VS2012: Property Pages isn't opening: Object reference not set to an instance of an object

Question

I'm on Visual Studio Premium 2012, Version 11.0.50727.1 RTMREL, Windows 7 Enterprise (SP1).

When I right click on the Solution, and click Properties, I get a popup window showing the the null reference exception (Object reference not set to an instance of an object).

When I try the same in 2010, it works fine, opening up the normal solution properties pages, allowing me to set the startup order etc.

Also, in 2012, View -> Property Pages, gives the same result.

Please advise how to solve this, is this a known bug?

UPDATE 1: Tried running devenv /resetsettings as well as devenv /safemode but the problem persists. Also tried it on a new solution, and the problem persists.

UPDATE 2: Seems that disabling any extension, and trying again, sorts out the issue. Re-enabling extension doesn't bring the bug back.

UPDATE 3: Go vote here if you're still having this issue: https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/details/763961/cannot-open-property-pages-for-solution

Answer 1

This happened to me as well. If you have ReSharper installed, try disabling it (Tools -> Options -> ReSharper -> General -> Suspend and restart VS2012. If you do not have ReSharper installed, I'm afraid I have no idea.

After seeing some comments here, and running into it myself, it appears that disabling Re-Sharper doesn't always fix the issue. However, if you disable, restart, re-enable 'other' add ons, the issue will eventually go away temporarily. The next time visual studio opens, you will likely be in the same spot.

Answer 2

This is my experience with the problem: (Running VS2012 as administrator, hoping that some setting would be sorted out).

I have a solution with two MVC projects and other projects. If I unload the two MVC projects without restarting VS, the problem is still there. After restarting VS, with the two projects not loading, but showing in Solution explorer, the problem disappears. Load the two projects back, Solution properties still work, but after a restart the cycle restarts.

NOTE: There is no difference in the projects and solution files when the two MVC projects are not loaded.

Answer 3

I was encountering this problem on one of my solutions, while it didn't happen for others. The solution causing the trouble didn't do so until I added a certain project to it; after that I could not view the solution's properties anymore or set the startup projects.

Removing the project from the solution didn't solve it, the only way to 'reset' was to create a new solution file and adding all projects one by one to it. This made it work again, until of course I re-added the offending project.

Today the issue was solved for me by updating the NuGet package manager.

Answer 4

In my case, the problem was solution-specific. NuGet was causing this error, but not the extension itself but a NuGet package that generated an error on VS load. When I opened NuGet Package Manager Console I saw a big red text with a description of the error. In my case it was T4Scaffolding.Core package, which in turn is a dependency of MVCMailer.

If this is your case, you will probably see what package generates an error in PM Console.