I recently uninstalled and reinstalled VS 2017, having first uninstalled SSDT v15.6.
We find in this guidance a warning that the "Microsoft Reporting Services Projects" VSIX must be uninstalled prior to SSDT v15.7 installation:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/ssdt/download-sql-server-data-tools-ssdt?view=sql-server-2017
Having just performed a clean install of VS I was confident that the VSIX wasn't installed yet, so I installed SSDT v15.7. Alas, my confidence was misplaced.
When I reviewed my Tools & Extensions list I noticed that the VSIX had somehow been installed unexpectedly and without my knowledge. In other words, I had installed the packages in the incorrect order by accident.
Then, after uninstalling the VSIX from VS, I attempted an SSDT uninstall from the new Win10 'Add or Remove Programs' app. Unfortunately, the app has turned out to be unreliable (as with most if not all Universal apps), as I received a prompt telling me that uninstalling the component would leave the system in an unstable state and that it must be uninstalled via Control Panel.
I then clicked OK, and the SSDT icon was removed from the list. This was surprising, to say the least.
With no way to uninstall, the only option left was to reinstall with the downloaded setup files. This didn't work, as now my Reporting Services project won't open in Visual Studio, indicating incompatibility and that "The application is not installed."
I have no idea how the VSIX got reinstalled without my consent, but at this point I'm a bit upset with the whole ordeal.
Barring completely uninstalling and reinstalling Visual Studio, how can I recover from this mishap?
