Running Extensions on Windows Vista
Both Visual Studio and the Visual Studio SDK can be installed on Windows Vista only by a user who has elevated administrative credentials. For more information, see Visual Studio on Windows Vista.
Installing Visual Studio
If you do not have elevated administrative credentials when you install Visual Studio, you may have to save Setup.exe to a temporary location and then run it as administrator.
Installing the Visual Studio SDK
If you do not have elevated administrative credentials before you install the Visual Studio SDK, the setup program will prompt you to run it as an administrator before installation starts.
Command-Line Considerations
The devenv.exe command-line switches /installvstemplates and /associatefiles require administrative permissions for correct operation. Invoking these commands without the appropriate permissions could cause data loss.
Open a command window as an administrator and then start devenv.exe with the appropriate command-line switch.
Programming Considerations
Administrative credentials are not required to develop and run extensions on Windows Vista. You can also deploy .vsix packages without administrative credentials.
Programming Files to Prompt for Credentials on Windows Vista
You can program an executable file built in Visual Studio 2010 to prompt for administrative credentials by setting the UAC manifest in the portable executable header. For more information, see Windows Vista Application Development Requirements for User Account Control Compatibility on the Microsoft Download Center Web site or Developer Best Practices and Guidelines for Applications in a Least Privileged Environment on the Windows Vista Developer Center Web site.