Visual Studio Tools for Office isn't your father's VBA. The line between Windows and Office development continues to blur with Word and Excel now integrated within the Visual Studio IDE. Developers can use new host controls to extend Office objects, use managed code to add business logic to forms and make calls into the .NET Framework class library. There is also welcome support for IntelliSense and more robust debugging. Find out more by exploring the resources below.
Microsoft: "Visual Studio Tools for Office is a professional development environment for individual developers building line-of-business applications using the Microsoft Office System."
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 VSTO Quickstart |
 Table of Contents |
- Overview: What's new in Visual Studio Tools for Office (Microsoft)
- How to: Install Visual Studio Tools for Office (Microsoft)
- How to: Install the Visual Studio Tools for Office runtime (Microsoft)
- How to: Install Office primary interop assemblies (Microsoft)
- Overview: Office solutions development (Microsoft)
- Overview: Office documents in the Visual Studio environment (Microsoft)
- Overview: Common tasks in Office programming (Microsoft)
| Templates, Samples and
Snippets |
 Table of
Contents |
- Template: Word Document Project (Microsoft)
- Template: Word Template Project (Microsoft)
- Template: Excel Workbook Project (Microsoft)
- Template: Excel Template Project (Microsoft)
- Template: Outlook Add-in Project (Microsoft)
- Word: Word Document Protector sample (Microsoft)
- Word: Word PowerPoint Deck Generator sample (Microsoft)
- Word: Word PowerPoint Script Generator sample (Microsoft)
- Word: Word Controls sample (Microsoft)
- Word: Word Dynamic Controls sample (Microsoft)
- Word: Word Data Caching sample (Microsoft)
- Word: Word Document Protection Techniques sample (Microsoft)
- Word: Word Smart Tags sample (Microsoft)
- Excel: Excel Data Analysis sample (Microsoft)
- Excel: Excel Controls sample (Microsoft)
- Excel: Excel Dynamic Controls sample (Microsoft)
- Excel: Excel Master Detail Data sample (Microsoft)
- Excel: Excel Document Protection Techniques sample (Microsoft)
- Excel: Excel Smart Tags sample (Microsoft)
- Word/Excel: Actions Pane Help Label sample (Microsoft)
- Word/Excel: Actions Pane Subpane Control sample (Microsoft)
- Word/Excel: Accessing Data sample (Microsoft)
- Word/Excel: Northwind Smart Client sample (Microsoft)
- Word/Excel: Application Manifest Editor sample (Microsoft)
- Outlook: Outlook Add-in samples (Microsoft)
- Outlook: Outlook Add-in snippets (Microsoft)
- Action Pane: Actions Pane Help Label sample (Microsoft)
- Action Pane: Actions Pane Subpane Control sample (Microsoft)
- How to: Insert snippets into your code (Microsoft)
- How to: Creating and using IntelliSense code snippets (Microsoft)
- How to: Modify existing snippets (Microsoft)
- How to: Share snippets with other developers (Microsoft)
- How to: Delete a snippet added to your code (Microsoft)
- How to: Assign a shortcut name to a snippet (Microsoft)
- How to: Manage code snippets (Microsoft)
- How to: Search for code snippets online (Microsoft)
- Overview: Best Practices for using IntelliSense code snippets (Microsoft)
- Overview: Security considerations in using snippets (Microsoft)
- Overview: Troubleshooting snippets (Microsoft)
| Microsoft Word |
Table of Contents |
- Lab: Hands-on Labs for Word 2003 (Microsoft)
- How to: Create new documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Open existing documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Save documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Close documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Reference documents in the documents collection (Microsoft)
- How to: Use built-in dialog boxes in Word (Microsoft)
- How to: Use Word dialog boxes in hidden mode (Microsoft)
- How to: Add pictures and Word Art to documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Display documents in print preview (Microsoft)
- How to: Print documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Protect documents and parts of documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Check spelling in documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Add headers and footers to documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Insert text into word documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Count characters in documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Format text in documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Hide text in documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Exclude paragraph marks when creating ranges (Microsoft)
- How to: Update bookmark text (Microsoft)
- How to: Define and select ranges in documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Extend ranges in documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Retrieve start and end characters in ranges (Microsoft)
- How to: Add comments to text in documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Remove all comments from documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Reset ranges in Word documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Collapse ranges or selections in documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Search for text in documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Set search options in Word (Microsoft)
