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Visual Studio has several types of project templates that support different business scenarios for Microsoft Office applications, including the following types:
Document-level customizations.
VSTO Add-ins.
Not all applications can use every project type. For example, document-level projects are available only for Microsoft Office Word and Microsoft Office Excel. Similarly, some features are available only for certain types of projects or applications. For example, the actions pane is available only in document-level projects, and Ribbon extensions are available only for some applications. For more information about the different project types, see Office solutions development overview (VSTO).
Note
Office project templates are available only in some editions of Visual Studio. For more information, see Configure a computer to develop Office solutions.
The following table shows the applications that you can use with each project type.
| Project types | Microsoft Office application |
|---|---|
| Document-level customizations | Excel Word |
| VSTO Add-ins | Excel InfoPath (InfoPath 2013 and InfoPath 2010 only) Outlook PowerPoint Project Visio Word Excel |
The following table shows which project types provide each feature.
| Feature | Project types that provide the feature | Further reading |
|---|---|---|
| Actions pane. | Document-level projects. | Actions pane overview |
| ClickOnce deployment. | VS and document-level projects. | Deploy an Office solution |
| Custom task panes. | VSTO Add-in projects for the following applications: - Excel - InfoPath (InfoPath 2013 and InfoPath 2010 only) - Outlook - PowerPoint - Word |
Custom task panes |
| Custom XML parts. | Document-level projects. Application level projects for the following applications: - Excel - PowerPoint - Word |
Custom XML parts overview |
| Data cache. | Document-level projects. | Cached data in document-level customizations |
| Expose an object in a VSTO Add-in to other Microsoft Office solutions. | VSTO Add-in projects. | Call code in VSTO Add-ins from other Office solutions |
| The following host controls: - Chart - ListObject - NamedRange - Content controls - Bookmark |
Document-level projects. VSTO Add-in projects for Word and Excel. |
Host items and host controls overview |
| The following host controls: - XMLMappedRange - XMLNode - XMLNodes |
Document-level projects. | Host items and host controls overview |
| Multi-project deployment. | Document-level projects. VSTO Add-in projects. |
Walkthrough: Deploy multiple Office solutions in a single ClickOnce installer |
| Outlook form regions. | VSTO Add-in projects for Outlook. | Create Outlook form regions |
| Post-deployment actions. | Document-level projects. VSTO Add-in projects. |
Walkthrough: Copy a document to the end user computer after a ClickOnce installation |
| Ribbon customizations. | Document-level projects. VSTO Add-in projects for the following applications: - Excel - InfoPath (InfoPath 2013 and InfoPath 2010 only) - Outlook - PowerPoint - Project - Visio - Word |
Ribbon overview |
| Visual document designer. | Document-level projects. | Office projects in the Visual Studio environment |
Training
Module
Introduction to Office client customization with add-ins - Training
Learn how to customize and extend Office applications including Word, Excel, and Outlook with Office Add-ins
Certification
Microsoft Office Specialist: Word Expert (Microsoft 365 Apps) - Certifications
Demonstrate that you have the advanced skills needed to get the most out of Word (Microsoft 365 Apps) by earning a Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Expert certification.
Documentation
Develop Office solutions - Visual Studio (Windows)
Learn how to design a project by using Office developer tools in Visual Studio. Also learn how to begin implementing the code and custom user interface (UI).
Office project templates overview - Visual Studio (Windows)
Explore how the Microsoft Office developer tools in Visual Studio include project templates for creating different types of Office solutions.
Create VSTO Add-ins for Office by using Visual Studio
Explore how to use the Microsoft Office developer tools in Visual Studio to create .NET Framework applications that extend Office.