Side-by-Side Manifest Maker

Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 break side-by-side in IIS

Both Windows 2008 R2 and Windows 7 include a new version of w3wp.exe - the IIS application pool host process - which has an embedded manifest. The embedded manifest is loaded as the process default manifest and the recommended web application isolation method no longer works. Microsoft is working on a hotfix which will probably be available before the end of the year. We will post new information as it becomes available.

Version 3.4

• Manifest Maker is now using a new, simplified, licensing model. Read pricing structure here.
• Manifest Maker can now generate assembly references using generic 'processorArchitecture'. Check online help for more information.
• Added corresponding options to the Manifest Maker command line build tool. Check online help for more information.

Version 3.3.545

• Manifest Maker can now compress shared assemblies into MSI files. Check online help for more information.
• Added new options to the Manifest Maker command line build tool. Check online help for more information.
• Resource manifest viewer can now reformat the manifest XML to make it more readable.
• Shared assembly names can now use non-ANSI characters.

Version 3.3

• Added new build options to Manifest Maker. Check online help for more information.
• Added new options to the Manifest Maker command line build tool. Check online help for more information.
• Changed Visual Studio Integration start menu icons. Added new icons for adding and removing Manifest Maker path to/from Visual Studio VC++ project properties. Check online help for more information.

Known issues:

Signing shared side-by-side assemblies fails if the assembly file path (folder or file name) contains non-ASCII characters. We are working on a fix.

Windows Server 2003 SP1 side-by-side performance problem: hotfix is now available

The slow side-by-side response on 2003 Server sp1 has now been addressed by Microsoft. Details are at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953876.

Version 3.1

• Manifest Maker did not work on some non-English versions of Windows Vista - fixed.
• Manifest Maker now searches for tools in the path and only if a tool is not found, in other locations.
• A memory leak on Windows Vista is fixed.

New information on isolating ASP .Net 2.0 web applications

Version 3.0

• Changed UI. The main window is now a resizable splitter. As previously the main project is in the top list and the build dependencies are in the bottom list.
• Manifest Maker now recognizes embedded resource manifests. During build DLLs with embedded manifests are treated as assemblies. No manifests are built for them but, instead, the embedded manifests are referenced.
• New utility for viewing embedded manifests.
• Refined rules for using files in various build types.
• Version 3.0 uses the same license files as version 2.
• Vista users: due to the implementation of side-by-side features in Windows Vista, Manifest Maker must run "as administrator". The embedded manifest contains appropriate information so you will be asked to allow administrative access upon program startup.
• Vista users: Manifest Maker integrated into Visual Studio also needs administrative access. If you run Visual Studio as limited user you will be prompted each time Manifest Maker runs during your build. We suggest you run Visual Studio "as administrator" to avoid this prompt.
• Vista users: Auto-fix will not work in Windows Vista unless you install hotfix KB935200.

Vista hotfix for RegisterTypeLib() API is available

• Windows API RegisterTypeLib() is broken in Vista. A hotfix is available but you have to call Microsoft to get it:
  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935200

Side-by-side with ASP .Net 1.1 on 2003 Server SP2 is now fixed

• In ASP .Net 1.1 you can take advantage of win32 side-by-side by simply dropping a "web.manifest" file in the application directory (see details).
• This was broken in 2003 Server service pack 2. A hotfix is now available:
  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/939044

Version 2.12.1

• signtool.exe path setting did not work right. You may need to reselect this path, if you configured it previously.
• tlbexp.exe path setting did not become effective immediately upon accepting the dialog.
• CLR assembly ComVisibleAttribute was ignored.
• CLR Class ComVisibleAttribute was incorrectly processed which caused wrong <clrClass> elements in the manifest file.
• Added new information on using the activation context API.

Version 2.12.0

• Windows Vista trustInfo is now supported.
• 64-bit Windows manifests are now supported.

Service Pack 2 for Windows 2003 Server and Side-by-Side in ASP .Net 1.1

• In ASP .Net 1.1 you could take advantage of win32 side-by-side by simply dropping a "web.manifest" file in the application directory (see details).
• Apparently as of Windows 2003 Service Pack 2 this is no longer the case. It appears that this functionality has been removed. Stay tuned for further developments. In the meantime you may need to use the HTTP module approach or simply add explicit activation context management to your application.

ASP.Net 2.0 Isolation Example Update

• The ASP.Net 2.0 HTTP module example included with Manifest Maker has a bug. This has been corrected in the latest version of Manifest Maker installation.
• The online documentation and the downloadable help file are also updated.

Side-by-side Hotfixes

• A side-by-side security hotfix is now available from Microsoft:
  http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-075.mspx
• A Vista-related problem with Windows XP side-by-side has been fixed:
  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/921337/en-us

Version 2.10.0

• New: Visual Studio 2005 integration. Build manifests in Visual Studio 2005. Read more...
• Improved: Command line manifest building got better. Learn how to use the command line Manifest Maker in your own projects and diverse build environments. Read more...
• Fixed: Setup failed to create Start menu shortcuts; manifest build sometimes failed with error "COM not initialized", other minor errors fixed.