- How to: Loop through found items in documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Search for and replace text in documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Restore selections after searches (Microsoft)
- How to: Create Word tables (Microsoft)
- How to: Add rows and columns to Word tables (Microsoft)
- How to: Populate Word tables with document properties (Microsoft)
- How to: Resize columns in tables (Microsoft)
- Control: Bookmark (Microsoft)
- How to: Add bookmark controls to Word documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Resize bookmark controls (Microsoft)
- Control: XMLNode (Microsoft)
- How to: Add XMLNode controls to Word documents (Microsoft)
- Control: XMLNodes collection (Microsoft)
- How to: Add XMLNodes controls to Word documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Add an actions pane to Word documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Populate documents with data from a local database file (Microsoft)
- How to: Populate documents with data from objects (Microsoft)
- How to: Map schemas to Word documents inside Visual Studio (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Changing document formatting using checkBox controls (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Displaying text in a text box in a document using a button (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Creating shortcut menus for bookmarks (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Updating a chart in a document using radio buttons (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Binding data to controls on a Word actions pane (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Creating a Smart Tag that converts temperatures from Fahrenheit to Celsius (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Deploying a solution using a deployment manifest (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Deploying a solution using a Windows installer file (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Granting and removing permissions for an Office solution (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Inserting text into a document from an actions pane (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Binding data to controls on a Word actions pane (Microsoft)
| Microsoft Excel |
Table of Contents |
- Lab: Hands-on Labs for Excel 2003 (Microsoft)
- How to: Create new workbooks (Microsoft)
- How to: Open workbooks (Microsoft)
- How to: Open text files as workbooks (Microsoft)
- How to: Activate workbooks (Microsoft)
- How to: Save workbooks (Microsoft)
- How to: Send workbooks by e-mail programmatically (Microsoft)
- How to: Close workbooks (Microsoft)
- How to: Display a dialog box to open excel files (Microsoft)
- How to: Get and set the default file path for workbooks (Microsoft)
- How to: List recently used workbook files (Microsoft)
- How to: Display a string in a worksheet cell (Microsoft)
- How to: Select worksheets (Microsoft)
- How to: Add new worksheets to workbooks (Microsoft)
- How to: Delete worksheets from workbooks (Microsoft)
- How to: Hide worksheets (Microsoft)
- How to: Move worksheets within workbooks (Microsoft)
- How to: List all worksheets in a workbook (Microsoft)
- How to: Print worksheets (Microsoft)
- How to: Sort data in worksheets programmatically (Microsoft)
- How to: Add and delete worksheet comments (Microsoft)
- How to: Display worksheet comments (Microsoft)
- How to: Create groups in worksheets (Microsoft)
- How to: Clear groups in worksheets (Microsoft)
- How to: Refer to worksheet ranges in code (Microsoft)
- How to: Send values to worksheet cells (Microsoft)
- How to: Display the current user's logon ID in a cell (Microsoft)
- How to: Store and retrieve date values in Excel ranges (Microsoft)
- How to: Protect worksheets (Microsoft)
- How to: Protect workbooks (Microsoft)
- How to: Remove protection from worksheets (Microsoft)
- How to: Set and Clear workbook passwords (Microsoft)
- How to: Apply styles to ranges in workbooks (Microsoft)
- How to: Clear styles from ranges in workbooks (Microsoft)
- How to: Copy data and formatting across worksheets (Microsoft)
- How to: Change formatting in worksheet rows containing selected cells (Microsoft)
- How to: Run Excel calculations programmatically (Microsoft)
- How to: Check spelling in worksheets (Microsoft)
- How to: Automatically fill ranges with incrementally changing data (Microsoft)
- How to: Search for text in worksheet ranges (Microsoft)
- Control: Chart (Microsoft)
- How to: Add chart controls to worksheets (Microsoft)
- Control: ListObject (Microsoft)
- How to: Add ListObject controls to worksheets (Microsoft)
- How to: Resize ListObject controls (Microsoft)
- How to: Validate data when a new row is added to a ListObject control (Microsoft)
- How to: Handle errors when a new row is added to a ListObject control (Microsoft)
- How to: Map ListObject columns to data (Microsoft)
- Control: NamedRange (Microsoft)
- How to: Add NamedRange controls to worksheets (Microsoft)
- How to: Delete NamedRange controls at design time (Microsoft)
- How to: Resize NamedRange controls (Microsoft)
