How to: Obtain a PLK for a VSPackage
[This documentation is for preview only, and is subject to change in later releases. Blank topics are included as placeholders.]
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 Visual Studio Extensibility Developer Center Web site.
Note
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.
Note
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
Go to the Visual Studio Extensibility Developer Center Web site.
On the second line of the Home tab header, click Generate Load Keys.
Fill in the requested fields. Be careful not to add any leading or trailing spaces.
Field name
Value
Required
Company Name
This is the company name as it appears in the ProvideLoadKey attribute. The default value of this field is the company name under which you registered. You can edit this field to be any company name, but it must match the name as it appears in the ProvideLoadKey attribute.
Yes
Package Name
This is the VSPackage name as it appears in the ProvideLoadKey attribute.
Yes
Package Guid
This is the GUID attribute of the class that implements your VSPackage. Type the numeric value in the field, and include braces, as follows:
{EEE474A0-083B-4e9c-B453-F6FCCEDA2577}Yes
Package Version.
This is the product version as it appears in the ProvideLoadKey attribute.
Yes
Minimum Product Edition
This is the minimum edition of Visual Studio that can load the VSPackage. It appears as the minimumEdition argument in the ProvideLoadKey attribute
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
Minimum Visual Studio Version
Select a value on the drop-down list, for example, Visual Studio 2008.
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
Click Generate PLK. The PLK appears, spanning several lines.
Copy the PLK value and add it to your VSPackage as one long line. For information about how to add the PLK to your VSPackage, see How to: Add a PLK to a VSPackage Project (C#).