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Deploying Office Solutions to End User Computers

General discussion
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You can deploy Office solutions developed with Visual Studio Tools for Office in several ways. In this thread, find conceptual information to help you decide how to deploy your Office solutions and sample code that explains the steps.
The methods available to you depend on the versions of Visual Studio, Microsoft Office, and the .NET Framework that you are using. This post has information about deploying with Windows Installer (MSI) and ClickOnce. In addition, there is troubleshooting information about deploying the Office primary interop assemblies (PIAs).=====================================================================================
Applicable versions
VSTO runtime
Visual Studio
Office
.NET Framework
VSTO 2010
Visual Studio 2010
2007
4
VSTO 2010
Visual Studio 2010
2010
4
ClickOnce: Use this method to create and install self-updating applications.
- Deploying multiple solutions in a single ClickOnce installer: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd465290.aspx
Windows Installer: Use this method to create additional registry keys and brand your installer.
- MSI deployment whitepaper: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vsto/ff937654.aspx
- MSI deployment samples: http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/VSTO2010MSI
- Deploying to all users: http://blogs.msdn.com/vsto/archive/2010/03/08/deploying-your-vsto-add-ins-to-all-users-saurabh-bhatia.aspx
- Skipping the inclusion list, which is no longer required for Office solutions deployed with Windows Installer and .NET Framework 4: http://blogs.msdn.com/vsto/archive/2010/03/10/changes-in-the-security-model-for-office-solutions.aspx and http://blogs.msdn.com/vsto/archive/2010/04/23/why-should-i-upgrade-from-net-framework-3-5-to-net-framework-4.aspx.
- Registering add-ins on 64-bit: http://blogs.msdn.com/vsto/archive/2010/04/09/deploying-com-add-ins-for-64-bit-office-using-visual-studio-saaid-khan-for-nathan-halstead.aspx
- Not excluding the Utilities assemblies: http://blogs.msdn.com/vsto/archive/2010/05/05/deploying-the-utilities-assemblies-by-using-windows-installer.aspx
Office Primary Interop Assemblies
- The PIAs are no longer required for Office solutions that target .NET FX 4: http://blogs.msdn.com/mshneer/archive/2010/01/29/nopia-blog-posts.aspx
MSDN Library
=====================================================================================
Applicable versions
VSTO runtime
Visual Studio
Office
.NET Framework
VSTO 2010
Visual Studio 2010
2007
3.5 SP1
VSTO 2010
Visual Studio 2010
2010
3.5 SP1
ClickOnce: Use this method to create and install self-updating applications.
- Deploying multiple solutions in a single ClickOnce installer: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff382205.aspx
- Performing additional actions after a ClickOnce installation: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd465291.aspx
Windows Installer: Use this method to create additional registry keys and brand your installer.
- Deploying to all users: http://blogs.msdn.com/vsto/archive/2010/03/08/deploying-your-vsto-add-ins-to-all-users-saurabh-bhatia.aspx
Office Primary Interop Assemblies
- The Microsoft Office 2007 PIAs are included with Visual Studio 2010.
- The Microsoft Office 2010 PIAs are not yet available.
MSDN Library
=====================================================================================
Applicable versions
VSTO runtime
Visual Studio
Office
.NET Framework
VSTO 3.0
Visual Studio 2008
2007
3.5
VSTO 3.0 SP1
Visual Studio 2008 SP1
2007
3.5 SP1
ClickOnce: Use this method to create and install self-updating applications.
- To deploy your solution with ClickOnce, see Deploying Solutions for 2007 Office System with ClickOnce Using Visual Studio Tools for the Office System (3.0).
- To deploy to all users for Office 2007 and ClickOnce, see http://blogs.msdn.com/mshneer/archive/2008/04/24/deploying-your-vsto-add-in-to-all-users-part-iii.aspx demonstrates how.
- To deploy your Office solution to a SharePoint site, see How to: Deploy a Document-Level Office Solution to a SharePoint Server (2007 System).
