System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager (my extension cant find it)

Question

Hi, 
I have an extension which I wrote on the dev net here where I work, and it worked last week.  However, there was a crash and now my code dies on this line
 
NameValueCollections appSettings = System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.AppSettings;
 
I am sure that something did not get switched back on here (as in the network), and want to know where does ArcMap go to connect/bond or gain access to the "System".
 
My quick watches all die on "System" or any other derivation of the term.
 
Andy

AndrewDavis · Answer

Hey folks, 
 
It turned out that there was not anything "wrong" with my code. What had happened is that someone (possibly me, but I will not accept blame at this time) had inadvertently put a " " space in the opening line of the 
 
ArcMap.exe.config 
 
in front of the first line of the first tag. That threw the whole thing into a snit and it would not work at all.
 
Thank you Neil for your info, 
 
I hope that if there is anyone else out there who runs into this problem, check the first line of your ArcMap.exe.config file for a space at the start of the first line outside to the left of the < character..
 
Andy

AndrewDavis · Answer

Have you tried accessing the config settings using the built-in .NET functionality? The .NET runtime reads the application config file for you and provides an easy way to access the settings. In VB.NET, you can access the config settings using My.Settings., where is the name of the config setting you want. In C#, this can be done using Properties.Settings.Default.. Neil, Thanks for the reply. Is what you are describing any different than: Adding a Reference to the "System.Configuration.dll" to your project in VisStudio putting a "using" statement in the beginning of your class "using System.Configuration;" Then using this construct to read key values out of the ArcMap.exe.config? All of this code does work on my production environment and is deployed for the users in my shop, it is just in my dev environment that the things have gone haywire after the App Server crashed. I suspect that there is an environmental setting that did not get reset after the crash. Is there a place I should look to let my SysAdmins know about? Andy

NeilClemmons_GISinc · Answer

Have you tried accessing the config settings using the built-in .NET functionality? The .NET runtime reads the application config file for you and provides an easy way to access the settings. In VB.NET, you can access the config settings using My.Settings., where is the name of the config setting you want. In C#, this can be done using Properties.Settings.Default..