What this book covers

Chapter 1 provides a panoramic overview of Visual Studio Tools for Office. This chapter provides you with a firm grounding in what VSTO really is. We look at how VSTO addresses the Microsoft Office 2007 customization area, its feature set, and its architecture.

Chapter 2 starts by explaining the object model and programming approach in InfoPath 2007. We then take a look at how we can customize InfoPath with Visual Studio 2008. The later part of the chapter explains how to work on task pane creation, development of add-ins, and so on.

Chapter 3 begins with a description of creating a Word solution using Visual Studio 2008, and as we move further, the chapter explains how to create document-level solutions and application-level solutions. It then explains the deployment process. It also covers key Word objects, with examples of how to work with SQL data manipulation, and so on.

Chapter 4 takes a look at working with Excel objects, and covers key objects with example solutions. It focuses on explaining host items and host controls and provides examples of some common solutions. It also gives you an idea of worksheet protection, smart tags, charts, and so on, with the help of examples.

Chapter 5 starts the chapter with an overview of Outlook objects and moves on to Outlook folder manipulation, mail item processing and working with meetings and appointments. In the later part of the chapter, we work with Ribbon customization for Outlook, with examples and many such customizations for Outlook.

Chapter 6 covers three Office applications: PowerPoint, Visio, and Project. Here, we work with shapes in Visio, Ribbon customization for PowerPoint, and dynamic project item manipulation, and so on.