Share via

How to: Add custom XML parts to documents by using VSTO Add-ins

  • Article

Applies to: yesVisual Studio noVisual Studio for Mac

Note

This article applies to Visual Studio 2017. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here

You can store XML data in the following types of documents by creating a custom XML part in a VSTO Add-in:

To add a custom XML part to an Excel workbook

  1. Add a new CustomXMLPart object to the CustomXMLParts collection in the workbook. The CustomXMLPart contains the XML string that you want to store in the workbook.

    The following code example adds a custom XML part to a specified workbook.

    Private Sub AddCustomXmlPartToWorkbook(ByVal workbook As Excel.Workbook)
    Dim xmlString As String = _
        "<?xml version=""1.0"" encoding=""utf-8"" ?>" & _
            "<employees xmlns=""http://schemas.microsoft.com/vsto/samples"">" & _
                "<employee>" & _
                    "<name>Karina Leal</name>" & _
                    "<hireDate>1999-04-01</hireDate>" & _
                    "<title>Manager</title>" & _
                "</employee>" & _
            "</employees>"

    Dim employeeXMLPart As Office.CustomXMLPart = _
        workbook.CustomXMLParts.Add(xmlString)
End Sub

    private void AddCustomXmlPartToWorkbook(Excel.Workbook workbook)
{
    string xmlString =
        "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" ?>" +
        "<employees xmlns=\"http://schemas.microsoft.com/vsto/samples\">" +
            "<employee>" +
                "<name>Karina Leal</name>" +
                "<hireDate>1999-04-01</hireDate>" +
                "<title>Manager</title>" +
            "</employee>" +
        "</employees>";

    Office.CustomXMLPart employeeXMLPart = workbook.CustomXMLParts.Add(xmlString, missing);
}

  2. Add the AddCustomXmlPartToWorkbook method to the ThisAddIn class in a VSTO Add-in project for Excel.

  3. Call the method from other code in your project. For example, to create the custom XML part when the user opens a workbook, call the method from an event handler for the WorkbookOpen event.

To add a custom XML part to a Word document

  1. Add a new CustomXMLPart object to the CustomXMLParts collection in the document. The CustomXMLPart contains the XML string that you want to store in the document.

    The following code example adds a custom XML part to a specified document.

    Private Sub AddCustomXmlPartToActiveDocument(ByVal document As Word.Document)
    Dim xmlString As String = _
        "<?xml version=""1.0"" encoding=""utf-8"" ?>" & _
            "<employees xmlns=""http://schemas.microsoft.com/vsto/samples"">" & _
                "<employee>" & _
                    "<name>Karina Leal</name>" & _
                    "<hireDate>1999-04-01</hireDate>" & _
                    "<title>Manager</title>" & _
                "</employee>" & _
            "</employees>"

    Dim employeeXMLPart As Office.CustomXMLPart = _
        document.CustomXMLParts.Add(xmlString)
End Sub

    private void AddCustomXmlPartToActiveDocument(Word.Document document)
{
    string xmlString =
        "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" ?>" +
        "<employees xmlns=\"http://schemas.microsoft.com/vsto/samples\">" +
            "<employee>" +
                "<name>Karina Leal</name>" +
                "<hireDate>1999-04-01</hireDate>" +
                "<title>Manager</title>" +
            "</employee>" +
        "</employees>";

    Office.CustomXMLPart employeeXMLPart = document.CustomXMLParts.Add(xmlString, missing);
}

  2. Add the AddCustomXmlPartToDocument method to the ThisAddIn class in a VSTO Add-in project for Word.

  3. Call the method from other code in your project. For example, to create the custom XML part when the user opens a document, call the method from an event handler for the DocumentOpen event.

To add a custom XML part to a PowerPoint presentation

  1. Add a new CustomXMLPart object to the Microsoft.Office.Interop.PowerPoint._Presentation.CustomXMLParts collection in the presentation. The CustomXMLPart contains the XML string that you want to store in the presentation.

    The following code example adds a custom XML part to a specified presentation.

    private void AddCustomXmlPartToPresentation(PowerPoint.Presentation presentation)
{
    string xmlString =
        "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" ?>" +
        "<employees xmlns=\"http://schemas.microsoft.com/vsto/samples\">" +
            "<employee>" +
                "<name>Karina Leal</name>" +
                "<hireDate>1999-04-01</hireDate>" +
                "<title>Manager</title>" +
            "</employee>" +
        "</employees>";

    Office.CustomXMLPart employeeXMLPart = 
        presentation.CustomXMLParts.Add(xmlString, missing);
}

    Private Sub AddCustomXmlPartToPresentation(ByVal presentation As PowerPoint.Presentation)
    Dim xmlString As String = _
        "<?xml version=""1.0"" encoding=""utf-8"" ?>" & _
            "<employees xmlns=""http://schemas.microsoft.com/vsto/samples"">" & _
                "<employee>" & _
                    "<name>Karina Leal</name>" & _
                    "<hireDate>1999-04-01</hireDate>" & _
                    "<title>Manager</title>" & _
                "</employee>" & _
            "</employees>"
    Dim employeeXMLPart As Office.CustomXMLPart = _
        presentation.CustomXMLParts.Add(xmlString)
End Sub

  2. Add the AddCustomXmlPartToPresentation method to the ThisAddIn class in a VSTO Add-in project for PowerPoint.

  3. Call the method from other code in your project. For example, to create the custom XML part when the user opens a presentation, call the method from an event handler for the Microsoft.Office.Interop.PowerPoint.EApplication_Event.AfterPresentationOpen event.

Robust programming

For simplicity, this example uses an XML string that is defined as a local variable in the method. Typically, you should obtain the XML from an external source, such as a file or a database.

See also