- How to: Locate NamedRange controls on a worksheet (Microsoft)
- Control: XMLMappedRange (Microsoft)
- How to: Add XMLMappedRange controls to worksheets (Microsoft)
- How to: Add an actions pane to Excel workbooks (Microsoft)
- How to: Scroll through database records in a worksheet (Microsoft)
- How to: Populate worksheets with data from Web services (Microsoft)
- How to: Map schemas to worksheets inside Visual Studio (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Collecting data using a Windows form (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Changing worksheet formatting using CheckBox controls (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Displaying text in a text box in a worksheet using a button (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Programming against events of a NamedRange control (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Granting and removing permissions for an Office solution (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Binding a worksheet cell to a database field (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Binding cells to multiple columns in a table (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Creating a Master/Detail relation using a cached dataset (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Updating a chart in a worksheet using radio buttons (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Binding data to controls on an Excel actions pane (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Deploying a solution using a deployment manifest (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Deploying a solution using a Windows installer file (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Binding data to controls on an Excel actions pane (Microsoft)
| Microsoft Outlook |
Table of Contents |
- Lab: Outlook Add-in Hands-on Labs (Microsoft)
- Article: Introducing Outlook add-in Support in Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office (Microsoft)
- Article: Architecture of the Outlook Add-in Support in Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office (Microsoft)
- Article: Outlook support due for VSTO (SearchVB.com)
- Article: VSTO support for Outlook (.NET4Office)
- Article: Creating Outlook add-ins with Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office (OutlookCode.com)
- Article: Outlook from the managed world (Microsoft)
- Article: Two new directions for Exchange and Outlook (Penton Media)
- Webcast: Visual Studio Tools for Office: Outlook integration (Microsoft)
| General VSTO Articles |
Table of Contents |
- Article: Next Visual Studio Tools for Office comes into view (SearchVB.com)
- Article: Visual Studio 2005 tools, improvements on tap for VSLive! (SearchVB.com)
- Overview: Upgrading Office solutions (Microsoft)
- Article: How VSTO changes office development (SearchVB.com)
- Webcast: How VSTO changes Office-style development (SearchVB.com)
- Article: VBA and managed code extensions compared (Microsoft)
- Article: Combining VBA and managed code extensions (Microsoft)
- Article: Behind VSTO today (SearchVB.com)
- Article: VSTO and the Tai of the Office object model (SearchVB.com)
- Article: VSTA to support macro recordings but will work with .NET objects (SearchVB.com)
- Article: Microsoft's Ballmer foresees next .NET stage during TechEd keynote (SearchVB.com)
- Article: Microsoft offers CRM users an 'Elixir' (SearchVB.com)
- Article: Office Development Tools Page (SearchVB.com)
- How to: Upgrade solutions from Visual Studio Tools for Office (Microsoft)
- How to: Create and modify custom document properties (Microsoft)
- How to: Read from and write to document properties (Microsoft)
- How to: Open Office solutions without running code (Microsoft)
- How to: Grant permissions to folders and assemblies (Microsoft)
- How to: Remove permissions from folders and assemblies (Microsoft)
- Overview: Office UI customization (Microsoft)
- How to: Create Office menus programmatically (Microsoft)
- How to: Create Office toolbars programmatically (Microsoft)
- How to: Interact with Windows Forms (Microsoft)
- How to: Collecting data using a Windows Form (Microsoft)
- Overview: Data in Office solutions (Microsoft)
- How to: Cache data for use offline or on a server (Microsoft)
- How to: Programmatically cache a data source in an Office document (Microsoft)
- How to: Programmatically stop caching a data source (Microsoft)
- How to: Change cached data in a workbook on a server (Microsoft)
- How to: Retrieve cached data from a workbook on a server (Microsoft)
- How to: Cache Data Objects (Microsoft)
- Walkthrough: Creating a Master/Detail relation using a cached Dataset (Microsoft)
- How to: Build Office solutions that use managed code extensions (Microsoft)
- How to: Handle errors in Office projects (Microsoft)
- Overview: Debugging in Word and Excel projects (Microsoft)
- Overview: Debugging in Outlook projects (Microsoft)
- Overview: Security requirements to run Office solutions (Microsoft)
- Overview: Secure deployment (Microsoft)
- Best Practices: Specific security considerations for Office solutions (Microsoft)
- Best Practices: Security in Office solutions (Microsoft)
- How to: Deploy solution files using the publish wizard (Microsoft)
- How to: Deploy Office solutions (Microsoft)