- To deploy Office template solutions, see How to: Deploy Template Solutions That Run Code on a Network (2007 System).
Windows Installer: Use this method to create additional registry keys and brand your installer.
- For an overview about deploying Office 2007 solutions with a Setup project, see Deploying an Office Solution by Using Windows Installer (2007 System).
- To configure the development computer for deploying Office 2007 solutions, see Deploying a Visual Studio Tools for the Office System 3.0 Solution for the 2007 Microsoft Office System Using Windows Installer (Part 1 of 2). This includes prerequisites to include in your Setup project.
- To see examples on how to deploy Office 2007 solutions with a Setup project, Deploying a Visual Studio Tools for the Office System 3.0 Solution for the 2007 Microsoft Office System Using Windows Installer (Part 2 of 2) provides and how to combine ClickOnce and Windows Installer.
- Download code samples for the Setup projects from http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/VSTO3MSI.
Office Primary Interop Assemblies
- For Visual Studio 2008 SP1 developers, the Office 2007 PIAs are included with Visual Studio 2008 SP1.
- For Visual Studio 2005 and 2008 developers, you can add the Office PIAs to your ClickOnce installer or Setup project. For more information, see http://blogs.msdn.com/vsto/archive/2008/05/08/adding-the-office-primary-interop-assemblies-as-a-prerequisite-in-your-clickonce-installer-mary-lee.aspx
- For troubleshooting PIA deployment problems, see http://blogs.msdn.com/vsto/archive/2008/05/20/common-pitfalls-during-pia-deployment-and-installation.aspx
MSDN Library
=====================================================================================
Applicable versions
VSTO runtime
Visual Studio
Office
.NET Framework
VSTO 2005 SE
Visual Studio 2005
2003
2.0
VSTO 2005 SE
Visual Studio 2005
2007
2.0
VSTO 2005 SE
Visual Studio 2008
2003
2.0, 3.5
VSTO 2005 SE
Visual Studio 2010
2010 32-bit only
2.0, 3.5, 4
Windows Installer: Use this method to create additional registry keys and brand your installer.
- To configure the development computer for deployment, see Deploying Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Second Edition Solutions Using Windows Installer (Part 1 of 2). This includes downloading prerequisites to include in your Setup project.
- To see examples on how to configure a Setup project, Deploying Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Office Second Edition Solutions Using Windows Installer: Walkthroughs (Part 2 of 2).
- To deploy to All Users with VSTO 2005 SE, see http://blogs.msdn.com/mshneer/archive/2007/09/04/deploying-your-vsto-add-in-to-all-users-part-i.aspx and http://blogs.msdn.com/mshneer/archive/2007/09/05/deploying-your-vsto-add-in-to-all-users-part-ii.aspx.
- Download code samples for the Setup projects from http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/VSTO2005SEMSI.
Office Primary Interop Assemblies
- For Visual Studio 2005 and 2008 developers, you can add the Office PIAs to your ClickOnce installer or Setup project. For more information, see http://blogs.msdn.com/vsto/archive/2008/05/08/adding-the-office-primary-interop-assemblies-as-a-prerequisite-in-your-clickonce-installer-mary-lee.aspx
- For troubleshooting PIA deployment problems, see http://blogs.msdn.com/vsto/archive/2008/05/20/common-pitfalls-during-pia-deployment-and-installation.aspx
MSDN Library
=====================================================================================
Blogs from the VSTO team
- Edited by Mary Lee - MSFT Tuesday, August 31, 2010 4:14 PM added link to MSI deployment whitepaper
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 4:34 PM
All replies
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Hi Mary R Lee
Your article is very help for me.
with regards
Kishore G
Saturday, December 27, 2008 6:50 AM -
There is also a way of hosting a ClickOnce Installer On GitHub.Wednesday, September 20, 2017 4:00 AM
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I assume this does not help for current versions of VS.
Sam Hobbs
SimpleSamples.InfoSaturday, October 14, 2017 1:16 AM