Create Office add-in in VB .NET - HOWTO for MS Outlook, Excel
PowerPoint, Project and Frontpage
VB.NET HowTo samples
Note. The most recent VB.NET examples are published on our technical blog. Be sure to check it out regularly, we add new HowTo samples every week. Outlook generalHow to develop a Microsoft Outlook add-in in VB.NETThis Outlook VB.NET solution for VS 2005 is described in Add-in Express for .NET documentation (see How to build an Outlook COM add-in). From this example you will learn how to:
Find the complete list of features on the Developing Outlook plug-in page. See also Add-in Express video demonstrating how to create Outlook 2007 plug-in. How to handle the ItemSend event of MS Outlook in VB.NETThis VB.NET plug-in shows how to handle the ItemSend event in Microsoft Outlook 2000 - 2007. You often need this when developing Outlook plug-ins. How to scan Outlook folders in VB.NETThis VB.NET example demonstrates how to scan folders in Outlook 2000, XP, 2003 and 2007 to get a tree view list of folders. How to handle Outlook SelectionChange event in VB .NETThis Outlook VB.NET addin will be useful for novices in Outlook programming. How to get access to the MAPIFolder within Outlook Property PageWhen dealing with Outlook Property or Option pages, you often need to access the add-in module. Download this VB.NET example to see how to do it correctly. How to handle the ExplorerClose event (Outlook) in Visual BasicThis Outlook example may be useful if you are making your first steps in Outlook programming. How to add custom menu items to the popup menu in Outlook ExplorerThis sample addin demonstrates the tremendous abilities of Add-in Express for customizing Outlook Explorer and Inspector toolbars and menus. It shows how to populate the context menu of Outlook Explorer with your own menu items. How to create an Outlook command bar and command bar controls at run timeThis Outlook VB.NET sample shows how to add a new button to your Outlook toolbar. How to add a .NET control to a custom Outlook toolbarA UserControl is added to a new toolbar to handle the SelectionChange event of Outlook Explorer and to display some info of the currently selected MailItem. This Outlook VB.NET example is written for Visual Studio 2005 and 2008. See a step-by-step sample project showing how to enhance Outlook toolbar with custom .NET controls. See also a flash video showing how to customize Outlook 2003 toolbar. Advanced Outlook RegionsHow to move a custom .NET form embedded into Outlook window from one form region to another
This sample VB.NET add-in for Visual Studio 2005 shows how you can change layouts of custom .NET forms embedded into Outlook windows. The add-in creates a command bar (a Ribbon tab in Office 2007) and allows choosing the layout from a combo box. The form used in this sample processes the SelectionChange event of Outlook Explorer. Please note, you may need to change the references for the project to compile. How to cache forms embedded into Outlook Explorer windowsThis VB.NET add-in for Visual Studio 2005 demonstrates the Advanced Outlook Form Region caching functionality available for forms embedded into Outlook Explorer windows. The developer can use this functionality to preserve form data when the user switches between folders. There are three caching options for such forms: Non-cached, NewInstanceForEachFolder, and OneInstanceForAllFolders. Forms embedded into Outlook Inspector windows are always non-cached. More about customizing Outlook Explorer views. How to change the size of a form embedded into an Outlook windowThis sample plugin written in VB.NET demonstrates the form-sizing features available for Advanced Form Regions in Outlook 2000 - 2007. There are two options depending on the visibility of the splitter (as set by the developer): if the splitter is visible, the user can change the form size and the developer cannot. To change the Outlook form size programmatically, the developer sets the Splitter property to None. How do you identify the instance of the form embedded into an Outlook window?This VB.NET Outlook sample add-in shows several forms marked with a GUID. When you click a command bar button (a Ribbon button in an Outlook 2007 inspector), the add-in identifies the currently active form instance and shows its GUID. Controlling the visibility of a custom form in OutlookThis sample plug-in for Visual Studio 2005 demonstrates the typical use of forms embedded into Outlook windows: hiding and showing the form in Explorer and Inspector windows. Several forms in the same Advanced Outlook form regionThis sample add-in in VB.NET demonstrates how to use several forms in the same Advanced Form Region. Click on a RadioButton on the Controlling form to activate the corresponding ADXOlForm. How to switch between the standard Outlook Explorer view and a custom formThis sample Outlook add-in shows how you can switch between the standard explorer view and a custom ADXOlForm form using Advanced Outlook Regions. Outlook Extended MAPIHow to create and delete hidden Outlook items via Extended MAPIThis sample Visual Basic .NET solution for VS 2005 accompanies the How to get access to hidden Outlook items via Extended MAPI article on the blog. It demonstrates how to get, create and delete a hidden item in Outlook and Exchange with MAPI Store Accessor in VB.NET. Outlook securityHow to disable Outlook security in a COM add-in?This example shows how to suppress the Outlook security object model guard in Visual Basic .NET. How to disable Outlook security in a standalone application?This HowTo example switches off the Outlook security guard and sends messages using a custom form. How to disable security warnings which show up when I use the Outlook object model, CDO, or Simple MAPI?This VB.NET example disables Outlook, Simple MAPI and CDO security and shows the info of the first email. Excel generalHow to develop a COM add-in for Microsoft ExcelThis sample Excel COM add-in shows how you can use Add-in Express for VSTO to add custom command bars and command bar controls, place new Ribbon controls onto Office 2007 Ribbon tabs, create custom task panes, handle application-level events and more. How to build your first RTD server in VB.NETSee how to build an Excel RTD server step-by-step in the Add-in Express Developer's Guide. The sample RTD server project is written in Visual Basic .NET (VS 2005). See also Add-in Express video showing how to create an RTD server. How to handle the WorkbookBeforeSave event of MS Excel in VB.NETIf you develop a COM add-in for Microsoft Excel, you may find this example useful. User-defined functionsHow to develop Excel Automation add-inSee how to create Excel Automation add-ins step-by-step in the Add-in Express Developer's Guide. The sample Excel Automation add-in is written in VB.NET (VS 2005). Advanced Excel Task PanesHow to show / hide Advanced Excel Task Panes programmaticallyThis Visual Basic .NET sample addin for Microsoft Excel demonstrates how to set the visibility of Advanced Excel Task Pane to make it show up from the command bar. How to switch between several Advanced Excel Task Panes programmaticallyThis VB.NET add-in shows how you can use several Excel task panes in one position and switch between them programmatically. How to show an Advanced Excel Task Pane dynamicallyThe VB.NET sample for Excel shows how to build a context-dependent Advanced Excel Task Pane. The add-in shows a task pane when cell A1 contains any value. How to re-size an Excel task pane in VB.NETThis Visual Basic .NET example shows how you can resize your custom Excel form using Advanced Task Panes for Excel 2000-2007. To change the form size programmatically, you set the splitter to none. Otherwise, only the user can resize the Excel task pane using the splitter. PowerPointHow to handle the SlideShowBegin event on presentation objects in PowerPointThis sample shows how to handle the SlideShowBegin event of the PowerPoint presentation objects in VB.NET FrontPageHow to handle the FrontPage OnWindowActivate event in VB .NETThis sample shows how to handle the FrontPage OnWindowActivate event in VB.NETS ProjectHow to handle the TaskChange event of MS Project in Visual BasicThis sample shows how to handle the TaskChange event of Microsoft Project in VB.NET Microsoft Office generalHow to create a Microsoft Office add-inThis Visual Basic .NET solution for VS 2005 is described in Add-in Express documentation (see Creating your first Office add-in). It demonstrates the following features of Add-in Express for .NET:
Find the complete list of features on Developing Office add-ins page. See also Add-in Express video showing how to build Office add-in. How to change properties of a CommandBarComboBox (ADXCommandBarComboBox) at run timeThis sample plug-in shows how to change the ADXCommandBarComboBox properties at run-time in VB.NET. How to program a smart tagFind how to program smart tags step-by-step in Add-in Express documentation. The sample smart tag is written in Visual Basic .NET (VS 2005). See also Add-in Express flash video about building smart tags for Excel and Word. How to show a custom form when installing and registering a COM add-in via ClickOnceThis Visual VB.NET solution for VS 2005 demonstrates how to show a custom form (WinForm) when you install your Office add-in via ClickOnce. Add-in Express supports the ClickOnce technology for Office 2000 - 2007 add-ins. Internet ExplorerHow to create an add-on for Internet Explorer in Visual Studio 2005You can see this Visual Basic .NET solution for VS 2005 as Add-in Express for Internet Explorer flash video. You will learn how you can use Add-in Express for Internet Explorer to create a custom IE toolbar, custom Internet Explorer Bar, IE menu item / command, and a custom context menu item. Available downloads: Download Manager sample add-on for IEThis is a sample add-on for Internet Explorer which demonstrates how to implement Drag-and-Drop and download files in IE6 and IE7. The sample is written in VB.NET (VS 2005). How to show WPF controls in IE bar?A sample add-on for Internet Explorer 6 and 7 demonstrates how to use WPF controls on an IE bar. The sample is written in VB.NET (VS 2008). |