MSDN Magazine - December 2008 - (Page 62)

V i s u a l s t u d i o o B a to o l s Simplify OBA Development With Interop API Extensions andrew Whitechapel, Phillip Hoff, and Vladimir Morozov developing applications in C# against the Microsoft Office client application object models can be awkward because these object models use features—such as optional parameters and parameterized properties—that are handled internally in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and Visual Basic, but not in C#. Furthermore, Office makes extensive use of loosely typed parameters and return values, which are anathema to a strongly typed system like the Microsoft .NET Framework. The Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for the Office System (VSTO) Power Tools include a set of Office interop API extension libraries that provide C# developers with support for these features. Developers using Visual Basic will also find the libraries useful, specifithis article discusses: • VSTO Power Tools and Office interop APIs • using the outlook, Word, and Excel extensions • Extending the extensions • using the extensions in Visual Basic cally for querying Microsoft Office Outlook items in a type-safe manner. Using these extensions can help to make your code more robust, as well as increase developer productivity. To introduce you to these Visual Studio Power Tools API extensions, we’ll walk through the development of an application that uses the Power Tools to automate Office applications. We’ll also look at the .NET Framework 3.0 features being employed by the extensions, as well as extending the extensions for more customized use. We’ll even take a look at using the extensions with your Visual Basic code. Installing the Extensions The VSTO Power Tools are documented at msdn.microsoft.com/ library/cc626294 and can be downloaded from go.microsoft.com/ fwlink/?LinkId=129478. The Office Interop API extensions are all in the technologies discussed: Office, VSTO Power Tools, LINQ Code download: code.msdn.microsoft.com/mag200812oBa 62 msdn magazine download file named VSTO_PTExtLibs.exe. When you execute this self-extracting file, it will install the documentation for the extensions under %PROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft VSTO Power Tools 1.0\Office Interop Extensions. The extension assemblies themselves are installed in the Global Assembly Cache (GAC). The first release of these extensions includes support for Microsoft Office Excel, InfoPath, Project, Outlook, PowerPoint, Visio, and Word in both Office 2003 and the 2007 Office system. The extensions all have a consistent naming convention based on the following pattern: Microsoft.Office.Interop. .Exten- http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/cc626294 http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=129478 http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/cc626294 http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=129478 http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/mag200812OBA

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of MSDN Magazine - December 2008

MSDN Magazine - December 2008 Contents Toolbox CLR Inside Out Advanced Basics Cutting Edge Patterns In Practice Team System Real-World WF Visual Studio OBA Tools SOA Data Access Geneva Framework Test Run Foundations Windows With C++ Going Places End Bracket

MSDN Magazine - December 2008

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