.NET - Sample Excel add-in project in VB.NET, C#
with source code

Add-in Express Toys™ .NET
for Microsoft Excel


Add-in Express Toys .NET is a free plug-in that adds several useful features to Microsoft Excel. This sample addin is based on Add-in Express .NET and designed to show how to create Excel add-ins, how to manage add-in toolbars and controls, and how to get access to Excel objects. Add-in Express Toys add-ins support Microsoft Excel 2000, Excel 2002 (XP), Excel 2003 and Excel 2007.

How to extend Excel in Visual Studio .NET with Add-in Express

Add-in Express is a .NET object library specially designed to make the development of Excel COM add-ins as fast and comfortable as it can possibly be. Add-in Express supports Visual Studio .NET 2003, 2005 and Visual Studio 2008, even the free Express version (VB.NET, C#, C++).

Here are just a few examples of what you can do with Add-in Express:

  • Develop powerful COM add-ins for Microsoft Excel 2000, 2002, 2003 and Excel 2007.
  • Create your own toolbars, add command bar controls, handle Excel events and "hook" any built-in command bar controls.
  • Customize Office Excel 2007 Ribbon UI, build the Quick Access Toolbar and the Office Menu. More about Excel 2007 Ribbon UI customization.
  • Create new custom worksheet functions using the Excel Automation Add-in technology and XLL add-ins.
  • Build advanced task panes for Excel 2000 - 2007. More about custom Excel task panes.
  • Program Excel Real-Time Data servers that allow you to refresh any data on a worksheet in real-time, and more.

Add-in Express for Microsoft Office and .net provides the Excel.Application object as an entry point to all Excel objects and their events. Add-in Express supports all popular programming languages of the .NET platform: Visual Basic (VB.NET), Managed C++ and C#.

Download free sample Excel add-in in C# with complete source code

Download free sample Excel add-in in VB .NET with complete source code

Download a ready to install and use Excel add-in (compiled with Delphi)

The add-in is developed in C# .NET on Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 7.1. The source code doesn't include the Add-in Express .NET Edition source files.

Add-in Express Toys .NET toolbar

Add-in Express Toys .NET for Excel adds to Excel a new toolbar with several buttons:

Custom Excel toolbar

The buttons are:

Custom Excel button which shows the About window

Custom Excel button that shows Add-in Express Toys.NET About window.

Custom button that enables / disables wrap text

Custom button that enables / disables "wrap text" for the selected cells.

Excel custom button that enables / disables "shrink to fit"

Custom button that enables / disables "shrink to fit" for the selected cells.

Excel button that applies the selected underline style

Custom Excel drop-down menu that applies the selected underline style for the selected cells.

Custom button that aligns text vertically

Aligns text vertically on the top of cells.

Aligns text vertically on the center of cells

Aligns text vertically on the center of cells.

Aligns text vertically on the bottom of cells

Aligns text vertically on the bottom of cells.

Excel button that merges selected cells

Merges the selected cells top-down and column-by-column.

Excel button that merges selected cells and aligns text

Merges the selected cells and aligns text vertically on the top of the merged cell.

Another button that merges selected cells and aligns text

Merges the selected cells and aligns text vertically on the center of the merged cell.

Yet another button that merges selected cells and aligns text

Merges the selected cells and aligns text vertically on the bottom of the merged cell.

Custom Excel menu item that shows / hides comments

Custom Excel menu that shows / hides comments, zero values, formulas, gridlines and page breaks.

Replace the built-in Excel Paste Special dialog box

Custom Excel drop-down menu that replaces the built-in Paste Special dialog box.

  • All - pastes all contents and formatting of the copied cells.
  • All except borders - pastes all cell contents and formatting applied to the copied cells except borders.
  • Paste links - links the pasted data to the active worksheet.
  • Formulas - pastes only formulas of the copied cells.
  • Values - pastes only values.
  • Formats - pastes only cell formatting.
  • Comments - pastes only comments of the copied cells.
  • Column Widths - pastes widths of the copied columns.
  • Data Validation - pastes only data validation rules.

Custom Excel buttons to paste special operations: None, Add, Subtract, Multiply, and Divide.

Custom Excel button for the paste option

Special paste option. Avoids replacing values in the paste area when blank cells occur in the copy area.

Custom Excel button for another paste option

Special paste option. Changes columns of copied data to rows, and vice versa.

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