Why doesn't OR designer let me drag tables to design surface?

Question

I have a database hosted at somee.com I have added a new connection in Server Explorer in VS 2012 and the test connection was successful. I can also successfully see the tables in the SE and any changes made to the database from the admin panel @ somee.com also get reflected instantly in the server explorer.

But when I'm trying to drag the tables onto the design surface, there is no feedback from OR designer, the cursor doesn't change to drag-n-drop, nor does it allow me to achieve the same. Also, I have noticed that selecting the table or any column in a table > properties shows all properties but they are disabled i.e I can't make any changes to the properties (they are read-only)

I have previously worked with LINQ-to-SQL classes but haven't experienced such a behaviour. I have always been able to edit properties and add tables to O/R deisgner.

I have tried the same in a WPF application, WCF service with no success. Any ideas?

Answer 1

I found a solution that helped me solve the dragging table onto .dbml designer view in Visual Studio 12

• Replace the dsref80.dll driver: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\microsoft shared\Visual Database Tools\dsref80.dll OR C:\Program File\Common Files\microsoft shared\Visual Database Tools\dsref80.dll
• With the dserf80.dll you can download from the link below: www.wincabs.com/free-dll/?db=d&file=Dsref80 (the link works no longer but other can be googled like this one here)

Reference: Social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/d65c71f5-3887-4f2a-bbd3-e799a4ac6fdc/visual-studio-database-tools-error

Answer 2

I had the same issue, but rather than swap out the dll (which is dated, at this point), I right click on the table in server explorer, click on copy, then right click on the design surface, and click on paste.

So, if you can do without drag and drop, and use copy and paste, instead, this solution will likely be more convenient.

Answer 3

I couldn't add tables to the designer anymore, not with Drag & Drop and also not with Copy & Paste.

What worked for me was just restarting Visual Studio. After the restart it worked fine again.