- How to: Deploy solution files manually (Microsoft)
- How to: Remove managed code extensions from documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Deploy for offline use of documents (Microsoft)
- How to: Prepare end user computers to run office solutions (Microsoft)
- How to: Grant permissions to documents and workbooks in shared locations (Microsoft)
- How to: Update deployed Office documents that use managed code extensions (Microsoft)
- How to: Update deployed assembly files (Microsoft)
- How to: Change the location of Word and Excel solutions (Microsoft)
- How to: Update application manifest assembly paths programmatically (Microsoft)
- How to: Change the path to the deployment manifest programmatically (Microsoft)
- How to: Troubleshooting in Office at run time (Microsoft)
- How to: Troubleshooting in Visual Studio at design time (Microsoft)
- Guide: VSTO Fast Guide (SearchVB.com)
| VSTO Tutorials |
Table of Contents |
- Word: Build a benefits registration system with Visual Studio Tools for Office (Microsoft)
- Word: Build a status report application with Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office (Microsoft)
- Word: Migrate a Word VBA solution to Visual Basic (Microsoft)
- Word: Understanding the Word object model from a VS2005 developer's perspective (Microsoft)
- Excel: Enhancing Excel business intelligence capabilities with VS 2005 Tools for Office (Microsoft)
- Excel: Build an Excel invoice application using Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office (Microsoft)
- Excel: Create a capital expenditure model with Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office (Microsoft)
- Excel: Create Excel solutions for users in more than one country or region (Microsoft)
- Excel: Understanding the Excel object model from a VS 2005 developer's perspective (Microsoft)
- Excel: Use Excel 2003 to create and manage Windows SharePoint services Web sites (Microsoft)
- Word/Excel: Create an estimate solution using Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office (Microsoft)
- Outlook: Create an Outlook business contact assistant add-in with Visual Studio Tools for Office (Microsoft)
- Outlook: Create an Outlook My.Blogs managed code add-in (Microsoft)
- Outlook: Create an Outlook task add-in solution with Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office (Microsoft)
- General: Using the Visual Studio Tools for Office Application Manifest Editor (Microsoft)
- General: Part 1: Deploying VSTO solutions using Windows installer (Microsoft)
- Tutorial: Part 2: Deploying VSTO solutions using Windows installer (Microsoft)
| Reference and Documentation |
Table of Contents |
- Reference: General VSTO (Microsoft)
- Reference: ActionBase Class (Microsoft)
- Reference: ActionsPane Class (Microsoft)
- Reference: CannotRemoveControlException Class (Microsoft)
- Reference: ControlNameAlreadyExistsException Class (Microsoft)
- Reference: ExcelAppInfoDocument Class (Microsoft)
- Reference: InvalidRangeException Class (Microsoft)
- Reference: OfficeAppInfoDocument Class (Microsoft)
- Reference: OfficeSecurityManager Class (Microsoft)
- Reference: RangeNotOnWorksheetException Class (Microsoft)
- Reference: RegexCollection Class (Microsoft)
- Reference: SmartTagBase Class (Microsoft)
- Reference: SmartTagCollection Class (Microsoft)
- Reference: StackStyle Enumeration (Microsoft)
- Reference: WordAppInfoDocument Class (Microsoft)
- Reference: WordXmlAppInfoDocument Class (Microsoft)
- Reference: Microsoft.VisualStudio.Tools.Applications.Runtime (Microsoft)
- Reference: Microsoft.Office.Tools.Word (Microsoft)
- Reference: Microsoft.Office.Tools.Word.Controls (Microsoft)
- Reference: Microsoft.Office.Tools.Excel (Microsoft)
- Reference: Microsoft.Office.Tools.Excel.Controls (Microsoft)
- Reference: Microsoft.Office.Core (Microsoft)
- Reference: Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word (Microsoft)
- Reference: Microsoft.Office.Interop.Excel (Microsoft)
- Reference: Classes and Interfaces in the Office Primary Interop Assemblies (Microsoft)
- Reference: Office Primary Interop Assembly Reference Documentation Conventions (Microsoft)
- Reference: Office Primary Interop Assembly Code Examples (Microsoft)
- Reference: Office 2007 XML Schema Reference Preview (Microsoft)
| Forums and Blogs |
Table of Contents |
- Where peers share know-how and experience: ITKnowledge Exchange
- (SearchVB.com)
- Forum: Visual Studio Tools for Office (Microsoft)
- Forum: Office Solutions Development (Microsoft)
- Blog: Ty Anderson's Blog (OfficeZealot.com)
- Blog: OfficeZealot Blogz (OfficeZealot.com)
- Blog: Microsoft VSTO Team Blog (Microsoft)
- Blog: .NET4Office (Eric Carter)
- Blog: John R. Durant's Weblog (John Durant)
- Blog: JMisha Shneerson's Blog (Misha Shneerson)
More information and resources about Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR |
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Brent Sheets is a former Senior Editor at TechTarget and a
frequent contributor to SearchVB.com. He founded and managed the popular Visual Basic Web Directory
website until it was acquired by TechTarget in 2000 and relaunched as SearchVB.com. Brent currently
resides in sunny Florida with his wife and daughter.This was first published in February 2006