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foxmuldr
Tomato Guru
USA
441 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 11 2025 : 2:52:23 PM
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Is VAX only available in one instance of Visual Studio? I've noticed several times when the keyboard shortcuts only work in the first instance launched. Even after I close it, the keystrokes still don't work in the other ones.
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Rick C. Hodgin
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feline
Whole Tomato Software
United Kingdom
19281 Posts |
Posted - Nov 12 2025 : 08:05:05 AM
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I am normally working with several instances, and different versions, of Visual Studio open at the same time. This does not sound like anything I have seen before.
VA saves out its settings when you close the IDE, so if you make changes in one instance, and then close the instances in the "wrong" order the changes will be saved out, then overwritten. Not sure how this could lead to this, but it is an odd effect you can see with multiple instances. |
zen is the art of being at one with the two'ness |
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foxmuldr
Tomato Guru
USA
441 Posts |
Posted - Dec 09 2025 : 12:22:25 PM
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| I still see it in Visual Studio 2022 Enterprise, Professional, and Community versions, on three separate machines. It's sporadic, but at times it will only work in the first instance, and not in the second or later. I've also seen it where it stops working outright, and keyboard shortcuts that VAX normally intercepts then fall through as though VAX wasn't enabled. |
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feline
Whole Tomato Software
United Kingdom
19281 Posts |
Posted - Dec 10 2025 : 08:01:45 AM
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How are you loading the instances? Any command line switches? Opening by double clicking on a SLN file?
Is the problem somehow solution specific?
Any obvious common factors across all of these machines? Another extension, an unusual utility that you installed?
Checking with a test profile with only VA installed and active as an installed extension would be the next logical step. Which version of VA are you currently using? |
zen is the art of being at one with the two'ness |
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foxmuldr
Tomato Guru
USA
441 Posts |
Posted - Dec 12 2025 : 08:25:55 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by feline
How are you loading the instances? Any command line switches? Opening by double clicking on a SLN file?
Literally clicking or shift-clicking the taskbar icon for each.
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Is the problem somehow solution specific?
Not that I can tell. I am developing many projects, and I see it on my personal computer with my own personal projects as well, and I know those are in no way, shape, or form related to my work projects, not even by design or always having the same / similar include files or anything else. My personal work is much less "standard" than traditional development as it is very low-level.
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Any obvious common factors across all of these machines? Another extension, an unusual utility that you installed?
I have only ClaudiaIDE manually installed apart from VAX, the rest were all auto-included with Visual Studio 2022 when it was installed and I haven't changed them.
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Checking with a test profile with only VA installed and active as an installed extension would be the next logical step. Which version of VA are you currently using?
The latest usually, sometimes a version or two behind. Right now it's:
License: Non-renewable Personal (...) Support ends 2026.06.11
VA_X64.dll file version 10.9.2588.0 built 2025.11.12
Windows 11 11.0 24H2 Build 26100
xx processors (x86-64)
Language info: 1252, 0x409
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Rick C. Hodgin |
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feline
Whole Tomato Software
United Kingdom
19281 Posts |
Posted - Dec 12 2025 : 12:03:21 PM
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If you want to email me at [email protected] I have a PowerShell script I can send you to automate installing VA into a test profile.
If you just want to do this manually, first you will need to download the VS2022 specific installer from:
https://downloadfiles.idera.com/WholeTomato/VA_X_Setup2588_0_x64.vsix
Next you will need extra details about the IDE install to create a test profile. To get these details, please open a Windows command prompt window, and inside the window run the command:
"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\vswhere.exe"
to get vswhere to include the details on the preview release.
There will be a set of lines for each different version of Visual Studio that you have installed. For the version you want to install into, you want the "productPath", "dispalyName" and "installationVersion" lines, e.g.
productPath: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Professional\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe
displayName: Visual Studio Professional 2022
installationVersion: 17.14.36717.8
You can then use the information from these three lines to make sure that the following command has the correct command line parameters. The values are:
/appidname: = displayName:
/appidinstallpath: = productPath:
/skuVersion: = installationVersion:
The "/skuName:" value is one of "Community / Pro / Enterprise", note for the Professional version it is "Pro", not the expected "Professional".
The working command, for VS2022, using the values above, is - split into lines to make it easier to read and edit:
VS2022 Professional version of the command:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Professional\Common7\IDE\VSIXInstaller.exe"
/appidinstallpath:"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Professional\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe"
/skuName:Pro
/appidname:"Visual Studio Professional 2022"
/skuVersion:17.14.36717.8
/rootSuffix:"VATest" "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Downloads\VA_X_Setup2588_0_x64.vsix"
VS2022 Enterprise version of the command:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\VSIXInstaller.exe"
/appidinstallpath:"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe"
/skuName:Enterprise
/appidname:"Visual Studio Enterprise 2022"
/skuVersion:17.14.36717.8
/rootSuffix:"VATest" "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Downloads\VA_X_Setup2588_0_x64.vsix"
The "rootSuffix" is the name of the test profile you want to install to, and this will be created if it does not already exist. The final parameter is the path of the VSIX installer for Visual Assist that you want to install. Once you have the command set up, the only parts you should need to edit are the skuVersion and the path to the VSIX file, can you please close all instances of Visual Studio and run this command.
Running this command installs VA into the test profile, but it does not load the test profile. If you created the test profile by installing VA, when you run the test profile it will be using the default IDE settings, without asking you which settings you want to use.
To now load the test profile you use the command:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Professional\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe" /RootSuffix VATest
Obviously changing the path depending on the edition of VA you are using on the machine in question.
To load your normal, default profile just load the IDE normally. To return to this test profile again, pass the /RootSuffix command line switch when loading the IDE. You can run both profiles at the same time, next to each other. In VS2019 and VS2022 the profile name will be shown just under the close button, in the top right hand corner of the main IDE window. If you export your IDE settings from your main profile you can them import them into the test profile.
If the same problem turns up in the test profile, then how easily can you reproduce this? |
zen is the art of being at one with the two'ness |
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VAX only available in one instance
