---
title: ".Net Shortcuts + Automate GAC and COM operations using this Cool Add-in"
url: "https://osherove.com/blog/2003/6/17/net-shortcuts-automate-gac-and-com-operations-using-this-coo.md"
canonical: "https://osherove.com/blog/2003/6/17/net-shortcuts-automate-gac-and-com-operations-using-this-coo.html"
published: "2003-06-17T11:50:00"
updated: "2003-06-17T11:50:00"
tags: [".Net Quotations", "Cool Tools", "Tips & Tricks"]
author: "Roy Osherove"
description: "Date: 6/2/2003 Author: Enrico Sabbadin Versions: VS.NET Level: Advanced File Size: 315K download Summary: This add-in for VS.NET 2003 automatically: 1) Registers the assembly in the GAC right after it has been built. 2)…"
usage: "Licensed under CC BY 4.0 — reuse, quote and adapt with attribution (Roy Osherove, link to the original page)."
license: "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
---

# .Net Shortcuts + Automate GAC and COM operations using this Cool Add-in

By Roy Osherove June 17, 2003 In [.Net Quotations](https://osherove.com/blog/category/net-quotations), [Cool Tools](https://osherove.com/blog/category/cool-tools), [Tips & Tricks](https://osherove.com/blog/category/tips-tricks)

**Historical article** · Originally published June 17, 2003; technical details may be outdated.

**Date:** 6/2/2003
**Author:** Enrico Sabbadin
**Versions:** VS.NET **Level:** Advanced
**File Size:** 315K [download](http://www.vb2themax.com/Downloads/Files/VSNETActions.zip)

**Summary:** This add-in for VS.NET 2003 automatically:
  1) Registers the assembly in the GAC right after it has been built.
  2) Exports types to COM: produces the type library (and registers it if specified) .. as tlbexp.exe does.
  3) Registers classes in the registry ..as regasm.exe does.
  4) Avoids the bulding of an Assembly if its read-only attribute is set.
  5) If a build fails, it stops the build process for the remaining assembly in the solution.
You configure the Add-in behaviour for your VS.NET project by placing appropriate entries in the section of the project app.config file.

**Note:** if you use VS.NET 2003, read [this tip](http://www.vb2themax.com/Item.asp?PageID=TipBank&ID=629) to see how you can configure simple pre and post-build actions without the help external add-ins.

\----------------------------------------------------

**Date:** 5/26/2003
**Author:** Enrico Sabbadin
**Versions:** .NET **Level:** Advanced
**File Size:** 4K [download](http://www.vb2themax.com/Downloads/Files/dotNetRegEntries.zip)

**Summary:** This registry file adds the following entries to the Windows Explorer's context menus, that will help you speed your development and test cycle:
1) .idl files : Build : run midl.exe against the idl file top produce a type library from it.
2) .dll files: register/unregister COM dll using regsvr32, register .NET assembly in the GAC, register .NET assembly for COM Interop (regasm.exe), register .NET assembly for COM Interop using the codebase switch (regasm.exe /codebase), register/unregister COM EXE.
3) .tlb files : use regtlib to register a type library.
4) Any directory: Open a DOS console and sets required PATH and INCLUDE environment variables (runs vsvar32.bat).

\[via [VB2TheMax](http://www.vb2themax.com/)\]

Cool!

## More in .Net Quotations

[All posts in .Net Quotations](https://osherove.com/blog/category/net-quotations)

- Jun 20, 2003

    ### [Typed Dataset Q&A](https://osherove.com/blog/2003/6/20/typed-dataset-qampa.html)

- Jun 18, 2003

    ### [Very Good Winforms FAQ](https://osherove.com/blog/2003/6/18/very-good-winforms-faq.html)

- Jun 13, 2003

    ### [Yet Another Book Chapter](https://osherove.com/blog/2003/6/13/yet-another-book-chapter.html)

- Jun 12, 2003

    ### [Some Good Book Recommendations From the Experts](https://osherove.com/blog/2003/6/12/some-good-book-recommendations-from-the-experts.html)


---

## About the author

**Roy Osherove**: Senior Solutions Architect at AWS working on AI for production and AI-driven development; author of The Art of Unit Testing and Elastic Leadership, with about 20 years of consulting and training on unit testing, TDD, team leadership and continuous delivery.

### Sites

- [RobotPaper](https://robotpaper.ai/): This blog: AI patterns and anti-patterns, AI and coding agents, and engineering leadership.
- [osherove.com](https://osherove.com): Roy's personal site. Author of The Art of Unit Testing and Elastic Leadership; consulting and training on unit testing, TDD, team leadership and continuous delivery, plus about 20 years of blog posts.
- [The Art of Unit Testing](https://www.artofunittesting.com): The Art of Unit Testing, 3rd Edition (Manning): readable, maintainable, trustworthy unit tests, plus TDD workshops in C#, JavaScript, Java and Kotlin.
- [5whys.com](https://www.5whys.com): Roy's writing on software team leadership: self-organizing teams, surviving chaos, learning mode and the Elastic Leadership model.
- [Pipeline Driven](https://pipelinedriven.org): Continuous delivery and DevOps practices: build patterns, pipeline-friendly testing, DevOps metrics and enterprise DevOps.
- [Elastic Leadership](https://www.elasticleadership.com): Elastic Leadership, Roy's framework for software team leaders (survival, learning and self-organizing modes).

### Social

- X: https://x.com/royosherove
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/osherove/

### Contact

- Contact form: https://forms.gle/jQSx5KoXvrVA1JCK7

### License

Licensed under CC BY 4.0 — reuse, quote and adapt with attribution (Roy Osherove, link to the original page). License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/