studio needs to know to which project types this generator can be applied to. So you need to get GUID's of proper project types (C#, VB.NET, etc.).
To figure out the GUID's of the project types you need to open a visual studio project file (*.csproj) in a text editor and look for GUID's in the ProjectTypeGuids XML element.
For each of these GUIDs repeat the block of last 3 entries in the .REG file replacing the PROJECT_TYPE_GUID with the a GUID just found.
7.6. Fix the extension of the file associated with the custom tool: FILE_EXTENSTION
Run the .REG file. You may need to have administrative permissions for doing this.
.REG file:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\VS_VERSION\CLSID\GENERATOR_GUID]
#="COM+ class: NAMESPACE_NAME.GENERATOR_TYPE_NAME"
"InprocServer32"="C:\\WINDOWS\\system32\\mscoree.dll"
"ThreadingModel"="Both"
"Class"="NAMESPACE_NAME.GENERATOR_TYPE_NAME"
"Assembly"="NAMESPACE_NAME, Version=ASSEMBLY_VERSION, Culture=Neutral, PublicKeyToken=PUBLIC_TOKEN_KEY"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\VS_VERSION\Generators]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\VS_VERSION\Generators\PROJECT_TYPE_GUID]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\VS_VERSION\Generators\PROJECT_TYPE_GUID\\.FILE_EXTENSTION]
#="GENERATOR_TYPE_NAME"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\VisualStudio\VS_VERSION\Generators\PROJECT_TYPE_GUID\GENERATOR_TYPE_NAME]
#="Code generator for whatever you like"
"CLSID"="GENERATOR_GUID"
"GeneratesDesignTimeSource"=dword:00000001
PS.
Sorry for not being able to make placehoders in the REG file distinct, unfortunately the text editor that StackOverflow uses cannot distinguish its markup elements from the content.