You can use this page to understand the legacy MDriven Framework integration for Visual Studio 2019 and move to a supported Visual Studio installation when you need MDriven model editing or code generation.
Status
Visual Studio 2019 integration is deprecated. Use Visual Studio 2022 with the MDriven VSIX installer instead.
For current installation instructions, see Documentation:MDriven Framework Visual Studio installation. For the current compatibility and assembly-loading background, see Documentation:VS2026 is now supported - what we changed and what we learned.
What the Visual Studio integration provides
When the MDriven integration is installed for the Visual Studio version you use, you can open an MDriven model in Visual Studio and access MDriven design-time features, including:
- The model editor (Modlr).
- Code generation.
The Visual Studio extension is a design-time component. It is separate from the MDriven assemblies your application uses when it runs.
For general behavior and troubleshooting when opening a model in Visual Studio, see Documentation:Visual Studio.
Legacy Visual Studio 2019 installation locations
The following locations apply to the legacy Visual Studio 2019 installation. They are useful when diagnosing an existing VS2019 machine; do not use them as installation instructions for Visual Studio 2022 or later.
| Component | Example location | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Visual Studio integration assemblies | C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Community\Common7\IDE\Extensions\MDriven\7.0
|
Plugin DLLs that provide the MDriven design-time integration in Visual Studio 2019, such as the model editor and code generation. |
| MDriven Framework installation | C:\Program Files (x86)\CapableObjects\MDriven\7.0
|
Main legacy MDriven Framework installation. |
| Runtime assemblies | C:\Program Files (x86)\CapableObjects\MDriven\7.0\bin
|
Assemblies that an application can reference at runtime and redistribute. |
The Visual Studio path shown uses the Community edition as an example. The essential point is that the legacy extension was installed under the Visual Studio 2019 Extensions directory, while the framework runtime was installed under CapableObjects\MDriven\7.0.
Reference runtime assemblies through NuGet
For application runtime dependencies, prefer NuGet packages instead of adding references directly from the legacy framework bin directory.
For example, rather than referencing assemblies from:
C:\Program Files (x86)\CapableObjects\MDriven\7.0\bin
use the appropriate MDriven NuGet packages in the project. This keeps the project's runtime dependencies with the project rather than depending on a machine-specific framework installation.
Do not confuse project runtime assemblies with the Visual Studio extension assemblies. The extension supports design-time work inside Visual Studio; project references support your application's build and runtime behavior.
If a model opens as XML
An .ecomdl model should open on the MDriven model surface when the correct integration is installed. If it opens as XML instead, check these two causes:
- Confirm that the MDriven Framework integration is installed for the Visual Studio version you are running.
- Check whether Visual Studio has marked the model file to open in the XML designer.
In the project file, an incorrectly tagged model may look like this:
<None Include="yourmodel.ecomdl">
<SubType>Designer</SubType>
</None>
Change it to:
<None Include="yourmodel.ecomdl" />
Reload the project after editing the project file. See Documentation:Visual Studio for the complete guidance.
Templates
MDriven project and item templates are managed separately from the Visual Studio extension. If templates are missing in an existing VS2019 setup, check the user's Documents location, including whether Documents has been redirected to OneDrive, and follow the template troubleshooting steps.
Choose the right next step
| Your goal | Go to |
|---|---|
| Install MDriven integration for a supported Visual Studio version | Documentation:MDriven Framework Visual Studio installation |
| Open models, use the model editor, or troubleshoot model-file association | Documentation:Visual Studio |
| Create a project from MDriven Visual Studio templates or restore missing templates | Documentation:Visual Studio Templates |
| Develop and debug a local Turnkey application in Visual Studio | HowTos:Development in Visual Studio |
| Create a .NET Core MDriven project | HowTos:How To Create a .NET Core MDriven Project |