What’s new in “VSTO v3”
A CTP version of VSTO v3 has been released on the 21th of May. This blag entry is an overview of the new features of this third version.
Be aware that V2 applications may not work if you install the v3 CTP (Office 2007 beta 2 is required)
Add-in projects for up to 10 Office applications
- Access, Excel, InfoPath, Outlook, PowerPoint, Project, Publisher, Visio, Word and SharePoint Designer
- Design time support in visual studio!
Application level customizable task pane
- In v2, solutions were bound to specific documents and workbooks (except for outlook).
- New custom panes can be made available across the entire application. They are based on the new ICustomTaskPaneConsumer interface.
New XML-based format support
- Open and accessible XML structure.
- VSTO solution manifest is stored in custom XML parts, within the document.
- New “macro free” word and excel documents: .docx and .xlsx. If you rename such a document with a .zip extension, you will be able to view its internal structure. VSTO related components are found in the vstoDataStore folder.
- Old binary formats are still supported.
New UI extensibility (“ribbon”)
- The ribbon is the new office 2007 command user interface.
- Extensibility is supported at both document and application level (implement the IRibbonExtensibility interface).
Office 12 knows about VSTO Add-ins
- Add-ins blacklisting is more finely-grained. They can be disabled one a per-add-in basis.
- Faster loading time.
Further improvements (yet to come)
- A better deployment model, converging toward ClickOnce
- A better security model, able to handle versioning.
- Improved document-level ribbon customization
- New office 2007 IU visual designers
All of this looks very promising :)
Be aware that V2 applications may not work if you install the v3 CTP (Office 2007 beta 2 is required)
Add-in projects for up to 10 Office applications
- Access, Excel, InfoPath, Outlook, PowerPoint, Project, Publisher, Visio, Word and SharePoint Designer
- Design time support in visual studio!
Application level customizable task pane
- In v2, solutions were bound to specific documents and workbooks (except for outlook).
- New custom panes can be made available across the entire application. They are based on the new ICustomTaskPaneConsumer interface.
New XML-based format support
- Open and accessible XML structure.
- VSTO solution manifest is stored in custom XML parts, within the document.
- New “macro free” word and excel documents: .docx and .xlsx. If you rename such a document with a .zip extension, you will be able to view its internal structure. VSTO related components are found in the vstoDataStore folder.
- Old binary formats are still supported.
New UI extensibility (“ribbon”)
- The ribbon is the new office 2007 command user interface.
- Extensibility is supported at both document and application level (implement the IRibbonExtensibility interface).
Office 12 knows about VSTO Add-ins
- Add-ins blacklisting is more finely-grained. They can be disabled one a per-add-in basis.
- Faster loading time.
Further improvements (yet to come)
- A better deployment model, converging toward ClickOnce
- A better security model, able to handle versioning.
- Improved document-level ribbon customization
- New office 2007 IU visual designers
All of this looks very promising :)
