PLEASE READ NEXT - VSTO 2008 Resource List

Question

Here is a list of resources you can use to try to find answers to any questions you may have on using VSTO 3.0 (2008). There is a wealth of information here, and you’re sure to discover a lot of content that pertains to what you’re trying to do.

(For information on earlier versions of Visual Studio Tools for Office, please consult this post: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vsto/thread/5f13a675-2972-4983-a6dd-9e32b459d422)

If you can’t seem to find what you’re looking for or still think you need some guidance or advice, then please feel free to post your question or issue in the forum.

Product-specific

Visual Studio Tools for Office Developer Portal on MSDN
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/aa905533.aspx
 
VSTO 2008 Features and System Requirements
http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/a/e/9ae0f6cc-7032-408e-9ca7-989f9e4af4ec/VS2008Readme.htm
 
VSTO 2008 Guided Tour (Visual Studio 2008 Quick Tour of the Integrated Development Environment)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ms165088.aspx
 
VSTO 2008 On-line Documentation (MSDN Library)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/d2tx7z6d.aspx
 
Access Developer Extensions (ADE) for Access 2007
The ADE are no longer part of the Visual Studio Tools for Office. They’re available as a free download. More information here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/bb229700.aspx
 
MSDN Subscriptions Site
VSTO 2008 is included in the Professional and higher subscription types. This page shows a comparison of these subscriptions.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/aa718657.aspx

Further Information

 

Here are some other resources you can tap for further information on VSTO 2008.

 

VSTO Blogs

• VSTO Team Blog – http://blogs.msdn.com/vsto
• Eric Carter (VSTO Team Member) - http://blogs.msdn.com/eric_carter/
• Misha Shneerson (VSTO Team Member) 
  http://blogs.msdn.com/mshneer/default.aspx
• Andrew Whitechapel (VSTO Team Member)
  http://blogs.msdn.com/andreww/default.aspx
• John Durant (VSTO Team Member) -
  https://blogs.msdn.com/johnrdurant/default.aspx
• Paul Stubbs (VSTO Team Member)
  http://blogs.msdn.com/pstubbs/
• Mike Hernandez (former VSTO Product Manager)
  http://blogs.msdn.com/mikeh/default.aspx
• Kathleen McGrath (Author “VSTO for Mere Mortals”)
  http://blogs.msdn.com/kathleen
• Office Zealot Site (VSTO MVP Chris Kunicki)
  http://www.officezealot.com/VSTO/bloghome.aspx
• GotDotNet.com Site – http://blogs.gotdotnet.com

Technical Articles and Books

 

What’s New in VSTO 2008
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/86bkz018.aspx
 
VSTO 2008 Deployment

• Deployment overview for VSTO 2008 solutions
  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb157879.aspx
• Deploying an Office 2007 solution with an MSI instead of ClickOnce
  http://blogs.msdn.com/vsto/archive/2008/04/10/deploying-an-office-solution-using-windows-installer-mary-lee.aspx
  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc563937.aspx
  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc616991.aspx
• Deploying an Office 2007 Add-in to “all users”
  http://blogs.msdn.com/mshneer/archive/2007/09/04/deploying-your-vsto-add-in-to-all-users-part-i.aspx
   

Complete list of VSTO technical articles and video “How to” on MSDN
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb871648.aspx

VSTO for Mere Mortals  This book is written by former VSTO team members Kathleen McGrath and Paul Stubbs. It targets VB.NET as the language and VSTO 2005, including Add-ins created using SE.
http://www.awprofessional.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=0321426711&rl=1

Visual Studio Tools for Office 2007: VSTO for Excel, Word and Outlook (March 2009) This is a book written by VSTO team member Eric Carter and former team member Eric Lippert. It is a re-write of the 2005 edition, targeting VSTO 2008 and Office 2007. It covers advanced topics in Office development and VSTO technology, as well as the basics of using VSTO. Code samples and discussion revolve around using C#, but the basic discussion also apply to VB.NET. Publisher: Addison-Wesley; ISBN 978-0-321-53321-0.
 

Reporting Bugs or Submitting Feature Requests

Please report any bugs you find on the MSDN Product Feedback Center. To ensure that you’re not posting a duplicate bug, be sure to use the Search option on the main page to determine whether your bug has already been discovered and posted.
 
You may also submit feature requests here. You can help us track these requests by using this title format: "FEATURE REQUEST: <one-line request description>". You can then provide further details in the Problem Statement section of the suggestion form.

Visual Studio and .NET Framework Feedback
http://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback

 

Answer 1

Additional VSTO 2008 project templates for Access 2007, SharePoint Designer 2007 and Publisher 2007 are available here:  http://www.codeplex.com/VSTO