Build Office 2007 - 2000 add-in / plugin: C#, C++, VB.NET.
Create custom task panes, ribbon tabs, keyboard shortcuts.
Add-in Express™
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| Add-in name, description, and load behavior | |
| Supported Office applications | |
| Collection of custom task panes (Office 2007) | |
| Host application name, type, version, and object | |
| When the add-in completes start-up routines or is required to shut down | |
| Before and after a custom task pane is created or shown, before a task pane is destroyed | |
| Before the ribbon XML markup is created and loaded, after ribbon XML markup is loaded |
3. Office 2007 Ribbon UI (user interface)
Add appropriate Ribbon components to the Add-in module and use their editors to customize the Ribbon UI of your add-in in Office 2007. Naturally, the Ribbon UI customization is available only when your add-in is run in Office 2007. More about customizing Office 2007 Ribbon UI, Quick Access Toolbar and Office Menu.

Benefits:
- You make Office 2007 XML markup with components.
- Simple properties apply your custom Ribbon tabs or Ribbon Office menu items to any Ribbon-enabled Office 2007 application.
Essential technical information:
| Ribbon tab caption and position | |
| Supported ribbons and context (say, Pivot Table in Excel or table in Word) | |
| Visible (Boolean) |
4. Office 2007 custom task panes
To create a custom task pane for Excel, add a UserControl to your project, add an item to the TaskPanes collection, and set up the item by choosing the UserControl in the ControlProgId property and filling in the Title property. More about building custom Excel task panes.

Benefits:
- You use familiar technologies to create Office 2007 custom task panes.
Essential technical information:
| Task pane title, width and height | |
| The UserControl bound to the task pane | |
| Dock position and dock position restrictions | |
| Supported Ribbon-enabled applications | |
| Visible (Boolean) | |
| When the user changes the dock position or the visible state of the task pane | |
| Before and after a custom task pane is created or shown, before a task pane is destroyed |
5. Traditional command bars and command bar controls
Add a CommandBar component to the Add-in Module and populate its Controls collection using a handy editor.

Benefits:
- Use the CommandBarName property to create or connect to custom and built-in toolbars, menus, and context menus.
- Adding any custom .NET controls to Office toolbars with Toolbar Controls for Microsoft Office.
Essential technical information:
| Command bar name, description, position, and protection | |
| Boolean properties: Temporary, Enabled, and Usable for Ribbon-enabled applications | |
| Collection of command bar controls: buttons, combo boxes, dropdown lists, edits, popups. | |
| Click - for command bar button | |
| Change – for command bar combo box, dropdown list, and edit | |
| All events for custom .NET controls |
6. Keyboard shortcuts in Office add-ins
Add a Keyboard Shortcut component to the Add-in module and specify the shortcut you need to intercept.

Then you handle the Action event of the component.
Private Sub MyActionProc(ByVal sender As System.Object) _
Handles AdxKeyboardShortcut1.Action
MsgBox(AdxKeyboardShortcut1.ShortcutText + " has been pressed!")
End Sub
Benefits:
- This useful component just saves your time.
Essentials:
| Enabled (Boolean) | |
| Shortcut Text | |
| Supported Office Applications | |
| Action |
7. Deploying the COM add-in
Add-in Express add-ins are based on the Add-in Express Loader which is a feature-rich shim and bootstrap application.

With automatically generated setup project, the Add-in Express Loader provides you with the following benefits:
- Manifest-configured features: setup log, non-admin installation, updating an add-in while it is loaded
- Ready-to-use custom actions for your setup project
- Per-user and per-computer add-in installations
- You can sign the Add-in Express Loader with a digital certificate thus making your add-ins trusted
More about deploying Office add-in using shims and Add-in Express Loader.
Please note that Add-in Express offers special features for Outlook plug-in development, namely for extending Outlook menu, toolbar and ribbons and customizing Outlook bar, Navigation and Reading panes.



