Upgrading to Visual Studio Tools for Applications 2.0

If you have an application that you have previously integrated Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Applications into, perform the following tasks to upgrade to Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications 2.0:

  • Update the host application to support Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications 2.0.

  • Migrate add-in projects.

For information about new features that are introduced in Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications 2.0, see What's New in Visual Studio Tools for Applications 2.0.

Updating the Host Application

To update a host application to support Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications 2.0, you must update registry settings, modify your code in the host application, and create new project templates for add-in developers to use. For more information, see Updating a Host Application to Support Visual Studio Tools for Applications 2.0.

After you update the host application, add-in developers can create add-in projects and deploy new add-ins for the host application.

Migrating Add-in Projects

Add-in developers who created add-ins for the previous version of the host application must migrate their add-ins to the new version to be able to use them. After add-in developers migrate an add-in, they can rebuild the project and deploy the add-in to the updated host application.

You can incorporate the ability to migrate add-ins into the Visual Studio Tools for Applications IDE. The migration process for add-ins includes creating a new class and adding two registry entries. The class provides information that Visual Studio Tools for Applications uses to update assembly references and project settings. For more information, see Migrating Add-in Projects

See Also

Concepts

Updating a Host Application to Support Visual Studio Tools for Applications 2.0

Migrating Add-in Projects