Version 2.9.0

• Added ASP .Net 2.0 information. Learn how to isolate ASP .Net 2.0 web applications' use of COM. Read more...
• Simplified the shared assembly MSI file. Shared assemblies built by Manifest Maker are now packaged in a simpler MSI file with no superfluous dialogs.
• External build process. Manifest Maker now loads project DLLs into a separate process. Some DLLs perform unexpected actions when loaded into the process and can destabilize the main program. This is no longer a problem with Manifest Maker.

Version 2.8.0

• Added command line project builder. Manifest Maker now includes a command line project build tool. Read more...
• Now using the latest SDK tools. Some SDK tools changed or are no longer distributed by Microsoft. This version of Manifest Maker uses the current tools. Note that Manifest Maker tries to locate the necessary tools as needed. In case this does not work you may need to manually configure tool paths using the Build / Options / Paths dialog. Read more...

Version 2.7.0

• Added path auto-complete in program dialogs. All edit boxes where a path is expected now offer path auto-complete.
• Fixed minor bugs. Manifest Maker did not allow using the root of a drive as a project target directory. Build options were not effective immediately after executing File / New menu option. File paths were sometimes incorrectly parsed.

Version 2.5.0

• Added 'Automatic' button in the manifest build error dialog. Manifest Maker can now automatically fix more build errors. Whenever the error can be fixed automatically a new button, Automatic, is available in addition to other choice buttons.
• Improved duplicate ProgID error correction. Detection and correction of duplicate ProgID's has been improved. Read more...

Version 2.4.0

• Feature added: manifests for CLR (.Net) classes. Windows XP sp1 and Windows 2003 Server include support for using CLR (.Net) classes without registration. Manifest Maker can now build special manifests. Read more...
• New manifest features now supported. Windows XP sp2 (or SP1 with hotfix 843524) implements new miscStatus attribute that may be required to properly render some ActiveX controls. Manifest Maker now supports all attributes listed in KB article 828629. If you need to target Windows XP sp1 without this hotfix, you may choose to temporarily disable this attribute. Read more...
• Program paths property page added. While building manifests Manifest Maker needs to run various tools. Version 2.4 makes it easier to configure tools' paths. Read more...

Version 2.3.0

• Top requested feature added: relative paths. Manifest Maker can now locate project files using relative paths. Read more...
• Minor change in program graphics. We had reports that some of the toolbar buttons did not display clearly on some machines and were confusing. This release updates some of the buttons with new graphics. Read more...
• Bug fixed. Manifest Maker displayed an empty list of shared assemblies after Visual Studio 2005 was installed on the machine.

Version 2.2.0

• Manifest Maker is now digitally signed. You can now be assured that the copy you download is authentic and not damaged. Read more... Cannot verify the signature? Read more...
• Full Unicode support. Manifest Maker is now built as a 100% Unicode application.
• Unicode manifest support. Manifest Maker now reads both UTF-8 and UTF-16 LE (little-endian Unicode) manifests. Output manifests are written as UTF-8.

Version 2.1.0

• New program graphics. New, high color, icons and buttons.
• Simpler license distribution. Program license is now distributed as a plain text file (sxs32mm.license) that just needs to be copied to the program directory. No extra processing is necessary.
• Separated user and machine preferences. User settings now default to machine settings (HKLM) but can be overridden by the user (HKCU).
• Fixed minor bugs. A few non-critical bugs were fixed.

Version 2.0.1

Based on the generous feedback and cooperation of our customers we added the following functionality:

• Private assembly library. If you package private assemblies as merge modules you can now arrange them in a library and use that library while building application side-by-side manifests. Use the new Cleanup button to clean up the library manifests from your destination directory.
• It is now possible to override default file handling. You can force Manifest Maker to always move or always copy project files. Manifest Maker will perform safety checks and will change move to a copy whenever source files are in Windows directory or in any subdirectory.
• New 'Add All Files' button. You can now add all suitable files to your project with a single click of the button.

Version 2.0.0

• Brand new clean, uncluttered interface. Large ListViews display detailed information about the status and intended use of all project files.
• The whole project can now be built with a single click. The new Auto mode builds a private assembly out of all suitable files in the project then builds an application manifest for all programs in the project.
• Auto-Fix technology. Manifest Maker can now automatically fix many errors and almost all errors can be fixed with a single click.
• Automatic detection of private assemblies available for the project in the target directory. No more hunting for manifest files, just choose from a list.
• Unrestricted selection of build-time items. You can now use DLLs, private assemblies and shared assemblies during manifest building. No more manual setting up of the build environment for those more pesky products.

Note

Support for all builds of version 1 of Manifest Maker was phased out as of October 31, 2004. We no longer support version 1.

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