Automating Excel by Using Extended Objects
Applies to |
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The information in this topic applies only to the specified Visual Studio Tools for Office projects and versions of Microsoft Office. Document-level projects
Application-level projects
For more information, see Features Available by Application and Project Type. |
Visual Studio Tools for Office adds events and data-binding capabilities to some of the objects that are provided by the native object model of Microsoft Office Excel (that is, the object model that is exposed by the primary interop assembly for Excel). These extended objects are called host items and host controls.
Starting in SP1, host items and host controls are available in application-level add-ins and document-level customizations. Without SP1 installed, they are available only in document-level customizations. For more information, see Host Items and Host Controls Overview.
Host Items
Excel projects give you access to three host items:
The Workbook host item acts as a container for components that are shared by all worksheets in the workbook.
The Worksheet host item acts as a container for other controls, including host controls and Windows Forms controls, and it maintains information about the controls on its surface.
The ChartSheet host item is a worksheet in Excel that contains only a chart.
For more information about Excel host items, see Excel Host Items.
Host Controls
There are several host controls for Excel that help you create, organize, and automate Excel workbooks and worksheets. These host controls provide events and data-binding capabilities that their counterparts in the native Excel object model do not have. For information about host controls and step-by-step procedures for how to use them, see Excel Host Controls
See Also
Concepts
Extending Word Documents and Excel Workbooks in Application-Level Add-ins at Run Time
Adding Controls to Office Documents at Run Time
Host Items and Host Controls Overview
Programmatic Limitations of Host Items and Host Controls
Other Resources
Change History
Date |
History |
Reason |
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July 2008 |
Added information about using host items and host controls in application-level add-ins. |
SP1 feature change. |