How do I remove a custom tool from visual studio?

Question

I've installed the protobuf-net ProtoBufTool custom tool into visual studio to automatically generate .cs file from protocol buffers files. I want to be able to build my project using msbuild for continuous integration and have moved over to using a python script to generate the files.

So how do you remove a custom tool from visual studio?

I've removed it from Documents\Visual Studio 2010\Templates\ItemTemplates\Visual C# which is where I installed it. I've searched for it in the registry and the GAC. I've tried removing it from the file properties in VS and it keeps coming back. I don't want to nuke my machine from orbit!

Edit: I've found the correct registry key now to disable the tool (see Clearing Custom Tool file property in Visual Studio 2010) but I'd still be interested to know if there's a better workflow for managing custom tools

Answer 1

As Marc pointed out there's a perfectly good uninstaller for just this situation.

Answer 2

May be you can try:

• Tools -> Add-in Managers
• Tools -> Extension Manager

Answer 3

"Tools -> External tools" menu can help you.