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Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO) announcement

  • Link
    New release of VSTO run-time fixes issues
    Cindy Meister MVP

    For details, see the blog article http://blogs.msdn.com/b/vsto/archive/2014/04/10/vsto-runtime-update-to-address-slow-shutdown-and-unknown-publisher-for-sha256-certificates.aspx

    This release fixes:

    1. For VSTO add-ins using WPF controls, customers using touch-enabled
    devices experienced a 15-20 second lag when closing Office applications

    2. for developers using SHA256 code-signing certificates, the installation
    Trust Prompt would erroneously display “Unknown Publisher” even when the
    publisher was fully trusted.

  • Link
    Roadmap for Apps for Office, VSTO, and VBA
    Cindy Meister MVP

    Many folks have been asking about the emerging "apps for Office" model, and what it means for the future of VSTO.  Rest assured that VSTO continues to be alive and well.  In fact, many existing automation scenarios continue to be best served by VSTO for now.  At the same time, there are many exciting opportunities to look forward in apps for Office: for example, the ability to better integrate with web content and JavaScript/CSS libraries, support for additional programming languages and platforms, support for host applications beyond the desktop versions of Office, and new distribution, lifecycle management, and monetization opportunities through the Office Store.

    To learn more, please see the blog post:  "Roadmap for Apps for Office, VSTO, and VBA".

  • Link
    Office Tools for Visual Studio 2015
    Cindy Meister MVP

    The newest version of Visual Studio - 2015 - is now available.

    The Community edition of Visual Studio also supports "Office Tools", including VSTO and "Apps for Office" templates. Both can be downloaded at
    https://www.visualstudio.com/features/office-tools-vs

    What was new in VS 2013 for Office:

    For VSTO developers in particular, new in this release is the ability to code-sign VSTO solutions with SHA-256 certificates.  The latest release also supports Office 2013 right-out-of-the-box without requiring a separate download, and the Office 2013 templates can now target the latest .NET Framework 4.5.1.

    Visual Studio 2013 also delivers a broad set of tooling for the new apps for Office and apps for SharePoint.  Some highlights include the ability to create MVC SharePoint apps, enhancements around app-publishing, and a new set of tooling around Cloud Business Apps that integrate seamlessly with Office 365 services.  Learn more on the apps for Office and SharePoint blog.

    Tip: 
    Just like Visual Studio 2012, Visual Studio 2013 continues to support the Office 2010 templates.  However, to reduce clutter, we have re-categorized the project templates according to the .NET Framework version that they support.  So, if you're looking for the Office 2010 templates, be sure to adjust the ".NET Framework" dropdown to ".NET Framework 4.0".

    We hope you enjoy Visual Studio 2013 and the many great features that this IDE has to offer!

    ~ Michael Zlatkovsky | Program Manager, Visual Studio Tools for Office & Apps for Office


  • Link
    Documentation for Office 2013 Ribbon controls now available
    Cindy Meister MVP

    I know the documentation for Office 2013 is still somewhat limited, but hopefully the following link will help.

    Microsoft Office Document: [MS-CustomUI2] Supporting Documentation - http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=727

    From here, you should be able to download the *.txt files for Word, Excel and PowerPoint, plus the imageMso information. Once a file is downloaded, it can be opened in Excel to make it easier to look through all the controls.

    Best Regards,
    Nathan O.
    Microsoft Online Community Support

Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO) announcement

  • Link
    New release of VSTO run-time fixes issues
    Cindy Meister MVP

    For details, see the blog article http://blogs.msdn.com/b/vsto/archive/2014/04/10/vsto-runtime-update-to-address-slow-shutdown-and-unknown-publisher-for-sha256-certificates.aspx

    This release fixes:

    1. For VSTO add-ins using WPF controls, customers using touch-enabled
    devices experienced a 15-20 second lag when closing Office applications

    2. for developers using SHA256 code-signing certificates, the installation
    Trust Prompt would erroneously display “Unknown Publisher” even when the
    publisher was fully trusted.

  • Link
    Roadmap for Apps for Office, VSTO, and VBA
    Cindy Meister MVP

    Many folks have been asking about the emerging "apps for Office" model, and what it means for the future of VSTO.  Rest assured that VSTO continues to be alive and well.  In fact, many existing automation scenarios continue to be best served by VSTO for now.  At the same time, there are many exciting opportunities to look forward in apps for Office: for example, the ability to better integrate with web content and JavaScript/CSS libraries, support for additional programming languages and platforms, support for host applications beyond the desktop versions of Office, and new distribution, lifecycle management, and monetization opportunities through the Office Store.

    To learn more, please see the blog post:  "Roadmap for Apps for Office, VSTO, and VBA".

  • Link
    Office Tools for Visual Studio 2015
    Cindy Meister MVP

    The newest version of Visual Studio - 2015 - is now available.

    The Community edition of Visual Studio also supports "Office Tools", including VSTO and "Apps for Office" templates. Both can be downloaded at
    https://www.visualstudio.com/features/office-tools-vs

    What was new in VS 2013 for Office:

    For VSTO developers in particular, new in this release is the ability to code-sign VSTO solutions with SHA-256 certificates.  The latest release also supports Office 2013 right-out-of-the-box without requiring a separate download, and the Office 2013 templates can now target the latest .NET Framework 4.5.1.

    Visual Studio 2013 also delivers a broad set of tooling for the new apps for Office and apps for SharePoint.  Some highlights include the ability to create MVC SharePoint apps, enhancements around app-publishing, and a new set of tooling around Cloud Business Apps that integrate seamlessly with Office 365 services.  Learn more on the apps for Office and SharePoint blog.

    Tip: 
    Just like Visual Studio 2012, Visual Studio 2013 continues to support the Office 2010 templates.  However, to reduce clutter, we have re-categorized the project templates according to the .NET Framework version that they support.  So, if you're looking for the Office 2010 templates, be sure to adjust the ".NET Framework" dropdown to ".NET Framework 4.0".

    We hope you enjoy Visual Studio 2013 and the many great features that this IDE has to offer!

    ~ Michael Zlatkovsky | Program Manager, Visual Studio Tools for Office & Apps for Office


  • Link
    Documentation for Office 2013 Ribbon controls now available
    Cindy Meister MVP

    I know the documentation for Office 2013 is still somewhat limited, but hopefully the following link will help.

    Microsoft Office Document: [MS-CustomUI2] Supporting Documentation - http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=727

    From here, you should be able to download the *.txt files for Word, Excel and PowerPoint, plus the imageMso information. Once a file is downloaded, it can be opened in Excel to make it easier to look through all the controls.

    Best Regards,
    Nathan O.
    Microsoft Online Community Support