Creating Wizards

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A wizard is a template or add-in that walks a user through a series of steps to create a new document, spreadsheet, presentation, database, Web application, or some object within any of those applications. Typically, when users launch a wizard, they are presented with a series of information-gathering forms, and when they have entered all the necessary information in a form, the wizard creates the new component or completes a task.

The advantages of using a wizard to deliver an application are that it is easy to use and that you can include detailed instructions on each frame of the wizard. For example, Microsoft® Word includes a Letter wizard that gathers information from the user and then creates a new letter based on that information. The wizard saves the user from having to lay the letter out correctly, as well as from having to think about where the information is placed in the final document. The Word letter templates provide the same result as the Letter wizard, but the user has to figure out where each bit of information in the letter goes and navigate around the document to insert it.

In This Section

• Common Characteristics of Wizards
  Understand how the way you choose to create a wizard depends on the level of complexity of your wizard, which application or applications you want it to run, and how you want to distribute it to your users.
• Word Wizards
  Create an application-specific wizard for Microsoft® Word, or use wizards that Word includes optionally.
• Excel Wizards
  Understand that a Microsoft® Excel wizard is a template or add-in.
• PowerPoint Wizards
  Use the Auto Content wizard, which automatically generates a presentation with generic content based on information the user entered in the wizard.
• Access Wizards
  Create a table, query, form, or report wizard that can be integrated into the Microsoft® Access user interface.

Related Sections

• Add-ins, Templates, Wizards, and Libraries
  Extend an application by adding functionality that is not in the core product itself by creating add-ins.
• What Is a COM Add-in?
  Extend the functionality of your Microsoft® Office-based applications without adding complexity for the user.
• Building COM Add-ins for Office Applications
  By building COM add-ins, you can extend the functionality of your Microsoft® Office-based applications without adding complexity for the user.
• Building COM Add-ins for the Visual Basic Editor
  Customize your development environment and work with components in a Microsoft® Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA) project from code.
• Building Application-Specific Add-ins
  Understand when and how to create application-specific add-ins.
• Creating Templates
  Learn how to give users a framework within which to complete common tasks by using templates.